Tales of Canterbury

In late May, Geoff's parents arrived in London to visit us for about a week.  We had just returned from a whirlwind trip to my brother's wedding and they had concluded a long tour of the Middle East so none us were too keen to fill the visit with lots of activities.  We were all in recovery mode!  However, we did decide to take a day trip out of London to the city of Canterbury one day during their time with us. 

Canterbury was a short 55 minute train ride out of central London.  The town's medieval look is well preserved with a very English feel to it. 

Canterbury is best know for Canterbury Cathedral, one of the oldest cathedrals in England.  No visit to the town would be complete without stopping in.  We just missed the opening hours for touring the Cathedral, but the grounds/gardens were accessible to us and we wandered around for awhile.

Some kind of antique car festival was happening on the Cathedral's grounds and the girls were enthralled with all the old cars.

Like many of the small English towns, Canterbury has a canal running through it.  Small boat rides, or punting as it is better known, is a top activity to do on the canals.  We had previously done a ride on our visit to Cambridge several years ago and knew we wanted to do it again in Canterbury. The ride was relaxed and the guide steering the punt (is he called a punter??) offered up some history of the town and various buildings.

All in all, Canterbury is charming and if you're looking for an English experience, I would definitely recommend a visit!