A bus day

So, we went from Hythe to Canterbury by bus. It was what you might call 'The Scenic Route', although places like Folkestone bus station were not all that scenic. But we did eventually arrive in Canterbury and it had not cost us anything. 

We had thought to go to the Cathedral, as it was a long time since we had been there. However, we stood outside the entrance, looked at all the scaffolding, pondered the ticket price of £12.50 and finally decided on a change of plan. An Australian couple we got talking to, in Canterbury for the day from London, did exactly the same. (How many visitors are they losing because of the over-the-top entrance fee I wonder.)

Anyway, we had a short walk to St Augustine's Abbey and could not think why we had not been before. A fascinating place, really well laid out and documented and only a few visitors. Briefly - in AD 596 the Pope sent St Augustine to England to spread Christianity. King Ethelbert of Kent offered him ground inside the city for a cathedral and outside the city for a monastery. These were built and thrived for several centuries. Later the Normans replaced the simple Anglo Saxon buildings with huge buildings on a grand scale. The virtual reality experience in the museum gives an amazing idea of what these buildings might have been like. Then came along Henry VIII . . . 

My extra photo is a view of the ruins of the Abbey and the tower of the Cathedral in the background. 

My blip is Canterbury Bus Station. They go for colourful buses in Kent and I thought of Hobbs' October Colour Blitz,.