Yes, This Castle is the ‘Key to England’! 😮👇 Welcome to Dover Castle! It is the final stop o our ‘Nine Spectacular Castles of Southern England and Wales’ itinerary…If you have followed along the whole way, then congratulations on your arrival. There has been a fortification on this site at least since Roman times and indeed, a lighthouse tower from that period remains next to the church, St Mary in Castro. The castle overlooks the English Channel at the narrowest point between England and the rest of Europe. Thus, for centuries, it held a strategically important role in the defence of England. This is why it is known sometimes as ‘The Key to England’. It rivals Windsor Castle in size and thus is one of the largest castles in the country. Henry II built the central tower block in the centre in the early 12th century. It continued to be used as an occasional royal lodging into the Tudor period, hosting the King and court if they were on progress to Calais or important overseas visitors, such as the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. Anne of Cleves was also lodged here after she arrived at Deal en route from her homeland to London to wed Henry VIII in early 1540. People sometimes ask, ‘Is it worth visiting Dover Castle?’ The answer is ’Yes!’ There are around 1000 years of English history on display, and you will undoubtedly be walking in the footsteps of behemoths of the Tudor age. 📍This completes our #ninecastlestour. Don’t forget! There is also a Googlemap of the entire route if you’d like to review it. You can findunder ‘Itineraries’ (via Linktree in my bio). Let me know which castles you enjoyed the most and would love to visit for yourself! ❤️🇬🇧. #dovercastle #englishhistory #englishcastles #medievalbuilding #castles #castlesofengland #historytour #historytravels #tudortok