Cathedrals, Cliffs, and Castles with England Experience Tour
A couple of months back, I was in Europe working on a few travel campaigns when I found myself back in England. I have to be honest and say that even after 8 trips there, England has not ranked high up on my favorite list of places to explore. I previously lived in the South West and London and did a fair bit of traveling when I was 19 & 20. On this trip, something different happened and I gained a newfound love for it after exploring the Kent countryside with England Experience Tours a subdivision of Highlander Experience Tours.
I was invited along on their Catherdrals, Cliffs, and Castles day tour. They focus on small groups with a maximum of 16 people. What’s special about this one is that it takes you on a journey throughout time, while you explore the countryside, dramatic coastal cliffs, and incredible English landscapes and take in a few historic buildings along the way.
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
The tour departed from a local coffee shop, one that my google maps had a hard time trying to find. The meet and greet were really fun, and we had a great bunch on our tour.
We left London and headed towards Canterbury, following in the footsteps of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales characters who journeyed to visit the shrine of the martyr Saint Thomas Becket, regaling stories to one another along the way.
A visit to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Canterbury
Our first stop was Canterbury – famed as the historic cathedral city of Britain, and also a UNESCO World Heritage site. I was most excited about this leg of the trip and had spent a few days there with my sister and friends the week before. I was instinctively drawn to its medieval Celtic heritage and needed to explore more of it.
The Monarch of the United Kingdom has granted Cantebury City status as a result of its diocesan cathedrals. The Canterbury Cathedral where St Augustine became the first Archbishop in 597AD and served as an apostle to the pagan kingdom of Kent. I fell in love with its breathtaking mixture of Romanesque and Gothic architecture.
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
The cathedral became a major focus of pilgrimage and draws more than 1 million visitors per year making it the most visited place in all of England. Services here are held 3 or more times per day depending on the session and the demand.
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
The city has first been recorded as the main settlement of the Celtic tribe of Cantiaci, and then later the Romans rebuilt the city in a grid pattern. Since then, many historical structures have filled the area including an eroded city wall formed by the Romans, the ruins of St Augustine Abbey, the Norman Castle, and the oldest extant school in the world.
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
16 & 17th Century Houses
The medieval streets are dotted with pretty black and white timber-framed 16 & 17th century Weaver houses. The most iconic of these buildings is the Old Weavers House along the River Stour which takes its name from the influx of Flemish and Hugenot weavers who settled in the area after fleeing from religious persecution during the 16th and 17th centuries.
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
Our tour guide was just incredible and he gave us such an informative free walking tour around this warm and mellow city. I learned from him that the first floor of this double-story house was built in the 16th Century and the second floor in the 17th Century. I can’t offhand remember the reasons why.
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
While most of the tour group explored the inside of the Cathedral, I opted for something a little bit different – The ruins of Augustine Abbey.
The ruins of St Augustine Abbey
I always have this tendency to search for the most eroded ruins in nearly every medieval place I visit. It’s now become such a big inspiration around my blog posts. Not only do I think they all look absolutely beautiful but also that they tell us a story about the heritage of mankind and share historical facts with us about the past.
I followed the eroded Roman wall for a couple of km when I reached St Augustine Abbey.
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
This was the most important Monastery in medieval England. For almost 1000 years it was the center of learning and spirituality. It was originally established in an effort to bring Christianity to England but was reduced to ruins when King Henry VIII broke with Rome and declared himself head of the church of England. He brutally executed a mall number of abbots and monks who resisted the closure of their monasteries. Not all the parts of the monastery were destroyed. The remaining parts were renovated and turned into a Royal Palace with a walled courtyard and a private garden. A few years later under new ownership parts of these ruins became an Inn called the Old Palace, and the chamber over the great gate was turned into a cockfighting pit. In the 1840s the St Augustine missionary College was built here. This single site carries such in-depth history, and as a result, UNESCO declared this a World Heritage Site.
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
The crooked Sir John Boys House
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
This is possibly the most photographed place in all of Canterbury and one of my favorite sites on this tour – Sir John Boys House. Often referred to as the Crooked House, King’s Gallery, or Old Kings Shop, this delightfully skewed 17th-century half-timbered building‘s most noticeable feature is the bright red skew front door. Alterations to an internal chimney caused the structure to slip sideways resulting in this immaculate art piece.
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
Walking the White Cliffs of Dover
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
The next stop was the world-famous White Cliffs of Dover. These 110m high coastal cliffs mark the closest point to France from mainland Britain. I will never forget the amazement I felt when I first experienced them back in 2004. I was taking a ferry crossing from England to Paris when the sun illuminated the white chalk against the contrasting bright blue ocean. On a clear day, the cliffs are noticeable from the French coastline.
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
This time around I had an opportunity to walk a section of them. The cliffs stretch along the coastline for 13 km throughout the county of Kent – the home of the ancient and still important English port.
In geology terms, these cliffs have offered the most fascinating, accessible, and complete records of the story of the Chalk Formation. The cliffs are made from soft white chalk: a very finely-grained pure limestone that is 300 – 400m deep and made of calcium carbonate. These chalk layers have built up gradually over millions of years. Interestingly the shapes of the cliffs were formed from the skeletal remains of minute planktonic green algae combined with other creatures. Over millions of years, the once below seabed has become exposed and is now above sea level.
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
Each year the cliff face weathers about 1cm. There have been two instances where large pieces the size of a football pitch, fell into the Channel so it’s advisable that you stay clear from the cliff edge. Because you are so high above sea level it gets pretty windy up there, especially along the small paths on the cliff’s edge. There were moments when the wind came over and I got a little bit nervous. At one point the path was rather close to the edge and in most tourist spots there would be multiple danger signs.
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
The view from up here was absolutely stunning. Along the way, there are a few information boards highlighting the importance these cliffs had during World War 1 & World War 2 and including their use as a railway.
After taking a short walk around, I had a delicious lunch at the restaurant at the National Trust Centre and learned more about the geology of the cliffs at their information center.
This is a beautiful area to take in and you can quite easily hike to multiple towns along the coastline from this point, so if you are visiting you should try and set aside a full day.
Leeds Castle
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
We ended the tour at Leeds Castle: a breathtaking spot that was built in 1119 upon two islands in a lake. This most visited property in Britain was home to six of England’s Medieval queens and King Henry VIII who lived with his first wife Catherine of Aragon.
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
We arrived at the ticket counter and paid our entrance fee of £24,90 per person. It is a bit on the steep side but take into consideration that this ticket allows you access for 12 months from the date of purchase. It also allows you to go just about everywhere on the property and you can quite easily spend an entire day here. You cannot gauge the size of the property on arrival, but I can tell you it is massive so be prepared for a lot of walking. There are 500 acres of parkland and a range of interesting gardens. The woodland garden is along the river bend and filled with vibrantly colored flowers. Many peacocks and black swans have made themselves a home here.
The Culpeper Garden has an informal layout with low box hedges and is very picturesque. There is also a really challenging but fun walk through a maze of 2400 English yew trees. Here you can find the Birds of prey center which offers a 30-minute demonstration on a wide variety of birds like hawks, vultures, falcons, and owls.
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
When you are walking through all these gorgeous gardens you almost forget that you are there to experience an 11th-century castle that has been standing for over 900 years. It’s a beautiful and contrasting site when you first experience it. If you have some time, consider taking a ride on an elegant wooden punt and experience the ancient arches and castle exterior from a. different perspective.
You can enter the castle by walking over a drawbridge that was used back in the day to protect from attacks. Walking inside the castle at a slow pace will immerse you in the Medieval and Tudor periods which are still evident in these rooms today. The helpful dialogues on boards in each room will give you ample information that will make you feel like you are living through these centuries. There are also plenty of artifacts that you can enjoy.
England, Image by Chantelle Flores | www.kzaravisual.com
After an interesting day, we hurried our tired bodies back to the minivan. What did I love the most? That’s a hard one! Every place visited was incredibly different and offered rich insight into English culture. Be prepared for a really long but fun day with this crowd. They are incredibly laid back, fun, and informative and offer a unique perspective to their tours.
Out of this list – Which is your favorite? We would love to hear why!
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