Dover and its Hoverports

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[Hoverports page]

From the first commercial cross-channel hovercraft operated by Seaspeed, a division of the government run British Rail at the time, Dover has had a hoverport of some description. The SRN1 used the beaches at Dover for its historic landing, as have a few other craft over the years, but for no permanent base.

Two hoverports have been constructed at Dover, one remains today as spare land to the West, and the other to the East was used for the early SRN4 Mk I and II craft until the SRN4 Mk III outgrew it, requiring the construction of the Western hoverport.

The Port of Dover is 2.76 x 1.4 km, roughly, and is surrounded on three sides by concrete breakwaters. It has two entrances for shipping, the Western entrance being the widest at 220m, and the Eastern entrance the smaller at 200m. The main ferry port at the "Eastern Docks" operates next to the Eastern breakwater, consisting now of nine berths for the ferry companies Sea France, P&O and Norfolk Line, which operate passenger and freight services to France and Belgium. The Eastern Docks stretch over 1.2km at their longest point.

To the other side of the harbour, past the Prince of Wales pier, is the Western Docks. These house the Dover Cruise Terminal and its three cruise liner berths on the Admiralty Pier, two marinas including Granville Dock and Wellington Dock, and the old pad of the Western docks Hoverport and terminal buildings.

• Dover Eastern Docks
• Dover Eastern Docks Hoverport
• Dover Western Docks Hoverport

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Dover Eastern Docks

Paul Stevens sent these photos of Dover as it used to be, showing the Eastern Docks as they used to be (see the later photo of Dover as it is now). The Eastern Docks hoverport is clearly visible in the centre of the frame, with two craft on the pad. The second photograph of the Prince of Wales pier shows the pier in its original design, that being with an open metal frame. The building of the Western Docks hoverport saw the extension and filling in of the pier to its current form, with corrugated iron sides and concrete.

Gallery 1 - Dover Eastern Docks Hoverport
	Eastern Docks Hoverport - Note the concrete berths in the left foreground, now replaced by more modern metal gantries. Regulars to Dover will know how much has changed.
	Prince of Wales Pier - Since the extension, a cafeteria was built around the end lighthouse, but was destroyed after storm damage and replaced a more modern building, the old "Fo'Castle" and now "The Lighthouse"
	A picture from Langdon Cliffs in 2004 looking South-West, across the Harbour in Dover. More has changed than can be mentioned, except the weather that is! (Photo: J Rowson, 2004).

Photos and postcards sent by Nigel Thornton showing the old Port of Dover before today's developments. Note how sparse the port was, and the WWII submarine pens visible as what appear to be floating garages, in the bottom two photographs, which also show the Eastern hoverport under construction in the foreground.

Gallery 2 - Dover Eastern Docks Hoverport
Postcard image from the far northern end of Langdon Cliffs, showing Dover East hoverport under construction	Panoramic photograph showing the early stages of construction of the soon-to-be Dover Eastern Docks hoverport	A very old shot of Dover Harbour from above the Western Docks, before a large amount of development took place and even with coal delivery pylons still in place
Left-most side of the panoramic image above, showing the concrete ferry berths of Dover Eastern Docks and the World War II submarine pens (distant buildings), only demolished in the late 1990s	Dover East hoverport under construction, as viewed the Langdon Cliffs , from directly above	Dover East hoverport under construction, from the Langdon Cliffs, further north
Dover Eastern Docks and the completed Dover East hoverport, complete with one SRN4, possibly from the Castle or Admiralty Lookout	An SRN4 arriving at Dover East Hoverport	SeaSpeed SRN4 The Princess Anne at Dover Eastern Docks hoverport

The following photos are of activities at Dover's Eastern Docks and its Hoverport, operated by Seaspeed, using their two craft at the time, those being The Princess Anne and The Princess Margaret. Photos kindly sent by Pete Stevens

Gallery 3 - Seaspeed craft at Dover Eastern Docks Hoverport
Townsend Thoreson ferry leaving the Eastern entrance of Dover Harbour	Seaspeed SRN4 on arrival into Dover	Seaspeed SRN4 arriving into Dover Eastern Docks hoverport
Seaspeed SRN4 arriving at Dover Eastern Docks hoverport	View of Dover Eastern Docks from the Western Heights, showing the ferry berths and the hoverport	Close-up of the hoverport at Dover Eastern Docks, showing the Princess Margaret off to the north side of the pad
Both Seaspeed SRN4s at Dover East, one (possibly Princess Anne) just disembarking passengers into the coaches	Seaspeed SRN4 GH-2007 Princess Anne leaving Dover Eastern Docks hoverport	Seaspeed SRN4 GH-2007 Princess Anne leaving Dover Eastern Docks hoverport
Seaspeed SRN4 out at sea beyond Dover Eastern Docks hoverport

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Dover Western Hoverport

This hoverport was opened, after a 10 month delay to schedule following severe gales, on 5th July, 1978. It was christened into action by the arrival of the N500 Ingenieur Jean Bertin, preceding the services of the two Seaspeed SRN4s. A berth to accommodate the SeaCat was built adjacent to the pad and the Prince of Wales Pier, and this is still used today by SpeedFerries who operate a catamaran service to mainland Europe. Its location at Dover's Western Docks was originally decided in terms of its proximity to a planned rail route from Dover to Canterbury, providing quick change from train to hovercraft. However this idea was phased out due to financial difficulties, and the hoverport left stranded in its location.

The following photos show the Hoverport at its most recent before the closure of Hoverspeed in 2005. It is now inaccessible by road and foot to the general public. The terminal and pad are now defunct, occasionally seeing smaller hovercraft arrivals during their transits up and down the channel.

As of July 2009, the terminal buildings at the Dover Western Docks hoverport site have been demolished, awaiting development on the site. The pad still remains. The red propeller at the front of the site is (at the time of writing) apparently destined for transport to The Hovercraft Museum at HMS Daedalus, Gosport. Click for a photo gallery of the demolition.

Gallery 4 - Seaspeed craft at Dover Eastern Docks Hoverport
An aerial photo of the Dover pad in use as seen from the air in the 1990s. (Photo: Nigel Thornton)	Photo of the Dover Hoverport buildings as seen approaching from the hoverport car park in 1997. [Photo: Many thanks to G. O'Connell for sending this in]	Artist's impression of Dover Hoverport in the 1980's showing the hoverspeed craft on the pad [Source: Blunden & Witcomb, 1985].
Hoverspeed entrance sign as seen at night in March 2000	The front of Dover Western Docks hoverport as it was in 2000	Looking back at the Western Docks hoverport from the Prince of Wales pier, showing the SeaCat berthed
An aerial photo taken to the south-west of Dover, looking across the bay and the hoverport	Vehicle check-in area, showing The Princess Margaret in for a deep service in 2000	A propeller mounted on a pylon outside the vehicle check-in area welcomed passengers to travel with Hoverspeed
Propeller mounted in front of Dover Hoverport	Propeller mounted in front of Dover Hoverport

Page updated 15/08/12