The bus dropped us off in front of the Queen s House, which was the first classical Renaissance buil

I could live in London for the rest of my life and still never see all there is to see. The same goes for England. And the UK. Living here has given me the opportunity to see a lot of the country on day trips, and I have had the luxury of taking my time. But most Americans cruising guide quebec only have two weeks of vacation each year and need to pack all of their sightseeing into one short trip. In sympathy, I took a day trip to Leeds Castle, Dover, Canterbury, and Greenwich on Saturday.
I had been to those places before, and had enough time to spend a full day in each. Seeing them all in 11 hours sounded intense, but I was curious to discover cruising guide quebec how much I could actually do in each location in one day. GetYourGuide  offered me a ticket on their tour, and off I went.
I boarded a sparkling new bus at Victoria Coach Station at 8:30am with 28 other passengers. The tour guide, David, entertained us on the way to Kent by pointing out sites of interest and telling stories about the places we were going to see.
Upon entering, we were taken on a private tour by one of the castle s guides. From her we learned that the fortress, which was originally built in Norman cruising guide quebec times, was called The Ladies Castle due to the fact that six medieval cruising guide quebec queens resided there.
During the tour we saw several of those queens state apartments, as well as the more modern rooms of the last private cruising guide quebec owner of the castle, an American named Lady Baillie. Overall the tour was a good one, although the guide put a little too much emphasis on how each room in Leeds Castle could be used if we rented it out for a wedding. I would have liked a bit more historical cruising guide quebec detail and a bit less commentary on how to plan my future.
After the tour we had exactly 25 minutes cruising guide quebec of free time to explore the rest of the castle grounds. I sprinted up to the aviary and then to the maze and the vineyard. Near them were the cages where the birds of prey resided during my falconry day at Leeds Castle three years ago. I didn t have nearly enough time to see everything I wanted to see, but it was still nice to get a quick visit.
Back on the bus, we drove deeper into Kent while David once again told us stories and answered every question from is the Queen married? to why are private schools called public schools in England? cruising guide quebec . His enthusiasm and humor made the time pass quickly, and before we knew it, we had arrived at the coast.
When we got to Dover, most of the group went to lunch at a seafront restaurant. In the beginning of the tour, a clipboard had been passed around for us to check off which meal option we wanted. All meals, including the Greek salad, were 11 pounds, which seemed pretty steep for Dover. From my last day trip with the company, I knew that the meal was optional. It would have been nice if it been made clear to us that we were free to eat elsewhere if we wanted to.
When we got off the bus, I broke off from the group and found a cafe to have lunch. Afterwards I walked around the waterfront cruising guide quebec to watch the ferries ply the route from Dover to Calais. In the distance was the coast of France , and closer in were memorial plaques from World War II.
Atop the famous white cliffs was Dover castle, where I went once on another day trip from London. We didn t have time to see it that day, which was somewhat strange since it meant that we drove all the way to Dover just to eat lunch. In any case, it was nice to be by the sea for an hour.
Back on the bus, the day trip to Leeds Castle, Dover, Canterbury , and Greenwich cruising guide quebec continued with a stop at the famous Canterbury Cathedral. The house of worship is the seat of one of the two archbishops of the Church of England (the other being in York ). We arrived and went directly to the candle that marked the spot of the famous cruising guide quebec shrine of St Thomas Becket, who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170 after a dispute with King Henry II.
Continuing our self-guided tour of Canterbury Cathedral, we walked through the 12th century Trinity Chapel and Quire, down to the 11th century crypt, and through the 14th century Nave with its beautiful Gothic architecture.
Outside we saw the Cloister and Chapter cruising guide quebec House before walking around the bustling retail area by the cathedral. I had ample time, so I popped into a great little coffee shop called Chambers Cafe for a cup of tea. It seemed a bit strange to have so much time in Canterbury and so little elsewhere, but it was nice to sit and relax for a bit. When my cup was empty, I met my group to get back on the bus for our final stop of the day: Greenwich.
Greenwich is located in southeast London, and has been given royal borough status this year in honor of the Queen s Diamond Jubilee. Its royal connections and maritime history date back centuries, as does its fame for being the location from which Greenwich Mean Time is measured.
The bus dropped us off in front of the Queen s House, which was the first classical Renaissance building built in England. Dating back to the early 17th century, it was designed in the Palladian style by Inigo Jones. Next to it sat the National Maritime Museum, and in front of it were the two halves of Sir Christopher Wren s Greenwich Royal Naval College, which were built across a courtyard from one another so as not to ruin the view from the Queen s House.
I had been to Greenwich before and explored all of these places, but on this trip we didn t have time to see anything but their facades. The description online listed a walking tour of Greenwich as part of the day trip, but the 10-minute walk from where the bus dropped us off to where we picked up the Thames Clipper didn t seem sufficient.
The same went for the afternoon tea on a Thames River cruise . A muffin and drink on board public transportation wasn t exactly the same thing as trays of sandwiches and sweets on a table in an official cruising vessel. cruising guide quebec I ate my muffin cruising guide quebec as I balanced a glass of Cava between my knees. It was a far cry from the afternoon teas in London that I have enjoyed previously, but the calories were welcome after a long day trip.
As the Thames Clipper pulled into Embankment Pier, I left the tour having had a good experience overall. While the itinerary felt rushed cruising guide quebec in some ways and a few things weren t quite as they were advertised, it was still great to go on a day trip to Leeds Castle, Dover, Canterbury, and Greenwich. I have had the luxury of doing each as its own trip, but if I didn t live in London and was pressed for time, it would be a nice way to see everything in one day.
Great text and photos. Always good to read about visitors who manage to get out of London and explore other parks of the UK. I wish more had the time to go further north but it s understandable why they don t as you pointed out.
You are the best photographer! Great shots, really make me feel like I m experiencing cruising guide quebec it myself. I think you definitely should rent out at least a few rooms at Leeds Castle cruising guide quebec for your wedding one day. That just sounds fabulous!
Wow! That is a lot to see in one day! I have been to Dover, Canterbury and Greenwich as day trips and can imagine that you slept well that night! But I get what you re saying, this is the type of day excursion we take when we re in a new city so it makes sense to try it in the UK.
That s great that you enjoyed Leeds Castle, Mark! I had always cruising guide quebec heard that the beds were smaller because people thought it was bad for the health to lie flat when they slept, but maybe they were shorter as well!
I did my ex husband s family tree a number of years ago and we found that Lady Baillie (of Leeds Castle) had a sister cruising guide quebec who had estates in Sri Lanka. I had it in my head this morning that now we have the internet, things are easier to find and low and behold I found your blog. I knew her sister owned Leeds Castle but not that she was American which is a bit of a mystery. So I have now a bit more information . No I can t be bothered to go into the family tree again but my daughter might pick up the bits when she is older. Glad you had a nice day if anyone reads this, the person we were researching was Jose Vennas Miranda (That is how it was written) and he was Brzilian cruising guide quebec and was wealthy thats all we know .