It’s not day by day you wind up at a lock-in with a circle of latest finest mates. However that is Dover and, as I’m to be taught, it’s stuffed with surprises, regardless of having been overshadowed by Deal and Folkestone as a vacation spot in its personal proper.
Holding court docket on the White Horse is convivial proprietor and “impolite bald man” Stuart Fox (his moniker is chalked above the bar) who, collectively together with his accomplice Julian Crowley, runs the oldest pub on the town.
Housed in a 700-year-old constructing, the White Horse has been an alehouse since 1574, the cellar as soon as a morgue for our bodies recovered from the ocean. These days, most famously, its partitions are adorned with the victory scribbles of cross-Channel swimmers, a observe first began in 2002. However with no extra space left, “it’s not allowed,” says Stuart, firmly – however not, the truth is, rudely.
Rewind again to lunchtime and the solar is streaming into the pub’s panelled rooms, refurbished this yr to “strip again a long time of lead paint to the pure wooden”, says Stuart. My buddy Zeren and I are tucking into the home speciality, an unlimited golden-crusted home made pie with deep hen and bacon filling.
I’m right here as a result of I’m fascinated by Dover. A Margate boy, I’ve written concerning the Kent coast for 15 years, however till now, solely talked about the city in passing. And but I’ve heard the rumours about artists shifting into low cost studio house, the brand new taprooms, the under-the-radar eating places; then there’s the regeneration of the city centre, and £250m revival of the Western Docks, together with a brand new cargo terminal and marina.
However Dover’s previous is equally fascinating: probably the most historic British seaside city, it dates again to AD46, when the Romans established the port of Dubris. World-famous Dover Fort apart, different architectural gems embrace unspoilt Fort Road, the elegant Nineteenth-century seafront, and medieval buildings such because the 800-year-old Maison Dieu (a part of the city corridor), whose £9.1m restoration will see it reopening in 2024 as a part of a heritage quarter. However nonetheless, to locals’ dismay, the city attracts unhealthy press.
“The place Margate is conventional seaside, Dover’s industrial,” says Diederik Smet, who heads Vacation spot Dover. “And whereas there’s an especially robust neighborhood, it feels transient for guests due to the character of the ports. Its public profile is far bigger than the city, so everybody is aware of when lorries are stacking up that you simply’ll get caught in site visitors. However the truth is it’s simple from London on a high-speed practice – simply over an hour and also you’re in an Space of Excellent Pure Magnificence with unbelievable heritage.”
One other difficulty is format, with the esplanade carved up from the city by the roar of the A20. “There are large works to enhance the customer expertise,” he says. “The brand new £3.6m Market Sq. and water characteristic opens this summer season with a stage space, occasions and efficiency schedule, in addition to new food and drinks choices. E-bike rent is beginning. And, on the waterfront, the brand new Marina Curve is now residence to streetfood stalls and bars.”
After lunch, Zeren and I begin our personal exploration at wittily named new micropub The Hoptimist, earlier than a stroll alongside the River Dour to craft beer haven Breakwater Brewery for a signature Dover pale ale; we later head to its new outpost on the Marina Curve, a spectacular location for a pint with panoramic views. One other latest addition is wine bar Vinoteq, whose low-lit basement hosts atmospheric jazz nights.
However Dover’s historical past means its long-established pubs are price exploring, too. The Louis Armstrong is an unspoilt reside music venue with a wealthy vein of cultural historical past. Initially referred to as The Grapes (the identify modified in 1972 to honour the jazz star’s passing), its atmospheric inside appears unchanged for half a century: tankards above the bar glisten as solar rays bounce off the ochre partitions, and the partitions are full of gig posters by a stage the place reside music nonetheless takes place most nights.
“It’s the place musicians within the 60s used to play their final gig earlier than leaving for the continent,” artist Joanna Jones tells me the subsequent day. “It’s like a non secular residence. You already know, you shortly realise that Dover has had this cultural life. It has this deep historical past.”
Jones moved from Berlin in 1997, founding the artist-led not-for-profit DAD (Dover Arts Improvement) a decade later with buddy Clare Smith. Collectively, the duo has been pivotal in rebooting the artistic spirit in Dover, working with tons of of artists, bringing in over £1m of arts-led funding.
“I’d wish to query whether or not the general public notion of Dover is unsuitable, or whether or not it’s to Dover’s benefit in the long run,” she says. “If any individual bothers to take time, it’s there. What appear like empty streets comprise a lot; and whereas the city itself, being previously industrial, has a number of the most disadvantaged wards in Kent, Dover is an icon recognized all around the world. Its historical past is extra akin to a giant metropolis, regardless of a tiny inhabitants of simply over 30,000, and it's iconic merely due to leaving and arriving: typically it’s a frontier, typically it’s welcoming. However we mustn’t additionally neglect its ties with trauma: the variety of bombs within the second world struggle that went off was large. So it’s obtained all these anomalies.”
How is the city altering? “It’s going into one other enviornment now: 18 artists have relocated from London within the final two years, some with huge careers. It attracts working artists, and studio house is now what individuals are wanting extra of, and that’s what’s obtainable right here. Quite a lot of artists have taken allotments, so there’s a really thriving neighborhood. And Dover Pleasure is profitable, one thing individuals could not additionally anticipate.”
Jones is eager on its inexperienced areas, which have benefited from £3.1m lottery funding. “Kearsney Abbey and Russell Gardens are probably the most beloved parks, the place everyone goes in the summertime. And up on the White Cliffs, there’s nothing between you and the sky; I can actually breathe up there.” Whereas it’s at all times been a working city, she says, “the Dovorian spirit of bravery and resistance is there.”
I take into consideration her phrases as I tuck right into a South African chargrilled hen wrap for lunch, zingy with watermelon, mint and pomegranate. It’s from the shiny new Massive Pan streetfood stall on the just-unveiled Clocktower Sq. on Marina Curve, a waterfront brimming with positivity underneath blue skies. And certainly Dover’s eating-out scene additionally holds surprises, from two Marco Pierre White seafront eating places and firmly established native favourites like Cullin’s Yard and Aspendos to a brand new department of Folkestone’s acclaimed Thong Dee’s Thai, new artisan espresso outlets Market Sq. Kitchen and Café Melange, in addition to excellent Nepalese eating room Momohub, whose dumplings – fried, steamed or ‘jhol’ (in gravy) – are among the many most interesting plates I’ve eaten this yr.
As I return to Churchill Home, an 18th-century B&B with bohemian furnishings, I cease to stroll previous the houseplants in my non-public conservatory and up some steps to a raised terrace stuffed with outsize ferns and mature palms. You'll by no means know this little tropical paradise is in Dover.
“I like locations that don’t provide their items simply,” Jones mentioned earlier. “And that’s what I believe makes Dover attention-grabbing. What makes it develop in a novel method.”
Lodging was supplied by Vacation spot Dover on the Churchill Home B&B (doubles from £70 B&B). Comply with @destinationdover and @dover_arts.
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