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Wednesday 15th February 2023
We headed off to explore Canterbury today and opted for the Park & Ride rather than battle our way around the city to try and find car parking. Dead easy – just a 20 mins drive away and cost just £4 for all day parking and the bus for up to 6 people into town. Just two stops – the east station and the bus station.
It’s an incredibly picturesque town with many buildings dating back the 15th Century. We needed a bit to eat for lunch. We wandered up the main street and there was plenty of choice. The usual high street restaurants plus a fair few independants too. We initially headed to The Goods Shed – meant to be a small farmers market selling cheese, meats etc with food stalls and a restaurant. The only seats available were in the expensive restaurant and the menu didn’t appeal to Jon.
Retracing our steps, we ended up at The Pound – the old prison had been converted into a restaurant cum bar and it was pretty cool inside. Jon ordered a burger, I ordered a chicken burger and Callum the cajun chicken sandwich. When we disappeared to find the loos, some of the old cells were converted into seating areas – you could seat about 8-10 people in here.
At all tables, you press a button when you are ready to order (and this lights up on a big board!).
Wasn’t the cheapest, but the food was pretty good. We’d be back here tomorrow as we’d booked an escape room in the tower!
After we’d been fed and watered, we set out to explore Canterbury with the Spy Mission Treasure Trail. The trail started at the Buttermarket, more or less next door to the Cathedral and took you around the lesser known parts of Canterbury. You could actually walk the walls around the city (about 2.5 miles in total) but we just walked a short stretch. The route does take you up Dane John Hill for some good views across to the cathedral and through a couple of parks. You kept off the main streets for most the trail, so got to see some of the narrow lanes.
We didn’t quite have a castle-free day – there is a ruined castle in Canterbury although undergoing renovations so we couldn’t explore.
Trail complete and we called it a day and headed back to the car park and our cottage. Callum and Jon had their usual game of Snooker.
