Canterbury Cathedral, Kent
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| Canterbury Cathedral. Photo by J. Bailey |
What would this blog be without visits to cathedrals? Maybe one day we'll find out. Not yet, however. For now, the cathedral content shall continue...
Whilst staying in Kent we took a day out to drive to Canterbury, mainly for the purpose of exploring its famous cathedral. The day was wonderfully hot (or horrendously, depending on how you react to heat), meaning sunglasses, hats and lots of SPF. We parked around a ten minute walk away from the cathedral, in a car park I cannot remember the name of (it clearly wasn't the most interesting aspect of the day). This allowed us to wander our way through the city on the way to the cathedral.
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| Photo by J. Bailey |
Canterbury Cathedral is perhaps best known as the site of Archbishop Thomas Becket's murder in 1170. You know, charming stuff full of historical politics, intrigue and potential miscommunication between some over-eager knights and the king. It's all a tad confusing. Nevertheless, it's a beautiful cathedral and rather huge, with outside garden spaces, Cloister, Chapter House and Crypt.
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| Photos by J. Bailey |
Access around the site is a little tricky, but every single member of staff was keen to help us navigate our way around and there is a very useful "Facilities for Visitors with Disabilities" leaflet which includes a map of wheelchair routes through the cathedral. Only one area of the cathedral - Trinity Chapel - is completely inaccessible via wheelchair.
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| Photo by J. Bailey |
Wheelchair 3/5:
Although the building itself isn't naturally accessible, a lot of work has been done to make it as wheelchair-friendly as possible.
Sensory Input 2.5/5:
The cathedral is a rather popular location for tourists, as well as being an active church with services etc. This means that it can be quite noisy.
Food & Facilities 3/5:
There are toilets onsite and, as the cathedral is in the city centre, many a cafe within close proximity.
Travel 2.5/5:
I am not sure whether the cathedral itself has any disabled parking, the website is a little unclear on the topic. As it was, we parked maybe ten minutes away which suited us, but may not suit those of you looking to conserve energy on unnecessary travel. It was also a slightly longer drive from our rental to Canterbury than my body particularly likes, adding to my fatigue when going around the cathedral. For more travel information see here.
Overall 2.75/5:
Our travel time was around thirty-five minutes and we spent around three to four hours in Canterbury.
*I currently have moderate ME, meaning I use a wheelchair pushed by someone else, and a walking stick. Please take into account your own physical capabilities when planning a trip, if you need to start small then start small. Look into what you can see nearby for when you're ready. Although, when at my best, I may be able to post every 1-2 weeks, that does not mean I am well enough to travel that frequently! Many of my posts come from a backlog of trips taken over the past few years.
