Dover and Canterbury

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This morning, our group took a coach bus from our hotel to Dover. My only knowledge of Dover was that I'd heard the phrase "cliffs of Dover" before. I didn't know what else to expect. Sure enough, when we arrived from our two hour ride, we found a small town nestled against some white cliffs. It was charming.

Our coach pulled into a large parking lot that was separated from the town by a small highway. A group of students went down to the water and started to splash around (even though it was quite chilly out). It was colder but beautiful near the water. A few of us walked over to check out a map. It seemed everyone was going to head to the cliffs. I wanted to use the restroom before hiking, so I ducked inside a nearby hotel. When I came out, everyone was gone. That was probably the low point of the day.

I jogged over to the water to see if anyone was still splashing along the shore. Nope. I started to have visions of myself hanging out at a cafe alone while everyone else got to hike the cliff, but I did my best to shake off those thoughts and keep walking with my eyes peeled. I mean, I hadn't been in the restroom that long! I turned along a path and eventually spied Jenny, who often stops to take pictures, falls a little behind, and then runs to catch up. Today, I was glad she'd fallen behind when she did! We hiked together up the cliffs.

There was a castle on top of the cliffs, but our bus driver had let us know it was closed. During the off season (such as now), it's only open on the weekends. That was OK because we didn't have a ton of time (about 90 minutes) before we had to meet back up at the coach. From where we hiked up, we had stunning views of the castle, the cliffs, and the port down below. It was lovely, and so we stopped for a while to soak it in. We continued on and found a little welcome center with a gift shop, where I picked up a couple souvenirs for Andrew. I also got a scone and a coffee for "take away" (to go). Hiking up some of the steep inclines with a hot coffee in one hand and a scone in the other upped the difficulty a bit, but it was a good time. We'd hoped to get to the lighthouse, but we didn't even get close! It's a long hike out there. I'd say we made it only about a quarter mile from the gift shop before we had to turn around and head back to the coach. The hiking was beautiful, but we didn't have a chance to stop in the town or anything. So, even now, I think my knowledge of Dover is still limited to the cliffs (and the castle).

We drove about 10 miles roughly in the direction back to London and stopped at Canterbury. Like Dover, I didn't know much about Canterbury. In eighth grade, we'd read the Canterbury Tales, but I can't remember much. I seem to recall there were a dozen travelers who were each trying to tell the best story, perhaps as part of a competition or something, and I'm pretty sure Chaucer died before he finished them. We never find out whose story was the best. Well, anyway, that's all I knew of Canterbury!

We arrived around 12:45pm, and our professors told us to "meet at the cathedral" at 2:30pm. We got the message they wanted us to go off on our own, so we just kind of wandered in the only direction there was anything. A few of us grabbed a snack at a shop we found, and then I ended up on my own wandering around shops. I did find what looked to be a cathedral, though, so that was good. It meant I knew where to be at 2:30! I also found some sort of museum/visitor's center that was cool looking on the outside. On the inside, I really only found a cafe and bathrooms. I wandered around some more around town and spotted a few of the others. They were just standing around a gift shop to stay warm. Not knowing what there was to do in the town, our time there was kind of lame, but the surrounding buildings and such were picturesque and cool. I'd like to go back sometime when I know more about the town.

When it was finally 2:30, everyone came out of the shops to the meeting point, and we got a tour of the cathedral. About halfway through the tour, the professors told the tour guide they'd like to be done by 3:30. She got a little flustered but then said she'd try. She rushed through to the end, and the rest of us got ready to head to the coach. Then, strangely, our professors came by to tell us we were free to go off on our own for a while. We'd meet back at the bus at 4:15pm. They left, and all the other students were left wondering why they'd rushed us through the tour. A few went back and finished the tour with the guide. It was such a strange, bizarre day. All I can figure is that everyone is starting to feel a little homesick and weary (and grumpy), including me, so I will try not to judge their choices too harshly.

Well, I had no idea what to do with my 45 minutes. I would have gone back to the tour but needed to find a restroom first. A couple other students did, too, and so I ended up walking with a them through the main street. They wanted to check out bath stores, which definitely isn't my thing, but that was better than wandering through the streets myself again. So, I tagged along. Looking back on it, I was definitely in a sour mood because I thought the shop, the demonstrations, and the reactions were a bit ridiculous. I've never seen people ooh and ahh over purple water before. I kept a smile on my face, though, and sniffed the balls of colorful bath products when asked. We finally left and made it back to the coach right at 4:15. Then we headed back to London.

I feel like the Dover and Canterbury areas are places I'd like to go back to one day and see more of. It was beautiful, and it was nice to get out of the city. I guess it was just a part of the trip that wasn't as structured, and, not knowing we were just being dropped off, we hadn't planned the time ourselves. That said, I can see the potential for a great time there. If I make it back to England, I'd definitely spend a couple days in that part of Kent.

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Photos

Dover Castle
In January, it's only open on the weekends. It was nice to just spend sometime outside, so I wasn't too disappointed.

Early 16th Century Hotel in Canterbury
The plaque says it was built it 1503 and made famous by Charles Dickens, but I don't know the reference.