Two Cinque Fort castles

looking down at Deal from Deal Castle

Lottie woke us early but Van-Man was happy because the water pump was still working properly. After breakfast we set off for Deal Castle. The car park was roomy so Van-Man parked next to the grass. As Deal Castle did not allow dogs inside we went our separate ways. I had the first look at the castle which was built on an unusual set of five semi circles at the base while Van-Man walked Lottie on the beach.

I walked the outside of the castle first and noticed Van-Man heading to a bench with Lottie after a very brief visit to the beach.

Cannons pointing out to sea

I enjoyed the inside of the castle which was intact with displays in most of the rooms but found the lowest level, called the rounds very dark as I only had my prescription sunglasses on. At one point I thought the underground passage came to an abrupt end but I groped my way forward and found the passage went through a right angle turn.

 round central keep

When we met up at Sally our motor home Van-Man told me that the beach was all shingle which Lottie did not care to walk on. He promptly went to look around the castle while I settled down to wait in Sally with the disgruntled hound. Once he was out of sight she relaxed on the grass.

After lunch we walked along to the RNLI boat houses which hosed two rescue boats, a small rib for inshore work and a larger boat for rescues out to sea.

the outside of the rounds

After returning to Sally we drove to Walmer Castle which was only five miles along the coast. This castle car park was almost full but we found a space at the far end. Van-Man viewed the castle first while I walked Lottie. She didn’t want to go on the shingle but a wide belt of grass ran alongside the coastal path. When we met Van-Man she took him back to the motor home and lay beside it on the grass watching the sheep graze. She couldn’t do more than watch as she was on her extending lead.

low lying castle with thick walls

Walmer Castle was similar to Deal except that it only had four circular parts to its base. The gardens were lovely with a fine display of daffodils, tulips and primroses. This castle was lived in so only certain rooms could be visited. However the Duke of Wellington and the Queen Mother had stayed there so it was full of interesting history.

The Life Boat station

Once I arrived back at the van we returned to the campsite without any traffic problems. While Van-Man refilled with water and drained the grey water at the service point I walked Lottie round the dog walk. She settled down well for the evening in spite of the lack of sand to exercise on barely noticing when we ate our dinner.