Canterbury

Was raining in London so wimped out on getting a bus or tube to station - either one would have required lots of walking in rain with all our bags! Got a minicab instead! Were freaking out in case it was costing a fortune but was only 12pounds - way easier with door to door service and only few pounds more than the bus!! Enough advertising for London Minicabs... Collected our new home for the next 5 months - rather daunting thought - didn't look like enough room for any of our stuff. But not to worry, after about 1/2 an hour’s lesson in how all the gizmos and gadgets work - only about 1/4 of which I was listening to because it was too damn cold to think, we got on the road. Drove about 2 minutes and decided to stop at a pub for lunch, didn't want to overdo the 1st leg.

Drove on a short distance to Canterbury – a really cool town with a high Roman wall around the central area – very stressful for Gus though because BUSY road and not made with campervans in mind – I’m not sure the Romans were big on them. Anyway found our way through and the camping ground, thanks to the SatNav, Tom-tom is already worth its weight in gold – has prevented several potential navigator/driver heated discussions! Canterbury is full of character, mostly Tudor-style houses and shops, opening straight onto streets; doorways even I would have to duck through – little narrow cobblestoned streets and buildings almost meeting overhead.

Visited Canterbury Cathedral – fantastic – so huge inside and just stunning. So many elaborate tombs from early 14th century onwards – including the Black Prince and King Henry II (?). About 6 storeys high inside up to beautiful vaulted ceilings; and incredible, elaborate stained glass windows. Walked down well-worn stone steps into the crypts – another whole floor beneath the cathedral – only lit by candles, very cave-like (Karen & Mary-Lou you would have hated it!!). At least ten different chapels down there, all from different eras with tombs/memorials and their own unique feel to them. You had to be silent in the crypts and there were very few people (we were there early) so you could almost hear the monks from previous centuries mumbling their prayers – even Gus admitted to finding it a bit spooky! Have now arrived at Folkestone, just down the road from Dover. Can see the busy shipping channel from Dover to Calais from our campervan! Have been told you can see France from here on a clear day, maybe tomorrow – is a beautiful day here today but the wind is biting and the area where France is supposed to be is a little hazy. The camper is starting to feel like home and all our stuff fits easy.