It seems like just yesterday but it was over three and a half months ago that I boarded a ferry from the mainland to England, not knowing what I'd find or even pretty much how I'd entertain myself. The Schengen Agreement prohibited me from staying in France or most of Europe for more than ninety days so it was off to the "free-zone" of the UK for a mandatory exile of three months -- then I could return.
I'm glad I went -- France was interesting in many ways but I had the most amazing experiences in Scotland, Wales, Ireland and even England -- in retrospect, I can't imagine what this "adventure" would've been like without them. So, there I was, just a few days ago, down to my last hours in a very special place.
Canterbury Cathedral was on my "must-see" list, so off I went and it was worth seeing. The homebase for the Church of England, it's an impressive structure, full of history. Thomas Beckett, a warrior's warrior, at one time the "right-hand" man of Henry II and credited with being one of the architects of modern England, was murdered here after becoming Archbishop of Canterbury and falling from grace with Henry. A story full of political intrigue, the murder has also been framed in the context of a romantic tragedy of spurned love (Henry spent more "alone" time with Thomas than he did with his wife, or so it's said).
It was also the second place I had a weird experience. In 1174, a part of the cathedral caught fire, burned to the ground and was subsequently rebuilt. While exploring the cathedral, I wandered thru a side chapel where there was a strong smell of wood smoke -- I mentioned it to people in the area who said they couldn't smell anything burning so I moved on -- a while later I was talking with a docent who started talking about the fire and pointed to the area where I had been standing and remarked that that was where the fire had begun. Coincidence, long-lasting odors or ...?
After spending a couple of hours walking around the Catherdal, having worked-up an appetite, I walked a block over to where street food vendors were set-up -- the smells in the air were just fantastic -- all kinds of spices and cooking odors mixing together. Decided on a chicken falafel wrap seasoned with yogurt and some other things -- the guy cooking asked if I wanted ? and ? on it as well -- even though he spoke English, I had no idea of what he said, so of course I said sure! Walked back over to the Cathedral, sat on a stone wall and ate my lunch -- whatever it was, it tasted sooo good!!
The next day I went to Dover Castle -- the castle is pretty much "history" and the focus of the place today is retelling the story of the evacuation of Dunkirk at the beginning of WWII. Tunnels were dug under the castle and used for planning and executing the rescue of almost 400,000 trapped military personnel off the beaches of France -- many of them being rescued by English fishermen using their boats to ferry soldiers from France to England while the war was fought all around and above them -- a fascinating story. During the "Battle of Britain", the castle was never bombed -- the reason being, Hitler had taken a liking to it and planned on using it as a showplace after he successfully invaded England -- thus he ordered it left unharmed.
My last day in England I reserved for hiking the white cliffs of Dover. Spectacular views and the day before and that early morning it had rained fairly hard so there weren't a lot of people out in the mud! The trail I took was a rolling up-and-down two and a half mile hike out and back along the edge of the cliffs -- the top surface of the cliffs is a combination of grassland, field stone, and clay (which can be like ice when it gets wet). It was challenging and fun, but I'm glad I decided to take a hiking pole with me! I got muddy enough as it was!
The turn-around point was a decommissioned lighthouse from the 1800's -- you could just make out the shores of France through the clouds from its upper walkway -- when they swim the channel they leave from a cove just a short distance away.
Took my time on the way out -- enjoyed the views, took photos and tried to avoid the few people out in the rain -- had tea and a light lunch at a cafe at the lighthouse -- took a tour of the lighhouse with one of the docents (including climbing the steps to the top) -- then hoofed it back to the visitor center as the rain picked-up in intensity -- blowing in my face -- four and a half miles in a little over three hours -- a decent workout for the day and an unforgettable experience!
Went to bed early that night -- had to be in line to be loaded on the "Chunnel" train by 7:20am. Except for not knowing what I was doing or where I needed to go to actually get "loaded" -- good old European signage again -- it was pretty uneventful. I did it to experience it, but I'll take a ferry any day over the Channel tunnel -- it was much faster but quite boring (like riding a subway or underground).
So my time in the British Isles came to an end.
