I visited Canterbury in June 2025, a return to my old university stomping ground! Although I lived in Canterbury for three years, and graduated from Canterbury Cathedral, I have never …
Lucyannesmith
United Kingdom \ Member since June 2025
#621 64 0 3
I've always enjoyed travelling, from short trips with my parents when I was younger, to solo adventures to far-flung places, and more serene road trips with my husband and dog. I recently started my WHS adventure, my aim being to visit every UNESCO WHS site possible!
Plans for 2025 include:
- Dominican Republic adventure.
- Road trip across Rhineland-Palatinate.
- Road trip across Hauts-de-France.
- Visiting smaller sites closer to home in the UK.
My personal method of measuring WHS is to only class a site as 'complete' when all elements of the site have been visited. This means my challenge will be difficult, as some sites have 450+ components. I am also limited as I work full-time so all adventures must be completed at weekends or within my 25 days allocated annual leave.
Let's see how far I can get!
Recent Visits
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10June 14, 2025Canterbury: Canterbury
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10May 26, 2025Volklingen Ironworks: Völklingen Ironworks
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10May 26, 2025Igel Column, Moselle Bridge, Amphitheatre: Trier
Visits
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CanterburyI visited Canterbury in June 2025, a return to my old university stomping ground! Although I lived in Canterbury for three years, and graduated from Canterbury Cathedral, I have never visited St Augustine's Abbey or St Martin's Church (2/3 of the components of the Canterbury WHS). On my WHS journey, this was a mistake that needed to be rectified! On a sunny Saturday afternoon, I drove to Canterbury and parked opposite St Augustine's Abbey in Longport Car Park. As can only be expected for a busy Saturday afternoon, the car park was rammed and I was lucky to find a small space at the rear of the car park. St Augustine's Abbey usually costs approximately £11 for an adult, but luckily for me is free with an English Heritage membership. You enter into a long building which takes you through the chronological history of St Augustine's Abbey from its inception as an Anglo Saxon monastery, to its rebirth under Norman rule, to a Tudor royal palace. The displays are interesting, if a little formulaic. I then had the chance to wander round the ruins. I declined the audio guide as I find these very cumbersome and annoying, but I managed sufficiently well with the information boards and some Googling. The ruins are fairly standard for England following Henry VIII's dissolution, but there are some very interesting areas such as the graves of Anglo Saxon kings, and the original foundations of the Anglo Saxon monastery. After an hour or so wandering round the ruins, I followed the signs and climbed a small hill for some amazing views of St Augustine's Abbey with Canterbury Cathedral in the background. I then followed Queen Bertha's Walk to St Martin's Church, the oldest church in the English speaking world. Unfortunately I had mistimed my visit, as the church was closed when I arrived! The website was very clear that the church was only open between 11am-3pm, so this was completely my fault - not sure how I missed it! I still made the most of my visit and wandered round the exterior of the building, marvelling at the fact it had been standing and operational since the 6th century. Overall, St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church are much overshadowed as components of Canterbury's WHS by Canterbury Cathedral, and this may be for obvious reason. Both St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church are well worth a quick visit if you're in the area though as they are interesting early Christian sites, and help to cement Canterbury's place as a WHS.10June 14, 2025
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Vimy Ridge, Lichfield Crater, Arras Memorial, Beaumont Hamel, Thiepval, Pozieres, Delville Wood,10Oct. 24, 2023
Top 10 Missing
- Angkor 4.72
- Machu Picchu 4.63
- Petra 4.61
- Galapagos Islands 4.60
- Pyramids (Memphis) 4.51
- Rapa Nui 4.49
- Yellowstone 4.49
- Victoria Falls 4.48
- Tikal National Park 4.46
- Great Wall 4.45
Completed Countries
Country visits
Completed Countries
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Austria
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Belgium
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Czechia
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Denmark
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Dominican Republic
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Estonia
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France
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Germany
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Holy See
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Italy
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Latvia
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Luxembourg
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Morocco
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Netherlands
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Poland
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Russia
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Spain
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Ukraine
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United KingdomCanterbury City of Bath Edinburgh Frontiers of the Roman Empire Giant's Causeway Gwynedd Castles Ironbridge Gorge Maritime Greenwich Stonehenge and Avebury Tower of London Westminster Dorset and East Devon Coast Forth Bridge Moravian Church Settlements Great Spa Towns of Europe Lake District The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales
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United States of America
lucyannesmith Map
Legend
About lucyannesmith
- Member since
- June 2025
- Country of Origin
- United Kingdom
Visits
- Rank
- #621
- WHS
- 64
- Tentative Sites
- 0
Website Participation
- Reviews
- 1
- 0 0
- Locations
- 0
- Zones
- 0
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