Miles driven today = 113
Total Miles to date = 113
And we're off....
We set off from our home in Suffolk this morning and had a relatively stress free journey over the QE Bridge and into Kent. I think I must have been grinning for the entire journey. Finally, we are actually doing this!
We are currently at the motorhome aire at the New Dover Road park and ride car park near Canterbury. "Aires" are basically dedicated motorhome overnight parking spots with a few basic facilities for filling fresh water and emptying waste water and toilet tanks. Some also have electric hook up available. They are pitifully rare in the UK but can be found in abundance all over Europe, where transient motorhomers are generally made to feel far more welcome than they are here. They are often run by the local authorities and are either free or cost just a few euros to stay for a night or two, so we will be making plenty of use of them over the coming months. This one, just 1.5 miles from the centre of Canterbury, cost us £8 for the night, which includes a free bus ride into town.
Before making our way here we made a small detour to a local motorhome dealer. We bought a new Cadac gas barbecue this week and stupidly I didn't check that we had the correct gas adapter to attach it to the van's LPG supply until yesterday. Of course it was the wrong one and we had left it too late to order a replacement online, so we called in at Choose Leisure and they have sorted us out with the correct fitting. We shall have al fresco cooking after all. Hurrah!
So once we were parked and settled we got the bus into the city centre. We didn't bother with the Cathedral. I only wanted to take a few pictures from the outside but they charge you £14 each for the priviledge and there are major restoration works going on so we sneaked a photo over the rooftops and left it at that.
We had a good wander down the high street and its fine array of antique buildings.
I've not been to Canterbury for many years and I didn't appreciate that the City is actually built on a small river island.
The river is so clean and picturesque it actually looks as though it has been deliberately planted.
I love the way the traffic still passes under the old Westgate.
The Westgate gardens are lovely.
Westgate Gardens.
We didn't fancy taking a punt but plenty do, it seems.
The Old Gate Inn is just round the corner from the aire so we had our last taster of roast dinner and good old British brown beer before we have an early night ready for our morning appointment with Le Shuttle.
Only one minor mishap so far. One of the duvet covers we have brought along with us appears to be a single. I should point out that bedding is not my department but a visit to a French Ikea should put us back on track.
5 September 2022 - Nous sommes arrivés!
