BES Journal Four

This week, we had a group trip to Canterbury and Dover. Canterbury had a unique atmosphere to it. I was transported to a different time period because of Canterbury’s medieval feel. The city still has its defensive walls, which makes driving into Canterbury a cool experience. We went to the Canterbury Cathedral, which was breathtaking from the outside. The inside architecture did not disappoint either! The cathedral was huge and displayed multiple types of architecture styles.  At first I thought this tour was going to be just another tour of a church, but there was an interesting story that caught my attention.

The story of Thomas Becket’s murder in the cathedral gave the tour a little extra something for people like me who have seen a large amount of churches and cathedrals. With the audio guide, I could follow the story and see the places in the cathedral that events leading/during the murder took place. There was an art piece at the place of Becket’s death that I found fitting. It is two sinister looking blades in the shape of the cross with two swords piercing the arms of the cross. My favorite part of this piece is how it cast its shadow on the wall, which adds to the sinister feeling of the piece. This art work really makes you feel the terrible act that took place in that very spot. Although I enjoyed Canterbury, I would have to say Dover Castle was my favorite place of the day.

Dover Castle was absolutely beautiful! The castle sits on the White Cliffs of Dover, and being that it was a clear day on my visit, I could see France from the castle. Walking through the castle, I thought they did a great job keeping the original feel (The smell of wood burning was a great addition) and mixing in some modern tech equipment (speakers playing sounds of the castle’s kitchen in action). The castle itself was great, but the grounds around it were my favorite part.

I spent a lot of time walking the grounds of the castle. I looked at the White Cliffs, and walked along the boundaries of the grounds overlooking the city and the channel. It was just a very peaceful walk, which was a nice change from London. I love London, but it is nice to have some quiet at times. There were some wartime tunnels below the grounds as well. I wanted to tour the secret tunnels, but the tours were too long for the time we were allotted. Instead, I explored the smaller medieval tunnels. We found some side tunnels, and an air vent that we climbed up a little. I liked how Dover Castle was very free to explore. I didn’t have to follow any set path or tour, and I was allowed to do what I wanted, go where I wanted, and find place other people may have missed. The only thing I would change about the Dover Castle visit would be the time we were allowed. An extra hour would have been great to explore the wartime secret tunnels.