Getting a cracking hotel deal yesterday I headed down to Kent last night aiming for an early start this morning. Of course I managed to forget to charge my camera so had to rely on the camera phone. Actually the results aren’t too bad as long as you don’t expand them too much!.
Kent is a county which you drive through a lot to get to the continent but based on the few times I’ve stopped it’s well worth a closer look. In the past I’ve been to Canterbury Cathedral but I was looking for a car charger for my camera so couldn’t really miss the opportunity to have another look. Given the timing with the Pope’s funeral yesterday it was good to see the spot where the Pope and the Archbishop prayed together in 1982, there was a book of condolence there with a queue of extremely well behaved French students waiting to sign it which was a nice thing to see.
The actual plan for the day (as I am meant to see places I have never been to before) was to go to the North coast of Kent so i drove up to Herne Bay and Whitstable. Both are typical English seaside towns and given the temperature this morning I didn’t stay long but from what I saw they’ll be nice in the summer.
Ever onwards I finally got to see Leeds Castle which is just off the M20. The grounds are huge and very well kept and, on a day like today in the bright spring sunshine, are absolutely stunning. The castle itself isn’t lived in these days, it’s owned by a charitable trust and is used for conferences and the such like. But it dates back to the 12th century so there’s real history to look at.
All in all a very enjoyable, if brief, trip down south.
