White Cliffs and a perfect castle: Dover delivers on big moments

My accommodation at the Best Western Premier Dover Marina Hotel and Spa overlooks the esplanade to Dover Beach and on to the English Channel. The beach is pebbled, but that's the way it should be. Busy ferries cross the channel back and forth to France. On a clear day, you can see the lights of Calais.

On Castle Hill to the east of the town looms magical Dover Castle, the fortress of Henry II who, like every previous English king since William the Conqueror, was actually French.

Dover Castle is the perfect English castle. I cannot understand why it is not better known. Even I had never been before, and I'm a [looks for word in online thesaurus that means a "person who really likes castles"; finds none] person who really likes castles.

Fortifications on the site predate Henry II, who ruled from 1154 to 1189, but much of the huge surviving structure was built to express his power. The king was particularly concerned with impressing the courts of Flanders and the king of France, as Henry also ruled the Angevin Empire, which included half of France.

So Henry built a gloriously traditional castle, which looked the way that medieval people knew castles should look, carrying the message that Henry's monarchy was legitimate and traditional and they shouldn't worry too much when he waged war on forces led by his wife and children.

The design was already a little out of date. It was one of the last castles built with a square keep. By the time it was raised, it was already known that round towers offered more effective defence, but they somehow did not look so stern and glorious.

One of the wonderful things about Dover Castle is the way that many of the interiors have been decorated in a reasonable re-creation of medieval style. We tend to think of castles as the grey, sombre sum of their stonework, but they were gaudy, lively citadels, indulging the medieval love of colour and pageantry with wall hangings, paintings and other elaborate decorations that reflected the monarch's power and prestige.

At Dover Castle, life has been breathed back into the kitchen, banqueting halls, bed chambers and armoury, making it easier to imagine the daily bustle of the Great Tower. And the views from the rooftop, through the crenellations to fields, farms and France, are, well, regal.

It's not just medieval history that's waiting to be relived at the castle. A Secret Wartime Tunnels exhibition explores how defensive tunnelling began at the site in 1797, when Britain feared an invasion by Napoleon. During the Second World War, the catacombs housed the command centre for Operation Dynamo, the British Army's 1940 evacuation from Dunkirk to Dover by the Royal Navy along with pretty much anyone else in the south of England who happened to own a boat. During the Cold War, the tunnels were prepared as a base for the centre of regional government in the aftermath of a nuclear attack - a role they only surrendered in the 1980s, when it became apparent that they were no longer radiation-proof.

Incredibly, Castle Hill is also the location of the magnificent St Mary in Castro Saxon church and the eight-sided Roman lighthouse Pharos, the tallest and most complete Roman structure in Britain. The ancient masonry of Pharos lends the watchtower a weary face, as if it has seen everything come and go time and again over the years - which, of course, it has.

A scenic and fairly gentle climb down from Castle Hill takes the visitor along a narrow, winding alley that runs to the White Horse pub, which claims to be Dover's oldest inn. For years, successful channel swimmers have stopped by the White Horse to celebrate their achievement and write their name on the roof and walls. The fastest recorded crossing was clocked by Australian Trent Grimsey, who covered the distance in six hours and 55 minutes in 2012. Another Aussie, Chloe McCardel, has made the record number of crossings (44) and is the crowned "Queen of the Channel". Susie Maroney did the fastest-ever two-way women's swim in 1991.

I would have swum the channel myself, but it occurred to me that I could cut out the middle part and go straight to the pub, where I could sit cradling a pint of Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter and reading the graffiti on the walls.

It is striking how many Australians have left their marks in the White Horse, from "Team Prendiville", seven siblings from Perth, who contributed the inscription "the longest hour is never over until the skinny sister sings", to Hamish Hall of Tasmania, who left a helpful sketch of his swimming shorts.

Away from the seafront, Dover is an ordinary English working town, with nothing much for tourists apart from the improbably well-preserved Bronze Age boat at Dover Museum.

Celebrity chef Marco Pierre White runs two branded eateries at the Best Western Premier: Wheeler's Fish & Chips and Mr White's English Chophouse. At the chophouse, a sinister-looking portrait celebrates White as the chef who made Gordon Ramsay cry. I once upset Ramsay myself, so I feel warm towards White.

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The prices at both joints are surprisingly reasonable, given White's name and the current terrible exchange rate. You could get away with £15.95 (about $31) for gnocchi pomodoro, or £16.50 for classic fish and chips. There's not really much point in eating anywhere else, although you might like to try one of the pubs.

I end my night in Dover with a quiet beer in the hotel bar, and a last glance at the White Cliffs. There are still no bluebirds over them, but there might be tomorrow.

I guess I will just have to wait and see.

Getting there: The writer, who has flown with many airlines from Sydney to London in the past 18 months, recommends flying with Qatar Airways. Economy return fares start at about $1976. qatarairways.com

Getting around: Dover Priory station is about 70 minutes from London St Pancras by train. One-way fares start at about $23, if you book in advance. trainline.com

Staying there: Rooms at the highly recommended and recently renovated Best Western Premier Dover Marina Hotel and Spa start at about $122 per night. dovermarinahotel.co.uk

Sights: Tickets to Dover Castle start at £20.90 ($41) for adults, £12.70 for children, and a bargain £54.50 for a family of five. Some areas of the castle clearly present problems for visitors with mobility issues. english-heritage.org.uk

Explore more: whitecliffscountry.org.uk

The writer stayed in Dover courtesy of White Cliffs Country.

Pictures: Garry Begg; Alex Hare