July 9 : Our Day in Southeast England

We started our day travelling to Canterbury.

St Augustine was sent by the Pope in 597 AD to re-establish Christianity in southern England and came to Canterbury. The ruins of the monastery built by Augustine still remain. He founded the first cathedral in England where the magnificent church now stands.

Canterbury has been a European pilgrimage site of major importance for over 800 years since the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in 1170. The Norman cathedral still dominates the skyline.

As could be expected given that fact that Canterbury Cathedral is the second most important church in Christendom, the interior is awe inspiring. The tombs of Thomas Becket, Henry IV and the Black Prince are among the many tombs in the Nave and in the crypt. 

We were lucky that we got to hear an organ recital during our visit.

The medieval city centre has many high-end stores and exclusive boutiques. The picturesque side streets are home to many specialist shops, pubs and restaurants. There were an incredible number of shoppers in the city.

After our visit to Canterbury, we continued south by train to Dover. We then took a cab to St. Margaret’s Bay. Here we got to see the White Cliffs of Dover. Marg wanted to see the cliffs because her Granny had often described the cliffs that she had seen on vacations as a child.

The cabbie thought he was a F1 driver. I swear he took corners on two wheels. Despite this he was very helpful and courteous. He arranged to come back to the restaurant and drop us off at the train station. He even noticed that Marg had left her purse in the back seat and returned to our drop off point immediately.

We had dinner at the Coastguard Pub. We couldn’t get a table inside and it was bitterly cold outside because of the wind off the English Channel. Unfortunately, the food and the service was very average.