We will be in Dover next August; we will have a car; we will want to park at the National Trust parking lot and walk along the path to the South Foreland Lighthouse (Not all the way there--just to walk along the cliffs just a little). We may arrive in the very late afternoon. The car park closes at 6. My question is--does that mean our car would be locked behind some gate or something if we weren't back? Can we not walk along the cliffs after 6? Will we have to be sure to be back before 6? I tried to get this info directly from the National Trust folks but they didn't give me a very clear answer and then didn't answer. So--trusty Fodor Forum Folks to my information rescue, I hope!

Hi Texasbookworm,
I wish I had a direct answer to your parking problem in the National Trust parking lot. If they say the car park closes at six then I think it would be locked. I can't see them locking you in! There would be a number to call in an emergency surely?!
Failing the White Cliffs at Dover, or in addition to them,
you may want to take the short drive to Beachy Head. Here there is a 1902 lighthouse at the foot of these spectacular 536ft high chalk cliffs and offer a walk to the cliff top at Birling Gap. This is where we drove to and parked in the hotel parking. The view is stunning across to The Seven Sisters. We took the stairs down onto the beach and walked on the pebbles picking up pieces of chalk rolled smooth in the waves.
The buildings here are precipitably close to the edge of the cliff!

Do try and go to the quaint village of Rye.
Here are our cliff photos:http://tinyurl.com/yjv4nn7

Public footpaths don't close. (Well, some close one day a year to establish the legal precedent that they're open as a concession by the property owner, rather than a legal right of way. But this isn't one of them)

You can walk the cliffs any time you want. The problem's parking.

I've got no idea about the security round the car park you mention (though there are photos in the document I reference below). But it'd be as well to assume it DOES close when its says (though Kent COunty Council says its summer closing time's later than 6), and that the National Trust isn't going to waste its funds paying emergency overtime for someone to free a motorist too selfish or stupid to obey their rules.

So if you're likely to be unable to comply with their terms, don't use their facilities. If, on arrival, the opening times are inconvenient, park elsewhere. If there's nowhere convenient round the visitor centre (most country lanes have spots where parking's easy, and you cause no inconvenience after 6) drive east past the St Margaret's Country Club to Bay Hill, then park, walk to Ness Point and do the walk the other way round.

There's a detailed OS 1:25,000 map of all this, with snaps of how it works, at http://www.kent.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/...thforeland.pdf

Thanks flanner--my sentiments exactly (I'm definitely a bit of a stickler about following stated rules!) Thus my way-ahead-of-time, off-site info gathering, so we'd know our options. We love maps, so thanks for the link. DH and I did this walk in 2008 but on a daytrip from London sans car; will have DD with us this time with a car, so logistics different.

'If they say the car park closes at six then I think it would be locked. I can't see them locking you in! '

I wouldn't bet on it. I haven't been locked in by the National Trust, but have been in Canada. Twice in the cemetery in TOronto (more like a park, wih lots of walkers, cyclists, joggers. Had to call the emergency number.

And again at a provincial park where we found the gates firmly closed, and it was starting to snow (on May 1!!!) Again emergency call brought rescue. Now we try to be more careful.