Columbus Cruise Review - Dover (for London)

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Port website: www.doverport.co.uk

Time Zone: GMT (GMT + 1 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Currency: Pound (£) = 100 pence.

Language: English.

Nearest airport: London Gatwick Airport.

Hotels: Hotels near the port include Best Western The Churchill, The County Hotel, West Bank Guest House and Posthouse Dover.

Sightseeing: Dover is located in the southeast of England and home to the world’s busiest shipping lane with regular ferry services across the channel to France. The town is known around the world for the famous White Cliffs of Dover, the first glimpse of England seen by passengers arriving from the Continent. These impressive chalk cliffs boast many different fauna and flora and provide magnificent views across the sea as far afield as the French coastline on a clear day. A stay in Dover is not complete without a visit to Dover Castle, one of England’s most complete castles and home to an Iron Age hill fort, a Norman keep and St Mary in Castro church. It also boasts the remains of the Pharos, a Phoenician lighthouse, which is the tallest Roman structure in the UK. Many visitors to Dover choose to explore nearby towns and cities, such as Canterbury, Tunbridge Wells, Rochester and Hastings. For those with more than a few hours in port, the British capital, London, and one of the most exciting cities in the world, is just a two-hour drive from Dover. Visitors will be hard-pressed to fit in all the major sights in one afternoon. Highlights include Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, the West End, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square and St Paul’s Cathedral. The city is also renowned for its museums, including the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum. London’s newest attraction is the British Airways London Eye which, at 137m (450 ft) is the world’s highest observation wheel and London’s fourth tallest structure. Visitors also flock to Greenwich, home to the National Maritime Museum, the clipper Cutty Sark, the Royal Naval College and the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

Shopping: De Bradelei Wharf, situated in Wellington Dock, is a great place to buy bargain ladieswear, menswear, childrenswear, home furnishings and sportswear. Shopping in the centre of Dover is limited however, and for a wider variety of shops, many visitors head for the bright lights of London, one of the world’s great shopping cities with over 30,000 retail outlets. Knightsbridge boasts world-famous Harrods, with its legendary sales and heavenly food hall; Oxford and Regent Streets attract swarms of shoppers to well-known clothing shops and megastores; and Tottenham Court Road is lined with electrical shops. Charing Cross Road is the centre for bookshops in London, with the world’s largest bookshop, Waterstones, situated nearby at Piccadilly. Covent Garden is one of the most popular shopping areas in London, filled with specialist shops, cafés and craft stalls. London also boasts many fine markets, including Camden (one of most popular tourist attractions in the city), Portobello Road, Petticoat Lane and Brick Lane.

Eating Out: English cream tea is popular in tearooms in south coast seaside resorts such as Dover. It generally consists of scones, jam, butter, clotted or double cream and, of course, tea. Fish and chips wrapped in newspaper and covered in vinegar are also popular. The British pub is nothing short of a national institution; there are about as many beers in England as there are cheeses in France and the recent revival of real ale has greatly improved the range and qualities of brews available. Bitter and lager are the most popular beers, but stout, pale ale, brown ale and cider are also widely drunk.