We took the guided tour and, as usual, were the only ones under sixty - history nerds that we are. We were rewarded with the company of Bernie, a retired pharmacist who showed us all around the Cathedral and grounds. He was very informative, telling us all about the various coats of arms on display, the major events that took place in the cathedral like the murder of Thomas Becket, Archbishop at the time, by King Henry II’s Guards. Plus the usual tour guide stuff like how many tonnes of granite were shipped from France to build the thing., what parts were bombed in the war. But he was a lovely and witty little chap, like an older version of Giles, very English.
We also went to the Roman museum in the basement of one of the town’s buildings. Down in the depths we saw a seriously old roman mosaic tiled floor. It had been found accidentally when the building was bombed in WWII inside the crater they saw this 1500 year old piece of history.
But most of our time in Canterbury we spent outdoors, walking around the town which has lots of gorgeous little English gardens. The weather was freakishly warm and the daffodils were blooming way too early, but I couldn’t help but be cheered by it, despite a nagging concern for our changing climate. On the grass under a magnolia tree, with a newspaper and an ice cream, in the sun - the best way to spend a weekend
On our way home from Canterbury we stopped at Leeds castle, which was great. On the grounds there was a maze (which we actually got lost in), an aviary, a duckery (it’s a real word! There were lots of the little fellas!) not to mention the worlds best dog collar museum, with collars dating back to the 16th century. I absolutely loved the castle itself, typical story-book type thing. It had a kinda moat, huge wooden doors with those big studs in them, stone hallways with lanterns, a big posh tapestried dining room. You could just imagine some big feast happening in there, with everyone drinking wine from those silver chalice type cups, a couple of lutes and much merriment.
Twas a lovely weekend indeed.
