On 29 December 1170, four knights who believed they were doing King Henry II's will murdered Archbishop Thomas Becket in his own cathedral at Canterbury. The killing shocked Europe, Becket was made a saint within three years, and Canterbury became one of the great pilgrimage destinations of the Middle Ages, the destination of the pilgrims in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The cathedral, together with St Augustine's Abbey and the tiny St Martin's Church, forms a World Heritage Site, and it is still the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England.
The cathedral is magnificent, with a soaring nave, beautiful stained glass and the spot where Becket fell marked in the north-west transept. The city around it is compact, partly enclosed by medieval walls built on Roman foundations, with narrow streets, half-timbered houses and the River Stour flowing through. St Augustine arrived here in 597 to convert the Anglo-Saxons, and St Martin's, on the edge of town, is often said to be the oldest church in continuous use in the English-speaking world.
Practically, the centre of Canterbury is largely pedestrianised, so it is best to park on the edge and walk in. There are plenty of cafés, pubs and restaurants, from simple tea rooms to more ambitious places, and the city has a lively student population. The ring road can be congested, especially at peak times and on summer weekends.
The riding around Canterbury is varied. The North Downs, a chalk ridge, runs east and west, with the ancient Pilgrims' Way along its slopes and a network of narrow lanes through woods and orchards. The landscape of Kent is often called the Garden of England, with orchards, hop gardens and the distinctive oast houses once used for drying hops. To the north lies the coast at Whitstable, famous for oysters, and to the east the Isle of Thanet and the white cliffs. The roads are generally good, but the lanes can be narrow, steep and muddy, so take care, especially after rain.