12 Oct. - Canterbury

 Image: Beautiful early masonry (and repairs) on exterior of Canterbury Cathedral

A day of damp + cold, cobbles + timber-framed buildings, overhanging upper floors, sagging floor lines + all gloriously (seemingly) disregarded by the local populace.
A town where you expected a city.
New high-street tenants in 12th, 13th, 14th, etc. century buildings.
Structures built to 'do the job' + left alone to do so.
New 'sympathetic' insertions that jar; 'period' housing projects that scream their novelty.
The danger of 'trying' over simply + honestly 'doing'.
The most beautiful parts of the cathedral remain the honest craftsmanship of the early 'Roman' construction.
All the tombs, chapels, altars + decorations reeking of vanity + sycophancy.
The human history lingers + speaks truth; the religiosity is stale + mouldering.
A highlight is hot chocolate + cake in a 16th century timber-framed, leadlights + cast ceiling cafe franchise - warm, cozy, intimate, real.

Notes: Like so many of the older 'walled' towns, Canterbury is densely packed and far better explored by leaving the vehicle behind, then traveling the streets on foot.