Day Four: Our Own Little Pilgrimage

Hello all,

For reasons unknown, the internet connection at the new hotel is rather spotty and won't let me upload any pictures right now. This is unfortunate because it was a tremendous day with some truly beautiful sites to share with you all. I'll try to do my best without pictures and continue to attempt to post pictures later.

We checked out of Hutton's this morning and boarded the bus for Kent, the southwestern part of Britain. It was a beautiful, uneventful ride through the countryside with rolling farmlands on both sides of the bus. It was pretty neat to think that Chaucer's pilgrims traveled over the same hills roads on their way from London to Canterbury. The bus drove around the original Roman and medieval walls of the city before dropping us off. After we walked along the ramparts of the walls, we promptly made our way to the cathedral, the seat of the Anglican Church. The original structure is almost 1000 years old and was the site of the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas a Becket. Students had the opportunity to explore the cathedral and cloisters on their own and then do some shopping in the pedestrian district of the town.

Students got back on the bus for the short drive to Dover to visit Dover Castle and the Secret War Tunnels under the keep. The original castle was built by the Normans and had been in use as a fortification up until the end of World War II. During the Napoleonic Wars, British forces built an elaborate network of tunnels and garrisons. Those tunnels were then adapted for use by the British Army in WWII; the "Miracle at Dunkirk" was orchestrated from the control rooms built into the white chalk cliff walls. The "miracle" was a plan by a British admiral to evacuate secretly 380,000 British troops from the French port city of Dunquerqe after they had been cornered by German forces. Look it up; it's a pretty neat story. Students had a tour of the hospital in the tunnels and experienced a multimedia presentation (complete with sounds, lights, and even smells) that showed what it would have been like to work in the hospital. After leaving the tunnels, students had the opportunity to explore the castle on their own; many of them walked along the ramparts and battlements that overlook the English Channel and wander through the medieval tunnels that still exist today. I'd show you all the neat pictures of this, but the Holiday Inn Express seems to look down on uploading pictures. I thought this was a business hotel... whatever. I'll try again, and if that doesn't work, I'll try sending them in an email to you all. I'll go in the back door if I can't get in the front (I'm not expecting a "Miracle at Holiday Inn" however).