Canterbury to Dover - Day 37

Date: September 24th, 2009
Distance: 34 miles
Country: England
Song of the Day: Save Tonight - Eagle Eye Cherry (To the guy busking outside the cathedral.)

Woke up and broke camp. Way more bugs when wild camping, which is sorta lame. Still I managed to get everything taken down and on the road. First stop Canterbury.

I got into town and went to the cathedral. It cost me £7.50 to get in, but I had come all this way already. Plus they need to pay for repairs somehow. I wandered around for way to long though. That place is really neat. The main part of the cathedral has something like 5 or 6 terraces. You get the impression the more important you were, the higher up, and closer to the priests, you could go.

They also have the place marked out where Thomas Becket was murdered. His life (and death) are still quite present. There used to be a shrine dedicated to him, but it was destroyed by Henry VII. Actually, I am surprised that any of the stained glass remains after the civil war and the commonwealth period. They do have some older stained glass which is just amazing. The only wall paintings left are down in the crypt though.

Oh, I didn't mention the crypt. That is a cool place too. As if the upstairs wasn't big enough, there is a chapel under the higher terraces. Surrounding that are more chapels. You could have 20 different services in the cathedral and not have them interfere with each other. Outside is the great cloister. They also have the ruins of a priory outside. Really, just a neat place.

From there it was back on the road out to Dover. Fortunately this was pretty easy to get to. I rolled into town around 4:30. Then went to see Dover Castle. I should have gotten their much earlier and spent the day. This place is huge and impressive. In addition it really looks like a Castle. Huge outer walls, and a moat (now dry). Then their is an inner baily protecting the main keep. Classic medieval fortress. Trying to take that fortress must have been a hell of a challenge.

There were some tunnels dug out as barracks for the Napoleonic wars. During WWII the tunnels were retrofitted to be used as a telephone exchange. They also dug out more bunkers for a hospital and a command center during this time. The site even had tours that you could take, so even though I didn't have much time, being interested in both WWII and bunkers, I took it. Both the "Miracle at Dunkirk" and naval operations for the Normandy Invasion were planned there. So much fun.

If that wasn't enough it also had mounts for cannons from the Napoleonic wars, and anti-aircraft guns from WWII. There was also a thousand year old saxon church and a Roman lighthouse. So much history. Plus it had commanding views of the whole city and the channel. I should have just pitched my tent on their greens and stayed the night. I am not sure the police would have liked that one though... Still I wouldn't have been the first to make camp there.

Instead I went down the road to Folkstone. Riding through a very nice Kent sunset. Found a nice camping spot and went to bed.

-Dravis