A few months ago we planned a trip to south east England and we headed there despite the unseasonable cold weather. On the way to Maidstone there was snow falling and some hills had accumulated snow on them. The weather this time last year was much warmer and it was very disappointing to head towards the coast when the temperature was near freezing.
Our first stop was Leeds Castle and it didn't disappoint even with the cold weather. The grounds were beautiful and we were able to catch the train from the parking lot. After we got off the train the kids fed the hungry birds with the food we purchased from the ticket counter. Cole was very close to losing a finger with the large hungry swans. The castle was unbelievable and the grounds were spectacular.
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| Cole and Abigale feeding the peacocks |
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| Train to the castle |
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| The castle from the train |
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| Feeding the hungry birds |
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| Add caption |
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| Cole still fits in the backpack |
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| Taking a break |
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| Cole peeking through the hole |
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| Feeding the Black Swans rocks...Didn't work |
The next day after some swimming at the hotel we drove to Dover to see the famous white cliffs. It was another very cold day and once we started walking the trail to see the cliffs we realized that we wouldn't last very long in the cold wind. The trail was very close to the edge which made us very nervous with the two kids so Andy grabbed Cole and we watched Abigale closely. The cliffs were amazing and we heard on the radio after leaving that a large portion of the cliff fell into the bay the day before and we were standing very close to where that happened.
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| hotel swimming pool |
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| Busiest port between England and France |
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| City of Dover |
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| The White Cliffs |
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| Dover castle on the hill behind us |
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| had a great dinner at The Oak On The Green (hanging hops on ceiling) |
After Dover we headed to one of the British Open championship golf courses in Sandwich (Royal St. Georges). Royal St. Georges hosted the 2011 Open championship and is on the Open course circuit (every 10 years). The town of Sandwich was very small and the golf course was hidden within a small neighbourhood next to the beach. Andy ran into the store and checked out the 1st tee box but the weather prevented us from spending much more time there. We looked for the nearest attraction on the GPS and found Sandwich Bay which was very close by. After about 5 minutes of driving we ran into a toll booth for the beach which we paid and headed down to see some very brave guys kite surfing in the near freezing temperatures.
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| Royal St. Georges Golf Club |
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| Sandwich Bay |
After the cold day in Dover we decided that the next day would be our last since our next hotel was on the beach and the temperature didn't work for the beach. Our last day we headed to Canterbury to see the famous cathedral and walk around the town before driving back to Bristol. We had lunch at a yummy French bakery before heading to the cathedral.
Canterbury Cathedral was one of the most
important centers of pilgrimage in Medieval England.
There has been a cathedral at Canterbury since 597 when St. Augustine baptised
the Saxon
King Ethelbert. The Archbishop of Canterbury was the most senior
religious figure in the land and he was based at the cathedral. The pilgrimage at the cathedral greatly increased after
the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in 1170. The Canterbury Tales were written about these pilgrims and the cathedral after the author had a collection of stories written by the pilgrims.
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| St. Thomas Catholic Church |
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| The Christ Church Gate (completed 1521) |
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| Having fun at lunch |
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| Canterbury Cathedral |
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| Having fun pushing the stroller (pram) |
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| The site of St. Thomas's shrine in the Trinity Chapel |
