They call Kent the Garden of England, and after my visit through Kent yesterday, I can see why. Kent is England's oldest county and has a wealth of agricultural land, which is how it got its nickname. It is simply stunning countryside. I really wanted to see this part of south east England, but since I don't have a car, I didn't have many options. Luckily enough, I found a great day trip online that would take me through Kent to visit Leeds Castle, Canterbury Cathedral and the White Cliffs of Dover. It was the perfect way to once again escape the city and spend some time in England's rolling countryside.
Our first stop of the day was Leeds Castle, which is beautiful from the outside because it's surrounded by a really pretty moat (yes, some moats are pretty). The site has an interesting history, as a castle has been on the site since the early 12th century. Among the famous residents of the castle are King Edward I and King Henry VII (who I'm beginning to think actually lived EVERYWHERE during his reign). In the early 1900s, the castle was purchased by a wealthy American heiress called Lady Baillie, who redecorated the castle in the stylings that still remain today. She willed the castle back to England when she died, and it is now maintained as a heritage site.
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| Leeds Castle, pretty even on a gray day! |
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This is the royal bed, just for show. The queen/king would sleep in another
private chamber. This one is for receiving important guests. |
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| The Loo |
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| Henry VIII's banquet hall |
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Lots of the rooms were more modernly decorated. Most of them are actually
still used a rooms for guests staying at the castle for events and conferences!
How cool would that be??? |
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Henry VIII had these bay windows installed. He must
have liked a good view and some great light! |
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| Lady Baillie and her two daughters |
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| Lady Baillie's closet. Great shoes! |
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| The library was amazing!!! |
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| Look at all those pretty books! |
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Like many sites in England, Leeds Castle has peacocks
running around. This one made me laugh because he
came right up to the shop while I was in it and squawked
at us! |
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Some poorly behaved children chased him around the yard,
and he eventually flew up to the roof! |
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The castle has amazing gardens and a maze, but it started to pour down rain
right when I made it out there, and so I had to turn around. |
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| The castle also has a random dog collar museum... |
The rain was really coming down by the time we all had to meet up, so I was ready to say goodbye to the castle and get back on the warm, dry bus. The tour guide and driver somehow managed to leave two people behind at the castle, but luckily we'd only driven 15 minutes before they got the call and we had to go back. But after picking them up (oh boy, were they unhappy!), we headed to our next stop--Canterbury.
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| Kevin, our super cute guide! :) |
In Canterbury, Kevin dropped off the people who bought the tour's lunch special at the cafe (I've learned NEVER to do this, as it not only is a pretty crappy lunch but most importantly sucks up at least an hour of your time) and then walked the rest of us independent folks over to the cathedral. The cathedral is a famous site for religious pilgrimages, as back 1170, archbishop Thomas Becket was martyred in the cathedral. He wasn't doing what King Henry II wanted him to do, and so when the King made an off handed comment along the lines of "Will no one rid me of the turbulent priest?" several of his knights took that as a command, rode straight away for Canterbury, and murdered him in the cathedral. After his death, all sorts of exciting miracles are said to have happened at the church and he later became a saint. In the years following, pilgrims travelled from far and wide to visit this holy place. Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" tells the story of such pilgrims. The cathedral is beautiful and so big! It's easy to image how much awe the pilgrims must have felt stepping into that massive, beautiful structure after such a tremendous journey. Most of them would never have seen a building so large, no less have stepped into one, and certainly not a building as grand as the cathedral.
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| Gates into Canterbury Cathedral |
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I decided to rent an audioguide for a small fee, and with it,
took myself on a grand tour of the cathedral. |
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| The site of Thomas Becket's murder. |
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| Love the cloisters |
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Inside the chapter house where the monks would meet daily.
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This incredibly window tells the story of all the heads of
the church/history of the cathedral. |
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King Henry VIII destroyed Thomas Becket's tomb, so
this candle is kept lit all the time on the site where his
tomb once stood. This is where the pilgrims would pray. |
After my visit at the cathedral, I still had enough time to grab a quick sandwich and then do some shopping along the quaint streets of Canterbury.
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| The best shop I found! Canterbury Pottery |
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| Beautiful pottery and very reasonable prices! |
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The remains of the church where Christopher Marlowe,
contemporary of Shakespeare, was baptized. |
Our final stop of the day was just for some quick photos of Dover Castle (which is massive and looks amazing!) and the famous White Cliffs of Dover. One thing I loved was our guide's personal story of the cliffs. He said that when he was a boy, and his family would take him to France for holiday, they would go on the ferry. And as he left England, he would look back at the white cliffs, excited about his adventure ahead. But then when they returned to England, the white cliffs were like a beacon welcoming him home. Isn't that sweet? Well, the weather was terrible, but we did get some nice grey photos of the White Cliffs of Dover.
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| Dover Castle, which I wish I could visit. |
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The harbor at Dover. See the castle at the top of the hill? It is in a great strategic
position to overlook the English Channel. |
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| The white cliffs of Dover |
It definitely was a rainy day in Kent, but being from the beautiful Pacific Northwest, I know a thing or two about rain. And one thing I know for sure is that without all that rain, the mountains would never been so green nor the gardens so pretty. I suppose the same thing is true for the Garden of England.
