From London TO Dover

The castle is well worth seeing if you're in Dover. According to the website, http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/dover-castle/directions, it's about 1 1/2 miles from the Dover Priory station where your train from London will come in. That includes a steep hill at the end. I'd suggest a taxi for a few pounds. Coming back you'll be tired but it will be downhill. Perhaps the staff at the castle will help you call a taxi back if you don't want to hoof it, or your could arrange for your first taxi driver to meet you at a set time (2-3 hours should be enough). The iconic cliffs are some way east of the castle. I don't remember being able to see them from the castle, at least not well. But you should be able to see them from the Prince of Wales Pier at the southeast end of the harbor, an extension of Union Street. That's another subtantial walk from the station and the castle. A car would make it all easier. There's a road east from the castle above the cliffs, the Upper Road, which leads to a National Trust visitor center. You can also reach this from the east end of the town below, near the main ferry docks. Looking at Google Earth, there appear to be footpaths from the visitor center east along the cliff tops for a long way. You can see portions of the cliff surfaces from up there, but of course the overview of all the cliffs would have to be from below. Hope this helps, maybe somebody local will respond.

In my opinion the best way to see the Cliffs, the way that you will have seen them, especially in old movies, is from the sea. November will be difficult because the days are short and the sun (if any) is low in the south sky, and the Channel is certainly not guaranteed to be glassy smooth (I've been on big ships in both the English Channel and Irish Sea in winter and sometimes they can be a little lumpy) but for me being on the deck of the cross Channel ferries leaving or approaching Dover on the Dover/Calais or Dover/Dunkerque is the quintessential way to experience the Cliffs. Dover (and it's castle) certainly aren't first or second tier attractions so, Ellen, can we assume that this is a return journey for you? It isn't clear to me how much time to spare you have. If you do have some, and the weather gods are propitiated sufficiently, a little cruise over to Calais and back could be lots of fun. Again, to really experience the cliffs from the top I would suggest going several miles west until you get to the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head near Brighton. There are buses from Brighton to Eastbourne and Eastbourne to Brighton which go along the road just adjacent to the Seven Sisters and from which it is possible to alight and walk nearly up to the edge of the chalk cliffs. Be careful not to get blown over in the strong fresh (gusty) wind, and be careful of falling over the edge when taking photos - no joke. It is gorgeous. You can walk along the cliff base in places, too, but need to be careful of rockfalls. I hope you have a WONDERful trip.

Thanks Nagel, This is a return trip. I was looking for a good day trip from London, we are already planning to go to Bath so I thought of Dover for the castle. Is there a better castle that's close to London? I know November is not the best time to go but we will be visiting our daughter who is studing in England for the USA Thanksgiving holiday.

I agree that seeing the cliffs from the water is best, though in that time of year perhaps not. There used to be a pleasure boat service if you didn't want to take a ferry, but I doubt it runs in late November. I still think it is worth walking along them, though. You can get good views in places. I think the castle is very interesting and the War tunnels in the cliffs are well worth the visit. Each time we have taken family from the US there, they have all enjoyed it.