Your own Canterbury tale

Travel by Peter Woodman

Pilgrims have been flocking to Canterbury Cathedral for more than 800 years, so we thought we could do a lot worse than join the crowd.

With six days to explore the so-called "Garden of England", a trip to the mother church of the Anglican Communion was a must.

Immense in size, with a great sense of history, the cathedral has been the focal point for pilgrims ever since Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket was murdered within its walls in 1170.

Four of Henry II’s knights did the dastardly deed, having overheard their monarch ask "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?"

A contrite Henry later thought he had better join the pilgrims with a visit to Becket’s tomb and even allowed himself to be whipped, although he is supposed to have told the scourgers to go easy on him.

Sadly, those looking for Becket’s tomb will search in vain, for it was destroyed during the reign of Henry VIII; burning candles now mark the spot.

It was the pilgrims' trek to the cathedral who inspired Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales which, in turn, have proved the inspiration for a visitor attraction near the cathedral.

Entitled The Canterbury Tales, the child-orientated but somewhat saucy attraction outlines some of the famous stories using puppets.

For those who struggled with Chaucer at school it’s an easy way to find out what the famous poet was trying to say.

One of the tales told was that of the earthy Wife of Bath. We wondered what the many schoolchildren who were there quite made of some of her ribald comments.

Canterbury, if you survive its traffic-jammed ring roads, is a good base to visit the nearby coast.

On a boiling hot day we settled on a trip to Broadstairs – a resort much loved by Charles Dickens. It was from a cliff-top house in the town that the 19th century novelist wrote parts of Bleak House and David Copperfield.

The accommodation is now a museum appropriately called Bleak House and references to Dickens abound in the town. We were surprised at the attractive golden sands of the main beach, although the water was icy cold.

For those who find nearby Margate a touch garish, there is always the much-quieter Cliftonville. Once there we found we had escaped the crowds and could go for long walks along the seafront.

From Canterbury, where we stayed in the upmarket bed-and-breakfast establishment of Magnolia House, we also travelled to Howlett’s Wild Animal Park, famous for its gorillas. The park is a good day out and the gorillas provide great entertainment.

As with many zoos these days, Howlett’s bangs the conservation drum and stresses the scarcity of many species. As well as the gorillas, there are tigers and wolves.

We also went to the park’s sister attraction at Port Lympne near Hythe. This is much bigger than Howlett’s and we were taken around by bus on a 90-minute safari.

It was so hot on the day of our visit that it was almost like being on the African plains. Our enthusiastic driver took us on a terrific tour, seeing rhinos, giraffes, elephants and numerous antelopes.

The park sits high over the reclaimed lands of Romney Marsh and we had wonderful views along the coast as far as the nuclear power station at Dungeness.

As we continued our safari we could see the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway which runs 13 miles from Hythe to Dungeness.

For the Port Lympne trip we had switched accommodation to the rather splendid Eastwell Manor near Ashford.

A four-star country house hotel, Eastwell is set in extensive grounds. Sheep grazed in nearby fields and roses abounded – we were deep in the heart of the garden of England on a beautiful summer’s day.

Eastwell has all the feel of an old baronial home yet, amazingly, was built as recently as 1928.

From there we headed for one of the best-kept and attractive gardens in the country – Sissinghurst Castle Garden near Staplehurst.

We could not have chosen a better day. This extraordinary Elizabethan estate with its viewing tower looked fabulous under blue skies and sizzling temperatures.

Now a National Trust property, the estate was bought in 1930 by writer Vita Sackville-West, who created the garden with her husband Sir Harold Nicolson.

The weather was still great as we visited Hythe, one of the five old Cinque Ports, now more of a quaint old town than a seaside resort. Cars are banned from the town centre during the middle of the day and we were able to window shop down the narrow streets. It was like a throwback to the days before supermarkets and shopping malls, complete with wool shops, sweet shops and local butcher. Bliss.

•  Peter Woodman stayed at Eastwell Manor, in Boughton Lees near Ashford, and at Magnolia House, Canterbury.

At Eastwell Manor, double rooms start at £140 on B&B basis. Inquiries: 01233 213 000 or www.eastwell.co.uk.
Doubles at Magnolia House on B&B terms start at £65 per night. Inquiries: 01227 765 121 or www.magnoliahousecanterbury.co.uk

For more information about Kent, call Kent Tourism on 01271 336 020 or visit kenttourism.co.uk.