LIFESTYLE
My Canterbury tale began two weeks before Christmas, probably the best time to be in England.
If you haven’t read Geoffrey Chaucer’s rendition as yet, let me be the first to walk you through a sleepy English city called Canterbury, with its haunting beauty teeming with history.
My Canterbury tale began two weeks before Christmas, probably the best time to be in England. The festivity is simply infectious.
Don’t let the coach station set against the swanky Whitefriars Shopping Centre fool you. That is probably as urban as this city gets.
Tourists are no novelty here and the number of hostels reinforce that. On advice of the jovial hostel attendant, we decided to have lunch at Whitstable, a seaside town about 8kms from Canterbury, famous for its oysters.
What seemed like a perfectly normal bus ride from Canterbury to Whitstable, didn’t quite unfold as expected.
Mesmerised by the traditional charm of the countryside, flanked by woods and hills, we were driving into the Whitstable skyline, a broadening horizon.
Seaside cafés, shops interspersed with quaint little medieval villas — here was a town that had retained its bohemian charm while welcoming renaissance.
Soaking in this charm, we quite failed to notice that the sea was far behind and we were lost! We had almost reached Herne Bay, another coastal town 3 km from Whitstable.
We were lone tourists stuck in a part of Kent, which though beautiful, didn’t really show any sign of life. Public transport seemed alien to that part. Of course, the English weather wasn’t helping either. It would soon be dark. Walking was the only option.
After several “just around the corner” directions, we were finally along the coast of Tankerton and the sea was once again by our side, this time to guide rather than misguide. Eluding the inviting shingle beach and the beach huts forming a rim to the water’s edge, we marched on to our destination.
At last we reached Whitstable and made our way to Crab & Winkle, a beautiful restaurant overlooking the harbour. Well, lunch may not have been at the time we expected, but it was definitely the lunch we expected — oysters, winkles, cockles, whelks, prawns and smoked salmon!
Our journey back to Canterbury was relaxed; losing our way was not possible with the dazzling Canterbury Cathedral, towering ahead, larger than life, dressed to celebrate.
The cobbled paths had come alive at night with weekend revelry and festivity. We joined a few locals in their celebration at Casey’s, which, we are told used to be a Tudor theatre; it used to be called
The Shakespeare Pub.
Grabbing a little more than 40 winks, we set out early the next morning, to discover this magical city on the River Stour. The surprisingly delicious eggnog latte, as I discovered,
gave me quite the energy boost I needed this morning.
First on the agenda was to see the three structures that form the World Heritage Site — the Cathedral, St Augustine’s Abbey and St Martin’s Church.
A crowd gathered outside the Cathedral caught our attention. There was music emanating from the centre of this gathering. It was a group dressed as English natives sharing the spirit of Christmas. Their bagpipes, tambourine, drums, tabor and uninhibited fervour had the whole church square in a tizzy.
From there we walked to the ruins of St Augustine’s Abbey, which is now an entrance to The King’s School. Locals tell us that one of the old synagogues is now the King’s School music room.
Armed with route maps from the hostel (objects here are closer than they appear), we walked along the famous Canterbury ‘city wall’ and reached the Roman Queningate.
The rest of our day was spent strolling the ruins of the Norman Canterbury Castle, St Margaret’s Church, where life-sized character models recreate the magic of Chaucer’s stories in The Canterbury Tales, Westgate, which was once a medieval gatehouse, has now been turned into a museum that reveals its history as a jail.
We decided that Dane John Gardens with its archaic bridge and the lazy river was an ideal setting to settle for the day with some creamy honeycomb ice cream.
While we chose a festive December to discover this sleepy city, summer has its own glory. During summers, tourist can laze in boats, while local tours take you along the River Stour flipping each page of history with you.
Jeet Adani, Diva Shah are now married! Here's why their wedding was more than a mere celebration
IIT-BHU student gets highest package of Rs..., average package in 2025 is...
Music composer Anu Malik sells two Mumbai flats in Santacruz West for Rs..., co-owner is...
Jeet Adani and Diva Shah are now married; video of varmala ceremony goes viral, WATCH
Jeet Adani-Diva Shah wedding: Gautam Adani shares first pics of son's wedding, see here
Can Kejriwal win prestige battle? What are the key factors that dominated Delhi assembly polls 2025?
Subhash Ghai makes big investment, buys plush 4BHK apartment in Mumbai for...
Metovalex App Review 2025: Legit Or Scam Trading AI? - Real User Facts!
Deepinder Goyal's Zomato rebranded Eternal: Everyone has the same question
Thief gifts Rs 3cr house to girlfriend, everyone shocked after...
Who is Meghnad S? YouTuber and journalist who contested Delhi assembly polls 2025 from...
Does Sanya Malhotra's 'Mrs' promote a no-marriage culture among women?
BIG blow to Sundar Pichai as Google loses Rs 17501260000000 due to…
Caring for Ageing Parents? Essential tips to manage health, finances, and well-being
Meet Gautam Adani’s daughter-in-law Paridhi Adani: Know about her assets, career, family, and more
Jeet Adani-Diva Shah wedding: Inside pics from Gautam Adani's son's wedding festivity
Why has Premanand Maharaj stopped his morning yatras at 2 am?
Sonu Sood BREAKS SILENCE on arrest warrant against him in fraud case: 'It is sad that celebs...'
Akshata Murty once confronted her father and Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy: 'My real dad is...'
Meet Alexis Wilkins, Trump's FBI chief pick Kash Patel's 'mystery girlfriend,' her profession is...
Fire breaks out at Mahakumbh Nagar camp, officials say no casualties reported so far
Who is Mohini Mohan Datta, mystery man set to get Rs 500 crore through Ratan Tata's will?
Cristiano Ronaldo makes shocking statement, breaks Portugal's hearts: 'I never thought about...'
Ludhiana court issues arrest warrant against Sonu Sood in fraud case
Happy Rose Day 2025: Significance of different coloured roses on Day 1 of Valentine's week
Salman Khan REVEALS why he avoids eating beef and pork: 'Main maanta hu meri maa...'
Shah Rukh Khan-Saif Ali Khan vs Aryan Khan-Ibrahim Khan: Who should be in KHNH2!
Why Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu gifted Donald Trump golden pager? It is a reference to...
Mob in Bangladesh destroys ousted PM Sheikh Hasina's family home
ISRO's EOS-06 satellite captures Phytoplankton concentration on global scale
IND vs ENG: Will Virat Kohli play in 2nd ODI vs England? Shubman Gill provides huge injury update
Who is Kiran Chaudhury? PCS officer caught in bribe case, just 4 years after posting
Jeet Adani-Diva Shah's wedding today: Know venue, gifts for guests and more
Meet woman, who works in Rs 163000 crore company, daughter of Hyderabad’s richest man
This is world's greenest railway station, 170 years old, home to over 7,000 plants, it's in....
As Sky Force nears Rs 150 crore, Nimrat Kaur treats househelp, her kids with movie screening
IND vs ENG: Shreyas Iyer creates history, becomes first player to achieve THIS massive milestone
Meet man, India's richest banker, who has bought Rs 202 crore property, his net worth is Rs...
'Heard there was....': Former India head coach provides major update on Virat Kohli's injury
A New Geopolitical Era: India and Israel's Role in the Evolving Middle East
David Warner’s touching moment with fans after Dubai Capitals reaches final of DP World ILT20
India’s Largest Book Stall Network: PrashantAdvait Foundation’s Mission to Revive Reading Culture
Mawra Hocane stuns in pastel mint green lehenga at her wedding to Ameer Gilani
Deepinder Goyal's Zomato changes its name, CEO shares journey of company, it is now called...
Rose Day 2025: Know the date, history, significance of each rose colour ahead of Valentine's day