October 8th, 2009

Russell — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:52:38 +0000

HIGH HALDEN — The sun came out again today just in time for my pilgrimage to Canterbury. But first i took a detour to Biddenden to have a look around the churchyard for Humphreys. As expected a lot of the tombstones old enough to be of interest were well worn and unreadable.

I arrived at Canterbury about noon and and very quickly found a park and ride. The bus arrived and I was dropped off in the centre of Canterbury within no time. The centre of town was bustling—probably because it wasn’t raining—with lots of tour groups and classes of school children.

I managed to find Canterbury Cathedral and from a photographic point of view it was disappointing to find part of it swathed in scaffolding. I thought, once inside, that it wasn’t as big as the other cathedrals I’d visited but soon discovered that that was just a trick of the eye. The highlights for me were that part known as the. Martyrdom, the tomb of the Black Prince, and the treasury in the crypt.

The entry fee for the cathedral also let you wander around the precincts, which included the first set of cloisters and chapter house that were not in ruins.

After the cathedral I visited the Roman Museum and the Hospital of St Thomas. The latter was founded in the late 12th century as a place of hospitality for poor pilgrims on the way to visit the shrine of St Thomas. As was told to take special note of the wooden rafters in the chapel as they were installed new in 1185.

Wynmelvin » Canterbury Cathedral

October 8th, 2009