11.08.12 - The Triangle (Canterbury, Herne Bay, Whitstable, UK)

11.08.12 - The Triangle - (Canterbury Cathedral --> Herne Bay --> Whitstable, UK)

I wake up early and head to Canterbury Cathedral. 

This place is, truly, one of the most amazing pieces of architecture I've ever seen, and it doesn't hurt that it's also one of the most well-known physical landmarks to appear in literature in the history of Western civilization. It ranks among the great literary locations: Hatton Garden, Cannery Row, Fleet Street, the diner from Twin Peaks, 30 Rock from 30 Rock. Okay, maybe that last one is still too fresh. Point is, it's amazing, hands down. And, hey, I'm walking in it!

The massive cathedral was founded in 597 by Pope Gregory the Great, though most of the original cathedral does not still stand. In the early 11th century, Canterbury Cathedral was rebuilt, and then again, in the 12th century, it was enlarged, and rebuilt again, this time with Gothic architecture, after a fire in 1174.

The tomb of Thomas Becket, to which the pilgrims in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales are traveling, has been moved as well and now resides under the Trinity Chapel at the end of the nave.

As I head through the cathedral, I see the newish shrine to where Thomas Becket was killed by Henry II's men.

This is the shrine of Thomas Becket, and this is supposedly where he was
murdered by Henry II's knights. I actually find the new shrine a bit tacky.

These were buried with Edward "The Black Prince" Plantagenet. They were either his actual items or just placed with his tomb.

The Black Prince's tomb.

Out in the cloister.

The Cathedral is under restoration at some points, but I have access to almost all of it. I have about two hundred photos of the cathedral.

The route of the Triangle coaches, and my trip for
the day.

The Triangle is a regular coach service to the northern shore of Kent and its surrounding area. For me, it means I'm going to the two other major cities (besides Canterbury), Herne Bay and Whitstable. I start by hopping on the 6X service to Herne Bay.

Herne Bay is a gorgeous, isolated coastal city, much like Hermosa Beach in California. I hop off the bus and head straight for the water. There are basically two things that I initially see about Herne Bay: 1) the tide is down and 2) there are a billion people hanging around on the pier. Not sure what I should start with, and while I'm generally averse to going toward crowds, I still head to the pier to survey my surroundings.

Herne Bay.

Hmm. What's that curious structure on the horizon???

Herne Bay to Reculver Towers. It's about 3.5 miles one way.

To the east is a familiar-looking structure. I catch a glimpse of it on the horizon and wonder what it is. Well, despite just having arrived in Herne Bay, and despite not knowing whether it is three miles or nine from where I currently am, I decide that it's my duty to get to it. I look at the big clock on the waterfront and see that I'm doing good on time. I start walking along the footpath beside the beach. Eventually, the footpath ends and I end up walking on rocks and sand. But what ho! The two towers reappear as I come around a bend, reinvigorating my slowly depleting energy! When I can see it clearly, I get even more excited: it looks like a medieval church!

The place is called Reculver Towers, once the site of a Roman Fort, then converted into an Anglo-Saxon church after the Romans left England, and still later converted into a Norman church in the twelfth century. The two main towers are all that remains of the Norman church, but as I walk around the site, the foundations of the Anglo-Saxon church become visible. Like the dotted-outline of a cartoon ghost, the remnants of the past here only give a hint of the formidable structure of Anglo-Saxon architecture. The remnants of the Roman fort are far less visible, and signage does its best to direct your attention to where it would have been.

It seems like I've walked more than three miles. By the time I am within a football field of it, the sun is past its zenith. When the tourist information guy told me to go to Herne Bay, he probably didn't mean that I go there and then walk several miles to the next coastal town, but I really had no interest in walking around Herne Bay, looking for tourist shops.

Remnants of the Anglo-Saxon church.

I take a pit stop at a pub and grab a ginger beer (a combination of two things I love: a ginger...and beer. Miss you Diana!). Then I head back overland, following a bike path (instead of the beach) to Herne Bay.

When I get back to Herne Bay, I hop on another bus and head off to Whitstable. Whitstable, like Herne Bay, is small, and coastal, but Whitstable feels like it nurses the tourism plan a bit too strongly. Along its vast and seemingly unending pier are endless seafood places, each touting musicians playing well-known hits by the Beatles, Chuck Berry, and Bob Marley. There are fish markets right on the docks and you can buy some oysters (Kentish oysters) and then walk over to a separate booth to get them shucked. It's what Seattle would be if Seattle only grew to just over twenty thousand people.

Whitstable.

Like the good anti-tourist, I don't linger long. I follow a sign to Whitstable Castle and Gardens...

The day was extremely rewarding, but I'm tired. I hop on the bus and head back to Canterbury. It's the last day of the Olympics, and I decide to sit in the common room and watch it and read when the BBC sportscasters start narrating their athletes' thoughts (the pretense is so thick on the BBC you can cut it with a carrot). Tomorrow, I'm heading to Hastings. Until then.