Day Twenty One Stage 10 Boughton Lees to Canterbury

Day Twenty-One  Friday June 19



CANTERBURY! This pilgrim has reached Canterbury! I'm ahead of myself, I'm still in Boughton Lees and there is a lot of ground to cover, but its so exciting......

This is the split in Boughton Lees - From here I can go to Canterbury 13 miles, or Dover via Folkstone 25 miles or back to Farnham 98 miles. 

 The little 13C church at Boughton Aluph was the last overnight stop for pilgrims on their way to the Cathedral. The porch has a fireplace for final warmth and cheer before traveling together through the then robber-infested 1500 acre Kings Wood. Its a 2 mile stretch of ( today) sun-dappled ferns and chestnut trees reminding one of Robin Hood.

I've Never Seen This Type of Tomb

Heres the little porch with the chimney. I can just imagine these people huddled there gratefully , determined but vulnerable. 

Everywhere Poppies!

This is unbelievable but true. Unsubstantiated we have walked 103 miles.

Geez..... unfortunately my first sighting of the Cathedral never happened. This info sign was where the view should have been but the tall hedge and enormous trees that have grown up in the historic vista make any view impossible. What a let down. 

Rose Madness

Coming into Chilham now. This is the castle, built for Henry II in 1174 but now  privately owned, The garden is open on certain days. We got to peak through the gates. Chilham is a perfect movie set, in fact is it - "Emma" "Poirot" and the older version of "Pride & Prejudice" was filmed here. 

No SUVs in Chilham

We stopped for a break at Shelly's Tea Shop. Linda let me have the last piece of lemon cake, she had the capuccino cake. Definitely home made. What a pal! 

A touch of pagan in the church displays. I often see sheaves of wheat or barley, corn dollies or earthly artifacts. Why ask of one god when there are so many? 

Lunch Stop

Heres a job I'd take! At Bigbury Hill Fort they have brought in sheep to clear the overgrowth. Apparently the sheep need to be watched. I can do that! They were sweet sheep too. 

Now we're really taking a huge step back in time, pre-Roman settlement. These ramparts and earthworks are all thats left of a large village of early people, an Iron Age hill fort which was the scene of British resistance against Julius Caesar in 54BC. The Romans subsequently used the hill fort as a military encampment site.

Bigbury Camp was built around 350BC and was continuously occupied until Julius Caesar's invasion in 54AD. The Roman attacked the hillfort, perhaps under Caesar's personal command, scattering resistance. Caesar's history of the conquest records that the two fort entrances, one at the east and one at the west end, were reinforced by felled trees to block the Roman advance. 

Problems elsewhere ( always some irksome issue with those pesky early Brits) led Caesar to abandon his campaign here and the Roman occupation was delayed by a 100 years. 

Bigbury Resident

Getting Close

I have now formally and officially left my footprint among the countless wayfarers. Now standing in Butter Market Square at the gates of the Cathedral, among the hoards of manic shoppers and tourists. There should be a meeting room for all those walking the NDW to decompress and share experiences. Where's my pilgrim badge or ampule of blood of the saint? 

More to come on Canterbury! We're here!