Travelling the Coastline of UK - Week 4 - 23 September - Deal, Sandwich, Canterbury and Whitstable

TUESDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER 2014 Week 4

I need to remember where we've been, as I'm already forgetting, which is why I'm so glad I began this blog to document this momentous Year-long adventure! My sense of time or days of the week has virtually disappeared, too, but I will soldier on.

Deal- A lovely little seaside town, wandered around, but the end of the summer season means that it's getting quiet now. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town whose history is closely linked to the anchorage in the Downs. As you can see, there is a fort, which we took a look around. I always find forts quite creepy, but there is a lot of maritime history here. We also had a walk around a really quaint little village close by called Sandwich, just because it was called Sandwich! I do recommend a visit, as it is quintessentially English and as we were in the County known as 'The English Garden' this village is a lovely example of why Kent has been lovingly been awarded this name.

Somewhere I have always wanted to visit is Canterbury, so we decided to spend three days in Canterbury, taking the scenic route along the Kent coastal road through Margate (yes, it's still in need of some rejuvenation.) Herne Bay then took the detour to Canterbury, which was an amazing historical city for which I had big hopes, and it didn't disappoint me.
First, we visited the Cathedral and learnt about Thomas Beckett's murder, his Martyrdom, and the reason so many pilgrims headed to Canterbury in Medieval times. Although I studied History at school, this was something we never covered. 

I heard of Thomas Beckett, Chaucer, and The Canterbury Tales, but I didn't know the details. Now I do. Parts of the Cathedral were like Hogwarts in Harry Potter, so I got all excited. We went for a punt along the river while being told stories of Canterbury's history, which was very pleasant. Despite it being late September, when we're meant to be in Autumn, the weather has been extremely kind so far.

We then went to an interactive museum called The Canterbury Tales and learned why Geoffrey Chaucer was making a pilgrimage to Canterbury from London, why there were many other pilgrims on the expedition with him, and why they all decided to tell stories in the first place. 

I found this fascinating part of our Great British history. I was so impressed that I bought my very own copy of The Canterbury Tales, and I'm currently reading it.

We eventually moved on to Whitstable; as I was all touristic out from Canterbury, we went for lovely walks along the coast. We looked around the quaint little fishing town and had a nosy at the properly working harbour, taking in a very smelly fish market! I mainly stayed around the campsite, but I'm a tired bunny. On to Isle of Sheppey xx

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