Canterbury visitor information

University of Kent in Canterbury: the campus

The Canterbury campus is built on 450 acres of parkland half an hour’s walk from Canterbury city centre. Residential, teaching and administrative buildings are surrounded by green open spaces, fields and woods. It should be understood that the university halls are designed primarily for students: not for children or adults expecting a high level of luxury. However, the University has received a 3-4**** Campus grading for its accommodation from Visit Britain and with this in mind, they do meet a level of comfort that we expect most visitors to be happy with. We will welcome any feedback where this is not the case.

Dates of University of Kent academic vacations

Rooms are available during the academic vacations.

Easter: mid-March to mid-April
Summer 2009: mid-June to late-September
Christmas: early-December to mid-January

Canterbury visitor attractions

The City of Canterbury lies on the River Stour in Kent, South East England, about 55 miles from London. It is a beautiful city full of exquisite architecture, exciting attractions, shops, theatres and restaurants. Dominating the city centre is the magnificent Canterbury Cathedral, one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England.

Canterbury has some exceptional shopping to offer for all tastes so be sure to spend some time visiting the shops. The Whitefriars development offers many popular retailers in one spacious and well-designed location. This recently opened venue has helped to ensure the city offers some of the best shopping opportunities in the county. Head towards Westgate Towers and the St Dunstan’s area and you will come across a range of specialist, privately run emporia offering everything from antiques and collectables to classical music.

With a Cathedral City at its heart, the Canterbury, Herne Bay, Whitstable and surrounding countryside dips and sweeps through river valleys, woods and hills to the seaside towns of this beautiful region of Kent. We hope you will be tempted to stay with us for a while and take your time to explore our glorious countryside, dig deep into our history and heritage, bask on our beaches and bathe in waters that lap more than 80 miles of coastline.

Getting to Canterbury

By road: Canterbury district has excellent road links with the M20 (M25/ M26) and M2 motorways, providing easy links with London and its airports.

By rail: Canterbury has two mainline stations, East and West, and is served by frequent trains to and from London Charing Cross and London Victoria, as well as to and from Dover Priory and Ramsgate. If you travel by Eurostar to Ashford International there is a regular train service to Canterbury West. Whitstable and Herne Bay stations are both on a direct line from London Victoria.
 

Canterbury history

Canterbury and the surrounding area has a whole host of history and heritage for you to come and discover. Canterbury is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has two castles, six museums and an attraction that lets you step back in time to the Middle Ages are some of what is on offer here in historic Canterbury. The Cathedral, St Augustine’s Abbey and St Martins church form the trio of World Heritage Sites in Canterbury. The Abbey was founded in 597AD, and St Martin’s Church is the oldest parish church in England still in constant use. Along side these, there is Canterbury Tales, where you can step back into the Middle Ages and join the pilgrims on their journey from London to Canterbury Cathedral. The museums are full of artefacts and fun things for all the family to do. The West Gate Towers Museum has one of the best views of the City.

Whitstable has a rich maritime history and is famous for its oysters, with a working harbour bringing in the daily catch. The town has a rich alleyway network, which were used by the smugglers as convenient escape routes, as Whitstable was, like most Kentish coastal towns, awash with illegal trade. The old Canterbury to Whitstable railway line, the Crab and Winkle Way now forms part of the National Cycle Network Route 1.

Herne Bay was founded in the early nineteen hundreds and was a popular holiday destination for Londoners. It was during this period that a wealthy London lady gave the town its distinctive 80ft Clock Tower. The first pier was erected in 1832 and by 1834 steamboats were using it to land over 40,000 visitors each year to the resort. From the Bay one can see, to the east, the twin towers of St Mary's Church at Reculver, which mark the location of Reculver Country Park. In World War II the bouncing bomb, invented by Barnes Wallis for the Dambusters, was tested off the shore near here. One of the prototype bombs, recently recovered from the beach at Reculver, may be seen in the Herne Bay Museum.