Our journey commences at Dover where our tour
group and coach embark on the ferry which will
take us across the narrow Dover Channel to the
port of Calais, seen in the picture (left).
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DOVER is a town and major ferry port in the
county of Kent in south-east England. The site of
its original settlement lies in the valley of the
River Dour, making it an ideal place for a port,
sheltered from the prevailing south-westerly
winds.
This led to the silting up of the river mouth by
the action of longshore drift; the town was then
forced into making artificial breakwaters to keep
the port in being. These breakwaters have been
extended and adapted so that the port lies almost
entirely on reclaimed land.
The castle (seen in the background of the
picture), secret tunnels and surrounding land are
now owned by English Heritage and the site is a
major tourist attraction. The Lord Warden of the
Cinque Ports is officially head of the
castle.
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The higher land on either side of the valley -
the Western Heights and the eastern high point on
which Dover Castle stands - has been adapted to
perform the function of protection against
invaders. The town has gradually extended up the
river valley, encompassing several villages in
doing so. Little growth is possible along the
coast, since the cliffs are on the edge of the
sea. The railway, being tunnelled and embanked,
skirts the foot of the cliffs.
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CALAIS overlooks the Strait of Dover, the
narrowest point in the English Channel which is
only 34 km (21 miles) wide here. It is the
closest French town to England, of which Calais
was a territorial possession for several
centuries.
The old part of the town, Calais proper (or
Calais-Nord), is situated on an artificial island
surrounded by canals and harbours. The modern
part of the town, St-Pierre, lies to the south
and southeast.
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Virtually the entire town was destroyed by heavy
bombardments during World War IIso little in
Calais pre-dates the war. The Tour de Guet,
situated in Calais Nord on the Places d'Armes, is
one of the few surviving pre-war buildings.
The German wartime military headquarters,
situated south of the train station in a small
park, is today open to the public as a war
museum.
The town centre is dominated by its distinctive
town hall, built in the Flemish Renaissance style
(and visible to the right of the picture).
Directly in front of the town hall is a cast of
the statue The Burghers of Calais ('Les Bourgeois
de Calais') by Auguste Rodin.
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Our hotel in Strasbourg (right) offers an
opportunity to take a nearby tram into the city
if we so wish (below).
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Following an early breakfast at the hotel we
prepare to move off on our second leg of the
journey to Austria.
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