The white cliffs and Dover harbour from the clifftop path

National Trust White Cliffs of Dover

Towering white chalk cliffs stretching along the English Channel — an iconic and breathtaking edge of England.

From King's Cross St Pancras: 1 h 46 min by train · 2 h 26 min by car

Travel times by TravelTime

Time there: 5–8.5 h to see all 3 places

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CoastBy the seaCliffsScenic viewsLandmarksCastles

Must-see places

Dover Castle

Castle · A clifftop fortress above the Channel, with Henry II's Great Tower, a Roman lighthouse and tunnels dug into the cliff.

Samphire Hoe

Nature · A country park at the foot of the cliffs, made from Channel Tunnel spoil, with chalk grassland, ponds and a pebble beach.

Fan Bay Deep Shelter

Attraction · Second World War tunnels deep in the cliff, visited on a guided hard-hat tour with two First World War sound mirrors.

Quick facts

Chalk cliffs rise to about 110 metres and run for eight miles either side of Dover, and on a clear day they can be seen from the French coast, some 32 km away.

A cliff-top path leads from the National Trust visitor centre to South Foreland Lighthouse, where Marconi's team made the first international radio transmission, to France, in 1899.

Guided hard-hat tours go 23 metres down into the Second World War tunnels of Fan Bay Deep Shelter and out to two First World War sound mirrors.

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