Overview of Canterbury Cathedral

The seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual home of the Church of England, Canterbury Cathedral has been attracting devout pilgrims and curious tourists alike for centuries. As one of the largest and most famous place of worship in the whole of the country, the cathedral towers above the streets of Canterbury, in itself a beautiful and fascinating medieval city.

Location of Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral is situated in the heart of the county city of Kent, long known as the 'Garden on England'. The tranquillity of the city of Canterbury is largely a result of its relative isolation, though excellent train links can whisk visitors in from London is around an hour. More ambitious travellers could even stop off at the cathedral before carrying on to Paris from the international terminal at Ashford nearby.

Likewise, the city is well linked to the capital and to the rest of England with excellent road links and a park-and-ride scheme operates every day to prevent the cars of the millions of visitors each year from intruding on the serenity of the old city.

However, it is still possible to retrace the steps of pilgrims over the centuries, including Geoffrey Chaucer and his assorted literary creations, and walk to the city from Salisbury or Southwark cathedrals to commemorate the martyrdom of Thomas Becket.

Why visit Canterbury Cathedral

Since being rebuilt by the Normans back in 1070, Canterbury Cathedral has firmly established itself as one of the must-see tourist destinations of the United Kingdom, a fact verified by Unesco, which awarded it World Heritage Site status in 1988.

Certainly, there were few complaints when it became one of the first places of worship to introduce an entrance fee, given that for a mere £7.00 visitors get more than just a look at a stunning monument to the country's religious past but access to the burial place of some of its most famous figures and the ability to step into the heart of the modern Church of England.

Notably, the tombs of Edward, the Black Prince, killed in the Hundred Years War, and King Henry IV are of historical significance, though most visitors head straight for the northwest transept to see where "the meddlesome priest" Becket was killed on the orders of Henry VIII.

Dwarfed alongside the mighty cathedral, St Martin's Church, officially the oldest parish church in England and still in constant use, allows the visitor to get up-close with the centuries-old stained glass art, while an all-in-one tourist ticket also allows access to the Canterbury Tales museum as well as the remains of St Augustine's Abbey.