Top 10 Places to See in Canterbury
The delightful town of Canterbury with England's number one church, evolved into a pilgrimage site following Archbishop Thomas Becket's memorable death. Here are best places to visit near Canterbury Kent:
1) Canterbury Cathedral it's the headquarters of the Anglican Church. After Henry V11 went his separate way, the cathedral became like St. Peter's Ballica. There are guided tours and you can climb and you'll see Canterbury. Open daily Mon-Sat 9 to 5:30.
Key Facts
* Houses and gardens to visit near Canterbury Kent are: Walmer Castle, Hole Park, Beech Court, Down House, Sissinghurst, Great Comp Garden, and Godinton House.
* Things to do in Canterbury UK: see sights such as the Canterbury Roman Museum, Kent Museum of Freemasonry, or Browse for deals in Canterbury's stores.
* Best activities in Canterbury UK include strolling along Westgate Parks, or enjoying Canterbury Historic River Tours, or visiting Howletts Wild Animal Park.
* Holiday places to go with young children in Canterbury: Dover Castle, Chislenhurst Caves, The Powell Cotton Museum, Dreamland, and Wingham Wildlife Park.
2) Historic Dockyard once the famous Royal Navy Dockyards, were shut down in 1984. Museum covers 80 acres and comprises of the biggest concentration of buildings, shipbuilding sheds, sail lofts, and the Robery. You will see the submarine HMS Ocelot and HMS Gannet, the last Victorian sloop. Open daily 10-7.
3) St. Augustine's Abbey the ruins of the abbey sit on the edge of town. At its pinnacle, the abbey was a hive of activity, providing a cloister, a big church, and a variety of service buildings for the monks. Because of King Henry V111's jealousy of the wealth and power wielded by England's monks, he closed down monasteries, forced monks to retire, and sold off the land and buildings.
4) St. Martin's Church as England's oldest parish church, it sits in the middle of a slanted, old graveyard on the foundations of a Roman temple. Open sporadic hours; free.
5) Leeds Castle standing six miles to the south of Maidstone, the castle dates back to the 12th century, and later becomes the residence of queens of medieval England. Open daily 10 to 4:30. Tourists wonder, "How long to visit Leeds Castle?" You can walk around the castle in thirty minutes.
6) Sissinghurst Garden the ruins of the 16th century manor is the ideal backdrop for highly popular beautiful gardens, arranged charmingly as "outdoor rooms."
7) Scotney Castle is a completely romantic spot, boasting a 14th-century ruined, moated castle and fine gardens landscaped traditionally in the 18th-century pictorial manner.
Key Facts
* Scotney Castle's estate, located in Lamberhurst Kent, England, was built on two islands, surrounded by a broad moat.
* the gardens of Scotney Castle are formal and fine examples of picturesque sights.
* National Trust opened the doors of the Victorian house, Scotney Castle, in 2007, offering interior tours to see its rooms, balcony, walks through its garden and estate, front side, and wildlife bridge.
* History of Scotney Castle: was built to replace the old castle between 1835 and 1843 and designed by Anthony Salvin with a Tudor Revival architectural style.
* take a shuttle bus to Scotney Castle.
8) Hever Castle lying only a few miles to the west, in Kent, the castle was built in the 13th century. Opening times are 10:30 to 6.
Key Facts
* Hever Castle became Anne Boleyn's childhood home, King Henry V111's second wife.
* After Anne Boleyn's execution, Henry V111 seized Hever Castle and killed her brother.
* the Boleyns was the family who added the Tudor dwelling in the Hever Castle.
* William Waldorf, first viscount Astor, invested millions in improving massively the moated castle, laying out flowerbeds precisely as they were 400 years ago in Tudor times.
* The owner of the then country house, received permission to fortify the house with a wall of stone and lime.
* Hever Castle park or grounds are made up of 125 acres where there are Italian gardens.
* Astor developed a passion for sculpture and art and that is why you'll see tapestry, statues, fountains, and Tudor portraits at Hever Castle.
* Hever Castle hosts the Festival of Endurance, which is a full and half iron distance triathlon and various running and swimming events.
* You may experience the supernatural as if Hever Castle were haunted.
Hever Castle provides 28 luxury bedrooms and breakfast to the public. You can spend your time in the medley court, or splash water in its two water mazes, or joined the club and golf in Hever Castle Golf Course. Children can enjoy the Tower Maze and water maze. You can even fish by joining a club and go boating on Hever Castle's lake.
* Visitors can approach Hever Castle across a drawbridge over the moat.
* Annual members can invite a friend for free to Hever Castle. You may tour the castle in winter and spring.
* Order Hever Castle tickets online or on the day of your visit. Entrance fee is about $35 for adults and $18 for kids.
* Go horse riding near Hever castle at Wellgrove Farm Stables, 16 miles from Hever in Tunbridge Wells.
9) Whitstable is a fine, appealing town, famous since Roman times for its oysters. You may purchase them in the old harbour or consider trying them at the Seafront Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company restaurant.
10) Bodiam Castle is a classic medieval fort that dates from 1385 and sits in a large moat. Open daily 10:30 to 5.
Key Facts, Information, and History on Bodiam Castle
* Built by Edward Dalyngrigge, a knight, with a moat and main courtyard in East Sussex, England, with a lovely lush landscape to defend the territory against a potential French invasion.
* is made from sandstone without a keep; the rooms and chambers are built against the curtain walls.
* the Bodiam Castle which was known originally as a manor, is quadrangular and its size considerable, with towers at the corners, entrances, and a big moat. In addition, the building is quite wide with its symmetrical construction and frequently portrayed as the ideal and cool English castle, with its crowd of gray, stone towers.
* its castle's machicolation is often called murder holes.* its builder was a knight, Edward Dalyngrigge.
* the treaty of Bruges in 1375 guaranteed peace for two short years.
* the story of National Trust: was given to National Trust in 1925 and identified as a "swamp castle."
* Take a steam train to Bodiam Castle.
* its now a tourist attraction visited by over 150,000 people each year.
* see parts of, sculptures, and paintings in Bodiam Castle.
* enter its hidden dungeons via other lesser known passages.
* explore the grounds, including its gardens.
* its interior suffered great damage during the English civil war.