Canterbury

Just a 25 minute drive from Ashford is the cathedral city of Canterbury with a population of just over 40,000. Not the largest city in Kent, but it certainly holds the prize for the most historical. The city dates back to the 1st Century AD when it was used as a Roman settlement. Half of Canterbury’s Roman city wall still remains in tact, and can be seen as you drive into Canterbury.

There is even the opportunity to go on a City Wall Trail, where you can walk the remainder of the city wall, right along to the Dane John Gardens – which is Canterbury’s most popular park, and has recently been transformed into attractive gardens with monuments and memorials, a bandstand for summertime concerts, a central fountain, a tearoom and children’s maze.

Canterbury Cathedral

One of the biggest attractions in Canterbury is it’s cathedral. Canterbury Cathedral is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site. It’s the cathedral of the Arch Bishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England. It was originally founded in 597AD and rebuilt in 1070 AD. Bar a few modifications, it’s the same Cathedral which stands today.

Although in 2006, a campaign was started by the Canterbury Cathedral Appeal to raise £50 million to protect and enhance the Cathedral’s future after it was discovered that much of the stonework is crumbling, the roofs are leaking and much of the stained glass is badly corroded. Fortunately the group have already raised £9 million, and some reconstruction is already underway.

The Canterbury Tales

Thomas Becket’s murder at Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 led to the cathedral becoming a place of pilgrimage to Christians worldwide. Which leads onto another of Canterbury’s famous attractions: The Canterbury Tales. Geoffry Chaucer wrote the series of stories at the end of the 14th Century about a group of pilgrims going to visit Thomas Becket’s shrine at Canterbury Cathedral.

In St. Margaret’s Street, there is the Canterbury Tales Visitor Attraction – one of Kent’s most popular attractions. Set in St Margaret’s church, the attraction is a stunningly accurate portrayal of 14th century life – including sights, sounds and smells of the time to visually tell Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

Marlowe Theatre

The recently redeveloped Marlowe Theatre is situated in the centre of Canterbury, and is the largest theatre in the region, offering musicals, drama, ballet, comedy, children’s shows and pantomime. Reopened in October 2011, the theatre now seats 1200 people. The opening night gala was attended by HRH Earl of Wessex which featured the Philharmonia Orchestra. This was followed by a large-scale festival of free events and performances called My Marlowe, a weekend that was attended by many thousands of people over three days. The weekend include street theatre, music, children’s shows and workshops. The event also included a stand-up comedy gig by Stephen Merchant, the first public performance on the main stage.

Kent County Cricket

Kent County Cricket club at the St Lawrence Ground – just outside of Canterbury’s city centre – is a must-visit attraction for any fan of cricket. The ground – which is famous for having a lime tree in the outfield -  hosts many first class county matches from April to September including the majority of Kent’s One Day and 20/20 matches. The ground has played host to international cricket, too. In 1999, England played Kenya in the World Cup, and in 2005 Australia played Bangladesh.

The ground seats 15,000 people and there are plans for redevelopment, to encourage more international matches to be played there. The £9 million project will include a hotel, health and fitness centre, and conference facilities.The pavilion and other stands will also be upgraded.

 Shopping in Canterbury

If these attractions aren’t enough for you, there is a large shopping district, home to some of the world’s biggest brands. The Whitefriars shopping centre (now owned by Henderson Global Investors) was completed in 2005 after over £140 million was spent developing the site next to the main high street. The completion of the site wasn’t an easy task – with Roman and Medieval remains being found during excavation, which meant construction was stopped whilst these artifacts were investigated (it even meant a visit from Channel 4′s Time Team!).

But the finished centre is now a joy to visit – the clean design, simple architecture and state of the art, modern stores mean there is no shortage of shoppers visiting every day. Fortunately, there are plenty of shops to visit, too. Including BHS, EAT, a large Fenwick department store, M&S, Next, Top Shop, Stormfront and more.