Dover Priory is the main station for Dover, one of the best-known port towns on Britain's south…read morecoast. It's a terminus of the South East Main Line from London, and of the Dover Branch of the Chatham Main Line - so as well as services to London St Pancras, Victoria and Charing Cross, it's well connected with the rest of Kent. First opened as a temporary station in 1861, today it's very much a permanent one and has a striking whitewashed facade that dates back to a modernization project in 1932. The station is just west of the town centre, with the shops around Biggin street a five-minute walk away. At the end of Biggin Street, you'll find the Grade 2 listed St Mary's Church, with the pleasant Pencester Gardens behind it. Keep heading south and you'll come to the waterfront, with Dover Marina to your right and the busy ferry terminal to your left.

Dover Priory is the main station in Dover, situated close to the town centre…read more History Dover has an unusually complex railway history. The first line opened in 1844 from London via Redhill terminated at a point at the foot of Shakespeare Cliffs, extended to the Admiralty Pier in 1860. This line was extended to a new station, Dover Marine, opened in 1921 (later renamed Dover Western Docks). Meanwhile, the London Chatham and Dover Railway had opened its line from the north, with a station at Dover Priory in 1861. This line was extended under the cliffs to the harbour later the same year, appropriately called Dover Harbour, and also extended to the Admiralty Pier station in 1864 and Dover Marine in 1921. Unsurprisingly, rationalisation was needed, with the closure of Admiralty Station when services were diverted to Dover Marine; Dover Town in 1914; Dover Harbour in 1927; and Dover Marine in 1994 (with the onset of services via the Channel Tunnel). Dover Harbour's station buildings can still be seen next to Limekiln Roundabout on the A20, and Dover Marine is now a cruise-liner terminal. This has left Dover Priory as the town's only station. The current main building was built by the Southern Railway in a modernist style in 1932. The station forecourt is currently undergoing a substantial refurbishment. The station has three platforms. Services The stations has two trains per hour to London Charing Cross via Sevenoaks; two trains per hour to London Victoria via Canterbury East and Chatham, and an hourly service to Ramsgate via Deal. Since December 2009, the station has also benefited from the new high-speed 140mph (225kph) service to London St Pancras via Ashford and the high-speed line used by Eurostar trains. Facilities As well as a ticket office and waiting area, there is a cash-machine, taxi rank, a small car park, and cycle storage. There is level access (via lifts) to all platforms.

Well kept rural station that transports you back to the age of steam. With its little tea room and…read moretoy museum its well worth a visit.

A delightful and charming time is to be had riding this marrow gauge railway. We took a journey…read morefrom Dymchurch to Dungeness and then back again. A delight from start to end and this from an avowed non trainspotter! The views are stunning and varied, looking inland across green fields and verdant lushness to the views at Dungeness across pebble and shingle stretching away for what feels like miles . . . The staff are helpful and hugely courteous, dedicated to fault, and all the more remarkable for being volunteers. Do take a trip on this railway if you can, the memory of it will stay with you for quite a while.

This is listed in two places, so I thought I'd copy my review across!…read more This is a 1/3 (15 inch guage) railway that runs from Hythe to Dungeness (13 miles). It was conceived by two rich men; Captain Howey and Count Louis Zborowski. It was opened in July 1927, but sadly the Count had died at the Monza Grand Prix before he could see his dream realised. It is really fascinating, with both diesel and steam trains running on the line. The station at New Romney gives a wonderful view of these old, small steam trains from the footbridge that crosses the platforms. It's a lot of fun to take the train from New Romney to Dungeness with kids. The carriages are tiny - there is no standing or moving about in them! There are both covered and open carriages depending on the weather and preference. The gift shop is very train orientated and there are lots of interesting things to buy at all ranges of the budget. I particularly love this train service, as it passes right across the end of my father's garden! It looses a star for being just so expensive though! If you were to take two adults and three children on it for the full 13 miles (Hythe to Dungeness) and back, it would cost over 50 quid! For more information... Webiste: http://www.rhdr.org.uk Tel: 01797 362353

Not a nice train station. After disembarking with a summer's worth of luggage, you are expected to…read moreclimb steps. There is an elevator (lift) at the terminal end of the platform, but you have to walk across tracks to get to it and it is blocked off. Does the EU not have an accessibility code for public conveniences?

Simple, fast and a good option for travellers with pets…read more We went to the UK this year and took the Tunnel both ways. We had our dog with, so this was way faster than taking the ferry and we didn't have to be seperated from our doggy. Prices are similar to the ferries. Taking the dog from the UK into mainland EU is simple. No special preparations are needed. The boarding areas both in Folkestone is pretty big with plenty of shops and fast food chains. Pet areas as well. The arriving area is quite a bit smaller. Just a shop or two and some fast food chain. Small pet area and a gas station. That's it. But it's all you need I guess. The Check-In is pretty fast (even faster if you prepare everything in advance online) and the lines are moving quickly. We got chosen randomly for a security check, which took a few minutes. Enough to miss our booked train. But that's wasn't a big deal, the next train left in 25 minutes, and we didn't have to do anything extra to get on that one. Time enough to eat a Burger in the car in the waiting line. Once inside it's a fast ride and pretty smooth and quiet. Most people stayed inside their cars....but you can wander around a bit, if you fancy a talk with some travellers. Exiting the trains is a fast affair. In a matter of minutes after arriving you'll find yourself on the motorway. Be sure to drive on the correct side :) We really liked the Tunnel. Of course, a ferry might be more enjoyable when it comes to travel. But if you have a pet, I'd go for the Tunnel. It's all very well organised. Travelling from Folkestone to Calais is a bit easier. Everything is thought trough very well with good signs. From Calais to Folkestone it's a bit more difficult.

The train service between U.K. and France is awesome. It's quick and you stay in your vehicle as…read moreyou cross the English Channel and it takes about 35 mins. We chose the train as you are allowed to stay with your pet in the car, something the ferry does not allow. We had initially booked the ferry and ended up canceling it for the simple reason that you had to leave the dog in cargo in car. The train was easy and quick without stress for all. Prices are not too dissimilar to the ferry and the process is fairly quick and easy. Would definitely use this service again. It was my first time and I really liked it.

The small town of St Omer is well-known to many British travellers as one of the first stops in…read moreFrance having arrived at Calais off the ferry. With the TGV rushing straight onto Lille, it's less likely that they'll arrive by train these days, which is a pity, as it has a wonderful railway station. Constructed in 1903, it's a grand building, built in a classical French-chateau style in an attractive creamy-yellow stone. The central booking hall is two storeys high, with large windows and an impressive mansard roof, and is flanked by two symmetrical office buildings. It's an impressive monument, even if, up close, it is a little in need of repair. The station behind is a little disappointing after this initial grandeur, with three platforms, only one of which has a proper canopy. That said, it has all the facilities you'd need for a local journey, including a cafe, ticket windows and information office. There is parking in the square in front and a taxi rank. Situated on the north-east outskirts of the town (about a 15-minute walk from the centre), it's served by the regular and frequent Boulogne-Lille trains and the less frequent Calais-Arras services. Both are operated by the TER (Transport Express Régional) service of the Nord'Pas de Calais region, with new, double-decker electric trains.

Ashford International is a major rail interchange in south east Kent, and since 1996, has also been…read moreserved by the London-Paris/Brussels Eurostar service. The station is used by 2.8 million passengers a year, with a further 400,000 changing between trains. History The station opened in December 1842 by the South Eastern Railway on its line from London to Dover via Redhill, which was completed through to Dover in 1844. A line through Canterbury to Ramsgate opened in 1846, and to Hastings via Rye in 1851. The current 'main line' via Maidstone was opened in 1884, initially to a separate station, by the London, Chatham and Dover railway; services were diverted into the present station in 1899. The station was connected into the line to the Channel Tunnel in 1996, and to the high-speed line to London St Pancras in 2007. The present station dates from a rebuilding to accommodate the beginning Eurostar services in 1996, and is entirely of modern design in steel and glass, with a large multi-storey car-park in a matching style. The station essentially comprises three island platforms: platforms 1 & 2 and 5 & 6 handle domestic traffic, with 3 & 4 handling Eurostar trains. Platforms 3 & 4 have separate, controlled access to meet immigration and customs requirements. Domestic Services The station has regular services to London Charing Cross and London Victoria, and to Dover Priory, Ramsgate, Canterbury West, Margate, and Brighton via Hastings and Eastbourne. Many services divide or attach carriages here. Since December 2009, the station has also had 140 mph (225kph) high-speed domestic services to London via Ebbsfleet International and Stratford International, taking 37 minutes to St Pancras International. International Services The initial service of 7 trains to Paris and 5 to Brussels was reduced on the opening of Ebbsfleet International in 2007. There are now three return services to Paris, one to Brussels and one to Disneyland Paris via Lille. Services Passenger facilities are surprisingly basic for so busy a station: the station has large car parks (charges apply) and covered storage for 148 cycles, and there are small cafe outlets on each of the domestic island platforms (1/2 and 5/6). There is also a small tourist information office. The station has level access throughout and a disabled toilet.

its a very busy station with poor facilities. We sometimes use this station when we stop off from…read morevisiting family in Folkestone at the Ashford Designer Outlet (http://www.qype.co.uk/place/68597-McArthur-Glen-Ashford--Ashford) - a few minutes walk away. Poor facilities for an International Station nowhere for coffee except the really grim and overpriced Pumpkin station cafes on two of the platforms and a couple of independent cafes on site. Disinterested staff and overpriced dull food and very average coffee. Nothing else around it so they have a captive market. Really not good enough for an International Station.