missangelalexis
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Wow what awesome pictures! This definitely sounds like it was worth the extra money, especially getting to get so close to the stones!
Mumsy and Guvna take on Europe: A 2016 Europe Trip Report! updated 5/29/2017
- Thread starter annegirl
- Start date
GAN
DIS Veteran
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Yes -I totally picked up on your humor! Although who's to say it didn't actually look like that at the time. One lost battle and Caesar may have torn the roof off the joint....
annegirl
DIS Veteran
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- Mar 12, 2008
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Yes. I did know that! Haha. Can you imagine if it really had been this color when they used it. Yuck.
Thank you!!
Thanks! It was so amazing! I had to remind myself to not look at it through the camera lens the entire time!
[/QUOTE] I cannot agree more. I would have paid double for the tour! the ropes were by the walk way? So you were about 20 yards from the stones?
Nope. Nope. I would want front and center. Your pictures are stunning!!! [/QUOTE]
Yep. I mean I'm sure it is cool to see no matter what but this was so amazing! I am so glad we were able to do it.
[/QUOTE]I do hope you know i was kidding and i'm not that much of a moron. My 14 year old mind took over for a few minutes.[/QUOTE]
Haha. Mine too.
Thanks! It was definitely worth it.
Hahaha!
annegirl
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After leaving Stonehenge we drove east to Winchester to visit the grave of Jane Austen.
I was still getting used to driving and a bit nervous.
For some reason I pictured Winchester as a small town and so I was surprised when we drove into it and I was suddenly bombarded with lots of cars and lots of people and no where to park, or so it seemed.
I went off the road we were on trying to find a car park and got us kind of lost. As we drove around I was more and more freaked out that I was going to run into someone or something as the roads were quite narrow with cars parked everywhere. Finally I turned down a small road and saw a car park.
I pulled in and found a spot.
We had no idea how close we were to the Winchester Cathedral or Great Hall (our two destinations in Winchester) but I couldn't keep driving around at that point.
I paid for the parking and saw a man walking to his car.
We went over to him and asked him if he was familiar with the area. He told us that he was so we asked if he could tell us how to get to the cathedral.
He gave us very good directions (luckily only about a mile) but of course along the way we somehow got lost again and asked a woman out in front of a beautiful manor gardening and she showed us the way to get back on track again.
On the way from the car park (before we got lost again) we passed under the WestGate. Westgate is one of Winchester's two remaining fortified Medieval gateways. It was built as early as the 12th century.
I was glad we passed this on our way to the Cathedral because it was very close to the Great Hall and we knew we were going there next.
Soon we were finally on the right track and the Winchester cathedral loomed up in front of us.
Much of the cathedral that we can visit today was built in the 16th century. The old minster stood very close by and you can still see the outline on the ground. That one was built in 635.
Pilgrims have been coming to Winchester for over a thousand years.
The Cathedral was beautiful.
We had to pay a fee to enter and then we wandered around freely.
We climbed the itty bitty circular staircase up to the tower.
My mom didn't love these staircases but this would not be the last!
Soon we found our way over the the memorial and the gravestone for Jane Austen.
Her gravestone on the ground of the cathedral (from 1817) didn't mention anything about her writing. Her nephew Edward wrote the memorial that was placed on a plaque on the wall (1872) that would mention her writing.
Jane did not live in Winchester. As she grew more and more ill, her sister Cassandra accompanied her to Winchester and they took up boarding in a home near the cathedral hoping that a celebrated doctor in Winchester's hospital could help her.
She died there.
So she was buried in the Winchester cathedral. Her funeral was held in the morning before services with only four people in attendance.
"Jane Austen, Known to many by her writings, endeared to her family by the varied charms of her character and ennobled by her Christian faith and piety was born at Steventon in the County of Hants, December 16,1775 and buried in the Cathedral July 18, 1817.
'She openeth her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law of kindness.' "
Her gravestone:
"In memory of Jane Austen, youngest daughter of the late Revd' George Austen, formerly Rector of Steventon in this County. She departed this life on the 18th of July, 1817, aged 41, after a long illness supported with the faith and the hopes of a Christian.
The benevolence of her heart, the sweetness of her temper, and the extraordinary endowments of her mind obtained the regard of all who knew her and the warmest love of her intimate connections.
Their grief is in proportion the their affection, they know their loss to be irreparable but in their deepest afflictions they are consoled by a firm though humble hope that her charity, devotion, faith, and purity, have rendered her soul acceptable in the sight of her REDEEMER."
Above the plaque on the wall there is also a window commissioned in her honor. It was erected in 1900 by public subscription.
Unfortunately I didn't get the best picture of the window.
In the head of the window is a figure of Saint Augustine, whose name in its abbreviated form is Saint Austin.
In the center of the upper row of lights is David with his harp. In the bottom row is St. John holding a book, displaying on the open page the first sentence of his gospel.
After exploring the Cathedral, we walked back up the steep hill to the Great Hall.
There were some entrances to old tunnels across from it that I had to get a picture of.
Then there it was: The Great Hall
Winchester used to be the capitol of England.
The Great Hall is "one of the finest surviving aisled halls of the 13th century".
It is all that now remains of Winchester Castle. Winchester Castle was built in 1067. King Henry 3rd extended the castle building the Great Hall.
It was one of the largest great halls in England.
It is also the home to King Arthur's Round Table.
There was a statue of Queen Victoria in there as well.
The Round Table!
The round table was originally a standing table built from oak.
It is huge and very heavy. The legend is that is the famed round table of King Arthur.
It was hung on the wall in the great hall at approximately 1540.
It wasn't originally painted like this.
King Henry the 8th had it painted with the tudor rose and the king (that just happened to look like him) and the places for the knights of the round table.
After seeing the round table we walked the rest of the way up the hill back to our car park and then left for our next Jane Austen destination!
I was still getting used to driving and a bit nervous.
For some reason I pictured Winchester as a small town and so I was surprised when we drove into it and I was suddenly bombarded with lots of cars and lots of people and no where to park, or so it seemed.
I went off the road we were on trying to find a car park and got us kind of lost. As we drove around I was more and more freaked out that I was going to run into someone or something as the roads were quite narrow with cars parked everywhere. Finally I turned down a small road and saw a car park.
I pulled in and found a spot.
We had no idea how close we were to the Winchester Cathedral or Great Hall (our two destinations in Winchester) but I couldn't keep driving around at that point.
I paid for the parking and saw a man walking to his car.
We went over to him and asked him if he was familiar with the area. He told us that he was so we asked if he could tell us how to get to the cathedral.
He gave us very good directions (luckily only about a mile) but of course along the way we somehow got lost again and asked a woman out in front of a beautiful manor gardening and she showed us the way to get back on track again.
On the way from the car park (before we got lost again) we passed under the WestGate. Westgate is one of Winchester's two remaining fortified Medieval gateways. It was built as early as the 12th century.
I was glad we passed this on our way to the Cathedral because it was very close to the Great Hall and we knew we were going there next.
Soon we were finally on the right track and the Winchester cathedral loomed up in front of us.
Much of the cathedral that we can visit today was built in the 16th century. The old minster stood very close by and you can still see the outline on the ground. That one was built in 635.
Pilgrims have been coming to Winchester for over a thousand years.
The Cathedral was beautiful.
We had to pay a fee to enter and then we wandered around freely.
We climbed the itty bitty circular staircase up to the tower.
My mom didn't love these staircases but this would not be the last!
Soon we found our way over the the memorial and the gravestone for Jane Austen.
Her gravestone on the ground of the cathedral (from 1817) didn't mention anything about her writing. Her nephew Edward wrote the memorial that was placed on a plaque on the wall (1872) that would mention her writing.
Jane did not live in Winchester. As she grew more and more ill, her sister Cassandra accompanied her to Winchester and they took up boarding in a home near the cathedral hoping that a celebrated doctor in Winchester's hospital could help her.
She died there.
So she was buried in the Winchester cathedral. Her funeral was held in the morning before services with only four people in attendance.
"Jane Austen, Known to many by her writings, endeared to her family by the varied charms of her character and ennobled by her Christian faith and piety was born at Steventon in the County of Hants, December 16,1775 and buried in the Cathedral July 18, 1817.
'She openeth her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law of kindness.' "
Her gravestone:
"In memory of Jane Austen, youngest daughter of the late Revd' George Austen, formerly Rector of Steventon in this County. She departed this life on the 18th of July, 1817, aged 41, after a long illness supported with the faith and the hopes of a Christian.
The benevolence of her heart, the sweetness of her temper, and the extraordinary endowments of her mind obtained the regard of all who knew her and the warmest love of her intimate connections.
Their grief is in proportion the their affection, they know their loss to be irreparable but in their deepest afflictions they are consoled by a firm though humble hope that her charity, devotion, faith, and purity, have rendered her soul acceptable in the sight of her REDEEMER."
Above the plaque on the wall there is also a window commissioned in her honor. It was erected in 1900 by public subscription.
Unfortunately I didn't get the best picture of the window.
In the head of the window is a figure of Saint Augustine, whose name in its abbreviated form is Saint Austin.
In the center of the upper row of lights is David with his harp. In the bottom row is St. John holding a book, displaying on the open page the first sentence of his gospel.
After exploring the Cathedral, we walked back up the steep hill to the Great Hall.
There were some entrances to old tunnels across from it that I had to get a picture of.
Then there it was: The Great Hall
Winchester used to be the capitol of England.
The Great Hall is "one of the finest surviving aisled halls of the 13th century".
It is all that now remains of Winchester Castle. Winchester Castle was built in 1067. King Henry 3rd extended the castle building the Great Hall.
It was one of the largest great halls in England.
It is also the home to King Arthur's Round Table.
There was a statue of Queen Victoria in there as well.
The Round Table!
The round table was originally a standing table built from oak.
It is huge and very heavy. The legend is that is the famed round table of King Arthur.
It was hung on the wall in the great hall at approximately 1540.
It wasn't originally painted like this.
King Henry the 8th had it painted with the tudor rose and the king (that just happened to look like him) and the places for the knights of the round table.
After seeing the round table we walked the rest of the way up the hill back to our car park and then left for our next Jane Austen destination!
Chicago Mo
DIS Veteran
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- Aug 22, 2010
- Messages
- 7,613
I have no words for all of this.
Breath taking. this is a trip of a lifetime. the pictures are fantastic.. Oh how i want to go!
Breath taking. this is a trip of a lifetime. the pictures are fantastic.. Oh how i want to go!
annegirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2008
- Messages
- 1,462
You would love it. So many photo opportunites.. pretty much every time you turn around.
annegirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2008
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- 1,462
After leaving Winchester we drove about a half an hour to the small town of Chawton.
It was a lovely little town.
It took us a few minutes to figure out where to park.
There was a small parking lot right across the street from her house but it was full and parking on the street was pretty full too (and a lot of it was reserved for people living there).
But we did find a spot on the road down the street.
It was a bit rainy but beautiful!
This is looking down the road toward her home as we walked from the car...
I have an obsession with thatched cottages. I LOVE them.
So I had to take a picture of one of them that we passed.
So freaking cute.
At Jane Austen's house you enter through the gift shop where you buy your tickets.
Then you go way in back to watch a little video. I took this shot of the back of the house from the area by the gift shop.
Looking over to the garden area...
As we were walking through the garden area I noticed some people trying to pet a cat but it kept running away from them. I told my mom I bet I can get that cat to come to me.
I walked about halfway to it, put out my hand, and said, "here kitty".
It came right over.
Apparently the cat's name is Marmite.
Such a cutie. I have such a fondness for black and white cats after this trip because I kept running into them everywhere.
Jane's House:
This was Jane Austen's last home.
She lived here with her mother and her sister Cassandra from 1809 until 1817.
It was here that she revised Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Northanger Abbey and where she wrote Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion.
We entered through the door on the right and then got to explore her house.
It was beautiful and so cool to be there.
My favorite thing was being able to see her writing desk.
There were flowers in all of the windows.
Her room was so pretty.
If you heard about the ring that Kelly Clarkson bought a few years ago that was bought back to keep it in England, the ring was at her home.
So pretty....
So glad to be able to take my mom to her favorite author's home...
When we left the house we entered the door on the left where there were activities that you could do. We didn't do much of it but we did try on the bonnets.
I quite liked it!
Such a fun place to visit.
It was a lovely little town.
It took us a few minutes to figure out where to park.
There was a small parking lot right across the street from her house but it was full and parking on the street was pretty full too (and a lot of it was reserved for people living there).
But we did find a spot on the road down the street.
It was a bit rainy but beautiful!
This is looking down the road toward her home as we walked from the car...
I have an obsession with thatched cottages. I LOVE them.
So I had to take a picture of one of them that we passed.
So freaking cute.
At Jane Austen's house you enter through the gift shop where you buy your tickets.
Then you go way in back to watch a little video. I took this shot of the back of the house from the area by the gift shop.
Looking over to the garden area...
As we were walking through the garden area I noticed some people trying to pet a cat but it kept running away from them. I told my mom I bet I can get that cat to come to me.
I walked about halfway to it, put out my hand, and said, "here kitty".
It came right over.
Apparently the cat's name is Marmite.
Such a cutie. I have such a fondness for black and white cats after this trip because I kept running into them everywhere.
Jane's House:
This was Jane Austen's last home.
She lived here with her mother and her sister Cassandra from 1809 until 1817.
It was here that she revised Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Northanger Abbey and where she wrote Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion.
We entered through the door on the right and then got to explore her house.
It was beautiful and so cool to be there.
My favorite thing was being able to see her writing desk.
There were flowers in all of the windows.
Her room was so pretty.
If you heard about the ring that Kelly Clarkson bought a few years ago that was bought back to keep it in England, the ring was at her home.
So pretty....
So glad to be able to take my mom to her favorite author's home...
When we left the house we entered the door on the left where there were activities that you could do. We didn't do much of it but we did try on the bonnets.
I quite liked it!
Such a fun place to visit.
annegirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2008
- Messages
- 1,462
After visiting her home, we were hungry and ready for lunch.
We walked across the street to the little cafe, Cassandra's Cup.
It has the perfect location.
I loved the way this place was decorated. There were tea cups hanging everywhere and polka dot tablecloths. So cute.
And the view of Jane Austen's house was fantastic.
My mom got a sandwich with chips and diet coke.
I got an omelette that came with toast and a bit of salad with a diet coke.
It was delicious!
I heard that Victoria Sponge Cake was something I should try so we ordered a slice to share when we saw that it was one of their available cakes.
I forgot to take a picture of it before so I got one during our destruction of the cake.
This was so good it became my favorite treat of our whole trip.
I don't know if everyone will feel that way but I loved it.
After eating lunch we needed to get going to our destination for the night.
We really enjoyed our time in Chawton.
I got a few souvenirs at the gift shop at Jane Austen's home. I bought Lady Susan and Other Works because I have heard so much about Lady Susan and have really wanted to read it. I also bought Northanger Abbey as I haven't read it yet. I bought the bookmark of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett but then the other bookmarks and cards were given to us free.
Next up: Canterbury
We walked across the street to the little cafe, Cassandra's Cup.
It has the perfect location.
I loved the way this place was decorated. There were tea cups hanging everywhere and polka dot tablecloths. So cute.
And the view of Jane Austen's house was fantastic.
My mom got a sandwich with chips and diet coke.
I got an omelette that came with toast and a bit of salad with a diet coke.
It was delicious!
I heard that Victoria Sponge Cake was something I should try so we ordered a slice to share when we saw that it was one of their available cakes.
I forgot to take a picture of it before so I got one during our destruction of the cake.
This was so good it became my favorite treat of our whole trip.
I don't know if everyone will feel that way but I loved it.
After eating lunch we needed to get going to our destination for the night.
We really enjoyed our time in Chawton.
I got a few souvenirs at the gift shop at Jane Austen's home. I bought Lady Susan and Other Works because I have heard so much about Lady Susan and have really wanted to read it. I also bought Northanger Abbey as I haven't read it yet. I bought the bookmark of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett but then the other bookmarks and cards were given to us free.
Next up: Canterbury
Chicago Mo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2010
- Messages
- 7,613
your killing me..
1 i am STARVING right now..
2 your pictures are beautiful.. I really want to go there! OH even to see the cemeteries!
My old ghost hunting self is coming out!
1 i am STARVING right now..
2 your pictures are beautiful.. I really want to go there! OH even to see the cemeteries!
My old ghost hunting self is coming out!
annegirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2008
- Messages
- 1,462
annegirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2008
- Messages
- 1,462
After saying goodbye to Chawton and Jane Austen's beautiful home, we drove toward our final destination for the day...
Canterbury!
It was a couple of hours to drive to Canterbury and made a lot more sense with my original trip plans but due to a plan change we would be coming back this direction again the next day which made me worried that it was dumb to go all the way to Canterbury for only one night.
But, in the end I am SO glad we went!
Along the way I had my first experience with a large motorway.
It was very scary.
First of all, I did not do enough research on how to drive in England. I automatically went into the right lane thinking it was the slow lane since that is what I am used to. Then a huge semi truck came up right on my bumper and was honking at me and flashing his lights. I hurried over out of the lane as fast as I could. That was when it hit me that maybe their left lane was the slow lane since it was flipped. I drove in the left lane the rest of the drive and didn't have any more issues like that so I assumed I was correct. I later looked it up and yes, the left lane is the slow lane.
There were so many cars as it was Friday afternoon and I was really anxious the entire time.. but later I would come to love motorways. They are actually done so well and the drivers are great compared to Utah. They pretty much stay in the slower lanes unless passing. I was hardly ever tailgated. It was great. Just this first experience was scary.
I made us reservations at the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge which meant we were staying right on the grounds of the Canterbury Cathedral!
I reserved us a room in the Annex which was a bit cheaper than the main lodge but then I started to worry that it wouldn't be very nice.
I got lost in Canterbury (of course) and had to call the lodge to get instructions. They led me to a small private drive that I had gone by but had not noticed that came to a gate leading into the grounds of the Cathedral.
When we arrived we parked outside the entrance to the courtyard of the lodge.
We were kind of awestruck. To be standing in the courtyard of your hotel and turn around to see the famous Cathedral was amazing.
I had decided to ask them if I could upgrade to a room in the main lodge but they were booked full and couldn't change us.
The people at reception were SO nice.
They checked us in and gave us our cool key.
Then a couple of guys there helped us to take our bags to our room since there was no elevator in the annex.
These rooms were cheap. I mean, just over a hundred dollars.
The lodge wasn't much more.
This place is a great deal and it is really nice.
I highly recommend it.
Like I said, I was worried about what our room would be like in the annex.
But I shouldn't have been.
It was really cute, clean, and comfortable.
We settled in and then quickly went over to the Cathedral as we were hoping to make it before they closed for the night.
Staying at the lodge grants you free access to the cathedral as well as the fact that you can walk around the grounds as late/ early as you want before opening.
The cathedral was huge and beautiful.
They were doing construction work on it but that didn't take away from its glory.
Then we went inside and were again blown away.
These Cathedrals are magnificent.
As we walked around a man approached us and asked us where we were from and introduced himself.
He was a tour guide of the Cathedral (off duty) and asked if we were there for Evensong.
We told him yes but we wanted to look around until it was time for it to start.
He offered to take us around.
It was awesome.
He told us all of the details surrounding different areas of the Cathedral such as St. Micheal's Chapel...
He told us that Lady Margaret Holland commissioned the rebuilding of the chapel at her own expense to house the tombs of herself and her first and second husbands. The "triple tomb" is in the middle of the chapel. Lady Margaret is in the center with her first husband, John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset, on her left and her second husband, Thomas, Duke of Clarence, on her right.
He told us that there was a tomb already in here for a man named Stephen Langton that had to be moved a few feet to make room for the special tomb. Because of this his coffin came out a few feet outside the Cathedral itself so they built the wall out around the tomb. We would go looking for that later!
I asked if we could see the place where St.Thomas Becket was murdered and the shrine for him.
We couldn't go up to the shrine as it was almost time for Evensong to begin but I did take a picture looking up to the area.
And he took us to the spot of St.Thomas Becket's murder.
The door from which the Knights entered the Cathedral...
St. Thomas Becket was murdered by knights of the king when they felt like he was a threat to the King. They killed him at this spot.
His death became a martyrdom and his tomb became a place of pilgrimage. Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales are stories told by a group of pilgrims traveling to the tomb of St. Thomas Becket.
It was pretty eerie to stand there looking at the spot where he was martyred.
He then took us around to a few more spots of interest.
The windows in the chapter house...
He took us down the the Crypt which dates to the 11th century and showed us where the tomb of St. Thomas Becket was housed until 1220 when it was moved to the Trinity Chapel.
It was so cool down there.
Canterbury!
It was a couple of hours to drive to Canterbury and made a lot more sense with my original trip plans but due to a plan change we would be coming back this direction again the next day which made me worried that it was dumb to go all the way to Canterbury for only one night.
But, in the end I am SO glad we went!
Along the way I had my first experience with a large motorway.
It was very scary.
First of all, I did not do enough research on how to drive in England. I automatically went into the right lane thinking it was the slow lane since that is what I am used to. Then a huge semi truck came up right on my bumper and was honking at me and flashing his lights. I hurried over out of the lane as fast as I could. That was when it hit me that maybe their left lane was the slow lane since it was flipped. I drove in the left lane the rest of the drive and didn't have any more issues like that so I assumed I was correct. I later looked it up and yes, the left lane is the slow lane.
There were so many cars as it was Friday afternoon and I was really anxious the entire time.. but later I would come to love motorways. They are actually done so well and the drivers are great compared to Utah. They pretty much stay in the slower lanes unless passing. I was hardly ever tailgated. It was great. Just this first experience was scary.
I made us reservations at the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge which meant we were staying right on the grounds of the Canterbury Cathedral!
I reserved us a room in the Annex which was a bit cheaper than the main lodge but then I started to worry that it wouldn't be very nice.
I got lost in Canterbury (of course) and had to call the lodge to get instructions. They led me to a small private drive that I had gone by but had not noticed that came to a gate leading into the grounds of the Cathedral.
When we arrived we parked outside the entrance to the courtyard of the lodge.
We were kind of awestruck. To be standing in the courtyard of your hotel and turn around to see the famous Cathedral was amazing.
I had decided to ask them if I could upgrade to a room in the main lodge but they were booked full and couldn't change us.
The people at reception were SO nice.
They checked us in and gave us our cool key.
Then a couple of guys there helped us to take our bags to our room since there was no elevator in the annex.
These rooms were cheap. I mean, just over a hundred dollars.
The lodge wasn't much more.
This place is a great deal and it is really nice.
I highly recommend it.
Like I said, I was worried about what our room would be like in the annex.
But I shouldn't have been.
It was really cute, clean, and comfortable.
We settled in and then quickly went over to the Cathedral as we were hoping to make it before they closed for the night.
Staying at the lodge grants you free access to the cathedral as well as the fact that you can walk around the grounds as late/ early as you want before opening.
The cathedral was huge and beautiful.
They were doing construction work on it but that didn't take away from its glory.
Then we went inside and were again blown away.
These Cathedrals are magnificent.
As we walked around a man approached us and asked us where we were from and introduced himself.
He was a tour guide of the Cathedral (off duty) and asked if we were there for Evensong.
We told him yes but we wanted to look around until it was time for it to start.
He offered to take us around.
It was awesome.
He told us all of the details surrounding different areas of the Cathedral such as St. Micheal's Chapel...
He told us that Lady Margaret Holland commissioned the rebuilding of the chapel at her own expense to house the tombs of herself and her first and second husbands. The "triple tomb" is in the middle of the chapel. Lady Margaret is in the center with her first husband, John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset, on her left and her second husband, Thomas, Duke of Clarence, on her right.
He told us that there was a tomb already in here for a man named Stephen Langton that had to be moved a few feet to make room for the special tomb. Because of this his coffin came out a few feet outside the Cathedral itself so they built the wall out around the tomb. We would go looking for that later!
I asked if we could see the place where St.Thomas Becket was murdered and the shrine for him.
We couldn't go up to the shrine as it was almost time for Evensong to begin but I did take a picture looking up to the area.
And he took us to the spot of St.Thomas Becket's murder.
The door from which the Knights entered the Cathedral...
St. Thomas Becket was murdered by knights of the king when they felt like he was a threat to the King. They killed him at this spot.
His death became a martyrdom and his tomb became a place of pilgrimage. Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales are stories told by a group of pilgrims traveling to the tomb of St. Thomas Becket.
It was pretty eerie to stand there looking at the spot where he was martyred.
He then took us around to a few more spots of interest.
The windows in the chapter house...
He took us down the the Crypt which dates to the 11th century and showed us where the tomb of St. Thomas Becket was housed until 1220 when it was moved to the Trinity Chapel.
It was so cool down there.
annegirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2008
- Messages
- 1,462
After our tour we went up to Evensong.
I have to confess something. I recorded a minute of it.
I didn't show it. I put my phone down on the bench next to us but I just had to record just a small snippet. It was so breathtakingly beautiful.
The service was wonderful and I am so glad we were able to go to one while in England.
After exiting the Evensong service the Cathedral was closing.
We went outside and walked around the Cathedral a bit more.
We found the tomb the guide had told us about.
There it is!
We decided to go walk around Canterbury to find a place for dinner.
We walked around town looking for two tea rooms that I had heard about... but they were closed!
The pubs were all completely full.
While the Cathedral grounds were peaceful and quiet, the main streets of old Canterbury were packed.
And everyone was at dinner.
This was right outside the grounds
The gate to the grounds.
Canterbury was very cool.
We were so tired after a while of walking around and not finding anywhere that didn't have at least an hour wait so we finally did what felt to me like the unthinkable at the time... we went to McDonalds.
Haha.
We grabbed it to go and went back to relax in our hotel room which ended up being so nice.
I would love to go to Canterbury again someday and spend some more time.
We watched Mockingjay part 2 on my Ipad and ate our dinner and then went to bed.
I knew that we would need to leave really early in the morning the next day so I called reception and asked the night man how to go about checking out before lobby hours. He told us that he would be down there at that time and could check us out. He sounded just like Bert from Mary Poppins.
He asked me if we wanted some breakfast that early and I told him no, that's okay, I know that the breakfast room isn't open yet. He told me that he would open it for us and set some things out for us.
I will show you in the next post what he did for us!
Next up: Dover
I have to confess something. I recorded a minute of it.
I didn't show it. I put my phone down on the bench next to us but I just had to record just a small snippet. It was so breathtakingly beautiful.
The service was wonderful and I am so glad we were able to go to one while in England.
After exiting the Evensong service the Cathedral was closing.
We went outside and walked around the Cathedral a bit more.
We found the tomb the guide had told us about.
There it is!
We decided to go walk around Canterbury to find a place for dinner.
We walked around town looking for two tea rooms that I had heard about... but they were closed!
The pubs were all completely full.
While the Cathedral grounds were peaceful and quiet, the main streets of old Canterbury were packed.
And everyone was at dinner.
This was right outside the grounds
The gate to the grounds.
Canterbury was very cool.
We were so tired after a while of walking around and not finding anywhere that didn't have at least an hour wait so we finally did what felt to me like the unthinkable at the time... we went to McDonalds.
Haha.
We grabbed it to go and went back to relax in our hotel room which ended up being so nice.
I would love to go to Canterbury again someday and spend some more time.
We watched Mockingjay part 2 on my Ipad and ate our dinner and then went to bed.
I knew that we would need to leave really early in the morning the next day so I called reception and asked the night man how to go about checking out before lobby hours. He told us that he would be down there at that time and could check us out. He sounded just like Bert from Mary Poppins.
He asked me if we wanted some breakfast that early and I told him no, that's okay, I know that the breakfast room isn't open yet. He told me that he would open it for us and set some things out for us.
I will show you in the next post what he did for us!
Next up: Dover
Chicago Mo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2010
- Messages
- 7,613
I am reading along i promise.. But i have no words!! this is all just amazing. and jaw dropping. I WOULD LOVE to walk where your walking!!!
Chicago Mo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2010
- Messages
- 7,613
Although going to McDonalds is an epic FAIL! LOL
missangelalexis
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2012
- Messages
- 7,703
Sounds like a great visit to Jane Austen's home. And your lunch after looks yummy!
Your Canterbury room was so cute! I'm glad it wasn't an issue being in the annex. The Cathedral is breathtaking!
Your Canterbury room was so cute! I'm glad it wasn't an issue being in the annex. The Cathedral is breathtaking!
annegirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2008
- Messages
- 1,462
Thank you! Haha. It wasn't always easy. But I am glad I did it.
Thanks!
I know, right? Haha. I was trying to hide it under my jacket as we walked back to the hotel.
It really was so awesome!
annegirl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2008
- Messages
- 1,462
We woke up early on Saturday April 9th and went to the main building to check out.
This was the door to the annex where our room was.
The night/ early morning manager was outside walking around so he helped us with our luggage.
Then he took us to the dining room.
I really thought he would just have some toast out by the front desk or something but he had opened up the dining room and had it set up really nice for us.
This was the view of the cathedral from the dining room.
We were able to have pastries, cereal, fruit, yogurt, and an assortment of bread with jams and marmalade.
It was great.
He was so nice and stayed for a few minutes to talk to us about the things we were doing and planning on doing.
Soon it was time to leave.
I had to get a few more pictures of the Cathedral!
This was my cute car.
This thing was so quiet that you couldn't even tell it was on most of the time.
The Cathedral grounds were so pretty.
We drove about thirty minutes south to the cliffs of Dover.
It was a really nice drive. There weren't many other cars out yet and the scenery was beautiful.
As we got close to the cliffs I had to pull over to get some pictures.
Dover Castle:
As soon as we parked we got out to walk along the cliffs.
There were two paths- a higher one and a lower one. They looked the same to us at first and like the lower one might be better so we took that one.
It was pretty windy and cold but BEAUTIFUL!
We had to kind of lean over the edge to get a really good look and take some good pictures...
Prepare for picture overload....
hey there France!
We walked back to the beginning of the path and decided to take the upper path as well.
Then we felt kind of dumb because it was a bigger path and had just as good of views without having to lean over the edge! In fact there were benches and a fence.
22 miles to France from here.
The other direction wasn't as pretty as it was where there were a lot of docks with ferries coming in and out, tons of semi trucks. We could smell exhaust and hear the more industrial type sounds. But just walk down the path a bit and it was serene and so pretty.
We would have loved to spend more time here and walk all the way to the lighthouse but we had an appointment to make a few hours away (not in the original plans but more on that later!) so we had to keep it semi short. But we were still so glad that we came here. It was a wonderful place.
Next up: Highclere Castle
This was the door to the annex where our room was.
The night/ early morning manager was outside walking around so he helped us with our luggage.
Then he took us to the dining room.
I really thought he would just have some toast out by the front desk or something but he had opened up the dining room and had it set up really nice for us.
This was the view of the cathedral from the dining room.
We were able to have pastries, cereal, fruit, yogurt, and an assortment of bread with jams and marmalade.
It was great.
He was so nice and stayed for a few minutes to talk to us about the things we were doing and planning on doing.
Soon it was time to leave.
I had to get a few more pictures of the Cathedral!
This was my cute car.
This thing was so quiet that you couldn't even tell it was on most of the time.
The Cathedral grounds were so pretty.
We drove about thirty minutes south to the cliffs of Dover.
It was a really nice drive. There weren't many other cars out yet and the scenery was beautiful.
As we got close to the cliffs I had to pull over to get some pictures.
Dover Castle:
As soon as we parked we got out to walk along the cliffs.
There were two paths- a higher one and a lower one. They looked the same to us at first and like the lower one might be better so we took that one.
It was pretty windy and cold but BEAUTIFUL!
We had to kind of lean over the edge to get a really good look and take some good pictures...
Prepare for picture overload....
hey there France!
We walked back to the beginning of the path and decided to take the upper path as well.
Then we felt kind of dumb because it was a bigger path and had just as good of views without having to lean over the edge! In fact there were benches and a fence.
22 miles to France from here.
The other direction wasn't as pretty as it was where there were a lot of docks with ferries coming in and out, tons of semi trucks. We could smell exhaust and hear the more industrial type sounds. But just walk down the path a bit and it was serene and so pretty.
We would have loved to spend more time here and walk all the way to the lighthouse but we had an appointment to make a few hours away (not in the original plans but more on that later!) so we had to keep it semi short. But we were still so glad that we came here. It was a wonderful place.
Next up: Highclere Castle
Chicago Mo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2010
- Messages
- 7,613
This is what a real castle view looks like (Or cathedral)
just beautiful.
scrappydew
l wish I were at Aulani!
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2016
- Messages
- 300
I am loving your trip report! I have an uncle and aunt who live in England, and we'd like to visit. You are giving me many ideas for our trip! Thanks for sharing!
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