Today I want to share my guide to a Canterbury and Dover day trip from London with you. Out in Kent, these places are worth a trip for their iconic landmarks and beautiful scenery. If you love cathedrals, castles, and white cliffs in equal measure, you’ll enjoy visiting these famous places in England.
Canterbury and Dover
I’m taking my Canterbury and Dover day trip from London with a friend. We’re excited to see Canterbury Cathedral, explore Dover Castle, and walk along the chalk cliffs on the coast.
They’re great places to visit outside London, and we’re looking forward to our journey to the southeast of the UK.
Canterbury
We start our day trip in Canterbury. This historic walled city is one of the most famous cathedral cities in England, what with its main attraction being the headquarters of the Church of England.
I took a day trip to Canterbury when I first moved to London, and I’ve been back a number of times since. The cathedral always inspires, and the historic city center is equally impressive.
On this visit, my friend and I start our Canterbury and Dover day trip from London by admiring the old city walls and Norman castle keep. Canterbury dates back to Roman times, and there’s a lot of heritage to take in here.
From the outskirts, we continue our visit with a walk through the medieval city center. The cobblestone streets and half-timbered buildings are straight out of Canterbury Tales, and we feel like we’ve been transported back into Chaucer’s England.
We walk down narrow lanes lined with ye olde shops, watch boats punting along the River Stour, and soak up the colorful facades and historic atmosphere as we make our way to the cathedral.
No trip to Canterbury would be complete without a visit to Canterbury Cathedral, and we’re excited to take it in. We spend an hour exploring the interior, admiring everything from the stunning architecture to the stained-glass windows.
Afterwards we explore the gardens, cloisters, and grounds. They’re beautiful and peaceful with their graceful arches and seasonal blooms.
After visiting Canterbury Cathedral, we stop for lunch in the city center before waving good-bye and making our way to the next stop on our day trip: the coast.
Dover
Our Canterbury and Dover day trip from London soon sees us on the approach to Dover Castle. This is one of Britain’s most famous fortresses. It’s steeped in ancient, medieval, and modern history alike.
Enjoying free entry to the castle thanks to our English Heritage passes, we tour the historic rooms of the Great Tower and take in the views over the English Channel from the roof.
From there we walk over to the Roman Pharos, which is said to be the oldest building in England and the oldest surviving lighthouse in the country.
It’s next to the Anglo-Saxon church of St Mary in Castro, and we duck inside to get a glimpse of the interior.
Elsewhere on the grounds, there are medieval tunnels built during the Siege of 1216 and Secret Wartime Tunnels used during World War II.
We could spend all day exploring the castle, but the White Cliffs of Dover are calling. We continue our Canterbury and Dover day trip from London by heading over to The White Cliffs of Dover Visitor Centre on Langdon Cliffs.
Run by the National Trust, it’s a great place to take off on a clifftop walk above the sea.
We follow the paths along Langdon Bay, marveling at the white of the cliffs as we go. We’d love to walk here for hours, but the day is wearing on and we have one last stop before we travel home to London.
Said stop is at the waterfront in Dover, from where we enjoy more views of the white cliffs from the town. It’s great to get a different perspective on them, and it allows us to take in a bit of the famous port in Dover, too.
I’ve seen the waterfront before on a day trip to Dover from London, a day tour in the area, and a Folkestone to Dover walk, and it’s great to be here again.
Canterbury and Dover Day Trip from London
But we can’t stay forever, and London is calling. My friend and I wave good-bye to Kent and make our way back to the UK capital. It’s been a great Canterbury and Dover day trip from London, and it’s reminded me how fun it is to revisit places I’ve been to before.
Whether or not you’ve visited this part of the UK before, I highly recommend it. From day trips from London by car to guided tours, there are lots of ways to have a good time here. Happy travels!
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