Hi guys! Welcome to another episode of Ultimate Bucket List. And on today's show,
I show you around the city of Canterbury. One of the most important religious cities in the world.
Many religious people will undergo a pilgrimage, and visit a holy site
once in their lives. For Catholics this is Rome and the Vatican City.
For Muslims this is Mecca. If you're a Jew, you'll visit the Holy Land and Jerusalem.
But if you're a Protestant or an Anglican, that place is Canterbury.
A city that's located 90 minutes southeast of London it's the most important holy city in
England, and a major site of pilgrimage visited by millions of people for thousands of years.
The reason why is because of three things. The oldest church in the English-speaking world,
the first monastery that spread Christianity to the west, and the most important cathedral
in the country. The head of this cathedral the Archbishop of Canterbury is the highest ranking
and most important religious official in the UK, and is responsible for crowning the monarchy.
He is in effect the king maker. Because of this, most of the city is classed
as a UNESCO world heritage site. And it's certainly worth visiting once in your life.
Now if we have a look at a map of Canterbury, you'll notice that it's
surrounded by an ancient wall, so most of the things in Canterbury are very easy to find.
But I suppose I better start by telling you about the most visited attraction here in the city. This
is world famous Canterbury cathedral. From the outside it looks mega impressive. However, there
are various parts of it that are currently under reconstruction. And even though it's massive,
unfortunately there's only one entrance to it. And it's along one of these main streets.
You would never guess that the entrance is slap bang in the middle of town, but yeah
this is how you get into Canterbury cathedral. You can buy tickets at the ticket office, but if
you're going at a particularly busy time, book in advance to make sure that you secure your place.
Once you walk around the grounds of the cathedral, you'll notice just how intricate it actually is.
It must have taken hundreds, if not thousands of years to carve everything here. And when
you go inside it is without a doubt one of the largest cathedrals that you'll ever step foot in.
Admittedly here in the nave, where all of us commoners sit,
it's nothing really to write home about. In fact it's actually quite plain, but it
doesn't detract from the fact that it's a sizeable nave. Given that this is a working cathedral, you
could technically visit this bit free of charge when services are on. It’s only when you go past
the intricately carved stone doorway that you'll notice the more impressive areas of the cathedral.
For example, the quire. This is traditionally where monks and priests would sit to worship,
and to learn. It's just as impressive as you see in the photos and videos. And when you
walk around you'll notice some historic things, like the tomb of Henry IV, the chapel of St.
Edward the Confessor. And it's decked out in some of the most ornate stained glass windows
that you'll see anywhere in any church in any part of the world. It really is lovely to look at.
If you're into this sort of thing I recommend that you take your time.
This is perhaps the holiest spot here in the cathedral. They've put a single
lit candle in the middle of the floor. This was formerly the site of the Tomb of Thomas Becket.
Now for those of you who don't know the story, it's one of the most famous stories
in Christianity. After an altercation between Thomas Becket and King Henry II,
he said in a fit of rage (or possibly under the influence of alcohol) - “Who will rid me
of this turbulent priest?!” Even though the king didn't really mean that maliciously,
his four knights took that quite literally. And rode to Canterbury and literally murdered the guy.
As you can imagine, murdering one of the holiest men on the planet in his own cathedral is totally
not cool! If you're looking for the spot where Thomas Becket was murdered, it's literally
right here. And whilst you're walking around the place just soak in some of the atmosphere, that
you'll get from this lovely cathedral. There's lots of things to do and see and learn about.
But to get the full experience, I recommend that you pay for a guided tour of the place. It costs
a little bit extra, but you'll certainly learn about the things that you'll see
that you'll probably never know about, unless it was pointed out to you. This is especially
the case around the cloisters, where the monks used to live,
and some of the inner parts of the church. For example, the medieval paintings here,
the meaning of the carvings on the pillars, and some of the areas of the underground crypt.
It's all very educational and I never would have guessed this was all here unless I paid
for a tour of the place. But it's definitely a lovely cathedral to visit. And even if you
don't want to go inside the cathedral itself, around the grounds it's actually quite nice.
What's also quite nice is if you wander around some of the streets surrounding Canterbury
cathedral. Especially this street here that runs from right to left, it's the main high street that
runs through Canterbury. And you'll notice various old buildings it's all very ancient and retro,
and it's nice to just walk around and see the old buildings mixed in with the very very modern
shops. As mentioned before, Canterbury is a walled city and it's guarded by four gates.
The most impressive gate is probably the Westgate right here. And the reason why it's impressive
is because it has a whole bunch of floral gardens surrounding it. These are known as the Westgate
Gardens and this is free of charge to walk around. You can walk around in these lovely
idyllic settings and you'll feel like you're in the middle of the English countryside. If you go
towards the east side of the city, you'll come across Saint George’s clock tower, and some of
the more modern amenities, such as modern shopping centres etc. To get to our next attraction you'll
need to leave the city via the Eastgate and you'll eventually come across St. Augustine’s Abbey.
The first monastery in the country and the birthplace of Christianity here in the west.
It was founded by Saint Augustine, and this now abandoned monastery is responsible for training
thousands of monks that spread Christianity throughout the western world. You'll need to
pay a small admission fee, to get in but once you do you'll come across some amazing ruins.
If you don't quite know what you're looking at, I recommend that you follow the signs, read, learn
all about it, and move on to the next sign. In fact, there's a specific order that you go around
the abbey, to get the best possible experience. So when you're walking around you'll see some pretty
cool things like this. Now admittedly if you're on a tight budget you could probably see most of this
from the outside, so there's no reason to pay the admission fee and go in if you don't want to.
But if you're only here once in your life, pay the money and see the ruins.
You'll need to walk down the street to visit the third religious attraction here in Canterbury.
This is St. Martin's Church, and it's the oldest church in the English-speaking world.
Built in 597 A.D. when it's open you can just walk inside. When I got to the church,
it was night and it was creepy as hell, with the overgrown trees and the graves everywhere.
I honestly didn't stick around to find out what it was like. I’m sure it's very lovely though.
And when you walk back into the city of Canterbury, be sure to eat or drink at one of
the more traditional pubs here in Canterbury. I guarantee you'll enjoy the experience.
I can't really recommend a specific one because they're all good, but trust me walk into one of
these you won't be disappointed. You'll notice various ancient buildings, cobbled streets,
things that you haven't seen for thousands of years. It's all very historical,
but you might also come across a statue of this guy. This is Geoffrey Chaucer,
the father of modern English literature, and the author of the famous Canterbury tales.
If you're a fan of the Canterbury tales, there's a whole museum dedicated to it.
But as Canterbury is also a famous Roman town it also has its own Roman museum located directly in
the middle of the city. You can actually learn all about the history of Roman Canterbury.
I’ve been to a lot of Roman Museums before, and I honestly wasn't too impressed with this one.
Here's a mosaic showing my displeasure. So if you are a history buff,
pay to see it but otherwise don't. And if you've got a million pounds to
spare you can buy this really really old building. I personally won't be doing that anytime soon.
But as night falls and daylight disappears, Canterbury turns into a very happening night spot.
All the places that I showed you before, make for some great nights out. And the prices out
here aren't too bad at all. There's plenty of bars, shops, restaurants, things to whittle
your night away. Now me I’m a classy guy. I don't particularly enjoy going out and getting drunk.
I’d much prefer to do something cultural instead. So that's why I’m here at the Marlowe Theatre.
A surprisingly ultra-modern building located amongst all this historic stuff.
It's quite a sizable theatre, and on the day that I went I caught a showing of Sir Andrew
Lloyd Webber’s - School of Rock. The film was cheesy, but I got to admit - the musical was
very very good. And the theatre itself a lovely place to watch something like this. So if there's
something on at the Marlowe Theatre at night, I recommend that you actually have a look at it.
Overall if you are a religious person, or want to experience some history and culture in modern
settings; Canterbury comes highly recommended! And if you are in London or anywhere near London,
Canterbury is definitely worth a day trip. Definitely visit this place once in your life.
Okay Ninh, I’m sold what do I need to do? Well you'll need to come to the city of Canterbury.
If you're coming from abroad, you'll most likely have to fly to one of the London airports,
and take public transportation in. It’s located about 90 minutes southeast of central London,
and there's plenty of trains and buses that will take you here.
When you're in the actual city itself, you don't need public transport to take you around the
place. Everything is within walking distance. If you're looking for a place to stay, Canterbury has
some decent hotels located within the city walls. But I tend to find that the most cost-effective
ones tend to be outside of the city, so bear that in mind. When you're booking this trip,
food and drink here is very reasonable. Certainly a lot cheaper than London prices. As for the cost
of attractions; by themselves they're actually not too bad. But if you're planning to do absolutely
everything in a single day, it can quickly add up. Is there anything else I need to know?
Yes, because this is one of the most important religious sites in the country,
they take security very seriously. And Canterbury cathedral has its own police force!
If you're looking to protest or otherwise cause trouble, you will be arrested
on-site. Also because most of the city is classed as a UNESCO world heritage site, droning around
the city is strictly forbidden. If you're going to chance it, make sure you fly outside of the
city walls. Because anything within the realms of the cathedral will lead to your instant arrest.
If you've enjoyed this episode please be sure to like share and subscribe.
Comment on the comment section below, and if you've got any other bucket list ideas, tweet
them at me. If I get enough suggestions, I’ll go ahead and do that. So guys thank you very much for
watching and we'll see you in the next episode. Ninh Ly - www.ninh.co.uk - @NinhLyUK