Canterbury and Dover daytrip and train question
 

I'm planning on being in London at the end of December and would like to take a day trip out to Canterbury and Dover. Is this trip feasible (especially with the short daylight - 8-4) and am I understanding the train information correctly? I'm a complete newbie to trains. :)

I'll be staying at the Castletown House Apartments in West Kensington, and plan on taking the District line to Victoria. Is that an easy change from the tube to rail station? Do I need to go outside and look for the rail station, or are they connected in an obvious fashion? The train would leave Victoria at 8:00 arriving at Canterbury at 9:30. I believe trains going to Dover are through Cantebury every 30 minutes or so. When I was done at Canterbury, I would head to Dover, spending the day there until they close at 4:00. I could walk around the area there for photos for awhile, and then catch the train back to Victoria.

In prior questions about this, I've seen mention of taking a taxi from the train station to Dover Castle - how far of a walk is it (ish)? Am I understanding the train schedules correctly - if I book a return ticket from Victoria to Dover (via Canterbury), I can get on at anytime, spend as much time in Canterbury and Dover as I want and return at anytime the same day? Do I need to book a ticket in advance, or just when I get to Victoria first thing in the morning? Is there a tour at Canterbury Cathedral?

Is there anything in either Canterbury or Dover I should see other than just the Cathedral and the Castle at Dover?

Any advice or helpful comments is appreciated, thanks.

When you get off the tube train, just follow the signs for Victoria railway station. They have the double-arrow logo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rail). It ought to be impossible to miss, but at 0800, just follow where everyone's coming from.

At 0800 on weekdays, you have to buy an Anytime ticket (at present £30 return). You can break your journey anywhere. At weekends, there's a slightly cheaper (£25), off-peak, ticket available, which MIGHT not be eligible for breaking your journey. Ask at the ticket office, as the precise details vary by operator: you MIGHT have to buy the full price one.

There's no benefit (except avoiding ticket queues) in booking trains to Dover in advance.

It's a mile, mile and a half, from the station to Dover Castle. I'd say that, allowing time to get to and from Canterbury Cathedral, you're going to be pushed doing this, and won't see as much of the castle complex as you might want to - but it's doable.

We did a similar day trip -but by car and in May - when everything is open longer. It was still a rush - and we didn;t see anything. I fear you won;t get to Dover Caste in time to see much - even with a cab from the train station.

Flanneruk, thanks for the help! I was guessing around 3 hours each... 9:30 - 12:30ish for Canterbury and 1:00ish - 4:00 for Dover. With the walk to/from the rail stations, that would give me around 2 - 3 hours to see each, plus any time at Dover after they close. I was planning on either packing a lunch or buying something simple (fruit, sandwich, etc) in Canterbury and eating on the train. Not a lot of time, but enough to know if I want to go back on the next trip.


I must be daft... normal people plan their vacations as a time to relax and I plan mine to get up well before dawn and be on the move all day. :D

Nytraveler, what do you mean you didn't see anything? How long was the drive between Canterbury and Dover and how long (ish) did you spend at Canterbury?

The only thing about the end of December - assuming you mean the time between 26 and 31 December - is that there will be fewer commuters, but a possibility of engineering work on the train lines. Before and over Christmas, there will be different considerations (like, no trains on 25 and 26 December)

You'll need to check nearer the time - likewise opening times for the Cathedral and Castle over the Christmas/New Year break.

http://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/visit/index.aspx

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/s...show/nav.14571

Hi, Iowa:
Did not get to Dover, so can't help you there. However, I did do the District to Victoria to Canterbury tube and train like you are planning. You'll need to be off early and, if you can, get your train ticket in advance. Flanneruk is spot on re: the train and those logistics. We (wife, kids, me) spent the entire day in C'bury, but it was also summer, so we did outdoor stuff and more walking than one would in December. Since you will be there at that time, you should check with your destination sites to verify their hours. We bought a guide book and self-guided through the Cathedral. If you just do that in C'bury, half a day should suffice. I want to say it was about a ten or fifteen minute walk from the train to the cathedral. Make sure you walk around the grounds (and side streets) if weather permits and also see if you can down in the catacombs. Finally, save time and money and pack your food and beverage. Enjoy and bundle up!

We did a good guided walk in Canterbury. I found it on the official Canterbury tourist website. It went into the cathedral grounds (which you have to pay to do) but not actually inside the cathedral. We bought tickets for the walk when we arrived at the tourist office in town.

One other thing you might want to consider, it will likely be very cold and wet in December and I have read that the castle grounds in Dover can get quite slippery - all that stone I suppose. Not sure how true that is but you might need to be careful or go there another time in better weather.
Kay

I most definitely would not walk to Dover castle. Its not all that far from the station -- but it is very steep uphill all the way. It is a real slog - and if the weather is cold/wet it would be even worse.

In December you are better off choosing either Dover OR Canterbury for your day trip. Dover Castle would take pretty much an entire day, Canterbury slightly less.

Thank you all for the info, and the warning to be careful Kay.

I'm only planning on seeing the Cathedral and Dover Castle, not much of anything else in the two towns so that will help with my time limits. I'll definitely check the two websites for any changes in their open times when it gets much closer. I can get the train ticket once I'm in London and can see which day might have the best weather for wandering about outside. If at that point the train is shut down for engineering work, I'll either work with the ticket agent to find a different way out to at least Canterbury, or it'll wait until my next trip. If I'm entirely entranced by the Cathedral (which has been known to happen) I don't have to go on to Dover.

I'm used to Iowa winters, so I'm not really concerned about the cold. According to a world weather site, London's average December temps are 38 - 46(F) and Iowa is -9 - 0(F). It'll be like spring! :D

Dover Castle is massive. It takes much of a day by itself. There is everything from a Roman Lighthouse to WWII tunnels. It isn't just a castle on top of a hill - it is a huge complex. Even driving and parking right at the top of the cliff w/o having to travel up from the town, I have usually spent about 5 hours there. W/ the transport/lunch/etc I'd plan on at least 6 hours in Dover. Since the castle closes at 4 PM in Dec, I honestly don't see how you could do both in one day. Canterbury Cathedral opens at 9:00 but the crypt doesn't open until 10:00 - so it would be really difficult to get up to Dover Castle before about 1 PM.

Sorry - meant we didn't see EVERYTHING. There were grounds of the castle we would have liked to explore and we could have used more time in Canterbury as well.

Thanks for the explanations. If I purchase a ticket to Dover, I assume that I can get off at Canterbury, stay the entire day there and then head back to London without ever going to Dover. Is that correct? Looking at the fares listed, I think it would be actually cheaper to purchase a fare to Dover via Canterbury than just to Canterbury (which doesn't make sense to me). If I purchase the ticket the entire way to Dover, I can change my mind at the last second if I want to try to cram in both, just see Canterbury or just see Dover.

I love history and architecture, both places have those in abundance. If you could only see one or the other, which would you choose and why?