Canterbury - Friday

After dinner with Di, Barry & Co, and the drive back to Canterbury, we didn’t rush to get moving this morning. We had a slow breakfast at Sheila’s nearby, showed our room key, got 10% discount, looked at them, or liked them or something on Facebook (sorry Di, had to ask one of the staff exactly what to do) and got another 5% discount.

We drove to the nearby park and ride and went into the city. Between us we bought a new water bottle, reading glasses, sandals for Gary, coffee for all of us and looked over the map of things to do.

First stop was the Canterbury Cathedral, a huge complex of corridors, little chapels, cloisters, ruins outside as well as the main cathedral and the crypt below. Some beautiful stained glass windows, helpful guides and many opportunities to temporarily get lost. There has been a cathedral on the site since the Roman period. Thomas Beckett was murdered in the cathedral in 1170, by 4 knights of Henry II. His tomb is in Trinity Chapel, above the crypt where the tomb was from 1170 to 1220.

We walked to the Westgate Tower, built in 1380, across to Greyfriars Chapel, straddling the river Stour, unfortunately not accessible and on to walk around part of the old city wall. Back to the bus to the Park and ride car park, into Morrisons to buy stuff to eat tonight and breakfast tomorrow and back to the classy Travelodge.

 

We are booked on the ferry, tomorrow, from Dover to Calais, scheduled to leave at 9:25 am. Hope there are no long hold ups. Need to leave the hotel around 7:15 to allow travelling time, passport control etc. Breakfast in the car, in the ferry queue.