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Published: October 3rd 2023
Brighton Beach
Not as crowded as in the summer.This blog entry was delayed not just by my COVID experience but by the sad news on our last day in London that my younger sister, Jane, died unexpectedly in Victoria. On our return to Victoria, we managed to have a few days with the family which involved a lot of sadness but also a lot of happiness as we remembered what a great person she was.
But we must complete the trip, so here goes….
Brighton We have watched many English TV shows where Brighton was shown to be a famous holiday resort. We have family members who think it is a terrible place to go. So, we thought since we are in the neighbourhood, we should go and find out for ourselves. Two nights gives us one full day in town. The first afternoon we just walked around to get a feel for the place. I managed to get us lost trying to find the tourist information office (never did find it) but since the city is on the coast, if we could see the water, we knew approximately where we were. As we wandered around, we discovered the Royal Pavilion which I had heard about
Brighton Pier
Saw this in many British TV shows. Now we have seen it in person. but hadn’t read up on it. Quite a place, and a good idea for a visit the next day.
Built for George IV, the Pavilion was finally turned over to the city because Queen Victoria didn’t like people watching her. The tour of the Pavilion and its grounds was worth the time. One use of the building that surprised us was that it was used as a hospital during the First World War.
It’s a short walk to the beach which was quite a surprise to us. We were expecting the long, wide beach we found but not the fact that it wasn’t sandy, it was a rock beach. Not sure why we expected sand, but it was a surprise. We walked along the promenade until we came to the Volk’s Electric Railway. I had been told about this by a guide in the Pavilion when I asked when the Pavilion got electricity. She told me quite early as part of the electrification of the city to support this railway. It still runs up and down the beach for maybe two miles. I think you can walk faster but it was good for a laugh.
We had
More Brighton Beach
The road along the beach was pretty busy. to walk out to the end of the Pavilion because it was there. Many of the stalls were closed as summer was “over”. Unfortunately, the arcade was still open and as loud as ever. We were glad we visited Brighton so we understand why people don’t want to visit.
Canterbury Canterbury is a city much like Winchester. Built around a massive cathedral, it has many historical sites to visit as well as several rivers with great walking paths. You can’t walk far without discovering ruins from Norman times, castles that have fallen into disrepair and an abbey that flourished for many years until the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII. Like many cities in England, they have a great Roman museum. Every time you stick a shovel in the ground, you find something interesting from history.
We toured St Augustine’s Abbey which was started in 597 AD and survived until Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. It amazes me that this huge area remained basically unused until the mid-1800s when archaeological investigations brought to light the site’s history.
Dover Because of its location in Kent, it is a great place from which to take
The Volk Electric Train
Kind of fun to ride on a train that has been running for 140 years. day trips, Whitstable in the north, Broadstairs in the east and Dover or Folkstone in the south were candidates. Dover ended up being the choice partly because of the White Cliffs and partly to see the ferry terminals that we have seen in so many TV shows. We considered walking the Coast Trail between Dover and Folkstone as it is “only” about 9 miles but decided against it. Turned out to be a good choice.
Dover is a short train ride from Canterbury then a short walk to the Tourist Information Centre where two very helpful ladies helped us with our plan. There was a museum attached to the Centre but we had seen a lot of museums so gave it a miss. But on our way back to the train station we had a few minutes, so we stopped in. A good choice. It was three floors and had a great variety of things to learn about.
The first stop was Dover Castle which is at the top of a fairly large hill. Looked intimidating from the town centre but wasn’t that bad a climb. It’s a huge complex with lots to see. Much of it is
The Royal Pavilion
Quite an unexpected sight in a beach destination. Felt like we had landed in India. rebuilt but it gives you a pretty good idea of what it was like. The tunnels were started in Napoleonic times. Not surprising as you can see France from here on a clear day. There is one section set up like it was during WWII. The evacuation of Dunkirk was managed from this site.
The biggest problem here was the wind. Gale force winds made walking around in the castle tricky. We had to hold on to each other to keep from getting blown away. We were told they sometimes close the castle because of the winds so I guess we were lucky.
From the castle, we walked down to the shoreline then along the highway to the paths leading up to the top of the White Cliffs of Dover. Pretty spectacular vistas. We walked along the heights but didn’t go to the end of the path. Even though the wind was blowing on shore, we weren’t comfortable with the wind. The views of the ferry terminal with hundreds on truck going to France were interesting.
Back to Canterbury
Our last day saw us finally get into Canterbury Cathedral. It always amazes me how similar these
The dining room in the Royal Pavilion
All the rooms had been furnished as they were in the Regency period. Quite spectacular. huge old cathedrals are and yet how many differences there are. Here we stood at the spot where St Thomas Becket was murdered by the knights of Henry II. Read about this many times over the years. Now we have stood where it actually happened.
We spent a couple of very restful hours in the Franciscan Gardens. The Franciscan friars started the monastery in the 1200s and it grew to quite a size until the dissolution of the monasteries. In 2000, the restoration of a small portion of the gardens was started and continues to this day. It is weird how you enter them through what appears to be a small business off the main street then go out the back door into this quiet area along the river. So peaceful.
Heathrow We spent our last night at a hotel at Heathrow so we would be well placed for our flight home the next day. The trip involved a train journey from Canterbury West station to St Pancras in London. We thought we had seen large stations before. This one seemed to go on forever. The station includes a tube station that sends you off to Terminal
Architecture
We love looking at the old buildings when we travel. Brighton was no exception. 2. A long trip but convenient. Here we found a local bus that whisked us off to our hotel (there is no longer a free hotel shuttle). We experienced the first real rainstorm of our trip, but it was only a three-block walk to the hotel so it wasn’t too bad.
The next morning, we took a paid shuttle to the airport and were astounded to realize that it only took an hour from the time we left the hotel until we sat down at our gate. Security was a breeze. The nine-hour flight wasn’t too bad and the automated customs procedure was fantastic. A short haul flight to Victoria and we were in time to make the last ferry back to Pender. The hardest job was finding our car parked on the side of the road. It was pitch dark but luckily Dianne’s phone has a flashlight. One of the weirdest sensations is realizing that in the morning we got up in out hotel room in London and in the evening we go to bed in our own bed on Pender, thousands of kilometres away.
Reflections COVID aside, it was a great trip. Not cruisers by
West Gate, Canterbury
Our Airbnb was just outside these gates. We got to go through them each day as we headed into town. nature, we found the cruise an interesting way to get to a bunch of places we probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Where to next? Ireland? Return to Denmark? Quebec and the Maritimes? So many choices, so little time.
ToBeContinued.
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