Year 6’s trip to Dover Castle

Being only 22 miles from France, our town of Dover has been fortified since Roman times. Our famous Castle stands on the White Cliffs overlooking the English Channel. It has helped defend Dover for nearly 1000 years!

Although on the site of earlier fortifications, the Castle really began to be developed after the Norman invasion. It was greatly strengthened during King Henry II’s reign, when the Keep, known as The Great Tower was built. It continued to be fortified throughout history, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars and was then again used in World War 2.

In School, we have been learning about the Second World War. We found out about how Dover Castle and its underground tunnels were used during the conflict. Here we are dressed up in Second World War uniforms.

We had fun exploring parts of the many miles of tunnels under the Castle.

Inside, the Castle has been recently renovated to show how people lived nearly 1000 years ago.

We pretended to be kings and queens of the past.

On a clear day, we can see France!

Looking down onto the town from the top of the Castle. Our school is down in the valley.

Here we are on top of the Castle’s Keep, with our flag flying!

Here are a few questions, see the next slide for the answers! How tall do you think the Great Tower is? Do you know what the tunnels were used for? Do you know who built Dover Castle?

How tall do you think the Great Tower is? It’s 83ft or 25.3m high! Do you know what the tunnels were used for? Originally they were an 18 th / 19 th Century barracks, but were reused, and extended during the Second World War Do you know who built Dover Castle? It was began by the Norman invaders, and continued to be developed for hundreds of years! A question for you: Do you have any castles in Gambia?