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One of the most unusual of Henry VIII's forts is the diminutive
castle at DEAL , six miles southeast of Sandwich and site of Julius
Caesar's first successful landfall in Britain in 55 BC. The Castle (April-Sept
daily 10am-6pm; Oct daily 10am-5pm; Nov-March Wed-Sun 10am-4pm; £3.10;
EH) is situated off the Strand at the south end of town. Its unusual
shape - viewed from the air it looks like a Tudor rose - is as much an
affectation as a defensive design, based on the premise that rounded
walls would be better at deflecting missiles. Inside, the comprehensive
display on the other similar forts built during Henry VIII's reign is
well worth a visit. Much more recently, the town was the focal point of
Kent's small-scale coal industry, until the pits were shut down during
the bitterly fought retrenchments of the 1980s.
Walmer Castle (April-Sept daily 10am-6pm; Oct daily 10am-5pm; Nov, Dec &
March Wed-Sun 10am-4pm; Feb Sat & Sun 10am-4pm; £4.80; EH), a mile south
of Deal, is another rotund Tudor-rose-shaped affair, albeit with a more
conventional interior, commissioned when the castle became the official
residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1730. Now it
resembles a heavily fortified stately home more than a military
stronghold. The best-known Lord Warden was the Duke of Wellington, who
died here in 1842 - the house is devoted primarily to his life and
times; busts and portraits of the Iron Duke crowd the rooms and
corridors, where you'll also find the armchair in which he expired and
the original Wellington boots in which he triumphed at Waterloo.
Deal's tourist office (mid-May to mid-Sept Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat
10am-4pm; rest of year Mon-Fri 9am-12.30pm & 1.30-5pm; tel 01304/369576,
) is situated in the Town Hall on the High Street near the sea, about a
ten-minute walk from the train station . In Deal there's a whole host of
places offering accommodation on Beach Street: try the winsome King's
Head pub (tel 01304/368194; £50-60), or the nearby town house of Channel
View , at no. 17, run by the same proprietor (same phone number and
prices). Another option is Dunkerley's , next door at no. 19 (tel
01304/375016, ; £90-110), whose restaurant is Deal's finest (and
priciest). For more reasonably priced seafood try the Lobster Pot on
Beach Road (tel 01304/374713), opposite the pier.
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