Canterbury Day Trip?

If you want to go on a weekend, check first for engineering works on the line.

It is an easy daytrip from London by train. Canterbury is a very pleasent small city. The main site of interest is the cathedral, including the spot where St. Thomas a Becket was martyred. There's also a shell of an old castle, public gardens, and a pedestrian-only shopping center. If you're using Rick Steve's guidebooks, always realize that although they have many strengths, the biggest weakness is their lack of scope. You get a selection of highlights, but not a general survey of the country.

Rob,, I did it years ago,, but took a bus not train( it was cheaper) I am sorry I can't help with logistics as I was with a friend, who was with a Brit , and she arranged the tickets,( one reason we took the bus, since it was so much cheaper)!

I do recall enjoying the visit, besides the obvious Catherderal,, there were some ruins of an old church,, ( Henry the VIII retaliation against the Catholic church again,, he had it razed) that I though were quite moving. The town itself had a lovely old town area. Its worth looking up.

Canturbury makes a very nice day trip from London. You leave from Victoria Train Station. Be sure to pay attention to which cars go to Canturbury- sometimes part are dropped at an earlier station. Canturbury has a lovely park, a "Disney" type animatronic of Chaucer's Canturbury Tales, the Cathedral (well worth some time) and other sites already mentioned. There is also some good shopping- from boutiques to funky! The Cathedral's shop is actually rather good. You can also go to Dover as they are on the same train line. So if you want to make a long day of it, go to Dover for the morning- see the Castle and the cliffs, then take the train back to Canturbury for the afternoon and take a late train back to London.

We took the train from London to Canterbury and loved visiting the Cathedral and walking the grounds. Yes, the gift shop was a highlight. We ate in a small pub just out the front gate. We also walked the walls around Canterbury. It is lovely countryside between Canterbury and Dover. Lots of fields of hops and fruit trees. You will enjoy seeing it and how events there change history!

Like Pat, my sister and I did a day trip to Canterbury from London decades ago. We went by train. It was nice trip and my sister still has a print she picked up framed and on her wall. ; ) Pam

About 25 years ago, we took a day trip to Canterbury and Dover. We took the train to Dover, where we loved the castle, then we took a train to Canterbury and spent the afternoon at the town and cathedral, which were wonderful. Then we took the train back to London in the evening. It was a great day.

If you have a car, drive on down to Battle where you can walk around on the famous 1066 battlefield. Also in that area is Bodiam Castle which is completely surrounded by a water-filled moat.