Mark's Midweek Magnet - Week 6

Hi,

A pottery 3d fridge magnet this week from Canterbury.



It s a bit battered and chipped as it is front heavy. Gravity has not been kind to this handmade magnet, as it has unfortunately fallen to the floor a lot.

The memories from this particular piece are of our great holiday in Kent with Yvette's parents Terry and Theresa in 2007.  Mark is one of the few people who gets on really well with his in-laws, even going on a few holidays with them both, until Theresa was unable to travel. Theresa had mobility issues at the time of our holiday, but we managed to get around the seaside and towns just fine with the aid of a wheelchair and willing relatives.



Canterbury cathedral is an imposing structure in the centre of the city, and can be seen from virtually all over Canterbury. There is a charge to visit this historic building to pay for the upkeep. The website for visitor information is very informative and interesting to view as well.

http://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/visit/

The 360 degrees virtual tour on the official Cathedral website is nearly as good as being there yourself.

http://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/visit/tour/





http://a title="By Hans Musil (Picture taken and postprocessed by Hans Musil.) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ACanterbury_Cathedral_-_Portal_Nave_Cross-spire.jpeg">

The interior feature everyone seems to gravitate to first is the Thomas Beckett memorial, which was built in 1986. It's was a chilling feeling that the Archbishop of Canterbury was murdered in this Cathedral in the 12th Century, by supporters of King Henry II. The exact place where he fell is marked by an eternally lit candle, that marks where a shrine previously stood, before being ordered to be destroyed by Henry IIII. This photo is a bit blurry, sorry.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Beckethttp://



There are numerous stained glass windows and also quite a few 'plain' windows to let the light flood in. There is a great view from the top of the bell tower which was built in 1496.

View looking to the north looking over Green Court and some of the buildings of King's School Canterbury
© Copyright Martin Barnard and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence


Take a stroll in the city centre, there are many fine buildings from various periods of Canterbury's long history at journey's end of the Pilgrim's Way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrims'_Way



After our visit to the cathedral, we wandered around the city streets and lanes. Some of these roads are closed to traffic, no need to worry about traffic.



http://www.canterbury.co.uk/canterbury-district/Canterbury.aspx

There are tours available to suit every taste. From the traditional sightseeing tour to a ghost tour and also river tours on the River Stour.

http://www.canterbury.co.uk/things-to-see-and-do/thedms.aspx?dms=11&groupid=7%2c5&catid=68%2c32%2c9&itemtype=17%2c336%2c335%2c424%2c170&msg=Tours

http://www.canterburyrivertours.co.uk/

A guided punt on the river gives a unique perspective to Canterbury. The sights and viewpoints of Canterbury are shown on the map below.



http://www.canterburypunting.co.uk/day-tours/



You can even utilise the park & ride car park, and then travel by punt into the city rather than use the bus. A relaxing 30 minute journey without any traffic lights or traffic wardens to care about.

http://www.parkandpunt.co.uk/about-us

The official tourist information website also has information on where to visit in the East Kent area using Canterbury as a base. We stayed in a disabled friendly cottage near the coast at Sandwich, from which we travelled to Dover Castle (pictured below), Whitstable, the Cinque Ports and of course, Canterbury.



There is the possibility of a day trip by ferry from Dover to Calais (a mad day out in Bruges perhaps? ha ha) We were unwilling to leave Terry & Theresa alone for a day, as they might of enjoyed themselves too much without us.



Canterbury and it's Cathedral are busy nearly all year round. If you are able to tolerate the crowds who swarm here, especially in Summer, then it is a rewarding destination for anyone who is a fan of ecclesiastical architecture and historic buildings, like we are.

Thanks for reading.

Mark & Yvette.