MS Disney Magic Cruise Ship at Sunrise, Eastern Entrance, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

The MS Disney Magic cruise ship entered Dover Harbour via the Eastern Entrance and is now making its way across the Outer Harbour towards the Admiralty Pier of the Western Docks where it will berth at CT2 (Cruise Terminal 2):


(Click this MS Disney Magic cruise ship text link to see the largest size)

On the left of the photo the Eastern Arm pier juts out from the Eastern Docks (the cross-channel ferry terminal, not in view) with the Southern Breakwater bracketing the other side of the Eastern Entrance to the right of the ship.

To the right of MS Disney Magic is the Dover Harbour Board tug, DHB Dauntless; in the sky is an aeroplane on a photo-shoot of the passenger ship.

The photo was taken at 5.08 am on Saturday, 12th of June, 2010, from a point mid-way between the Porthole Shelters and the lighthouse on the Prince of Wales Pier (eastern side). A zoomed shot of about 1500-1600 yards.

The MS Disney Magic has just finished a "7-Night Barcelona to Dover Cruise" whose itinerary comprised: Barcelona (Spain), Gibraltar (United Kingdom, UK), Cádiz (Cadiz, Spain), and Lisbon (Portugal).

At 5.12 pm the Disney Magic passed through the Western Entrance of Dover Harbour and into the English Channel on a "12-Night Northern European Capitals Cruise" calling at Oslo (Norway), Copenhagen (Denmark), Warnemünde/Rostock (Warnemunde, Germany), St Petersburg (Russia), Helsinki (Finland), and Stockholm (Sweden).

Ship information:

Rare view of the 1st Century Roman Pharos, Dover Castle, Kent, UK

The East Roman Pharos in the grounds of Dover Castle stands on a huge horseshoe-shaped rampart known as Harold's Earthwork:


(Click this East Roman Pharos text link to see the largest size)

The East Roman Pharos was built 46 AD during the reign of Emperor Claudius while Aulus Plautius was governor.

On the right-hand side of the photo is part of a low perimeter wall that runs all the way around the edge of the earthwork.

The reason the above view of the Pharos (a watchtower or lighthouse) is rare - if not unique, at least as far as the internet is concerned - is because it was taken from the west and from outside of the perimeter wall.

Behind the Pharos is the Saxon church of St Mary-in-Castro.

A replica remnant of the West Roman Pharos, known as the Bredenstone, is located on the other side of the River Dour valley on the Drop Redoubt (part of a vast Napoleonic and Victorian hidden fortress embedded into the Western Heights).

MS Costa Magica Cruise Ship, Admiralty Pier, Western Entrance, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

The MS Costa Magica passing through the Western Entrance of Dover Harbour into the Straits of Dover and English Channel beyond:


(Click this MS Costa Magica Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

The Western Entrance lies between the Admiralty Pier on the right and the out-of-shot Southern Breakwater to the left.

The above photo was taken at 6.02 pm on Monday, 17th of May, 2010, from the lighthouse and cafe end of the Prince of Wales Pier. The Dover Lighthouse in the photo is the Admiralty Pier Light (built 1908; cast iron tower 72 feet high; white flash every 7.5 seconds).

The Costa Magica arrived in the Western Docks from Santander (Spain) and is shown sailing for Kiel (Germany) to begin an 11-night "Northern Europe Cruise" on the 19th of May calling at:

Stockholm (Sweden, via the Kiel Canal), Helsinki (Finland), St. Petersburg (Russia), Tallinn (Estonia), Riga (Latvia), Klaipeda (Lithuania), Glydnia (Poland), and Rønne (Ronne, Denmark). From Rønne the passenger ship returned to Kiel via the Kiel Canal.

A Costa Magica video from Costa Cruzeiros of Brazil:

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The Costa Magica (1) (2)

The Costa Magica is a cruise ship for Costa Cruises. She debuted in 2004 as a sister ship to Costa Fortuna, built on the same Carnival Cruise Lines' platform as the Destiny-class.

MV Braemar Cruise Ship and Admiralty Pier Light, Western Entrance, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

The MV Braemar entering the English Channel via the Western Entrance of Dover Harbour at 4.48 pm on Thursday, 1st of July, 2010:



The Western Entrance lies between the Admiralty Pier and the Southern Breakwater (out-of-shot to the left). The photo was taken from the public walkway above Cruise Terminal 3 (see the MS Minerva photo) on the Admiralty Pier, Western Docks.

The lighthouse was built in 1908 and is a 72 feet high cast iron tower with a white flash every 7.5 seconds when in use: click to see the Admiralty Pier Light photo for more information.

The Braemar has just left Cruise Terminal 2 (CT2) on the Admiralty Pier after arriving earlier in the day from Stavanger in Norway at the end of the 13-night BM1013 "North Cape Navigator" cruise. The ship is now embarking on the 7-night BM1014 "Norwegian Summer" cruise. A round-trip with the following itinerary: Bergen, Olden, Flåm (Flam), Gudvangen, and Stavanger (all in Norway, of course!).

The distant ferry to the left of the Braemar is the Pride of Canterbury (P&O Ferries) which arrived in port about 15 minutes later. The Pride of Canterbury also appears in a Seafrance Nord Pas de Calais photo.

MS Braemar details:

Celebrity Constellation Cruise Ship at Sunrise, Admiralty Pier, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

The GTS Celebrity Constellation cruise ship alongside the Admiralty Pier in the Western Docks of Dover Harbour:


(Click this Celebrity Constellation Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

MS Balmoral at CT1

The passenger ship is berthed at Cruise Terminal 2 (CT2) of the Admiralty Pier's three docking areas with the MS Balmoral, a Fred Olsen Cruise Lines ship, occupying Cruise Terminal 1 (CT1) out-of-shot to the right.

The Celebrity Constellation had called at Dover prior to going into drydock in Hamburg, Germany, from April 24 until May 9, to be fitted with some of the most popular venues found on Celebrity Cruise Line's Solstice-class ships: "From the minds of the world’s top designers and architects comes a class of ships that defy the imagination".

The first Solstice-class ship, Celebrity Solstice entered service in November 2008 and is the namesake of the class. All Solstice-class vessels have post-Panamax dimensions (the criteria for traversing the Panama Canal).

The photo was taken during a morning cycle ride (1) at 7.19 am on Wednesday, 21st of April, 2010 from the Prince of Wales Pier.

Video - An informative and well-made amateur video filmed after the 2010 refurbishment:

The Lost Castle of Dover, The Court's Folly Keep, Western Heights, Kent, UK

The Georgian Court's Folly, styled in the shape of the Keep, or Great Tower (night view), of Dover Castle, was built in the early 1800s on the Western Heights cliffs above Snargate Stree by two Wine Merchants, Stephen and Rogers Court:


(Click this Court's Folly Keep text link to see the largest size)

For much of its history, however, the 19th century miniature "lost castle" has been neglected and the ruins are now hidden under the trees and other undergrowth that cover this part of the White Cliffs of Dover.

Most Dovorians do not know the Court's Folly exists.

A Dover Museum webpage states (1):

...As well as leasing the shop (140 Snargate Street) and premises from Dover Harbour Board, the Courts' leased 2 plots of land behind, from Thomas Rutley and Thomas Papillon. On this land Stephen and Rogers built terracing for vines, tea gardens, 2 summerhouses, and dug an extensive network of vaults into the cliffs behind, with plastered and painted walls and chalk carvings.

Dover Castle Keep

The terracing up the cliffs was laid out as gardens, growing the different varieties of grapes that the wines they sold were made from, and also other exotic fruit such as figs and dates.

A summerhouse was built at the top of the terracing and further along the cliff-face they built a folly in the shape of Dover Castle silhouetted against the sky.

These became tourist attractions and customers could taste-test products sitting on the terracing and have tours of the vaults...

The internal dimensions of the Court's Folly are approximately 10.5 feet deep by 20 feet wide. The external length of the East Wall is actually about 13 - 14 feet deep, with the last 3 feet or so containing a horizontal oval recess (this extension is probably for cosmetic or structural purposes only). The front wall is 16 inches thick and is over 20 feet high. Only the lower half of the right-hand part of the rear wall is still standing, including a fireplace and chimney course complete with sooty residue.

Apparently, the oval windows were quite a popular design feature that had originated in an earlier period (2):

Dover Castle under Snow, Winter 2009, from the Western Heights, Kent, UK

This panoramic view, taken on December 22, 2009, is a 'winter edition' of the autumnal Dover Town and Dover Castle from the Western Heights photo uploaded on November 5th of that year:



Left of centre on the snow-covered skyline is the Norman Keep, or Great Tower (night view), of Dover Castle; further left are three masts (originally four, now reduced to two) of the Second World War early-warning Swingate Chain Home radar station.

Right of centre on the skyline are the Pharos (a 1st Century AD Roman watchtower, or lighthouse) and adjacent Saxon church of St Mary-in-Castro.

Just below the skyline towards the right-hand edge of the photo is an end view of the Victorian Officers' Mess (or Officers' New Barracks).

Stretching across the lower half of the photo is the row of large terraced houses of Victoria Park, to the left of which lies the southern entrance to the Zig Zags park; if you know where to look, the West Wall of Old St James Church is also visible (bottom right, in a line under the end houses of Victoria Park).

Within 5 to 150 yards of where this photo was taken from are: Cowgate Cemetery Nature Reserve, the Court's Folly, the 64 Steps, and the Drop Redoubt.

Many of the above-named locations are Victorian.

Filming of the 2009 North Entrance video began here. See:

MV Braemar Cruise Ship, DHB Dauntless Tug, Admiralty Pier, Western Docks, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

The MV Braemar reversing past CT3 and CT2 (Cruise Terminals 3 and 2) on the Admiralty Pier of Dover Harbour's Western Docks, her bow pointing in the direction of the Western Entrance and English Channel beyond:



The passenger ship is about to berth at Cruise Terminal 1 and is being escorted by DHB Dauntless, Dover Harbour Board's sister-tug to DHB Doughty.

This post-sunrise Dover Harbour photo was taken at 6.29 am on Saturday, 29th of May, 2010, from the lighthouse and cafe end of the Prince of Wales Pier. The Dover Lighthouse in the photo is the Admiralty Pier Light (built 1908; cast iron tower 72 feet high; white flash every 7.5 seconds).

The Braemar arrived from Invergordon (Scotland) and sailed later in the day for Copenhagen (Denmark) at the start of a Baltic Seas cruise.

Ship's details:

MS Balmoral Cruise Ship at Sunrise, Western Entrance, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

The MS Balmoral Cruise Ship framed in the Western Entrance of Dover Harbour at 6.02 am on Monday, 26th of July, 2010:


(Click this MS Balmoral Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

The Admiralty Pier is on the right and the English Channel is on the left; the photo was taken from the the Prince of Wales Pier.

The Balmoral passenger ship, operated by Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, is shown arriving in the Port of Dover from Honfleur (France) at the end of a 16-night "French Connection" cruise.

Later in the day, the passenger ship left Dover at the start of a 12-night round-trip "Beauty of the North" cruise with the following itinerary:

Warnemunde (Warnemünde, Germany), Ronne (Rønne, Denmark), Gdynia (Poland), St Petersburg (Russia), Tallinn (Estonia), and Copenhagen (Denmark)

Vessel details:

Victorian Chancel of St. Mary the Virgin Parish Church, Church of England, Dover, Kent, UK

Dover's Church of St Mary the Virgin from the east showing the Chancel/Apse and surrounding graveyard:


(Click this St Mary's Church text link to see the largest size)

St. Mary the Virgin is Church of England and located in Cannon Street (ex Canon Street), Dover. It is a Norman church built between 1066 and 1086 and then restored in Victorian times, 1843-1844.

St Mary's was probably built on the site of a Saxon church, but was certainly built on top of an even earlier Roman structure.

The 'Lady Chapel' is in the right-hand aisle, the Organ in the left. The graveyard (churchyard, cemetery) was closed for burials in 1854.

St Mary's Passage runs along the south side of the church (to the left) and Dieu Stone Lane along the north side (to the right). The photo was taken from Church Street.

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Excerpt from the "History of St Mary's Church" (1)

The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin has shared to the full in both the spiritual and civic life of the ancient town and port of Dover. It is situated in the centre of the town in the main street (Cannon Street) and close by the old Market Square, for centuries the hub of activity, and still at the centre of the town's life. The Church has been increased in size three times, and excavations under the floor near the font have shown that it is built on the site of Roman baths.