Travelling with Nick: Kent, Canterbury and its Cathedral

At the October half term holiday last year (2014) our next door neighbour took his family to a holiday camp in Kent. On his return he told me about his experiences. One of the things that he mentioned was that the holiday camp he stayed at backed onto the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch narrow gauge railway line. I had heard of this railway and seen films of it on TV but had never ridden on it myself. As a result of what my neighbour told me I did some computer research on Kent. In doing so I realised that our only experience of that county was either driving through it to catch a ferry to the Continent or passing through it on Eurostar for the same purpose.

My research revealed what an interesting county Kent is, with probably more places of historical interest per square mile than most other English counties, not the least of these being Canterbury Cathedral of course. Anyway, as a result of this stimulation we resolved to visit Kent in 2015.

So the first week in July was the chosen week for this venture. I selected a hotel, the Best Western Abbot Barton (excellent!), in Canterbury, as a base from which to strike out on our daily excursions.

Canterbury Cathedral is only about a mile from the hotel so we were able to walk to it. Its proximity made it the first item on the list of things to do while we were in Kent.

I will say straight away that I was 'blown away' by the Cathedral, more by its interior than the exterior. I have visited many Cathedrals in my time, Durham most recently (excluding Lichfield and Coventry which we often 'pop into') Milan, Bayeux and Rheims amongst them (the latter a very long time ago so my recollection is not at all clear) but in my opinion they are all dwarfed by Canterbury, either in physical size or historical aura.

Towards the end of our visit I said to one of the guides that this had been one of the most memorable days of my life, I was so struck by the majesty of the place.

Canterbury Cathedral was once one of Christian civilisation's greatest centres of pilgrimage due to the martyrdom of St. Thomas a Becket in 1170 c.e. Via the accruing 'trade' the Cathedral and the surrounding town became very rich. It is still, quite rightly, a place of pilgrimage but not necessarily ones based upon religion, in the way that those of the Middle Ages were. The pilgrimage, if that is the right word, now is one of tourism, a visit to one of the world's iconic buildings.

But it occurred to me that it should now be a place of true pilgrimage for all English men and women and all men and women of the English speaking world who hold their heritage dear. That heritage pulsates from every stone of this building as well as its many artifacts. I could go on an on but I will leave it there. I think that you might gather that we were impressed.

Other places we visited in our three day stay were -

Canterbury Town Centre -

Quaint, historic and bustling.

Margate -

Mainly to see the Grayson Perry exhibition at the Turner Contemporary Art Gallery.

Hythe (One of the ancient 'Cinque' Ports) -

Mainly to catch the Romney, Hythe adn Dymchurch narrow gauge train but were very pleasantly surprised by its High Street with its many interesting shops and historic buildings.

If we hadn't been catching the train we could have happily spent longer in Hythe.

Dymchurch -

The first stop on the train journey. There is a fun fair and lots of sea and sand and substantial sea defences, ideal for walking along as we did.

Here are some of the photos that I took -

Canterbury

Part of the old city wall

Timber framed House

City Gate

Canterbury Cathedral

The Warrior's Chapel

Entrance to the Crypt

Tomb of the 'Black Prince'

The original door through which King Henry II's Knights
entered the Cathedral in order to eliminate the 'troublesome priest'
Archbishop Thomas a Becket