We took the ferry from Dover to Calais last year and the white cliffs are truly beautiful. It may have helped that it was a very strange day, weatherwise, and the cliffs were alternately bathed in bright sun and surrounded by very black clouds. It was a lovely sight. I agree with those who say the cliffs cannot be seen to good advantage except from the water. And for sure, next time you go to Paris, visit Normandy.

You guys are fantastic. Thank you Ben Haines for the fabulous advice on how-to-do-it. We'll see tons of castles on our trip and don't really feel driven to see Leeds altho I'm always good for one more. :) However, Canterbury holds some appeal for me. I'm reviewing all the suggestions. I believe this is one of those vacations where the hubby is packing the hiking boots and I'm looking for the perfect accessories for my little black dress. Perhaps we need a travel counselor instead of travel agent. ;)
I am loading in all the websites you have all suggested and counting up the yeas and nays. When we get back I will post my trip report. (we don't go until July 20th) And I'll be looking for your trip report too, Kayb.

ttt

I took the hydroboat , whatever it's called and then the train to Paris and was excited to know we were going to pass the White Cliffs of Dover which brought back childhood memories when the song was popular and my uncles were serving their country. What a let-dowm, what a dirty train.

We did this trip (didn't visit the castle, though) about 3 years ago. We were in London for a week and were quite happy to get out of the city for a day. We were staying near Marble Arch and found a rental car location within a couple of blocks of the hotel. We drive to Canterbury and had a lovely time walking around, having a scone and cup of tea. We then headed to the cliffs, which were fairly impressive from land. My husband did quite a bit of walking along them - I recall a strong wind that kept me in the parking lot at the top. Then we had more tea in the little shop, after having a pub lunch in town. (Can you believe the pub was out of sole??) The drive in and out of the city was awful, but it was our most relaxing day of the trip.