A random weekend in February, a mission on a Saturday. I had just received my new company car a week before. The mission took me to Calais in the late afternoon where I had some time to walk the pier towards the small lighthouse and see some of the ferries. Spirit of France and P&O Liberté passed by while Isle of Inishmore was docked.
I went to the Irish ferries check-in and took the Oscar Wilde to Dover in the evening, giving me the chance to photograph P&O Pioneer while docked and Côte des Flandres leaving port from the new side of Calais ferryport, all from onboard Oscar Wilde in a setting sun.
The Oscar Wilde: more about the ship can be found here, I was happy to finally be onboard Oscar Wilde and see what she is like on the inside, even though on this trip she appeared to be pretty full!
Upon arrival in Dover, I completed the last task of the day and went to the Premier Inn hotel right next to the Eastern docks. The next day I had breakfast in the hotel and decided to go see a place I missed the last time I was in the area, so I drove all the way to Rye. I parked my car in the central carpark and walked the wet nature reserve ... very wet I might add ... towards a site I have wanted to visit for a while ... Camber Castle!
This castle is one of the original Device forts but unlike some castles in the area like Deal castle and Walmer castle, this one ended up ruined in a field and despite being part of English Heritage, it doesn't have facilities and you can only visit the inside on specific dates with a guide.
I visited some small art and vintage shops in Rye before heading back East. My next stop was a place the I have visited a few times before but wanted to visit again, Dungeness. Dungeness is special to me because of the lighthouses, the old black painted lighthouse stands next to the cottages of an even older demolished lighthouse, but was itself deactivated when the power plant was built so a new lighthouse was built to replace this old black one. The old lighthouse is open to visitors and there are at least 2 good places for lunch, this time I went to "The end of the line restaurant" that doubles as the small station for the miniature railway of Dungeness, itself a very popular attraction to visitors!
By now it was time to head back to Dover where I went for dinner at Cullins Yard, a place I try to visit every time I 'm in the area. I had plenty of time left before I had to get back to the ferry so I decided to have a good hamburger, review my photos and write my notes before going back home.
I boarded the Oscar Wilde again without any problems and relaxed onboard while also taking enough photos to compare with the shots I took over the years when she was still the Spirit of Britain under P&O ferries.
My arrival in Calais was just as easy as usual and even though I still had to drive about 3 hours to get home, all went well and I was back home in bed by 01.30 am.
THE END
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