Thursday 27th April

As Jenny felt that she could cope with her arm in a sling, we set off for Canterbury, stopping at Rye, in Kent which was originally one of the Cinque Ports but is now inland. The inlet still has small boats & a lifeboat station & also a very decayed Martello Tower, built in Napoleonic times as part of a series of coastal defences.

We arrived in Canterbury in the afternoon to stay with Virginia & Michael, who we had met on a tour of Tunisia, at their wonderful apartment in a large Victorian grange on the edge of the city.

Friday 28th April

Our hosts took us to Faversham a marvellous old town with a river port which has largely been displaced by others. The buildings are a fine mix of architectural styles from the late Middle Ages up to the Victorian era & we strolled through the open air market & then drove down to the quay on the river. Here we saw a few old Thames barges which used to carry materials up to London & to the towns on the river.

After an excellent lunch we returned to Canterbury & walked along a footpath down through the woods behind the hose & across the fields. The woods were carpeted with bluebells & were quite spectacular.