Oliver Cromwell 70013 Steam Locomotive, Dover Priory Rail Station, Kent, UK

The BR Class 7MT 4-6-2 no 70013 Oliver Cromwell Steam Locomotive venting steam on arrival at Platform 1 of the Victorian Dover Priory Railway Station, England:


(Click this Oliver Cromwell Steam Locomotive text link to see the largest size)

The photo was taken from the Folkestone Road road-bridge at 6.16 pm on Sunday, September the 3rd, 2011, after making a small detour from a cycle ride around town (1).

The 70013 Oliver Cromwell is a British Railways standard class 7 (also known as the Britannia class) preserved steam locomotive. The locomotive is notable as one of the four steam locomotives which worked the last steam railtour on British Railways (BR) in 1968 before the introduction of a steam ban (2).

Earlier this year:

The BR Britannia Class 7MT 4-6-2 no 70000 Britannia Steam Locomotive (3) and the 12-coach "Cathedrals Express" passed through Dover Priory Train Station at 5.47 pm on Thursday 7 April 2011.

The LNER A1 Class 4-6-2 no 60163 Tornado Steam Locomotive called at at 5.47 pm on Saturday, June the 18th, 2011.

The Spitfire and The Hop Picker tour (Shepherd & Neame) (4)

After a pre-event transfer from Southall WCRC (West Coast Railway Company) to Kensington Olympia with headcode 5Z81, the scheduled itinerary for the Oliver Cromwell was as follows:

MV Princess Daphne Cruise Ship before the White Cliffs of Dover, Kent, UK

On the 10th of May, 2010, the Princess Daphne cruise ship entered Dover Harbour via the Eastern Entrance and is shown making its way across the Outer Harbour towards the Admiralty Pier of the Western Docks to berth at CT1 (Cruise Terminal 1):


(Click this Princess Daphne Cruise Ship text link to see the largest size)

Eastern Docks at Night
Harbour House

The Eastern Arm pier, running the full length of the photo behind the ship, juts out from the out-of-shot Eastern Docks (the cross-channel ferry terminal) located below the White Cliffs of Dover. The top of the Old South Foreland lighthouse, built in 1793, can be seen near the cliff edge on the right-hand side of the photo.

The tugs DHB Dauntless (bow) and DHB Doughty (stern) belong to Dover Harbour Board of Harbour House.

The photo was taken just after midday from near the lighthouse end of the Prince of Wales Pier (eastern side).

The MS Princess Daphne arrived from Cadiz, Spain (5th May), and had previously called at: Barcelona, Spain (2nd May); Marseile/Marseilles, France (1st May); Nice, France (1st May - a day-trip); Marseile/Marseilles, France (1st May); Catania, Sicily (29th April); Beirut, Lebanon (22nd April).

Later in the day, the Princess Daphne left Dover and arrived at Kiel, Germany, at 7.16 am on the 12th of May.

Night Panorama of the Ferry Port and Eastern Docks of Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

This night-time and panoramic view of Space City in Dover Harbour was taken on Wednesday, 19th of January, 2011, from the cliff-edge south of Dover Coastguard Station overlooking the Straits of Dover and English Channel beyond:


(Click this Dover Ferry Port and Eastern Docks text link to see the largest size)

The Eastern Docks and Ferry Port (1) occupy the bottom two-thirds of the photo with the actual cross-channel car and freight terminals out-of-shot to the left (as is the Eastern Arm pier that once bounded the Camber).

Various roads, some with light trails, surround the darkened square office block just below the centre of the photo: The Fan, North Exit Road, North Return Road, Dock Exit Road (etc.)

Above and to the right of the office block is the multi-storey car park atop the Booking Hall (Arrivals Hall, Reception Hall).

Official websites of companies operating cross-channel ferries are at P&O Ferries, Seafrance (under administration as of November 16th, 2011), and DFDS Seaways (Norfolk Line, Norfolkline). Photos of their ships appear, or will appear, under the P&O Ferries, Seafrance, and DFDS Seaways category labels (see all ferry images).

White Cliffs of Dover
Lightoller and 8 East Cliff

Above the Booking Hall, the Jubilee Way A2 Bypass sweeps down from a low-point in the White Cliffs of Dover (dimly visible down the right-hand edge) called Broadlees Bottom and turns back on itself over the Ferry Port before 'touching down' at a roundabout near the docks entrance where it is joined by the A20 dual-carraigeway.

The A20 runs parallel to the seafront after entering the town from behind Shakespeare Cliff and meets the roundabout below Athol Terrace after passing the houses of East Cliff (Marine Parade).

Charles Lightoller lived at 8 East Cliff after joining the Royal Navy's Dover Patrol (2) in 1916. He was the second mate and senior surviving officer of the 1912 RMS Titanic iceberg disaster.

In Lightoller's time during World War I, the Eastern Docks was "H.M. Dockyard, East Cliff" (3) and used for the dismantling of ships. In 1920 the Stanlee Shipbreaking & Salvage Co. Ltd. took over as commercial ship breakers and the following year they broke-up the battleship, HMS St Vincent, a veteran of the Battle of Jutland:

Lord Warden House at Daybreak, Admiralty Pier, Western Docks, Dover, Kent, UK

A zoomed view from 600 yards of the former Lord Warden Hotel, a Grade II Dover Listed Building, situated at the landward end of the Admiralty Pier in the Western Docks of Dover Harbour:


(Click this Lord Warden House text link to see the largest size)

Notes on the architect and architecture begin at HISTORY and MATERIALS, respectively.

Western Docks at Night

Lord Warden House appears in the Western Docks at Night photo (left).

The three-arched structure behind Lord Warden House began life as Dover Town Rail Station (alt. Dover Town Railway Station, Dover Town Train Station). It then became Dover Marine Rail Station and finally, Dover Western Docks Rail Station.

Today, it is the Cruise Terminal 1 (CT1) building, the first of three on the Admiralty Pier, and provides a reception area for passengers from the cruise ships that visit Dover throughout the summer season.

This pre-sunrise photo was taken from the Victorian and World War II coastal artillery position known as St Martin's Battery (located on top of the Western Heights cliffs) at 5.40 am on the 25th of August, 2010.

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Lord Warden House Listed Building

The following is © Crown Copyright. Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence (PSI licence number C2010002016):

MS AIDAblu Cruise Ship berthed at Cruise Terminal 2, Admiralty Pier, Dover, Kent, UK

An early morning view of the MS AIDAblu cruise ship berthed at Cruise Terminal 2 (CT2) on the Admiralty Pier of the Western Docks, her bow pointing in the direction of the Western Entrance and English Channel beyond:


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

The low structure on top of the pier to the right of the AIDAblu's stern is the Victorian Admiralty Pier Turret (alt. Dover Turret) containing 2 Fraser RML 16 inch 80 ton guns (RML = "rifled muzzle-loading") which were declared obsolete in 1902.

This Dover Harbour photo was taken at 7.24 am on Tuesday, 17th of May, 2011, from the lighthouse end of the Prince of Wales Pier (western side).

The reflections in the glass windbreaks - which I like! - are from the table and bench combinations (such as the one I stood on to take the photo) set out in front of the Lighthouse Cafe.

The seagull wheeling above the centre of the passenger ship has been included at no extra charge.

The MS AIDAblu sailed from Hamburg (Germany) on Friday, 13th of May, on a "7-Nachte Nordeuropa" (7-Night North Europe/Northern Europe, German Bight) cruise with the following itinerary: Amsterdam (Netherlands/Holland), Antwerp (Belgium), Dover (for London, England), Le Havre (for Paris, France), and then back to Hamburg.

Night Panorama of Dover Priory Rail Station from the Western Heights, Kent, UK

A night-time view of Dover Priory Rail Station taken on Sunday, October 17th, 2010, from the Western Heights:


(Click this Dover Priory Rail Station at Night text link to see the largest size)

The Victorian Dover Priory is also referred to as Dover Priory Train Station and Dover Priory Railway Station.

The two columns of orange blobs on the left-hand side of the photo are reflections from off the carraige roofs of trains parked in the freight area of the station.

Below the centre of the photo a covered foot-bridge (approx. 350 yards away) joins platforms 2 and 3 on the left to platform 1 and the Booking Hall on the right. Platform 3 is the outermost of the detached platforms and has a silver-topped train parked alongside it.

Trains to Deal, Ramsgate, Canterbury East, and London Victoria leave Dover Priory through the tunnel at the top of the photo.

Trains to Folkestone Central, Ashford International (Channel Tunnel, Chunnel), and London Charing Cross leave the station through a tunnel beneath the Western Heights.

To the right of the Booking Hall is Priory Station Approach Road with the Priory Hotel (pub) on the other side (with light trails).

Golden Panorama of the Victorian Waterloo Crescent at Sunrise, Dover Harbour, Kent, UK

A post-sunrise view of the Victorian (1) Waterloo Crescent on Dover's seafront esplanade, opposite the western end of the beach and harbour, taken at 6.11 am on Tuesday, 16th of August, 2011:


(Click this Waterloo Crescent text link to see the largest size)

As sometimes happens when out and about on a morning cycle ride (2), transitory light conditions can transform familiar sights into something extraordinary. On this occasion, the entire sky was clouded over with the exception of a ragged oval across which the rising sun was slowly moving. The resulting "golden glow" reflecting off of Waterloo Crescent - and every other white object - was really quite breath-taking in its intensity (note how the Western Heights trees in the background on the right are still in shadow - its as if a gigantic torch-beam were being played across the landscape.)

Waterloo Crescent, built between 1834 and 1838, is a Grade II Dover Listed Building consisting of three sections. From left to right these are the western section (originally 5 houses), the central section (originally 19 houses), and the eastern section (also originally 5 houses).

Because this is an oblique view, the divisions between the overlapping sections are perhaps easiest identified by looking at the side view of the roof on the right-hand section and then looking for two other occurrences of the same "truncated pyramid" shape further to the left.

Harbour House and the Tonkin Liu Artworks at Sunrise, Dover Seafront, Kent, UK

The white Harbour House and the Tolkin Liu sculptures imbued with the golden glow of a rising sun at 6.59 am on Thursday, 1st of September, 2011 (1):


(Click this Dover Harbour House text link to see the largest size)

Harbour House

Waterloo Crescent

Dover Harbour Board's Harbour House, occuping the western section of Waterloo Crescent, is a Grade II Dover Listed Building designed by the architect, Philip Hardwick and built between 1834-1838 (2). Click on the link or thumbnail for the full listing text.

Harbour House is located on Marine Parade at the western end of the seafront promenade, or esplanade.

Information leaflets about the cruise ships calling at the Admiralty Pier in the Western Docks can be obtained from reception. DHB also operate the Eastern Docks (the ferry terminal).

Full postal address: The Port of Dover, Harbour House, Marine Parade, Dover, CT17 9BU.

The flag flying above left-hand end of Harbour House carries the logo for the Port of Dover.

Port of Dover (3)

The Port of Dover is the cross-English Channel port situated in Dover, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just 34 kilometres (21 miles) away, and one of Europe's largest passenger ports, with 14 million travellers, 2.1 million lorries, 2.8 million cars and motorcycles and 86,000 coaches passing through it each year, with an annual turnover of GBP 58.5 million a year. (3)

The port has been owned and operated by the Dover Harbour Board, a statutory corporation, since it was formed by Royal Charter in 1606 by James I (James VI of Scotland). Most of the board members are appointees of the Department of Transport.

Night Panorama of the Western Docks in Dover Harbour, St Martin's Battery, Kent, UK

This panorama view of the Western Docks of Dover Harbour was taken from the Victorian and Second World War coastal artillery gun emplacements of St Martin's Battery, Western Heights, at 5.25 am on Tuesday, 24th of August, 2010:


(Click this Western Docks of Dover Harbour text link to see the largest size)

At top-left, the Western Entrance from the English Channel (Straits of Dover) to the harbour is formed by the Southern Breakwater on the left and the Admiralty Pier on the right.

The cruise ship berthed at Cruise Terminal 1 (CT1) on the Admiralty Pier (right of top-centre) is the MS Saga Ruby.

MS Saga Ruby at CT1

The passenger ship has just completed the "Treasures of the Anglo-Celtic Isles" cruise that called at various ports in England, Scotland, Wales, Nothern Ireland, and Eire (Ireland).

The cruise began at Dover on August the 11th and had the following itinerary: Dover, Edinburgh, Kirkwall, Portree, Greenock (Glasgow), Belfast, Holyhead (Wales), Dublin, Cork, Falmouth, Guernsey (Channel Islands), Dover.

A close-up of the MS Saga Ruby was taken a little later from the Prince of Wales Pier. Click on the thumbnail or MS Saga Ruby Cruise Ship and Neptune Catamaran in the Western Docks.

See all ships belonging to Saga Cruises photos.

Elsewhere in the main photo:

The Keep, or Great Tower, of Dover Castle from the King's Gateway, Kent, UK

The north-western face of Dover Castle's Keep, or Great Tower, with the North Tower on the left and the West Tower on the right:


(Click this Great Tower of Dover Castle text link to see the largest size)

Dover Castle Keep at Night

The 12th Century Norman Keep was built in the 1180s with AD 1180-1185 often being the range quoted.

The length of the sides and height of the corner towers vary, but the Keep is approximately 100 feet square, over 80 feet high, and has walls up to 21 feet thick. It was designed by Henry II’s architect, 'Maurice the Engineer' (or mason; Latin: Ingeniator).

The North Tower and South Tower (or Flag Tower) both have spiral staircases leading from ground level up to the roof; the East Tower and West Tower do not.

To the left of the North Tower, and about two-thirds of its height, is the Forebuilding (main entrance), the largest of the period in England.

The Keep has three floors (ground, first, and second) that now contain a 2010 English Heritage representation of a medieval Royal Palace and Royal Court.

The largest pair of windows - in line with the top of the Forebuilding - are those of the second floor: