Lucyannesmith

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 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.