Today is the day we had planned to go to Dover Western Heights, where the preservation society were having an open day which involved opening the Grand Shaft and Drop Redoubt (a Napoleonic Fortress). Sarah decided to spend the day with her parents. I set off for Badger HQ at the prescribed time only to find Dave in a state of undress, they were running late. First stop was Asda for cash, then on to the Clifftop Cafe in Capel -Le-Ferne for a breakfast. This is my favourite cafe in Kent, mainly down to the view across the Channel and along to Folkestone and the Warren. The breakfast is not too shabby either. Just as we finished our food Dave and Tina's friends from Brighton arrived and we were treated to a quick magic show by their Daughter, who is practising for a family party. Very good she was too. One of her tricks left Manky stumped! After a cuppa we set off for the Western Heights.
By now the bad weather was closing in, it started off promising, now it was turning nasty. We parked up and made our way to the Grand Shaft, via a quick exploration of some old gun emplacements. The Grand Shaft is a treble helix stairwell taking us from the heights to the Western Docks, about 130 odd steps. The reason for having three separate stairwells was to keep the soldiering classes apart. So there was one for officers, one for NCO's and one for squaddies. The descent was OK, the ascent was a killer. We all looked a bit knackered at the top and of course there was another load of steps and an uphill walk to the Drop Redoubt. We had paid entrance fees at the bottom of the shaft and were given a sticker, which I duly lost. Nothing was sticking to our damp clothes. Anyway I was told I had an honest face at the Drop Redoubt entrance so they gave me another...which I lost again later.
We had a good look around the tunnels and rooms, talking with the volunteers there including a prison officer who was very knowledgeable about the area. We stayed under cover as much as possible as the rain was now a deluge with thunder and lightning as well. After about an hour we decided that it was not the day for further exploration, as was originally planned. The weather had put paid to that, we all looked like proverbial drowned rats. My waterproof (cheap) coat leaked, but it was a combination of rain and sweat, as the bloody thing doesn't breathe. I've decided that if this weather persists I'm going to invest in a Gore-tex one! I want to go back though, we missed out on a lot of exploration.
By now the bad weather was closing in, it started off promising, now it was turning nasty. We parked up and made our way to the Grand Shaft, via a quick exploration of some old gun emplacements. The Grand Shaft is a treble helix stairwell taking us from the heights to the Western Docks, about 130 odd steps. The reason for having three separate stairwells was to keep the soldiering classes apart. So there was one for officers, one for NCO's and one for squaddies. The descent was OK, the ascent was a killer. We all looked a bit knackered at the top and of course there was another load of steps and an uphill walk to the Drop Redoubt. We had paid entrance fees at the bottom of the shaft and were given a sticker, which I duly lost. Nothing was sticking to our damp clothes. Anyway I was told I had an honest face at the Drop Redoubt entrance so they gave me another...which I lost again later.
We had a good look around the tunnels and rooms, talking with the volunteers there including a prison officer who was very knowledgeable about the area. We stayed under cover as much as possible as the rain was now a deluge with thunder and lightning as well. After about an hour we decided that it was not the day for further exploration, as was originally planned. The weather had put paid to that, we all looked like proverbial drowned rats. My waterproof (cheap) coat leaked, but it was a combination of rain and sweat, as the bloody thing doesn't breathe. I've decided that if this weather persists I'm going to invest in a Gore-tex one! I want to go back though, we missed out on a lot of exploration.
We said our goodbyes then set off for Ashford. The M20 was not good, we saw the aftermath of one car aquaplaning. They had hit the central reservation. I drove through the same section and felt the car aquaplaning, but the trick is to slow down, don't brake or change direction suddenly, like the other car obviously did. We did smile though when I switched on the radio and Tony Blackburn featured 1978 on Pick of the Pops, he played the Smurfs who were at Number two back then.
Tonight we decided to have Chinese food from the new takeaway. Five of us were dining. You know when you order too much food because there doesn't seem enough? That happened tonight. there was tons of it. I actually froze dishes that weren't even opened. With full stomachs we crashed in front of the TV, watching the third Indiana Jones movie 'Last Crusade' on DVD.
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