Tales from Canterbury

Kevin here.  And bringing with me pictures and another video!

Our final day trip that we had planned while in London was a trip out to Canterbury.  We knew of it's connection to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and were looking forward to learning more, including its connection to Canterbury Cathedral and Thomas Becket.  But we learned a few new things on our trip as well.  And it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable days we had during our time in London.  To quote Justin: "It was the best day ever!"

Canterbury is about an hour-and-a-half by train from London.  The kids love taking the train, so it was no chore to head over to Victoria Station to catch our train eastward.

Our first task upon arriving was to check out the scene.  Canterbury is a small, but lovely little town.

The entrance to Canterbury, through an ancient castle entrance. What's left of the moat that once attended the castle.

High Street, Canterbury

After getting our bearings, our first stop was an attraction called The Canterbury Tales.  It was a bit cheesy, frankly.  You simply walk through room after room with various automatronic figures and whatnot telling you a few of Chaucer's tales.  But, it was atmospheric enough and had good voice work, so everyone remained interested.  There was even an opportunity to dress-up a bit, which the kids enjoyed:





Down the street... The Chaucer Bookshop!  But... eh, it's not really that old.  I think they just took Chaucer's name.

1956?  That's it?!  Pffft.

Next, we ventured over to Canterbury Cathedral, sight of (former Archbishop of Canterbury) Saint Thomas Becket's murder in 1170.  It's a beautiful (and working) cathedral, and the seat of the Anglican Church.

The Cathedral has some beautiful stained glass.

After a lengthy time in the Cathedral  -- which included some great activities for the kids to learn some of the history surrounding the cathedral and Thomas Becket -- we headed over to a local patisserie to grab some tea and dessert:




And then... we found a local park and let the kids run around for an hour or two.  This was a great time for them.  A lot of our recent activities -- and the weather in London -- did not allow for them to really get out and run.  But the weather was pretty nice in Canterbury this day, so off they went to explore, climb hills, run, etc.

The park had this maze-like structure in it. The kids had a blast.

Kelly and I did some climbing as well! In particular, up to this monument overlooking the town.

One thing that we learned that I thought was fascinating and never before had heard:  St. Augustine came to Canterbury in 595 at the behest of Pope Gregory to bring the Christian faith to the Anglo-Saxons.  He did so and became the very first Archbishop of Canterbury.  Upon arrival, he also established an abbey, the remains of which still stand today:

The remains of Augustine's Abbey from the 6th century.

By this time, the kids were worn out:


Ok, here's my second attempt at a video.  I continue to learn how to do this (such as: I HAVE to STOP taking video with my iPhone in portrait mode!  Agh!).  Anyway, I hope you enjoy!