My friend Sammy was here from the States for my birthday. We took one day to day trip to Canterbury. It's an easy day trip from London. About £20 and 90 minutes on the train out of Victoria station, which offers plenty of departures and returns. You can easily cover the key sites of Canterbury and still have time for tea in a day.
There is of course is the Cathedral itself, which can easily take a couple of hours to stroll through and experience. Standing at the spot where Thomas Becket was murdered almost 850 years ago was an incredible experience. The architecture is amazing and the grounds are just beautiful, make sure you leave plenty of time.
From the train station, you walk along city walls first built by the Romans and pass an ancient mound. From there it's off to the center of town where a stroll down St. George's Street can help you imagine what it might have been like to be in Victorian or even Medieval England. Some amazingly old architecture, cobblestone streets all conspire to give a real sense of romance.
Our train conductor had suggested we make a point to get all the way to the West Gate - it's that the end of St. George's Street, which turns into St. Peter's Street about halfway down - for the views of the city. It was good advice.
We wrapped up the day with high tea at Tiny Tim's Tearoom. Not nearly as fancy as a London high tea - and not nearly as expensive - but very nice and the pastries were amazing. We looked at several tea rooms before deciding on this historic venue, a well-made decision.
