We drove the long and scenic way to Canterbury today.
Along the way we stopped at a DHL office to send a box of goodies (a.k.a. wool) home; a roadside cafe that has been operating since 1936 and passed by many dozen traditional “Oast Houses”.
Kevin was up early this morning and went for a wander. He found Britain’s oldest brewer,
some war graves and that we’re not far from the city wall.
Today we had day “at the seaside” where we could see France!
We drove to Dover – very busy port, there were ships coming and going all day.
We walked along the cliffs to the lighthouse, had a cold drink and walked back, stopping along the way so that I could do some painting.
It was quite a warm day, but thankfully with a bit of a breeze.
After walking back along the cliffs we drove to the harbour and parked up for a stroll and some lunch along the promenade.
Just happened to stop outside the Marco Pierre White restaurant “Mr.White” and so went in and had lunch. A delicious beetroot and goats cheese salad with some meatballs and calamari.
We then crossed the road to the beach and I took shoes and socks off and dipped my feet in the water.
We then got an icecream before heading back to Canterbury.
We stopped off at the place we had booked to have our car’s brakes done, they swore they had not knowledge of the booking, and couldn’t/wouldn’t fit us in tomorrow as had been booked. So we found somewhere else that could. Now back at the hotel for a cold drink.
Another hot day.
Where’s the shit British weather we hear so much about?!!
Kevin took our car to the mechanics, then we headed into the Old Town of Canterbury.
We wandered through some gardens and crossed some streams to get there.
Our first stop was Canterbury Cathedral. We spent about 2hrs there because it was interesting, and also cooler than outside!! There were some interesting tombstones, and some odd ones!
When we finished there we started following the “blue dot walk”, but gave up after a few as the dots on the map were nowhere near where they actually are in reality! (It shouldn’t be that hard to make an accurate map people can easily follow!) We found the most important one though.
We passed a building built in 1500. Yes, 1500!!!
Then stopped for a drink in the shade at a pub called Canterbury Tales.
From there we walked to Dane John Gardens to visit the Simmons Memorial, from where there is a good view across Canterbury. It was closed off, so no view. We did walk along the city wall for a bit though.
We then went in search of lunch, then a pharmacy to buy some things we’ll need in the next few months-it’s just easier in English, and they only seem to sell tablets in packs of 6 or 10 in Europe.
We started the walk back to our hotel via some more gardens and a church.
This church is where St.Thomas More’s head is interred. Took a photo of the crypt. (The kids went to St.Thomas More College in Brisbane).
Got to the hotel then took a cold shower and collapsed on the bed. The car was ready so Kevin went to get that, then we’ll have a cold drink in the bar whilst waiting for an Amazon delivery! (Absolutely needs to get here today-its currently at a depot 30mins away.)
We departed Canterbury and headed to Battle, for our last night on mainland UK.
For those that don’t know Battle is a small village that didn’t exist in 1066, it is here that the Battle of Hastings was fought, between King Harold and William, Duke of Normandy.
We started at the abbey and with a very comprehensive audio guide, walked around the battlefield. Numerous tree sculptures and information boards were on the trail.
I was unaware of the victor, (it’s been a long time since year 7 or 8 history ok!) until Kevin let it slip, without a spoiler alert, halfway round the tour.
The abbey was built as William wanted to pay penance for all the blood that was spilt. The altar is alleged to have been placed on the spot where Harold died.
From the abbey we went to the nearby St Mary’s Church that displays a local tapestry made in 2017. It was one of the prettiest churches we’ve been in recently. They have a Weeping Chancel (Google it) and stained-glass windows depicting the battle.
Next was the local museum, Kevin saw nothing of this as the local guide kept him talking for 20 minutes. Kevin said it was the most interesting 20 minutes he’s spent in a museum. Apparently Nov 5th is a really big thing in Battle and their yearly bonfire is famous. People think Guy Fawkes got his gunpowder from here, the local guide thought this was nonsense.
We then grabbed a quick bite to eat, checked in to our hotel – a room over a pub – and took a cold bath to cool down.
Now off to visit friends we met in Nepal for a bbq.
We’ve driven from Battle this morning, along the M25 and M3 to Poole to catch our ferry to Guernsey.
Lots of sirened cars including a convoy of 6 Range Rovers, that included 2 with plates “RF##”. Someone from the Royal Family perhaps? (At least we know it definitely wasn’t the “give me taxpayer funded security” ginger whinger and his wife! )
We’re currently queued up and waiting for the ferry to arrive so we can load and be on our way.
Au Revoir, Adios and Sayonara to the UK mainland for some time!
Time to start phase 3 of the trip.
An Unplanned Year 
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