Canterbury

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Middle of January and we were getting itchy feet. So, a short trip out for a weekend in Canterbury. Neither of us had visited there before and did not know what to expect.

The Camping and Caravanning Club site was very good and we feel sure it would be lovely in summer when the tress are in leaf.

Geoff and Jen joined us on Friday evening and on Saturday we took the bus into Canterbury. Bus passes for us!!

We were pleasantly surprised with Canterbury. The cathedral, of course, but also the narrow streets and interesting shops in the heart of the city.

(above left) Gateway to the Cathedral area                               (above right)  Cathedral West window

(below left) memorial to Thomas Becket                                    (below right) looking up to the top of the tower

As you can see, from the street scenes,  it was a dull, wet and cold January day.

The photo below is a cellar in the hostel where pilgrims to Canterbury could have shelter for one night. In cases of extreme hardship a pilgrim was allowed to stay longer.

The hostel has been in operation since the 12th century and still offers shelter to the needy in a small number of private rooms.

We spent the day exploring the city.  We visited the ‘Canterbury Tales’ attraction. It was an unusual display of wax models in a number of different scenarios from the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. Amusing but a little odd.

We could not walk past the Jaguar garage without taking a glimpse at the new Jaguar F type in their showroom.  A beautiful car and all yours for just under £100,000. A snip! (photo below left from the Jaguar website)

 WE decided to track down the oldest pub in Canterbury, The Parrot. A lovely old inn (see photo below from their website). However, it was not quite like this when we called in. Our visit happened to co-inside with a group of ex University students who were celebrating a colleague’s birthday with a round of Pub Golf.

For those of you not familiar with this pastime, the idea is to visit 18 pubs and drink whatever is predetermined as the beverage for that particular hostelry.

They were on hole 7 at the Parrot and things were getting lively. It was great fun to watch and they were a very polite group of young people enjoying the evening.

After the Parrot it was time for a curry. The Ancient Raj was recommended, a short walk from the Parrot.  However, when we got there it was full. It smelled wonderful but no chance of a table until much later.

We were directed to another restaurant just down the road. The Raj Venue and the curry was pretty good there.

Back to the campsite and a game of Rummy Cubs to round off an excellent day.

Sunday morning and time to head home until the next outing!