Dover - looking really bad
Discussion
I've done a few road trips into Europe over the last 2 years and generally take the Ferry from Dover to Calais if we are not pressed for time as a. its usually cheaper and b. quite nice to stretch your legs and take in some sea air!
Has anyone else noticed how appalling Dover has become? I might be looking through rose tinted glasses but I never remember it being this bad 20 years ago. The boarded up shops, derelict petrol stations, it looks awful. As one of the main gateway's into the UK from Europe, I would of thought the Government would be regenerating the area. I guess the main problem faced is unless you live there, no-one is stopping to shop and there is nothing interesting to see, but it could be tidied up a bit. I guess you either work in the Port or not. Must be a lonely and strange place to exist.
Anyway, real life problems and all that. What's the solution?
Has anyone else noticed how appalling Dover has become? I might be looking through rose tinted glasses but I never remember it being this bad 20 years ago. The boarded up shops, derelict petrol stations, it looks awful. As one of the main gateway's into the UK from Europe, I would of thought the Government would be regenerating the area. I guess the main problem faced is unless you live there, no-one is stopping to shop and there is nothing interesting to see, but it could be tidied up a bit. I guess you either work in the Port or not. Must be a lonely and strange place to exist.
Anyway, real life problems and all that. What's the solution?
A good few years ago me and the wife were holidaying near the south coast and decided to get the train to Dover, pay £9 each to get on the ferry and have a day trip to Calais. Unfortunately it was when that Icelandic volcano grounded all the planes in northern Europe, so the ferry companies put an extra zero on to the ferry prices which we refused to pay (comically it was cheaper to take a car with up to 9 passengers than it was to be a foot passenger that day).
So we had a day to spend in Dover. I've never seen such a run down, boarded up town in my life. We had lunch in a terrible pub then got the next train back.
So we had a day to spend in Dover. I've never seen such a run down, boarded up town in my life. We had lunch in a terrible pub then got the next train back.
24lemons said:
It's a fair point. I've often driven off the ferry having enjoyed smooth quiet French motorways and felt the contrast in road condition and congestion to be quite shocking
You hear this a lot, but I distinctly remember the first time I got the ferry to France (Dunkirk I think), at least the first 50 miles of motorway were bloody awful. It was like driving down the WW2 airfield near my folks house with its crap surface and expansion joints. It sticks in my mind because I'd been told so often how good the roads were in France - can't help thinking there was a bit of 'everything's better on holiday' going on there. Oh yes, and Dover is indeed a dump. Can't remember the bits of Calais and Dunkirk I've seen from the car looking all that great either mind.
k that this country is worse than what i can from" Turn arround and jump bak on the boat they ame from.dme123 said:
PositronicRay said:
Calais pretty crappy as well, I just use the tunnel.
To beautiful Gare du Nord? 
When traveling south I'd hot tail it out of there to the Gare de Lyon for a spot of lunch while waiting for my connecting train. 
It isn't just that it looks like an industrial wasteland, the road surfaces and potholes are ridiculous. I guess it would happen, what with the mass of trucks bundling through added to a lack of maintenance.
Last time I was in Dover was last summer. Off to a wedding in the Netherlands. Stopped to sleep in a parking spot at the back of the BP garage for 2 hours then got on the first available ferry... didn't want to stick about to sample the delights of Dover itself. Was in Bruges for breakfast
Last time I was in Dover was last summer. Off to a wedding in the Netherlands. Stopped to sleep in a parking spot at the back of the BP garage for 2 hours then got on the first available ferry... didn't want to stick about to sample the delights of Dover itself. Was in Bruges for breakfast
Yes, we stayed in a hotel just around the corner from the Ferry terminal - you could see the terminals from the hotel windows.
Decided to go for a walk to get some tea, and I was genuinely displeased with the place. The town center was not a nice place at all. The side streets leading form Hotel to main town where retched.
The place just had an un-easy atmosphere too.
Decided to go for a walk to get some tea, and I was genuinely displeased with the place. The town center was not a nice place at all. The side streets leading form Hotel to main town where retched.
The place just had an un-easy atmosphere too.
Is this a real sign or are the graffiti vandals members of Brake?
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.1257723,1.310727...
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.1257723,1.310727...
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