From Colchester to Canterbury and Back Again

Several weeks ago I got the idea to take Alex (and Matthew of course!) on a little mini-trip, as a means to enrich Alex’s home school learning.  We’re currently studying the Middle Ages, globally, though right now we are in Northern Europe, with a heavy emphasis on the Plantagenet’s and Wars of the Roses.  We’re on a very tight budget so could not afford to travel further than a couple of hours away from Colchester, so after some research we decided that a trip to Canterbury was the obvious winner!  And while it was a trip for the purposes of learning and exploring, it also was a pilgrimage, in the ancient tradition.

 

I don’t think this is the right blog to explore the spiritual beliefs of myself and my family members, but suffice it to say, we do have spiritual beliefs, and we do regularly pray.  The chance to pray in an ancient Holy Site was a huge incentive for us to choose Canterbury as our destination.  I am not a Christian, but I do not personally believe my god(s) have a prejudice regarding where or how I pray and worship, so long as I am not causing any harm in doing so.

 

We set off on Monday morning, around 10/10:30, after a very relaxed morning, having packed the night before.  We arrived to the hotel at ten minutes to 12, so felt that we made excellent time.  In fact we were so impressed by how easy it was for us to go there for a quick trip that we are certain to go back again this year.

 

We stayed at the Millers Arms. Our room, on the top floor, had views of the cathedral which were magnificent.  It is very likely that we would stay there again, but on the proviso that we were able to have the same room, as it was the only one in the hotel (to my knowledge) with that spectacular view.  The Millers Arms is a gastro pub downstairs with a hotel upstairs, and located in the heart of Canterbury.  I have a very limited range that I can walk, but even I could get to the cathedral, several other attractions, and a wonderful shopping area, without needing more than the occasional sit down to recuperate!  (I did pay for it later!)

 

After dropping our bags off at our hotel, the first thing we did was head to the Cathedral.  Wow.  What can I say?  It was built to instil awe, and it does.  Millions of people over a millennia have been rendered speechless over its beauty, its magnificence and history, and I was no different.  I have a passion for taking pictures, so I suppose I expressed myself in trying to capture as many beautiful sights as possible.

 

Alex and Matthew were equally blown away.  The atmosphere is different when you step inside the outer courtyard, quieter, more contemplative than the shopping area beyond.  But once you enter the nave itself, you are enveloped with a sense of stupefaction caused by excessive perfection.  As we entered, the Canon was completing a short service.  Afterwards I was able to speak with him for a few moments, which was a real pleasure, and he was a very kind man, with a clear love for the cathedral shining through, rightly so.

 

We used our time there to tour and learn, as tourists do, and to express our spirituality.  I felt it was an honour to be able to pray in such an ancient holy site.  The 8 year old in me wandered in awe at the fact that my hero, Eleanor of Aquitaine, trod on the same stones I was walking on, knelt on the same floor I knelt on.  Luckily we were there on a January Monday in the early afternoon, so there were hardly any other people there.  A handful of people attending as churchgoers, a handful of tourists, and two handfuls of sash wearing guide staff scattered throughout the enormous building.  The result was that there was a very serene, quiet atmosphere.  In fact in the Crypt, which is huge and one of the main attractions of the Cathedral, total silence is requested, and photographs with flashes are forbidden.

 

I was very proud of Alex for how respectful he was, and how seriously he took it all.  He prayed, I know sincerely.  He did not utter a word when he was told silence was required.  In the rest of the building, he went from one statue or tomb to another with respectful but excited admiration, and he learned like a sponge.  We all had a truly wonderful experience there.  When we return later this year, we would like to see as many different attractions as possible, but the one thing we will repeat on each trip will be a visit to the Cathedral.

 

After that we were pretty tired, so we had dinner in the pub and an early night!  During dinner I was surprised to see our food was served on simply a slab of black slate – I have heard of this being a trend but we don’t eat out much so I haven’t seen it myself.  My verdict is that plates are far more practical, especially when your dish is covered in sauce…

 

The next morning I woke up feeling pretty rough with migraine, but I took my usual meds and the pain decreased enough so that I was able to go out and function, but I wasn’t terribly comfortable.

 

We went to The Canterbury Tales museum – I think a must see if you’re a fan of Chaucer/language/history!  You’re only there about an hour and it goes by very quickly.  It’s not cheap, but it’s a surprisingly great experience.  There is a mixture of people acting as guides for you, and generally being a tour guide in medieval dress, and you walking around on your own, with a truly excellent audio guide.  As you travel from room to room on your journey to Canterbury, you encounter the people from Chaucer’s tales, and as you listen to their stories on your audio device, the various types of scenery, props, and projections in the room change accordingly with the progression of the stories you are listening to.

 

My one small gripe about this place – and I hate saying this because everything there was really lovely – but at the end the exit leads you out through the gift shop, which I was really excited to explore (I have a huge weakness for gift shops!!)  But one of their staff members (dressed in historical costume) simply would not leave us alone as we were looking around the shop.  He was literally breathing down my neck at one point, when I almost snapped from irritation.  Every single step we took, he followed us, all the time making constant conversation about whatever object for sale in the shop that I was trying to look at.  It made conversation between Matthew, Alex and I impossible and actually it got quite stressful at one point.  I almost asked him to please give us some space but I couldn’t work up the nerve, I just left more quickly than I otherwise would have done.  I’m sure he’s a very friendly chap generally, but he was very rude or totally socially unaware to do that.

 

After that we decided we’d done enough and we were very happy with our visit and didn’t want to push it any longer with my energy, so we headed home by midday, getting home mid-afternoon.

 

I went straight to bed, utterly exhausted, and shockingly, I slept until 7pm the following day!! (Yesterday)  When I woke up I felt pretty bummed out that I had been out of commission for so long and missed an entire day, and that I had this migraine still, but I got through it (largely because I’m blessed with such supportive friends and family!)  I had a sleepover with Alex last night, to make up for not seeing him during the day, so we got some extra fun time together.  After another night’s sleep (but a normal one this time!) I am now up and able to sit in bed and do various things that don’t require the use of my legs, or much head movement.  I know I’ll be up and running better very soon!  And I fully expected that I would be down for a few days, after a very active two consecutive busy days.  And as I often remind myself, this time last year I was critically ill.  To be able to do something like this trip, and only need a matter of days to recover from it, is a luxury.  It still isn’t fun, but it’s better than doubting I will wake the next day, and I’ve been there.  All in all I am thrilled, as are Matthew and Alex!  We all got a lot out of the whole trip.  Materially speaking, I got some excellent books on the middle ages and Canterbury for Alex’s home school, a play figure for him, a lovely little sketch book, a snow globe of the cathedral, and a prayer icon.

 

The ability to travel, even short distances, is one of the biggest bonuses of home school and undoubtedly one of the best ways I know of to cement information into the mind, by seeing it, touching it, hearing it alongside reading and discussing it.  It was a wonderful experience!  I think it is a lovely town that merits a lot of exploration.  Everywhere you look there are exquisite historical details.  I’m looking forward to exploring it more over the next year.  My advice for you if you go to Canterbury: Look Up.

 

Best wishes to all,

Erin & family

Our luggage for one night – The Normans don’t travel lightly!

Outside our hotel/pub

How far away the Cathedral was from our hotel

Marguerite & Mary-Rose at the chocolate cafe we had brunch at

Waffle with white chocolate and strawberry topping – it was delicious!

Daddy & Alex

This is what you first see of the Cathedral. It’s on one of the main shopping streets, and between other buildings there is this gate. Once you go through the gate it’s another world.

The view as you first walk through the gate and see the cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral itself

The ceiling of the entrance way to the Cathedral

The nave as you see it when first walking into the cathedral.

the pulpit

Now THIS is a system you want to hear your music on!!!

Some (of a lot!) of very old graffiti!

This guy looks really chilled about being in eternal rest.

The room where Thomas Becket was killed. The two swords (forming four swords including shadows) represent the four swords that killed him.

The Black Prince’s tomb

Entrance to the Crypts

Alter in St. Nicholas Chapel of St Nick fame. Very honoured that we were able to pray here.

Marguerite & Mary-Rose settling in at the hotel

View from our room

In my new sketch book

Our room door

The view from our room at night

Selfie on the morning we woke up in Canterbury – migraine eyes

Pretty language

Our table for dinner

Daddy & Cutey

I took this picture over our dinner. I love how the reflection of the candle in the candle holder makes it look like there are two candles.

Mama & Alex at dinner

My dinner – grilled halloumi salad

Alex and Matthew’s dinner – Asian veggie burger and Cauliflower sausages with lentils

Beautiful view from our room

Maguerite & Mary-Rose at the pub

Marguerite & Mary-Rose on some fire-wood

Our friend Geoffrey Chaucer

When we were at the gift shop at The Canterbury Tales Museum we saw these – this was the display piece. We got one for the surname Norman, but I thought it was a great coincidence that their example piece was for the name Perkins!

~ by erinsummers on January 28, 2016.