[NoHo Arts District, CA] – This month’s Active World Journeys travel blog by Jack Witt takes us to the WTM (World Travel Market London) and his day out in Kent.
Each year I travel to London to attend one of the largest travel and trade shows in the world – World Travel Market – WTM. It gives me a chance to meet tour guides and operators in exciting destinations around the globe where I might want to bring my groups of merry travelers. I’ll usually extend my trip for a day or two to explore more of London or take one of the many terrific day trips that you can do from London. This year I decided on a day out in Kent.
Kent is often referred to as “The Garden of England” due to its abundant orchards of fruits such as apples, pears, cherries, and plums. For decades, London families from the east end would travel to Kent in September and stay for several weeks picking hops in the countryside. Their accommodations were specially built hop-picker huts. It was a chance to escape the busy city and be on a sort of working holiday in Kent.
But my day trip to Kent was going to be a little less labor intensive – The White Cliffs of Dover and Canterbury were on the itinerary with my friends over at Go Tours. They specialize in small group travel with pick-up and drop-off from central locations in London for their day trips and their guides/drivers are really fun, experienced, and informative.
Our first stop was Canterbury, and I really enjoyed the cathedral there, which is regarded as one of the most important religious sites in England. In the 12th century, the archbishop of Canterbury – Thomas Becket, was slain by King Henry the 2nd’s Knights for not being obedient enough to the crown. Then, for about 400 years, up to 100,000 pilgrims a year traveled here to visit the shrine to Becket, who had become a martyr. The shrine was ultimately removed though by King Henry the 8th and today there is a candle that burns on the floor where the shrine once stood.
We then stopped for lunch in a charming coastal town in Kent called Deal. It hasn’t changed much for the past 60 years or so. Cute pastel houses, quirky shops, little restaurants, and a pebble beach with a pier really make this one of England’s hidden gems, and it’s mainly tourist free.
The last stop on our day out in Kent was the White Cliffs of Dover. Rising up from the narrowest part of the English Channel, they’re only about 25 miles across from France. In fact, my phone got confused and all of the sudden said welcome to France and showed me a data plan. Before air travel existed, this was the first and last sight of Britain for travelers. The cliffs are about 8 miles long and were important for England’s defenses in WWII against the Nazis. I hiked for about ¾ of a mile out from the visitor center along the edge of the cliffs and returned. Although you can go further out along the National Trust path there to a lighthouse and back (3.5 miles), but I didn’t have the time, and it was a little cold out for this Southern California boy. An interesting tidbit, the nearby port of Dover is considered the world’s busiest passenger port!
We had a pleasant drive back to London for our drop-off and then I decided to grab a pint of “Trooper” beer at a local pub in the east end called Cart & Horses on the way back to my Airbnb. This pub is where the rock band Iron Maiden got their start and there’s lots of signed memorabilia from the band hanging up on the walls. I made a quiet salute to all the east-end hop pickers of yesteryear who used to travel to Kent for their working holidays and to the rocker boys from the east who ended up conquering the world. UP THE IRONS!
Cheers,
Jack Witt, MS, CPT
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