The Day We Got on a Train in London and Ended Up in Canterbury

Some of my favorite travel memories have come from the days when I had absolutely no plan.

One morning, my mom and I were in London and decided we wanted to see a little more of England. We didn’t have a tour booked. We didn’t have a destination picked out. We simply went to the train station, got on a train and started asking people where they thought we should get off.

Several people, completely independently of one another, gave us the same answer:

Canterbury.

We had heard of Canterbury, of course, but we really didn’t know anything about it. It was less than an hour from London by high-speed train, so we figured, why not?

That rather random decision turned into one of those travel days I still think about years later.

We Thought We Were Going to Another London Neighborhood

I’m not sure what I expected Canterbury to look like. In my mind, I think I pictured another neighborhood outside London—maybe some shops, houses and a few historic buildings.

Then we stepped off the train.

It felt like we had walked straight into a fairytale.

There were cobblestone streets, crooked buildings and upper floors that seemed to lean farther and farther over the street. Some of the buildings were narrow at the bottom and wider above, almost as though someone had stacked them incorrectly.

The colors, shapes and architecture reminded me of something you might see at Disneyland—except this wasn’t someone’s interpretation of an old English town.

This was the real thing.

Canterbury is a medieval walled city, and its historic center is still filled with cobblestone streets, old buildings and little lanes that make wandering part of the experience.

Someone explained to us that the unusual buildings were narrow at street level because owners had once been taxed according to the footprint of the building, so they expanded the upper floors instead.

I loved that story.

I have since learned that the architectural feature is called jettying. Those projecting upper floors were a common way to create additional living space in tightly packed medieval towns. The tax explanation may have been part of the local story we heard that day, but gaining more usable space was an important reason for building this way.

Either way, the buildings are fascinating.

You really do feel as though you have stepped back several centuries.

Now We Just Had to Find the Cathedral

Everyone had told us that if we went to Canterbury, we had to see Canterbury Cathedral.

Easy enough.

Or so we thought.

I pulled out Google Maps and started following the directions. Eventually, it told us that we had arrived.

There was just one little problem.

There was no cathedral.

I looked around and saw what appeared to be the more modern part of town. Stores. Buildings. People going about their day.

But definitely no enormous medieval cathedral.

After walking around confused for a while, I finally went into one of the shops and asked where the cathedral was.

The shopkeeper pointed us toward a large wooden door.

“Go through there.”

Eeee…

Where exactly were we going?

The door looked more like the entrance to someone’s private property—or possibly a portal into another world—than the way into one of England’s most famous cathedrals.

We hesitated.

And then we opened the door.

On the Other Side Was Another World

I can still remember the feeling of walking through.

Behind the shops and streets was this enormous cathedral surrounded by beautifully kept grounds. It was peaceful, grand and completely unexpected.

It reminded me of walking into a secret garden.

How had something this massive been tucked behind everything we had just walked through?

Canterbury Cathedral has stood at the center of the city in one form or another for more than 1,400 years. Founded by St Augustine in 597, it became one of Christianity’s important pilgrimage destinations. Its place in history grew even more significant after Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered inside the cathedral in 1170.

But standing there that day, I wasn’t thinking about dates.

I was taking it all in.

An Unexpected Service Below the Cathedral

As we explored, we were invited to participate in a small service in one of the lower areas of the cathedral.

We followed stone passageways past tombs and through spaces with domed ceilings until we reached a small worship area.

That may have been my favorite part of the entire day.

The leaders barely needed to raise their voices. The sound traveled across the hand-carved stone and echoed softly through the chamber.

Everything became very quiet.

It felt mystical, soothing and fascinating all at once.

For a little while, instead of simply touring an old building, we were participating in something people had been doing in that place for centuries.

Then We Walked Into the Main Cathedral

Afterward, we continued toward the main worship area.

And that was another surprise.

Suddenly there was color everywhere.

Light came through intricate stained-glass windows. Stone arches stretched high above us. Everywhere I looked, there were carvings, tombs and architectural details.

It was huge and elaborate, yet it somehow still felt welcoming rather than cold.

That contrast is one of the things I remember most about Canterbury: the whimsical little streets outside, the modern shops hiding something ancient behind them, the enormous cathedral we couldn’t seem to find and the quiet space underneath it all where a handful of people gathered for a simple service.

None of it was something we had planned.

Is Canterbury Worth a Day Trip From London?

Absolutely.

In fact, Canterbury is one of the places I now think of when people tell me they have several days in London and would like to experience a little more of England.

It doesn’t require adding another hotel or packing your bags again. Direct high-speed trains from London St Pancras to Canterbury West currently take about 50 to 55 minutes, making the city very manageable as a day trip. Train schedules and fares can change, so check the current timetable before you go.

A few things I would keep in mind:

• Wear comfortable shoes. Those wonderful cobblestone streets aren’t always wonderful for your feet.

• Give yourself time to wander. Canterbury is not a place I would race through with a checklist.

• Plan to visit the cathedral. Even if churches normally aren’t the focus of your travels, this one is worth seeing.

• Check cathedral hours before leaving London. It is an active church, so areas can close for worship, special events or conservation work.

• Don’t make the cathedral your only reason for going. Walk the streets, look at the buildings and stop in the shops. Canterbury itself is part of the experience.

• Check which Canterbury station best fits your schedule and allow time to return to the platform.

And perhaps most importantly, leave a little room in your trip for something you didn’t plan.

Sometimes the Unplanned Days Are the Ones You Remember

If we had planned that trip differently, I don’t know that Canterbury would ever have made our itinerary.

We didn’t research it.

We didn’t have tickets.

We didn’t have a list of the top ten things to see.

We simply asked people on a train where we should go.

And I’m so glad we listened.

There is something wonderful about creating enough breathing room in an itinerary that you can follow a recommendation, get a little lost, walk through a mysterious wooden door and discover something you never expected to find.

If you have an extra day in London, take the train to Canterbury.

You might just feel like you walked through a portal, too.

Ready to Plan Your England Getaway?

A thoughtful England itinerary can include London’s major sights and still leave room for discoveries beyond the city.

Start planning by submitting my trip inquiry at www.goodtrip.biz/bookwithdana, or email me at dana@goodtrip.biz.