Perched high above the town, Dover Castle is second only to Stonehenge as the most popular English Heritage attraction in the country, attracting 330,000 visitors annually. In 2009, a £2.45 million project saw a major re-interpretation of Henry II’s Great Tower to re-create the splendour of a royal court in the late 12th century. This included the interiors of the King's Hall, the King's Chamber, the Guest Hall, the Guest Chamber, the privy kitchen and the armoury to evoke their original appearance. Further investment in 2011, saw the opening of a new visitor experience, ‘Operation Dynamo: Rescue from Dunkirk’, telling the story of the Dunkirk Evacuation of 1940 which was masterminded from secret wartime tunnels beneath Dover Castle.
Further along the coast Deal Castle was built by Henry VIII and is one of the finest Tudor artillery castles in the country. Also built by Henry VIII Walmer Castle & Gardens is the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, a post held by the Duke of Wellington (his boots are still there!), Sir Winston Churchill, and the Queen Mother. Richborough Roman Fort & Ampitheatre is perhaps the most symbolically important of all Roman sites in Britain. Built close to the site of the first Roman landing in Britain in AD43, Richborough was a an important Roman military and civil centre.