Sorry for this late posting. Big day yesterday, over 24,000 steps, then got 4 bottles of wine on board without being charged corkage! Decided to share a bottle when we got back, then too tired to write up the post.
As we look out our balcony we can see the white cliffs of Dover. It is sunny, light wind but 12 degrees! It is expected to get to 20, but expected to get windy later in the day.
We meet up at 8.30 and head off to our coach for the tour. There are 23 of us, plenty of room on the bus!
Our guide is Alex and she proves to be a wealth of information. We are on the bus by 9 am and we have a short drive to the Battle ofBritain memorial. It is set at the top of the cliffs and you can see across the channel to France and as it was explained they could see the aircraft as they left France. It is understated but very poignant. There is a wall where all the pilots who flew in the BoB are listed. The main building is in the shape of a wing and on the grounds the paths, if looked on from above, signify the propeller of a spitfire.
On the way there as we leave Dover there is a line of Semi trailers waiting to board the ferries at Dover. When I say a line, it goes on for kilometres!
We then head off for Leeds Castle. It is just over an hour’s drive, due to traffic and roadworks. On the way we learn all about the history of the castle and how the ownership changed over the years. The castle was first built in the 11th century. It changed hands many times over the centuries but the last owner a Lady Baille purchased the property in 1925. She died in 1974 but set up a charitable trust to look after the castle. She had improved and restored the castle over the years. The castle is surrounded by a moat and the grounds are enormous. It is a beautiful place and one of the most visited tourist attractions in England. The grounds include lakes, a 18 hole golf course, picnic areas, a beach for children to play, an adventure golf course, adventure park, birds of prey aviary, and beautiful lawns. The castle itself is superbly displayed with furniture and items that display how people lived at that time. It had a reputation for being a party place! As it is school holidays in UK, and it is a lovely sunny day there are young children everywhere, it is clearly a family place.
Our next stop is Canterbury Cathedral and we have a 60 minute drive to Canterbury. Along the way our guide gives us the history of the cathedral and its transformation from catholic to Anglican courtesy of Henry the 8th and his six wives. Canterbury is a mix of old buildings and new ones (as a result of the blitz during the Second World War). The cathedral towers over the city. I suppose the cathedral is the equivalent of the Vatican for Anglicans. It is an amazing building, with extremely high ceilings, magnificent stained glass windows, and quite lengthy. It is sparsely decorated apart from the stained glass windows. It gives the appearance of being very narrow, which comes from the huge columns that hold up the roof. We visited the crypt where a number of important figures are buried including Thomas Becket.
After our visit we find a coffee shop as we both need a bit of a rest. The city is quite quirky with many narrow streets, but it is very lively.
After Canterbury we have a short stop at the cliffs of Dover and it is getting cloudy, cool and the wind is starting to pick up. We get great views of the cliffs, the harbour and the English Channel. We get back to the ship at around 6.30 and it starts to rain. It has been a great day!
Glad you had a good day :) was refreshing the blog this morning waiting for your post :) - Kate
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