An hour train ride from London you come upon a town in Kent where most of it is a World Heritage site. Yes indeed. Canterbury has one of the oldest monuments to Christianity in the UK, built from stone imported from Normandy, and has stood on the site for over 1,400 years. The Mother Church of the Anglican faith and seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury (cute teddy bears of him can be found around the town if you fancy). Services are held at the Cathedral three or more times a day. We would know since we felicitously came to visit when a sermon was about to start = not having to pay the £9.50 entry fee. We went on Mother's Day and watched a lovely sermon where children handed out daffodil bouquets to everyone that attended. Those same bouquets were left in the hands of statues dedicated to Kent's King and Queen Ethelbert and Bertha, the sexy-as-hell-sounding couple that established the English-speaking Christian civilization that the British Empire became.
Did you know the equestrian word "canter" comes from Canterbury? After the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in the cathedral, pilgrims from all parts of Christendom came to visit his shrine. Many pilgrims on horseback who were nearing the city late at night would increase the horse's speed from a trot to the faster "Canterbury trot", but not as fast as a gallop. To "canter" became the shortened expression. It was a secret thrill to stumble upon a pilgrimage sign in front of the cathedral after so many years since doing the camino to Santiago. You can walk to Rome from here! Or walk from Rome to here!
The mind abuzz with walking the Via Francincigena, visiting the Beany House of Art and Knowledge with its miniature doll houses and textile art, tea breaks in cafes to warm up, coming across green and grey graveyards, ancient abbeys, wooden emblems and stained glass windows, this walkable town's slow pace and steeped Roman, Norman and medieval history is a well worth experiencing. Just avoid the Three Tuns if you are feeling peckish - worst pub food we've had to date, and that says alot!
Did you know the equestrian word "canter" comes from Canterbury? After the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in the cathedral, pilgrims from all parts of Christendom came to visit his shrine. Many pilgrims on horseback who were nearing the city late at night would increase the horse's speed from a trot to the faster "Canterbury trot", but not as fast as a gallop. To "canter" became the shortened expression. It was a secret thrill to stumble upon a pilgrimage sign in front of the cathedral after so many years since doing the camino to Santiago. You can walk to Rome from here! Or walk from Rome to here!
The mind abuzz with walking the Via Francincigena, visiting the Beany House of Art and Knowledge with its miniature doll houses and textile art, tea breaks in cafes to warm up, coming across green and grey graveyards, ancient abbeys, wooden emblems and stained glass windows, this walkable town's slow pace and steeped Roman, Norman and medieval history is a well worth experiencing. Just avoid the Three Tuns if you are feeling peckish - worst pub food we've had to date, and that says alot!
very interesting,mom learn again many interesting news-so good I can see so many stunning places that I haven't even read.Lovely Niusia hug ma
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