July 26 - Battle and London

We were up early this morning for our final home-cooked breakfast of the trip and to pack the car one last time for the trip to London. On the way to the capital we stopped in Battle to tour Battle Abbey and Battlefield, site of the famous Battle of Hastings.

It was on this field that, on the 14th of November 1066, William the Conqueror defeated King Harold, ending the Anglo-Saxon period and ushering in the Norman one. To many historians, this battle was the beginning of English history.

Our visit started by following an audio guide tour around the perimeter of the battlefield, which is surprisingly small. This picture is taken from where William's Normans stood before the battle, looking up the hill towards Harold and the Saxons.

To commemorate the battle and his victory, King William I established a Benedictine abbey on the site; Battle Abbey would go on to become one of the wealthiest monastic houses in the country. After the dissolution, the abbey fell into the hands of Sir Anthony Browne who demolished most of it to make way for a manor house, so very little remains.

This stone marks the place where the High Altar of the abbey church once stood. Legend has it that it was on this exact spot that King Harold died during the battle.

 

The only remaining building is the old dormitory, pictured here, where the most senior monks slept.

The highlight of the ruins was the collection of rooms below the dormitory, all of which are astonishingly well-preserved in comparison to the rest of the abbey.

We ended our visit with a lunch onsite before continuing the drive to Heathrow to return the Ford S-Max, two-and-a-half weeks and over one thousand miles later. We caught a bus from the airport which took us directly to our hotel, the Crowne Plaza Kensington, and were there by early evening. The hotel's in an amazing location, right across the street from the Gloucester Road tube stop and within walking distance of Hyde Park, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Kensington Palace, and Royal Albert Hall.

We had dinner at the hotel, and I ended the day with a short walk around Kensington. After being here for just a few hours I already love the city, and can't wait to begin exploring tomorrow.

GWV

July 25 - Dover Castle

We started the day with a visit to the Battle of Britain Memorial, located just outside of Dover. It’s designed so that the whole thing looks like a propeller from the air (the statue seen here is at the centre), which is a little difficult to see from the ground but still well worth a visit.

We soon left the memorial and continued onwards to Dover Castle, which sits on a hill looking down on the coastal city. The castle has components ranging from ancient times to the present day, and is thus an entire lesson in English history.

Standing on the castle's highest point is a Roman Lighthouse, built in the second century A.D. when the port of Dover was first created (to the right of the church in this picture). Next to it is the Saxon church of St. Mary-in-Castro, built around 1000. The church was completely redone in the nineteenth century and is today the garrison chapel, but it is still possible to see some of the millennium-old original features.

Next, we entered the castle’s inner walls to tour the Great Tower, built by Henry II in 1180 and supposedly the “last and greatest keep” of the early Middle Ages. This keep was built to welcome wealthy pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, and as such was elaborately decorated and furnished. Today, the main rooms have been redone, giving you the chance to (sort of) experience what the castle would have looked like eight hundred years ago.

At the top of the Great Tower is an observation platform from which you get amazing views of the Kent countryside, the city of Dover, the English Coast, and the Channel.

The last significant part of our tour was through the many miles of tunnels built into the cliff beneath the castle. First used as a barracks during the Napoleonic wars, they were extended and reused in both the Second World War and the Cold War. Some of the tunnels have been opened to the public, including the WWII hospital wing and the command stations used by Bertram Ramsay to plan the Dunkirk evacuations.

Lastly, we visited the Admiralty Lookout, built during World War One as a means of observing friendly and/or enemy activity passing by in the Channel.

The castle was both architecturally and historically fascinating, and even after spending a full day on the site there were some things we didn’t see. We returned to Aunt Val and Uncle Ralph’s for one final dinner this evening before heading back to the bed and breakfast to pack ahead of tomorrow’s drive into London.

GWV

July 24 - Romney Marsh, Dungeness and Rye

We awoke this morning to glorious weather, which was a relief as much of the day was spent outside. In the morning, however, we toured several of the medieval churches of Romney Marsh (it used to be an actual marsh - now it's just flat land). The tiny churches, such as this one in Snave, were a welcome change from the cathedrals and were all very interesting.

St. Augustine in Brookland is known for its detached bell tower and high pew boxes (pictured here).

For me, the highlight was St. Thomas à Becket in Fairfield, which is literally in the middle of a field. When it was built it could only be reached by boat, and today you have to walk through flocks of sheep to reach it.

We stopped for drinks at a neat little country pub before continuing south through the marsh towards Dungeness, a large nature reserve on the south coast. Its beaches are covered with shingle, very thin rock, and it is home to a wide variety of unusual plant species.

 After a sublime fish and chip lunch Dad, Julia and I climbed the old lighthouse for a fabulous view of the reserve and beaches (and, off to the right in this picture, a large nuclear power station).

 

 At the base of the lighthouse is the terminal station of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Light Railway, which is supposedly the smallest public railway (meaning it’s more than just a tourist attraction) in the world. Not sure I would fit into the cars, though…

 

Next, we traveled a little further west to a beach along the coast which gave us all a chance to stand in the English Channel. It was very cold and windy, but really neat.

Our last stop of the day was in Rye, a charming medieval village full of Tudor-age buildings and winding cobblestone streets.

While there we climbed the tower of St. Mary’s Church for a great view of the town and surrounding countryside, and even managed to do a little antiquing. We ended the day with another delicious dinner at my aunt and uncle's house; tomorrow, it's off to Dover Castle!

GWV

July 23 - Canterbury

Our first day in Kent started with yet another outstanding breakfast – these English morning meals are just wonderful. An hour later we had picked my aunt and uncle up from their house and were on our way to Canterbury. We stopped at the village of Chilham along the way, a delightful little town with a very picturesque main square. 

We started our visit of Canterbury in the cathedral, the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England and the worldwide leader of Anglican Communion.

Our tour started in the Nave, far less ornate than many of the others we have seen but just as majestic. At the far end is the West Window, which contains one of the oldest pieces of stained glass in Britain (c.1176).

The cathedral is most famous for being the site of the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket by Henry II’s knights on 29 December 1170. The spot where he died, known as The Martyrdom (this exact floor), soon became the most popular place of pilgrimage in the country.

At the centre of the church is the Bell Harry Tower; in the middle of the ceiling is a trapdoor that was used during construction.

Directly behind the high altar is St. Augustine’s Chair, where all Archbishops of Canterbury are enthroned. It was first used in the 13^th century, which explains why it isn’t as elaborate as you might expect.

Within the cathedral walls are various medieval buildings, including the Monastic Water Tower, built in the 12^th century and the principle water supply for the monks who lived on the premises.

After a tasty oriental lunch at Wagamama (that’s its name, I swear) we went to see the ruins of St. Augustine’s Abbey, founded in 598 by St. Augustine to mark the successful reintroduction of Christianity to England. The ruins themselves are far less impressive than Rievaulx, but historically it was just as interesting.

Seen here is the crypt, which was used for both services and burials; many of the earliest Kings of Kent and Archbishops of Canterbury were buried in the abbey.

These are the foundations of Wulfric’s Rotunda, a hexagonal tower built in 1050 to link together the various churches and chapels that had been constructed as the abbey grew in size.

After the dissolution the monastery was converted into a royal palace for Henry VIII and was used as a stopping point between London and the southeast ports. The sixteenth century additions can be seen in the red brick in this picture.

Once we had finished touring the abbey we went to nearby St. Martin’s, the oldest church in continuous use in the English-speaking world. And while we couldn’t go inside, it was well worth a visit, particularly because of its fascinating graveyard.

For something completely different, we ended our day at the Kent Beer Festival. Long story short, it was quite the experience! And then, to change things up once again, we stopped in at a cricket match for a few minutes before having yet another delicious meal prepared by my uncle.

GWV