Castle · near Dover · Kent

Dover Castle

Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent. Its status is a scheduled monument. Around it, within 15 km, lie 43 more places, Dover Bronze Age Boat (800 m) first on our list.

Photo: Dover Castle, Chensiyuan (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Where

100 m

east of Dover

Run by

English Heritage

a national heritage body

How well known

Top 1%

#58 of 8,556 places we list

Warmest months

Jun–Sep

highs of 19–22°C

In brief

Castle near Dover

One of the best-known places to visit in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

#58 of the 8,556 museums, castles, gardens and other attractions we list, by how widely it is covered (36 Wikipedias). About ↓

Just outside Dover

Dover Castle is 100 m east of Dover. Towns near it ↓

Cared for by English Heritage

One of the places English Heritage looks after; members usually get in free. About ↓

Scheduled monument

On the official list of protected heritage; Dover has 140 listed buildings in all, on its History page. About ↓

Written from OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, the ONS built-up areas and Met Office 1991–2020 averages.

When to go

The climate through the year

If warmth matters, go June to September: Dover reaches 19–22°C.

Jan8° / 2°88 mm

Feb8° / 2°71 mm

Mar10° / 3°53 mm

Apr13° / 5°52 mm

May16° / 8°58 mm

Jun19° / 10°57 mm

Jul21° / 13°58 mm

Aug22° / 13°68 mm

Sep19° / 11°71 mm

Oct15° / 8°110 mm

Nov11° / 5°106 mm

Dec8° / 3°108 mm

Green months are the warmest. Typical afternoon highs and night lows in Dover, and rain in a month. Met Office HadUK-Grid 1991–2020 averages for Dover. Opening times change through the year: check before you go. Dover’s full climate →

About

Dover Castle

It is in the care of English Heritage. Readers can find it on Wikipedia in 36 languages.

Dover’s listed buildings and monuments →

Type: Castle
Run by: English Heritage
Listed: Scheduled monument
Wikipedias: Covered in 36 languages
Town: 100 m east of Dover
Official site: english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dover-castle

Facts: Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors).

The map

Dover Castle and what surrounds it

Numbered points are the places near Dover Castle, which is in orange.

Towns near it

Towns within reach of Dover Castle

Largest of the 8 is Dover, home to 36,349. The towns whose pages list it: the one it is in, those within 5 km of it, then larger towns further out.

1 · 100 m west of it

Dover

36,349 people · 28 places to visit

2 · 1 km north of it

Guston

1,684 people · 25 places to visit

3 · 2.7 km northwest of it

Whitfield

6,509 people · 24 places to visit

4 · 3.8 km northeast of it

St Margaret's at Cliffe

2,399 people · 20 places to visit

Compare the 8 towns

Town	Where Dover Castle is	People	Places to visit
Dover	100 m west of it	36,349	28
Guston	1 km north of it	1,684	25
Whitfield	2.7 km northwest of it	6,509	24
St Margaret's at Cliffe	3.8 km northeast of it	2,399	20
Alkham	6.9 km west of it	322	6
Lydden	6.9 km northwest of it	687	3
East Studdal	7.8 km north of it	259	3
Capel-le-Ferne	8.2 km west of it	1,962	8

Each has its own grades, prices and things to do.

Make a day of it

What else is near Dover Castle

43 more lie within 15 km, 3 museums, 3 forts and 2 castles among them.

MuseumDover Bronze Age Boat800 m away 2

Castle · English HeritageDeal Castle12 km away 3

Fort · English HeritageDover Western Heights1.8 km away 4

Castle · English HeritageWalmer Castle9.6 km away 5

MuseumDover Museum800 m away 6

Fort · National TrustFan Bay Deep Shelter2.8 km away 7

FortFort Burgoyne800 m away 8MuseumMuseum · English HeritagePWRR & Queens Regiment Museum200 m away

Within 15 km, close and well known first. Numbers match the map.

Before visiting Dover Castle

Where is Dover Castle?

Dover Castle is 100 m east of Dover, Kent.

What is Dover Castle?

Medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England, UK.

Who runs Dover Castle?

English Heritage, so members usually get in free; check opening times before you go.

When is the best time to visit Dover Castle?

June to September are the warmest months in Dover, with afternoon highs of 19–22°C (Met Office 1991–2020 averages).

Is Dover Castle a listed building?

Yes: scheduled monument.

What else is there to see near Dover Castle?

Within 15 km: Dover Bronze Age Boat (800 m), Deal Castle (12 km), Dover Western Heights (1.8 km) and Walmer Castle (9.6 km).

Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.

Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (8)

Dover Castle: Chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Dover Bronze Age Boat: mari from tokyo, japan, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Deal Castle: JimRussell, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Dover Western Heights: Paul Wells, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Walmer Castle: Lieven Smits, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Dover Museum: Nessy-Pic, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Fan Bay Deep Shelter: Inklin235, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Fort Burgoyne: Chris, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.