Dartmouth, England
Leaving the River Thames last evening during dinner, Endeavour spent a wonderfully calm night at sea. We awoke today along the southern shore of England. Though well past the White Cliffs of Dover, Captain Säterskog took us close to shore to view another outcropping of the famous chalk formation near the town of Weymouth. Formed from the calcareous skeletons of countless creatures dwelling in shallow seas, this rock body was laid down in recent (geologically speaking) times, during the upper Cretaceous Period, about 60 to 70 million years ago.
Everywhere one goes in the British Isles there are sites of historical significance. Tied up to the dock, we were adjacent to Fort Tilbury, built in 1682 to protect the Thames and London against potential Dutch and French invasions. Across the river is Gravesend where Pocahontas, the American Indian Princess who saved the life of colonist Captain John Smith, is buried. After marrying John Rolfe, she came to England where she died of a fever as she prepared to return to her native land. In the Thames Estuary, World War II fortifications built on stilts stand eerily above the water.
Set at the mouth of the River Dart, Dartmouth is an attractive and lively town with a story that goes back to Roman times when it was an important harbor. Through the centuries the port has launched numerous navel expeditions of great significance. Twelfth century Crusaders set off from Dartmouth; Sir Walter Raleigh often used the port; 1588 saw nine ships set off to do battle with the Spanish Armada; Pilgrims aboard Mayflower and Speedwell put in for repairs before heading to Plymouth and the New World; and on June 4, 1944 more than four hundred vessels set out from Dartmouth to take part in the D-Day assault.
Guarded by the 16th-century Bearscove Castle on one side, and 15th-century Kingswear Castle (pictured) on the other (for added protection a heavy chain connected to both forts could be raised across the channel to deter hostile ships), the entrance to Dartmouth is one of the most spectacular in the world.
Leaving the River Thames last evening during dinner, Endeavour spent a wonderfully calm night at sea. We awoke today along the southern shore of England. Though well past the White Cliffs of Dover, Captain Säterskog took us close to shore to view another outcropping of the famous chalk formation near the town of Weymouth. Formed from the calcareous skeletons of countless creatures dwelling in shallow seas, this rock body was laid down in recent (geologically speaking) times, during the upper Cretaceous Period, about 60 to 70 million years ago.
Everywhere one goes in the British Isles there are sites of historical significance. Tied up to the dock, we were adjacent to Fort Tilbury, built in 1682 to protect the Thames and London against potential Dutch and French invasions. Across the river is Gravesend where Pocahontas, the American Indian Princess who saved the life of colonist Captain John Smith, is buried. After marrying John Rolfe, she came to England where she died of a fever as she prepared to return to her native land. In the Thames Estuary, World War II fortifications built on stilts stand eerily above the water.
Set at the mouth of the River Dart, Dartmouth is an attractive and lively town with a story that goes back to Roman times when it was an important harbor. Through the centuries the port has launched numerous navel expeditions of great significance. Twelfth century Crusaders set off from Dartmouth; Sir Walter Raleigh often used the port; 1588 saw nine ships set off to do battle with the Spanish Armada; Pilgrims aboard Mayflower and Speedwell put in for repairs before heading to Plymouth and the New World; and on June 4, 1944 more than four hundred vessels set out from Dartmouth to take part in the D-Day assault.
Guarded by the 16th-century Bearscove Castle on one side, and 15th-century Kingswear Castle (pictured) on the other (for added protection a heavy chain connected to both forts could be raised across the channel to deter hostile ships), the entrance to Dartmouth is one of the most spectacular in the world.
