June 28, 2018 - White Cliffs of Dover
We checked off two of the many places we wanted to see while in England, the White Cliffs of Dover and Canterbury Cathedral. England is having a heat wave right now and the sky is clear of clouds, but our destinations are close to the sea and and wispy fog blows in with the breeze.
Russ and I drove out to the Dover White Cliffs Trust for a look at the white cliffs. It would have been better had we been on a boat as we would have had a broad view. Our view was of the white cliffs was limited to a single slope of white dropping to the sea. We spent a portion of the morning walking in the Trust area enjoying the white cliffs (ancient sea beds of crushed shells),
birds,
bunnies,
views of ferries,
the Dover Port,
and the Dover Castle high above the sea and the cliffs.
Next, it was time to drive another 40 minutes to Canterbury. We parked the car about 15 minutes walk from the Cathedral outside of the city and walked in. Canterbury Cathedral was founded by Saint Augustine in 597 AD., the Cathedral was completely rebuilt between 1070 and 1077. We learn that it takes over 18,000 pounds a day to keep the church open for he public.
It is currently being restored and there is scaffolding and netting around the areas of work. Nevertheless, the architecture and the Cathedral are magnificent.
We were pleasantly surprised that when we arrived, the Napa Valley High School Alumni Choir from California was performing at the Cathedral. We caught the tail end of their performance.
Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in his Cathedral in 1170. Becket was a martyr and honored by pilgrims donating enough money to the church to pay for all of the stained glass windows in the rebuilt cathedral.
After our tour of the Cathedral, we walked through the quaint town and enjoyed a late lunch at a local pub of fish and chips and beer before heading back to our Dandelion cottage.
No comments:
Post a Comment