And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche. Geoffrey Chaucer, Prologue Canterbury Tales

Today was a very busy day. We had booked an all day tour of three sites that we have wanted to see: the Leeds Castle, Canterbury Cathedral and the Cliffs of Dover. Sometimes it is the only way to see everything at once even though we always prefer to do things on our own.

Jim in uniform ready to defend

Maridee in front of magnolia tree

Once with our bus group we headed off to Leeds Castle (they say the most beautiful in the world but I don't think so), the cliffs of Dover and the pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral--probably one of the most beautiful ones in the world.

Leeds Castle was built not only as a castle for royalty but as all Castles they are usually a one days ride on horseback for the King. Always needing a place to stay Castles were built to accommodate the King and his entourage.

Leeds is a lovely castle but most of it was rebuilt and added on to in the early 1900's. The castle is surrounded by a moat. Near the edge are swans (black and white), peacocks, sheep and an aviary with many tropical and endangered birds. Leeds Castle is now used as a place for weddings and receptions, business meetings and sometimes even meetings of heads of state. It offers a tranquility that isn't found in busy and noisy London.  I got a brochure and to eat dinner in the royal hall for a wedding costs $200 per plate!!!!!!

After looking around we got back on the bus and headed to Canterbury. For those of us who read Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" but don't remember one bit of it, shame on us!  Of course Chaucer made light of the pilgrimage to Canterbury but Canterbury has been a place of worship and pilgrimage for over 1000 years. Even today there are pictures posted of youth groups walking the path from London to Canterbury. A brief history of Canterbury(skip ahead for those not interested in history):

Thomas Becket (1118[1] – 29 December 1170), later also known as Thomas à Becket, was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He engaged in conflict with Henry II of England, his close friend, over the rights and privileges of the Church and was assassinated by followers of the king in Canterbury cathedral. It was not an ordered assassination but the king's guards overheard the King say he wished Thomas was dead and so they murdered him right in the Cathedral with witnesses there.

Soon after the death of Thomas Becket, Pope Alexander canonised him and the murdered priest was elevated to sainthood. Becket's shrine at Canterbury now became the most important place in the country for pilgrims to visit.


When Becket was killed, local people apparently managed to obtain pieces of cloth soaked in his blood. Rumours soon spread that, when touched by this cloth, people were cured of blindness, epilepsy and leprosy. It was not long before the monks at Canterbury Priory were selling small glass bottles of Becket's blood to visitors. The keeper of the shrine would also give the pilgrim a metal badge that had been stamped with the symbol of the shrine.

The monks were afraid that Becket's body might be stolen. To prevent this from happening, Becket's marble coffin was placed in the crypt of the cathedral. The monks also built a stone wall in front of the tomb. There were two gaps in the wall where pilgrims could insert their heads and kiss the tomb.

In 1220, Becket's bones were moved to a new gold-plated and bejewelled shrine behind the high altar. The shrine was placed on a raised platform supported by pillars. Canterbury, because of its religious history, had always seen a large number of pilgrims. However, after the death of Thomas Becket, the number of pilgrims visiting the town grew rapidly.

Canterbury is a thriving town now with stores, restaurants and tourists. The old part of town though still maintains its old history and charm. I would say that Canterbury Cathedral ranks as one of the most beautiful ones we have seen. It was well worth the time and energy just to see this grand Cathedral!

By the time we got to the cliffs of Dover we were afraid that due to a regatta being held there we would have to do a drive by. But most of the participants were packing up and we could walk out on the sands/rocks and look out over the English Channel and the white cliffs of Dover. It was a great way to end a very, very long day.

But because we were so tired we couldn't face another trek somewhere so we ate at the hotel's restaurant we had a great dinner of Malaysian food (or Chinese food as I call it)!










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