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  • Ant TravelsModern Canterbury Tales trip
    Day 1

    Prep time

    July 1, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    So another walk but with a literary angle - a walk over the old track from London to Canterbury over a week ! Some interesting things to see and maybe some new characters ! We start at Southwark cathedral and the blue plaque for the lost Tabard Inn now Talbot Yard.Read more

  • Ant TravelsModern Canterbury Tales trip
    Day 1

    The Prologue - Day one

    July 1, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    “Whan that aprill with his shoures soote
    The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,
    And bathed every veyne in swich licour
    Of which vertu engendred is the flour;”

    Well it’s July and it’s hot and sunny

    “Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
    And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
    To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
    And specially from every shires ende
    Of engelond to caunterbury they wende,”

    Southwark Cathedral is quiet and cool with some impressive stained glass windows including Chaucer!
    It’s a quiet day ....

    The Old Kent Road , the first and cheapest on the monopoly board , is the old road to Kent and it has seen some changes
    - where the pilgrims supposedly drew lots as to telling tales is Tesco’s , The Hartley’s jam factory still stands , the old pub the Thomas a Beckett , where Henry The Cooper boxed upstairs , is now a Vietnamese restaurant , Blackheath is a climb and an expanse of green overlooking Greenwich Observatory and maritime museum , the Sun in The Sands hostelry is sadly closed !
    It’s a pretty straight road - for pilgrims and drovers !
    Shooters Hill overnight stop !    Read more

  • Ant TravelsModern Canterbury Tales trip
    Day 2

    Day 2 To Dartford & the Traveller's Tale

    July 2, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    So up Shooters Hill - no highwaymen these days- down and off the Roman road into East Wickham and onto Lesnes woods and ruins of the 1178 Abbey and mulberry tree in leaf ( part of an ancient plan to start a Silk industry but ...Wrong type of mulberry - black not white! ) and onto Belvedere and Erith marshes and Erith’s old deep water wharf pier- no longer taking trains ! Pilgrims used to cross from the north bank and East Anglia and at Erith Causeway. It’s a good view of the Thames from Crayford Ness and the river Darent and flood barrier . It’s all very green and tidal marshes and then it’s on to Dartford. Dartford priory , England’s only Dominican convent before dissolution is impressive and so is the old Royal Bull and Victoria Inn - with it’s galleried yard. Odd town with a few famous visitors - Wat Tyler on his march and Henry V at the church after Agincourt !
    And 15 odd miles today !

    The Traveller’s Tale
    On the pilgrimage I was joined today by a great traveller - Europe , Americas , Asia and he had also travelled the great Silk Road! He was originally a London lad from Erith on the Pilgrim’s Way. Many years ago before the great travels
    he was voyaging north by railway to Nottingham to start his college life. He was joined in his train carriage by an attractive young lady who was also attending to college. He entertained her with some banter . He was hungry so he decided it was time for his prepared sandwiches which contained Pork. He graciously offered the young lady a sandwich but she declined. Some days later after he had arrived at college , had partaken in much ale and shown his hall friends that he had a huge appetite he was given the nick name “Porky”. And that seemed appropriate ....until one day a fellow from the same hall of residence told a tale of a Traveller who had propositioned, on the journey to college , one of his lady friends with a “pork” sandwich! A double legend was created and that tale is still told on drinking evenings to this very day ! A good friend !    Read more

  • Ant TravelsModern Canterbury Tales trip
    Day 3

    Day 3 Dartford to Otford

    July 3, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Another warm day ! South today to join the other pilgrim route from Winchester . After saying good morning to Mick Jagger ...it’s down the Darent river valley under the M25 and M20 and pass the Darenth church with remnants of Roman , Saxon , Norman and completed with a door shot at by Oliver Cromwell ! The 1881 paper mill chimney and the 1860 ten arch huge railway viaduct in South Darenth are impressive ! Following the diminishing river through Horton Kirby and it’s Norman church and onto Farningham and it’s bridge cum cattle screen (or folly?) in the river - to stop stock wandering in the ford across the river - and attractive old coaching inns. Still following the river and fields of lavender, poppies and hops and onto Eynesford with its ruined castle. The area has changed a lot and this area had more Roman villas than anywhere else in England as represented by
    Lullingstone Roman villa ! Then Lullingstone castle - where lawn tennis rules were devised ! Through fields of barley and wheat , cricket and golf courses its the idyllic village of Shoreham and down to Otford with its quirky duck pond roundabout and Otford palace which was a model for Hampton court - yet it is now a ruin !
    Another 15 or so miles today - Feet don’t fail me now !    Read more

  • Ant TravelsModern Canterbury Tales trip
    Day 4

    Day4 Kemsing -Aylesford & TT#2

    July 4, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Another long walk!
    Kemsing village and it’s ancient church door dented by pilgrim’s staves and a holy well ! Onto 10thC Wrotham church with strange passage under the tower to enable processions round church.

    The pilgrim track is now being more clearly marked and it’s kissing gate after kissing gate , but thankfully in this heat it’s through arched woodland paths past Trottiscliffe , Vigo Village and onto Whitehorse wood . I met some sheep having an argument - one field to another! See Facebook video !
    At Halling the old Pilgrim’s way crossed the river Medway by ferry here - which closed only in 1963 . The palace next to the Halling church is yards from the river - and the other side is not that far away !
    The crossing these days is by a very new bridge to connect to a nearly finished modern garden village - Peters village . Burnham village has a 12thC church with two Norman fonts is isolated near the river -another crossing point. It’s uphill then to home for tonight ! A pub ! ( on the slip road it’s like a European lorry park ).
    Today it’s been hot and I am over half way after a big 18 miles ! Feet are okay today !

    Traveller tales #2
    Rob was a Leeds lad -at least he said he supported the might whites - and he was the travel guide supreme on the Silk Road ! He had led travellers in Asia , Americas and Africa and was the most craziest fun person you could imagine ! He was the wild child , Mowgli, travelling in bare feet And mixed the best vodka cocktails - Snickers with vodka the winner! He was always one for a joke ..... getting to know his friends and drinking heavily ! He and and his friends had known each other for years so much so that when they got together the weirdest thing happened . One friend said “42” and everyone laughed , another said “29” and everyone laughed and it went on ... I had to ask what was going on ! He said that his friends knew each other so well they had code numbers for jokes and stories ! Primrose said “here’s a pun ,22” and everyone laughed ! The next night I thought I’d join in and said “42” and there was silence ....what had I done wrong ? !! Rob said “ You told it the wrong way! ”.
    He was a great traveller and a very funny guy but it seemed behind the painted smile was sadness! RIP Rob    Read more

  • Ant TravelsModern Canterbury Tales trip
    Day 5

    Day 5 Aylesford - Harrietsham

    July 5, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    So on up on the Pilgrims way and a visit to the White Horse Stone , the remains of a Neolithic long barrow ! Downhill to Boxley church which is 13thC built on Norman foundations . There are also the remains of a Cistercian Abbey and its 186ft guest house which received pilgrims and survives as a long red rooved barn. Supposedly the great
    attraction in the abbey church was a Rood screen which featured moving figures operated off stage with wires ! - not today ! Then it’s through Detling and tithe barn and onto Thurnham church and Norman Motte and Bailey . It’s a pretty straight and quiet track but I’m disturbed by an odd but familiar throaty aircraft above ..... seem to entered a time warp hole ....it’s a Spitfire!
    Onto Hollingbourne church but it’s also ....ooh err missus ....The Dirty Habit pub! - actually it only refers to the monks working in the fields!
    Tonight it’s a stop at Harrietsham and its Norman church tower!    Read more

  • Ant TravelsModern Canterbury Tales trip
    Day 6

    Day 6 Harrietsham - Ashford & TT#3

    July 6, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    The skies look a little cloudier today but it’s still hot and I’m off to Lenham and its church with
    Norman roots remain and a 15thC Tea rooms ! Next to the trackway has a huge chalk war memorial cross cut into the hill.
    Then its a large green track with barley , wheat , peas and corn which rises to Charing Hill and Charing. Charing has several medieval houses and especially the impressive Palace Great Hall and it was a pilgrimage site in its own rite - supposedly holding the block on which John the Baptist was beheaded on, now lost, after Richard I brought it back from Holy Land. It dates back to the 8thC, but most of current building relates to the late 13thC with later additions and rebuilding but the tower is from 1500 - it had visitations from Henry VII and VIII ! The green track continues along the edge of woodland past Westwell and Eastwell again past fields of corn and wheat and then its north to Boughton Lees and Flying Horse Inn and then onto Boughton Aluph church .
    Tonight’s last stop is close to Ashford not Bilting - but you’ll have to talk to google maps to argue that !!!! grr!

    Travellers tales# 3
    Prior to her nursing and raising a family she was born and lived with her parents and younger brother in the middle of nowhere on a tea plantation in Ceylon. She was a keen walker. He , in later life , was also very keen walker and had walked Hadrian’s wall , the canals of the West Midlands ( where unfortunately he got mugged!) and also many an old steam railway line like the Settle- Carlisle route.
    He had always had an aversion to bees and wasps as he was very allergic ! Once in Ireland , a wasp stung his arm and it became so swollen it looked like Popeye’s arm muscles !
    Once on holiday in Austria they were both fascinated by the flowers (beautiful fuchsias ) at a particular stop ......but flowers attract ....wasps! He suddenly shouted out that there was a wasp IN his shorts ! Quickly , she took him behind a large bush and tried to get his shorts off to free the wasp before it was too late! Luckily the wasp was released and did not result in great balls of fire ! They were the good Wife and Husband of Farnham aka Mum and Dad    Read more

  • Ant TravelsModern Canterbury Tales trip
    Day 7

    Day 7 To Canterbury

    July 7, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    So cloudy today ...hopefully not so hot for my final 8 miles to Canterbury!
    I pick up at Godmersham and its Church dating from
    1070 with additions since then - it had a visitation from Jane Austen . The park and house feature in Austen’s novels - and they are also on the £10 note! ....it says here!
    Onto Chilham Village and its Castle - built by Henry II in 1171 , the year after Beckett’s death . The adjoining building from
    1616 also had Austen visit !
    Onward and the path climbs to Old Wives Lees village with pub, oast houses and finally some hops! Then apple trees and tunnels of strawberries and I guess pickers caravans - what will happen post Brexit? Past Bigbury earthwork (couldn’t really see anything!) and though another tunnel of trees and Canterbury begins to appear before dropping down and up and down to Harbledown - it was the last stop for Chaucer’s pilgrims and it was going to be the Cook’s turn to tell a story but he was possibly too drunk so the Manciple starts his tale.
    Going up and down Summer Hill and Canterbury Cathedral is in sight!
    St Dunstan’s church is the last church before the city and it’s where Henry II quickly changed into his penance - woolen shirt and removed his boots! Well - not for me ! Down past the 14thC Falstaff hotel and through the City gates and onto Mercery Lane and Christ Church gate and into the Cathedral!
    The cathedral had opened in 1077 and was then enlarged. Becket’s shrine is in Trinity Chapel. Fantastic windows ! The fateful murder happened in the north transept but all is not what is seems - the Cathedral has been levelled by HenryVIII and been rebuilt!
    And that’s it ..... to conclude as Chaucer ..... I rose to my feet and walked back to my horse aka train station. My feet feel okay and after a beer I will not feel a thing !
    The End!    Read more

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