Dover Beach — Attraction in Dover

The speaker looks out upon a calm sea, and observes the fullness of the tide and the moon reflecting on the water. Looking across the English channel, the speaker sees the lights of the French coast fade away, while the cliffs of the English coast stand tall and bright, and the bay seems calm. Suddenly, the speaker addresses someone else, and implores this person to come and look at what the speaker is looking at, and to enjoy the night's pleasant air. The speaker senses something is not quite right, and describes the spray where the water meets the moonlit land. The speaker instructs the other person to listen to the sound of the pebbles as the waves shift them back and forth, up the beach and down again. The speaker notes this slow repeating action, and identifies it with eternal sadness.

All of a sudden, the speaker thinks about the ancient Greek playwright, Sophocles, and imagines Sophocles hearing the same sadness in the Aegean Sea as the speaker hears now on the English coast. Sophocles, in the mind of the speaker, likens the sad sound of the waves to the general sorrow of humanity, which moves like the waves. The speaker then notices another thought that comes with the sound of the sea.

Explaining this next thought, the speaker describes religious faith as a sea that was once full like the tide. At that time, it reached around the earth like a girdle. Now, though, the speaker just hears that sea's sad retreat. As the Sea of Faith becomes smaller, says the speaker, it disappears into the atmosphere and leaves the edges of the world naked.

The speaker suddenly addresses the companion as "love," and states desperately that the two of them need to treat each other with honesty and authenticity. This is because the world, though it has a dream-like quality of variety, beauty and newness, doesn't actually offer joy, love or clarity. Neither, claims the speaker, can it provide certainty, peace, or relief from pain. The speaker then compares their collective situation to standing on a flat and dark piece of land, which is caught up in the chaos of fighting. Here, battles between unknowing groups continue under the cover...

On the coastline, in the water Your mirage is like a stalker I should push him off the cliffside 'Cause he's coloring my insides ocean blue And everywhere I look, I look at you It's true Up in my imagination, I rehearse our conversations And at least I'm never lonely Even though I know you're only in my mind And there's no point in covering my eyes, even when I try I hear your voice over and over Sitting on the beach of Dover What is happening? Oh, dear I keep wishing you were here And I swear, I'm gonna lose it If I keep playing your music But what else is there to do? Everywhere I look I just see you In my self made isolation, You're my only inspiration When the mirror says I'm ugly And if anybody loves me, it's a lie And right before I'm swallowed By my mind and cursing at the sky I hear your voice over and over Sitting on the beach of Dover What is happening? Oh, dear I keep wishing you were here And I swear, I'm gonna lose it If I keep playing your music But what else is there to do? Everywhere I look, I just see you It's deep red, my broken dream My last breath, the king and queen The world ends, it's you and me In my head if we can be together Maybe we'll live forever Sand between my toes I've got vertigo I'm afraid of heights If I could I'd cry We've got incompatible star signs I'm in love with you What's the point in looking at the view? 'Cause every time I do I just see you (I just see you) It's deep red, my broken dream My last breath, the king and queen The world ends, it's you and me In my head if we can be together Maybe we'll live forever I met your ghost, he followed me Down to the coast of Dover Beach I talk to you in poetry You stole the view of Dover Beach I met your ghost, he followed me Down to the coast of Dover Beach I scream at you in poetry You stole the view...

Pros: Its beautiful. When the sun is out the place glows. The view of the port and the white cliffs from wherever you are adds to the beauty. Its about a 12-15 walk from Dover Priory Station. Plenty of car parks nearby. Both Dover Castle and the Cliffs are about 25mins walk each from the beach. The sand is about 98% pebbles, so bring beach shoes but the beach itself is nice. Water is cold though and be weary of the tide.

Cons: For as beautiful as the beach and the surrounding area is, theres a distinct lack of shops/food places/entertainment nearby. There are few restaurants and pubs but they seem to be more catered to the residents at the hotels nearby. You’ll have to walk back to the high street to grab food from your normal chains which defeats the purpose of being at the beach. The place could use a proper chippy or...