Canterbury Tales.

Yesterday we set of by bus for Canterbury. We only got as far as Sturry when traffic came to a dead halt due to a serious accident. Instead of diverting traffic back at an earlier intersection the Police were letting vehicles drive right up to the accident site and then turning them back except for buses and trucks who couldn’t turn in the space available.

Double Decker buses lined up after the accident.

They then formed a neat line of 11 buses and one truck. Everybody was debussed and opted to walk the supposed mile and a bit to the city. We must have walked a good mile and there was no sign of the city or the Cathedral. By this time the crash scene had been cleared (oil and glass everywhere) and the buses were on the move so we caught another bus for the final leg into the city. We were glad we did because the city wasn’t as close as we had been told.

Canterbury clock tower. All that remains of St Georges church after a bombing raid in 1942.

How many millions of stones would have been collected just to build this part of the fortified wall around Canterbury?

Once we got our bearings we were off around the city wall to start off with. Along the way we received a text message from friend’s Derek and Carrie on Nb Uccello to say be sure to visit the Weavers house and Little Italy restaurant by the river. This we did but opted not to dine at the restaurant which was a bit pricey for a couple of pensioners.

Dane John mound inside the Dane John Gardens.

Visitor centre in the Butter Market, Canterbury.

After lunch we were joined by Tracey and her partner Greg who had booked a room at the Crown hotel in Sarre which meant we didn’t need to catch a bus back to camp. I will let pictures tell the story of Canterbury rather than try and write about it all.

Inside Canterbury Castle which had a circular stairway between floors.

The old Weavers House AD1500. Canterbury.

Back in Sarre we got Greg and Tracey booked in at the hotel first before walking just around the corner for them to see Gypsy Rover Mk IV. It was then back to the hotel for drinks and dinner. There was also some free entertainment from the landlord who is a bit of a character with his dry humour and pan face never giving a hint of truth or fiction. Apparently he used to own the other hotel in Sarre (the Kings Head) which he confirmed is haunted and some of the trials and tribulations he went through in his dealings with the ghost or ghost’s. The time a guest rang down to reception complaining that he couldn’t get out of his room even though it appeared to be unlocked. The landlord opened the door without any problem from the outside with a distinct rush of air as he did so. Another time he recalled that he had closed up for the night and turned off all the lights before retiring upstairs. When he looked out of his bedroom window he could see that the bar lights were still on, so he had to return downstairs where he was aware that he wasn’t alone whilst turning off the light’s once more.

Weavers House Canterbury overlooking the river Stour and the guided boat trips. The witches ducking stool is above the white boats.

For anybody visiting Sarre we can thoroughly recommend the Crown hotel for good food, good accommodation and a friendly landlord.

There are many buildings in Canterbury built using the flint stone as this.