Our time in London has ended, today we are headed to Canterbury. The early history of Canterbury, like most areas of Britian dated back to the early prehistoric times. The Romans arrived here in the 1st Century A.D. The Romans left this area in the year 430 and it was basically abandoned for over 100 years. Through the centuries this area has suffered conflict and strife. The Danish came, the Vikings came, the Normans came. In 1348 the Black Death came to Canterbury. The population went from 10,000 to 3,000.
The oldest and most famous Christian structures, the Canterbury Cathedral, is located here. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the Church of England. It was founded in 597 and the cathedral was completely rebuilt in 1077. Today this city is a popular tourist destination, and it is visited by over 100,000 tourists from year to year.
We had an uneventful train ride to Canterbury and checked into a very nice cottage. The cottage dates back to the 1640's, which means it was built during the reign of Charles I (1625-1649). After arriving in Canterbury we stopped for lunch at the Old Weaver's House. This structure was built in 1500 and is located on the Stour River. We had our lunch in the outdoor garden overlooking the river. For dinner we chose to eat at the Foundry. This restaurant is located in a brewery with a unique motto, "from the grain to the table". A locally produced Canterbury beer.
If our travels bring us back to Canterbury in the future, I would definitely stay here again.
Geoffrey Chaucer, an English author and poet, wrote a series of stories set in the late 1400's. His work was a collection of stories that travelers told while making a pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas Beckett in Canterbury. This work is known as the Canterbury Tales. As a result of this publication, Chaucer has been called "the father of British literature".
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