Off on a pilgrimage to Canterbury? You’re in esteemed company. Chaucer’s raunchy story tellers related their tales on the way to Canterbury Cathedral, and Canterbury has been one of the most visited cities in England since the twelfth century, when it became a site of pilgrimage after the murder of Thomas Becket. Tis very much one of our favourite cities.
The Wife of Bath et al didn’t have the foresight to book a Canterbury campsite, but these days peeps are more sensible. Go Canterbury camping (for at least a week) to have several squints at one of our all-time top cathedrals alongside other historic buildings and streets in the medieval city and World Heritage Site; side trips to the Roman Museum, Canterbury Heritage Museum and St Augustine’s Abbey very much included.
Much like the overnight tale tellers of Chaucer, we don’t have room here to talk for days, but must hastily also recommend a trip to the Marlowe Theatre; boating or a chauffeured punt on the River Stour; shopping on King’s Mile, and, in the city surrounds, pedalling the Pilgrims Cycle Trail and Crab and Winkle Way. A beach pilgrimage too? Whitstable is about five miles to Canterbury’s north.
