Ratings

Buggy - suitable if large wheeled.
Carrier - good, stairs in castle could be a little hazardous.
Walking - there is quite a bit of uphill walking to do here, so depends on child.
Wheelchair - very hilly, and limited access to some inner areas.

Things to note

English Heritage property, membership required or pay on entry.

The site is VERY hilly and there is limited accommodation for those with mobility issues, this is understandable due to the age and design of the castle.

Buggies are not permitted in the Great Tower.

Dover Castle

There can be few more impressive sights than Dover Castle, on its high point above Dover, looking out to the English Channel and the Port of Dover below.

Dover Castle has a rich history, as an enforcement point for French invaders, with the shortest crossing point of the channel. Over the course of over 800 years the castle has been added to create the monolithic building of today! 

The first thing that should be noted, particularly for those with limited mobility is that there are very few disabled ramps - those pesky medieval castle builders clearly didn't have the disabled in mind when they started building the defence system!

If required, there is disabled parking right near the entrance to the Great Tower, although you need to ask for this before entering the main car park, or they will just direct you towards general parking.

We met my daughter, with her partner and two children on the day we visited. Their two children loved scrambling over the grass areas, the ramparts and the generally accessible areas of the castle. It is important to note, again, being an old castle, built on a hill - there are some big drops over the walls, which can quite easily be scaled from inside the castle - so be super aware if you have a child who likes to explore and climb.

There are some cracking views down to the Port of Dover, the town and out to sea. On a clear day France is visible from the observation station, this station was used during the last small boats "invasion" - the evacuation of Dunkirk! On the day of our visit there were two super helpful gentlemen, of a more senior age, explaining the workings of the observation area.

The whole castle has played strategic importance for Britain over the centuries and at times has housed large numbers of soldiers and ancillary staff. The numbers of staff have been so great at times that a series of tunnels have been built under the castle, hosting billets for the staff, a command station for Operation Neptune (the Navy part of D-Day) and also a small hospital.

It is possible to visit the underground hospital and some of the operation command tunnels, to get a feel of what it would have been like during war-time. These tunnels are quite dark and claustrophobic and would possibly be a challenge for some autistic children. Fortunately for us, our Little One had fallen asleep just before going in and stayed that way the whole way round, despite the flashing lights, noises and commentary - also, to be noted, at the end of the tour there is a set of 72 stairs to climb - for the less able there is a lift offered, which was gratefully received by us and others in our party using a pushchair.

From the tunnels we walked uphill, checking out some of the aforementioned views over the battlements - reminder - there is a sheer drop over the side at times, and not very high walls. Of note, we did discover a herd of sheep grazing on the hill side of the castle. We couldn't work out how they got there and our best conclusion was that they had been parachuted in, probably as spy sheep, during the Second World War and their descendants live on!

We reached the Great Tower, where the first thing you discover is that there is no access for pushchairs or wheelchairs - those pesky builders again, fancy forgetting to put a lift in! In our case Little One was able, to manage the various sets of stairs, to get the best of the Tower experience, all the while on a wrist strap.

There are several rooms laid out throughout the tower, to give you an impression of what life might have been like 100s of years ago!

Having climbed many stairs, we eventually found our way onto the roof of the Tower. The views again from here were to be admired, although it was so windy we just wanted to get a quick snap and away! My granddaughter can be seen displaying her best Jedward fringe in the below photo - I can assure you, it's not normally like that, although for me, this was one of the advantages of not having much hair...

One of the things that had impressed me when we came in, is this must be one of the only castles I have ever visited where you actually drive into the castle grounds and park within the walls. There is a small single carriage section, controlled by traffic lights, but that all added to the wonder of driving into the castle.