Canterbury and Leeds Castle

Today was the last day. We fly out tomorrow morning around ten, which means that we have to leave the hotel at 6:30, because we're supposed to be at the airport three hours early. So I won't write much tonight. I do need to give you the highlights, though.

Today we hopped on a bus and went to Canterbury. The tour company gave us a full size bus for just the thirteen of us (or 14 with Mike, who came along), so the ride was comfortable and spacious. I'd like to say we watched the green countryside pass by, but I think most of us slept. We arrived in Canterbury and went to the cathedral, which is beautiful and very old--there's been a church there since the 500s, and the present cathedral dates from the 1100s. Thomas a Becket was murdered in the cathedral by the king's men, and after he was canonized the place became an important pilgrimage site. That's why the characters in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales are traveling there. The shrine to St. Thomas is gone (knocked down by Henry VIII during the reformation), but they have a candle lit on the site where it stood. All in all, an impressive literary, spiritual, and historical place.

Afterwards we wandered through Canterbury, a small medieval market town that was a nice change from the bustling metropolis. We had lunch and then hopped back on the bus.


Next we went to Leeds Castle, originally built by William the Conqueror (I think I got that right) and later owned by Henry VIII and others before it passed into private ownership. The castle is breathtaking (once described as "the loveliest castle in the world"), set in a huge estate teeming with birds (black swans and peacocks predominant). We went through the castle, visited the world's only museum of dog collars (an oddly random component to the Leeds experience) and then several of us went into the hedge maze, where we promptly got lost. Friendly people on a high vantage point finally helped us find our way through, and we got out alive.

Leeds was idyllic, and we could have walked through the grounds forever (or for a while longer, anyway), but we had to get back. The drive back to London didn't take as long as anticipated, so after we bade farewell to Jim the Bus Driver, Mike took us to a pub just around the corner from our restaurant to wait until our reservation time. After the driving and walking, it was good to unwind in the pub. We could feel the end of the tour coming, and everyone was tired and happy. Much giggling occurred, mainly from Kali and Robin, but everyone was feeling jovial.


Dinner was a restaurant in Chinatown, where the food was good but where a Coke costs two pounds I discovered. After dinner, for our final night in London, we stayed low key, since we knew it would be an early morning. We took the Tube back to Pimlico, and then most of us went to the local pub, the Pride of Pimlico, for a couple of hours before heading to the hotel.

Now all that's left is to pack. I've got a lot more pictures from today, and if we have Internet access tomorrow I'll try to post them. This may be the last post, though. Thanks for reading, and thanks for traveling along with us. It has been a great trip--very smooth and trouble-free, and packed with fun and interest. I could not have asked for a better group to have done this with.

Sleep well. We'll be flying when you wake up...