Canterbury, England

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Canterbury, England:
Medieval cathedral city, destination of pilgrims over the centuries

(ii) The murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket inside the Cathedral in 1170, on the indirect orders of King Henry II

(iii) Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the most notable piece of early English literature (late 1300's), composed of tales told by travellers on a pilgrimage from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of the martyred Becket.

Canterbury today offers you not just its fine Cathedral - a spectacular architectural record in itself, that you can take a look at in How they Built Canterbury Cathedral - but a full 2,000 years of history:

A look at the city as it was 2,000 to 1,600 years ago in the Roman Museum, set around the beautiful remains of a Roman mosaic floor 2 meters below street level;
Unique early Christian sites from as early as the 590's and 600's:

Canterbury is world-famous for three things:

(i) Canterbury Cathedral's role as the 'Mother Church' of the Church of England - the Archbishop of Canterbury is the head of the Church of England;

Above: Tudor buildings beside the River Stour
Below: The Westgate (left) & Holy Cross Church (now used as the Guildhall)

The Castle Keep, the huge ruined remains of the second of two castles built here by William the Conqueror and his son Henry I
Fine Tudor & Elizabethan buildings (1500's)
Modern facilities in which to see and hear the city's story: the new Cathedral International Study Centre, and Canterbury Heritage Museum with its special collections of Saxon jewellery and coins, and pilgrim souvenirs.

Part of the Greyfriars' (Franciscan) monastery, from 1267

Day Out in Canterbury & Kent from London (escorted)

If you are staying in London, call us to arrange an Escorted Day Out in Canterbury and Kent. Travel down by train from London Victoria (a journey of around 1 hour 20 minutes) and I will meet you at Canterbury station. We will do a 90-minute Introduction to Canterbury walking tour outlining the city's history, showing you its main sights, and taking in a number of interesting locations which most visitors do not get to. After coffee there is time for a visit to Canterbury Cathedral or time in the shops. Then we head off by car for lunch in a 14th-century country pub, followed by an afternoon visit to Dover Castle, the well-preserved stronghold of Henry II built atop the famous White Cliffs of Dover; here I will give you a personally-guided tour. On clear days the cliffs of France are visible 22 miles away across the English Channel. We return to Canterbury by car - you can then return to London by train, or spend the evening in the city before a later return.

Personally-guided Tour of Canterbury

Our core product: a 90-minute personally-guided walking tour of Canterbury, outlining the city's history, showing you its main sights, and taking in a number of interesting locations which most visitors do not get to. Tours are in English.

The Cathedral still dominates the cityscape

Group visits

Our personally-guided Walking Tour of Canterbury is very suitable for groups. Our Tours are in English. Using one guide for groups of up to 24, we deploy two guides simultaneously for up to 48 people (one coach load). With more than one coach load we will, with you, organise the day so that the Tours can be taken consecutively. Groups can make good use of our Escorted Tours of Kent, or combine Canterbury and one of Kent's features in a Day Out (e.g. Walmer Castle).

Take your choice of our Canterbury pages:

Visit with Dr Thomson's Tours:

Short-Stays in Canterbury

We can arrange a package which includes Bed & Breakfast accommodation in either a city centre hotel or in a comfortable guest house (smaller, less formal accommodation), and 2 personally- guided walking tours showing you the city in detail. We can offer you Escorted Days Out around Kent, through the Channel Tunnel to France and Belgium, or by Eurostar train to Paris or Lille.

St Martin's Church, where St Augustine, sent by the pope in 597 to reintroduce Christianity to Britain, first worshipped - this makes it the oldest continuously- used parish church in England (1,400 + years and counting!);
St Augustine's Abbey, built outside the city walls as a burial place for the Kings of Kent and the early Archbishops (St Augustine was the first Archbishop of Canterbury; today's Archbishop, Rowan Williams, is the 104th

An impressive stock of medieval buildings: churches, pilgrim inns (1400's), fine vaulted cellars from the 1100's, private dwellings, and the remains of simple buildings left from the Franciscan and Dominican monasteries (1200's)