Canterbury and Chatham Historic Dockyard

I'm not sure why Alison picked the first week in March to have a short break. I guess the fact that the two nights at the very nice Ramada hotel outside Maidstone and the Eurotunnel fare were free using Tesco vouchers had something to do with it.

We ( or should I say I) picked the Historic Dockyard at Chatham for the first day. It might have been that it was pretty deserted, but the whole place seemed to be a bit amateur compared with, say, Portsmouth. And the weather didn't help. Although bright, there was a very chilly wind, and Alison particularly suffered, as you can see. There was nowhere to get warm, even the horrible cafe was cold.

The two ships we went on were quite interesting. The second world war destroyer showed how basic the conditions were at sea. The guided tour of the submarine HMS Ocelot was the high point, especially having to slide through the hatches from one compartment to another. The best presented exhibit was the RNLI display of 17 old lifeboats, each with their own history.

On the second day, Canterbury was a totally different story. The weather was sunny and the wind had died down. The Cathedral looked wonderful, both outside and the interior with the sun streaming through the stained glass windows.

I was particularly interested to see where Thomas Becket ( we were always taught it was Thomas a Becket) was killed, having done "Murder in the Cathedral" by T S Elliott for O Level. I was not prepared for the impressive area dedicated to the events of 1170. Visiting the spot 46 years after studying the book ended up being quite emotional, especially seeing the stained glass window representation of Thomas which is used so often.

In the end, because we were there in early March and the few visitors, meant we enjoyed the visit to Canterbury even more, and coupled with the great weather, made for a memorable day. We ended up in the Roman Museum, which was worth it to see the remains of a Roman building underground.

On Saturday we went through the tunnel to go shopping at Cite Europe. Our hotel was only half an hour from the tunnel so the travelling was reduced to just the journey back. The garage is now stacked with wine and beer and the fridge has a delightful smell of cheese.