Canterbury England

Travelled : 79km

Stay: Sheerness free parking near beach N51.43619 E0.79579 

Visited: Canterbury, Cathedral £12.50pp, Westbere All Saints Church

It was a slow morning due to curtesy bus only starting at 10am as it was a Sunday and as it happens, the town was still waking up anyway as most of the shops didn’t open until 10:30am. We headed straight to the Cathedral and paid our entry to visit this UNESCO listed site. It’s history began in 597AD when the pope sent a monk, Augustine, who then became England’s first Archbishop.

 In 1170 the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in the Martyrdom made the cathedral become an important pilgrimage centre. 

We strolled around the cloister admiring carvings of heraldic shields on the ceiling.

 We also went down into the crypt and out into the gardens. 

Being Sunday the Quire would only be open between 12:30 - 2:30pm, so we knicked out to have some lunch and then went back.

 As we walked up the steps to the Quire we looked up to see the exquisite fan vaulted ceiling of the Bell Harry Tower.

 Behind the Quire, the Trinity Chapel houses the royal tombs of King Henry IV and Edward known as the Black Prince.

 After our visit we went to have a look at Westgate Towers built in 1381 and strolled in the lovely gardens beside the river.

 We then went in search for St.Mary of Northgate Church as this was where Mark’s ancestor William Williamson’s children where baptised. The church is now used as a Theatre. 

At 3pm we where on the bus back to Bluey and having used the service point, we drove the long way around to Westbere as we couldn’t drive down the 6’6’’ lanes our gps wanted us to use. We finally made it and we were so happy that the All Saints Church was open. It is here that William Williamson and his wife, Margaret and also one of their sons (William) is buried here in the church and there is a very worn out ledger stone in the floor. 

We then chose a spot for tonight in Sheerness and an hour later we were parked up having dinner.