Stoney

What kind of tourist site is Canterbury Cathedral? Can you actually see where Thomas a Becket was slashed to death near the Altar by Henry II's knights? Can you watch an Anglican Mass being said by the Archbishop?

ron

Yes, you can see where Thomas was killed. It would very unlikely that you could attend a service being presided over by the archbishop. Anglican bishops or archbishops are rarely involved in the regular worship routine - that is the job of the Dean of the cathedral. And given that the Archbishop of Canterbury has a greater responsibility than other bishops, his participation would even be rarer. The other point is that, for most of the year, he isn't even resident in Canterbury, but in London at Lambeth Palace.

Uncle Sam

Canterbury is an excellent visit. The cathedral is magnificent, the cloisters, the spot where Beckett was killed, the empty place where his shrine existed until Henry removed it and the tomb of the Black Prince and the stained glass make the visit worthwhile.<BR><BR>In addition, the old town surrounding the cathedral is very nice with enough history and pubs serving Stella Artois to make a visit enjoyable.<BR><BR>US

Tammy

I'm with Uncle Sam, Canterbury is an excellent place to visit. I stayed there 2 nights in May. Along with the cathedral, take time to visit St. Augustine's Abbey with beautiful views of the cathedral. Also walk along the cities old walls. <BR><BR>Tammy

denise

From native brit - I used to live in canterbury, I now live about 30 miles away and still miss canterbury.. its got a fantastic atmosphere, very cosmopolitan and acedemic with the university, loads of pubs, olde worlde charm, plus the cathedral. Fantastic

xxx

We were there last year - we only had a couple of hours before it became pitch black, and as a "Yank driver" I didn't want to be there very long, now I wish we had spent more time there! The cathedral will literally take your breath away - VERY spectacular! When we walked in, all we could say was "WOW". The rest of the town looked very quaint, very fun, and would have been cool to explore. But after spending way too long in the cathedral we didn't have time to look anywhere else... Now I have to plan another trip back to explore the REST of the city!

Faith

When I visited Canterbury last year it was great. A bit crowed in spots but tolerable (I went in June). I found it easier to buy a post card for a souvenir instead of trying to take a picture since the sheer enormity of it all. Then only kinda of disturbing thing is that outside of the cathedral there was a Starbucks...unfortunate.

Shelley

Definitely see the Cathedral. Very impressive, including marker where Becket was slain. Perhaps you could plan to be there during Evensong. We haven't heard Evensong at Canterbury, but did at Wells and St. Paul's Cathedrals, and the music is most impressive. We were there in the morning when they had a ceremony of turning the page in the book of memorial for those who have died in wars. They ring a bell, say prayers, turn the page. At 11 in the morning, if I remember. Also, in Canterbury is an exhibit where you can see some Roman ruins. The floor mosaics were cool. We stayed at a very nice B&B, the Thanington Hotel (ww.thanington-hotel.co.uk). The owner had been to the US several times and was one of the few Brits we have encountered in three trips who knew the northwest well and knew where we lived. Canterbury was well worth the visit!

Uncle Sam

Faith,<BR><BR>I may be missing something here, and I do not like their cofffee, but what is wrong with Starbucks having a coffee shop in Canterbury?<BR><BR>US

Lori

We were there in April and once before many years ago. The cathedral is lovely, simply beautiful I think. We had virtually no crowds the day we were there and that made it even better. The town is nice, plenty of tourist shops if you are into that, plenty of places to eat, etc. We were there on a Sunday and had to wait outside the cathedral for about 20 min. until services were over. We got to watch a processional of bishops (or other church officials all wearing robes, etc) come out and go across to another building for lunch. The guest speaker (sermon) that day was the Archbishop of Kenya according to a sign posted outside. We also had an excellent roast beef dinner later in the day, can't remember the name of the restaurant, but it was very good and huge portions too.

Lori

That Starbucks Faith is referring to is next to one of the gates going into the area where the cathedral is. It does tend to spoil pictures of the gate should you want to take one. I am not anti-Starbucks by any means but I would liked to have not seen it in my picture!

cd

It's been many years but we loved visiting Canterbury. We attended Evensong services and stayed in a B&B inside the walls. I still treasure my copy of Canterbury Tales we purchased there.

Uncle Sam

I see, I do not believe it was there when we there about 4 years ago. <BR><BR>Probably a great location for selling coffee, but a bit tacky in the pictures;~))<BR><BR>US

jpm

We stayed in the Cathedral Gate Hotel which is literally right next to the Cathedral Gate...duh! Great location and had a funky fourth floor room. The door into the room was about 5 foot tall...I'm 6'3. The floor of the room had enough of a slope that the foot of the bed had a 10 inch extender on the bed legs to keep the bed level....I Loved It!

Harold

JPM, the reason the doorways are so short was that we Anglo-Saxons were so short in the Middle Ages. Yeah, we called them the Middle Ages back then too. After nearly 1000 years, I'm still a little steamed at losing at Hastings to William the Conqueror, that bastard. If I would have known what would happen, I would have taken a different approach to the battle. And then there would not have been a Henry II and Thomas a Becket wouldn't have been chopped to death at Canterbury.

Ben Haines

I delight to see so much American admiration for Canterbury, a city I myself love. The Cathedral Gate Hotel is a fifteenth century pilgrims hostel, converted but not spoiled, and if you put a marble down in the middle of the floor of any room there it will roll into a corner. I am afraid it has sunk a little over the centuries.<BR><BR>Not all visitors find the book of twentieth century martyrs at the far east end of the Cathedral. my own favourite is Father Kolbe.<BR><BR>Those who admire Thomas More (warts and all), will value a window to him in the church 400 yards outside Westgate, with a window to him, and the tomb his head, brought there by his faithfull daughter.<BR><BR>Ben Haines, Anglican, London

kam

We also love Canterbury and have visited several times with British friends whose sons were at the King's School. One of the boys took us on a behind the scenes tour of the school and a students' view of the town. Sharon Kay Penman has a new book out about Henry's struggle with Becket---not one of her best, but interesting if you are going to visit. The cathedral is beyond description.

Uncle Sam

Kam,<BR><BR>Just read than Penman book and I agree with you. I wish that it hadn't ended abruptly with Henry going to Ireland. Would liked for her to have followed through with Henry's pentance etc.<BR><BR>US<BR><BR>My favorite..."There Be Dragons"