The key to England - Dover Waterfront parkrun #73 - 29/03/25

aqasanu
Mar 31
3 min read

Updated: Jun 2

Joining the 500 club last week at Burgess parkrun was a jamboree of an occasion; I had feared an inevitable come down this week. However, parkrun is the gift that keeps giving, and this week proved to be an absolute belter.

The White Cliffs of Dover. By Immanuel Giel - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25365041 — The White Cliffs of Dover are iconic.By Immanuel Giel - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25365041

The White Cliffs of Dover are on the English coastline, facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, the closest point from Great Britain to France, is 350ft and boasts a striking appearance due to chalk and streaks of black flint. It is part of the Dover to Kingsdown Cliffs and a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation. It is an iconic UK landmark protected by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as a Scheduled Monument, and it provides an incredible backdrop for this week’s parkrun tourism.

Dover Waterfront parkrun started as recently as September 2023, which perhaps is why it hasn’t made many parkrun Hall of Fame lists; however, it easily makes my top 10. This is an event which took my breath away.

The event starts at the Sea Sports Centre, part of the Dover Western Docks revival project completed in 2019. You head east along the waterfront Marine Parade with the beautiful buildings to your left and the English Channel to your right, heading down to the fabled white cliffs. You head down to the first marshal point and back to the start, where you take a left going along the Dover Marina pier, over the water to the end, coming back along the pier with the white cliffs of Dover to your right. The original loop is then repeated with the finish back where it all started.

Dover Waterfront parkrun, March 2025 — Runners, walkers and buggy at the ready! Photo credit Samenua Sesher

The course had zero elevation and, with its out-and-back elements, offered opportunities to cheer on other participants. As I lined up at the start, under the bluest of skies and minimal wind, the stage was set to record my fastest 5k of the year so far—and that was without my carbon-plated shoes on. The views are wonderful, the marshals great, and the course is one of the fastest of the 120 events I’ve attended.

With the run completed and thanks given to the volunteers, the day still young and the sky so cobalt blue, we decided to visit the magnificent and possibly the largest medieval castle in England, Dover Castle. Dover is the closest point to the continent of Europe. It is described as the ‘Key to England’ with the Romans building encampments and the octagonal tower-like lighthouses. It was in 1080 that King William the Conqueror established significant fortifications on the cliffs, but his great grandson, Henry II, the first Plantagenet King of England, founded the medieval castle we have today.

Dover Castle is managed by English Heritage and all the whistles and bells you can expect from them. The NAAFI restaurant offers hot food, which made for a great post-parkrun brunch (was too hungry to take a picture) and the Great Tower Cafe to recharge your energy supplies. A day ticket gives access to the church St Mary de Castro, the secret Wartime Tunels beneath the castle, a Siege Play Area and of course the Medieval Great Tower adorned with pomp, majesty and costumed interpreters to immerse you into the era.

Inside St Mary de Castro church, part of the Dover castle complex.

Once again parkrun tourism had taken me to a place I might otherwise never have visited and a simply exceptional day out. Parkrun really is the infinite game, where the joy is in the ongoing experience!