UK: Canterbury

Canterbury is a cute and historic English cathedral city, which lies on the district of Kent, South East England.

 

Its history goes back to the times even before the Roman conquerors in the 1st century AD, when Canterbury was already a settlement called Durou̯ernon (duro- "stronghold", u̯erno- "alder tree"). After the conversion to Christianity in 597, St. Augustine founded an episcopal seat in the city and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury, a position that now heads the Church of England. Thomas Becket’s murder at the Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 led to it becoming a place of pilgrimage for Christians worldwide. The pilgrimage became the background for the classic of Literature called “The Canterbury Tales” written on the 14^th Century by Geoffrey Chaucer.



 

 

 

Canterbury is a popular tourist destination: consistently one of the most-visited cities in the UK. The Canterbury Cathedral is one of the most famous religious structures in the world. I have to say, I expected it to be much bigger, but its importance lies not on its size, but in its history. Behind it, there are several ruins of the former St. Augustine’s Abbey that once stood there.



 

St. Augustine’s Abbey ruins

 

the cathedral's ceiling

 

But there’s not only the huge cathedral to see in Canterbury. The city is very nice to take a walk around and the river Stour offers idyllic landscapes. There’s still a preserved city wall and gate remaining from the roman times and several medieval ruins to visit. Parts of the city are today UNESCO World Heritage protected sites. It’s the perfect destination for a day trip outside of London!

a tudor house

 

The Westgate

 

River Stour and some of the idyllic landscapes

 

Roman Museum

 

Boat tour on the River Stour in the end of the day

UK: Cambridge

Cambridge is an old English town, county seat of Cambridgeshire and located approx. 80 Km from London (it’s possible to travel by train and come back on the same day). It lies on the banks of the river Cam and since the Middle Ages plays an important role in the town's economy.

With the colleges covered with vegetation and lined up along the river, the green lawns and its architecture, Cambridge is an extremely beautiful town, which tourism has known how to seize quite well. The River Cam is packed with tourists punting and enjoying the bucolic landscape. You can even hire an individual boat and as the person has to stand up to maneuver the stick (Punting), I wonder how many people did not fall in the water until today.

Thanks to strong trade in the Middle Ages, Cambridge became a market town and on the XIII Century, it took on a new role: the university. The first college was Peterhouse College, founded in 1284. Nowadays there are 31 colleges in total and together they form the University of Cambridge. Some colleges are especially famous, as Christ College, King's College, Queen's College, and Trinity College (where people like Francis Bacon and Sir Isaac Newton studied).

St John's College

Trinity College, where Sir Isaac Newton studied

King's College

St John's College                 King's College

Trinity College, founded by Henry VIII

A quite interesting part of the University of Cambridge is the college system. The colleges are basically where the students sleep, eat and sometimes even party, I've heard... But the have nothing to do with the degree you study. Although you apply for a certain study subject at your college, the actual classes are delivered through the relevant department of the university. An example: You apply for engineering at Queens College. If you are accepted that means you will live at Queens College but study at the engineering department. I find this rather interesting, as it gives you the opportunity to liaise with people across different subjects in your college, while the engineering class allows interacting with students from other colleges, ensuring academic input from various sources.

Cambridge houses also good museums and some very old churches. It's worth spending the day visiting colleges and stroll through the narrow streets filled with shops and people. Just be careful not to get hit by one of the hundreds of student bikers who pass from one side to the other all the times.

        Fitzwilliam Museum             Church of the Holy Sepulchre

UK: Warwick Castle

Warwick Castle is a medieval castle situated on a bend of the River Avon, in small town called Warwick, in the Warwickshire County in England.

 Warwickshire, England

 This castle is massive and I read that William the Conqueror started its construction at around 1068, really old... Its quite nice and impressive for its size. We arrived there at around 18:00h so it was about to close. The ticket to go in costs a small fortune (around £22 per person) so we didn't feel so bad for missing it. There was a medieval event going on, so tents were set and some war apparatus were displayed. Here are some pictures so you guys can have an idea about it (maybe almost as much as we had)! 
   

                                         

                                      Source: Wikipedia



Entrance to the Castle

  

The City of "Warwick"

UK: Kenilworth Castle

Kenilworth Castle is located in the town of the same name in Warwickshire, England. It was Easter when we visited it and you can all have an impression by the pictures of how cold it actually was this day. Anyways, although very old and initially constructed by Normans and expanded with time, it is best known as the former home of Robert Dudley, the great love of Queen Elizabeth I. Dudley created an ornate palace here to impress his Queen when she visited it in 1575. The Tudor tower even hosts an interesting exhibition on the relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Dudley.

The castle was built over several centuries. Each part of it shows a different architecture style. It was founded in the 1120s around a powerful Norman great tower, but it grew bigger by King John’s reign (beginning of the 13th century), when he also designed a huge water defence around it (inexistent nowadays).  John of Gaunt also changed the castle, turning it into a palace fortress designed in the latest perpendicular style. After that, the Earl of Leicester (Robert Dudley) then expanded it once again, constructing new Tudor buildings and turning the castle into a Renaissance palace.

Kenilworth Castle was partly destroyed by Parliamentary forces in 1649 to prevent it being used as a military stronghold. Today it’s open to the public and it’s listed as an English Heritage. The once lost Elizabethan Garden has been recreated, together with an aviary and a beautiful marble fountain. It’s all a magnificent mixture of different style ruins, stories and mysteries.

Stables

Leicester's gatehouse

The Elizabethan Garden

The Norman Tower

different perspectives!

Ruins of the Great Hall

Ruins of the State Apartments

from the other side of the moat

Blick of the English country side