White Cliffs of Dover, the Town of Sandwich, & Walmer Castle
Thursday, January 23
What I really wanted to do was get back to the Seven Sisters Cliffs, but the travel was too far from Canterbury for a day trip. I would've had about three hours on a train with three changes. That's just too much in one day in terms of logistics and I knew I would dread the return trip. Also, it would've been quite pricey for the train--I think around £80, which is over $100.
What I had really enjoyed previously and is very close to Canterbury is Dover! It's only about 25 minutes on the train. The white cliffs there are nice, so I decided to return again. It wasn't too cold this day and walking that much (a lot of it uphill) certainly warmed up my body. I walked a lot further this time than when I visited in August.
This is a photo through part of the countryside to get to that impressive cliff. Lots of ups and downs. Very muddy this day too, but at least it wasn't raining on me.
It was nice to be in Dover, a place I had visited already and was familiar with. It didn't take too much thinking on my part to make the trip there. The negative is that I fell down the stairs at the rail station when I was heading home. They were stone stairs that were moist from the weather and I'm sure my shoes were slick for that reason too. It was only a few stairs that I slid down, but I had a huge bruise on my lower back that lasted 1.5 weeks and one on my hand too. I was so sore! No one saw me fall luckily (haha). Overall I'm glad I went back to Dover.
Friday, January 24
Two of the three things I planned in Sandwich for this day were closed and I was super bummed about it. I walked 20 minutes from the rail station to see a windmill that wasn't open and then another 20 minutes to a garden/tea room that wasn't open. Walking 20 minutes doesn't sound that long but when you're walking that amount of time, especially in the cold...it's long. I was not feeling this trip to Sandwich whatsoever, but made my final stop at the Guildhall Museum there, which houses the 1300 AD Sandwich Magna Carta, as well as an Elizabethan era courtroom. I had to be personally escorted by the volunteer to the courtroom and I got some insider info from him. It was pretty cool. I didn't take any photos inside, but this is what it looks like on the outside.
And here's the courtroom, which was actually visited by Queen Elizabeth I.
I mentioned to the volunteer that everything in the room was older than my country, so after he observed my American accent we chatted a bit about when he lived and worked in Michigan. He was a sweet man.
Here's a photo of a nice color combo on a house in Sandwich. Also, I returned to Tiny Tim's Tearoom and had proper afternoon tea when I got back to Canterbury.
Saturday, January 25
There was a train disruption that made my plans for Saturday not work out. I wanted to visit two towns--Deal and Walmer, as they both have castles and are nearby to one another. Train cancellations all morning pushed my timeline back so that I could only visit Walmer and couldn't leave to get there until 11:30 am. The train trip was about an hour. The town is on the coast, north of Dover.
Off the train I had to walk a while to get to the castle through a town that, from what I saw, didn't have much going for it. Just a very typical, non-descript sort of place. I hardly walked around at all, though, so I guess I can't really judge.
It was pretty cold this day, so I wasn't enjoying the walk. For a few minutes, the route to the castle took me along the beach, so seeing water was nice. But a breezy, sunless beach isn't great fun. On a spring or summer day, this would've been pleasant. My hands were numb by the time I got to the castle.
The castle and gardens were surprisingly busy for the type of day it was. I remember now that the castle is only open on Saturdays and Sundays, so that's probably why. I enjoyed my time inside the castle and the grounds were nice, even in late January. In the middle of summer this would've been very enjoyable. Every once in a while the sun was peaking through at this point, so it got better.
This day and evening were my last to stay in Canterbury and I had planned to go to a concert at the cathedral. I hadn't visited the cathedral at night, so walking up to it felt dramatic. It's really a sight to behold and certainly makes me wonder what it must've been like to live during earlier times and have such an impressive building nearby.
Very pleasant. This event was a great way to end my time in Canterbury and walking away from the cathedral on my last night there was somewhat emotional. I'm not sure when I'll get back to this city. I was ready for London, though!
What I really wanted to do was get back to the Seven Sisters Cliffs, but the travel was too far from Canterbury for a day trip. I would've had about three hours on a train with three changes. That's just too much in one day in terms of logistics and I knew I would dread the return trip. Also, it would've been quite pricey for the train--I think around £80, which is over $100.
What I had really enjoyed previously and is very close to Canterbury is Dover! It's only about 25 minutes on the train. The white cliffs there are nice, so I decided to return again. It wasn't too cold this day and walking that much (a lot of it uphill) certainly warmed up my body. I walked a lot further this time than when I visited in August.
Those are some photos during the walk. These houses just back right up to the cliffs! The other photo is Dover Castle in the distance. I visited there last time.
This cliff was pretty impressive. I wish you could tell how tall this really is. The black part at the bottom is a little beach area. In between you can see that part of the cliff face had recently tumbled down.
So many people were getting very close to the edge to take photos and it made me very uncomfortable, both from a falling perspective and also knowing that the cliffs aren't stable!
This is a photo through part of the countryside to get to that impressive cliff. Lots of ups and downs. Very muddy this day too, but at least it wasn't raining on me.
I really need to figure out how to focus myself in the foreground and still be able to see the background in a timed photo...
It was nice to be in Dover, a place I had visited already and was familiar with. It didn't take too much thinking on my part to make the trip there. The negative is that I fell down the stairs at the rail station when I was heading home. They were stone stairs that were moist from the weather and I'm sure my shoes were slick for that reason too. It was only a few stairs that I slid down, but I had a huge bruise on my lower back that lasted 1.5 weeks and one on my hand too. I was so sore! No one saw me fall luckily (haha). Overall I'm glad I went back to Dover.
Friday, January 24
Two of the three things I planned in Sandwich for this day were closed and I was super bummed about it. I walked 20 minutes from the rail station to see a windmill that wasn't open and then another 20 minutes to a garden/tea room that wasn't open. Walking 20 minutes doesn't sound that long but when you're walking that amount of time, especially in the cold...it's long. I was not feeling this trip to Sandwich whatsoever, but made my final stop at the Guildhall Museum there, which houses the 1300 AD Sandwich Magna Carta, as well as an Elizabethan era courtroom. I had to be personally escorted by the volunteer to the courtroom and I got some insider info from him. It was pretty cool. I didn't take any photos inside, but this is what it looks like on the outside.
And here's the courtroom, which was actually visited by Queen Elizabeth I.
I mentioned to the volunteer that everything in the room was older than my country, so after he observed my American accent we chatted a bit about when he lived and worked in Michigan. He was a sweet man.
Here's a photo of a nice color combo on a house in Sandwich. Also, I returned to Tiny Tim's Tearoom and had proper afternoon tea when I got back to Canterbury.
Saturday, January 25
There was a train disruption that made my plans for Saturday not work out. I wanted to visit two towns--Deal and Walmer, as they both have castles and are nearby to one another. Train cancellations all morning pushed my timeline back so that I could only visit Walmer and couldn't leave to get there until 11:30 am. The train trip was about an hour. The town is on the coast, north of Dover.
Off the train I had to walk a while to get to the castle through a town that, from what I saw, didn't have much going for it. Just a very typical, non-descript sort of place. I hardly walked around at all, though, so I guess I can't really judge.
It was pretty cold this day, so I wasn't enjoying the walk. For a few minutes, the route to the castle took me along the beach, so seeing water was nice. But a breezy, sunless beach isn't great fun. On a spring or summer day, this would've been pleasant. My hands were numb by the time I got to the castle.
The castle and gardens were surprisingly busy for the type of day it was. I remember now that the castle is only open on Saturdays and Sundays, so that's probably why. I enjoyed my time inside the castle and the grounds were nice, even in late January. In the middle of summer this would've been very enjoyable. Every once in a while the sun was peaking through at this point, so it got better.
This day and evening were my last to stay in Canterbury and I had planned to go to a concert at the cathedral. I hadn't visited the cathedral at night, so walking up to it felt dramatic. It's really a sight to behold and certainly makes me wonder what it must've been like to live during earlier times and have such an impressive building nearby.
The cathedral is still all bandaged up with scaffolding; I'm sure it'll be this way for another year or more. It was a bit foggy that evening, so that definitely added to the dramatics of seeing it up close at night.
The concert was called "Rachmaninoff All-Night Vigil" and was performed by the Canterbury Choral Society and boasted a conductor (not sure if that's the right term?) that had many accolades and famous performances. The singing was so beautiful. Some of the songs definitely had a medieval feel and being in this atmosphere was amazing from that perspective. I love imagining life during those times. I was sitting in the very back row, so you can't exactly tell how tall the chorus is sitting, but it is high--probably a couple of stories.
Very pleasant. This event was a great way to end my time in Canterbury and walking away from the cathedral on my last night there was somewhat emotional. I'm not sure when I'll get back to this city. I was ready for London, though!