Lords of the Ring: A Canterbury City Walls Walking Tour

(7 reviews)

Canterbury audio tour: Lords of the Ring: A Canterbury City Walls Walking Tour

This is a 2.1mi walking tour

It takes an average of 90 mins to complete.

Canterbury

The United Kingdom

$9.99

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About the Tour

Walking the walls that encircle Canterbury is one of the most exciting historical experiences in England. Attacked on at least seven occasions by invaders, from the Danes to the Nazis, the walls have been used to protect residents for over 1,700 years, at some times more successfully than others.

This circular walking tour starts at the Westgate Towers Museum, one of the finest city gates in Britain. From there, you‘ll follow Canterbury‘s historic city walls and dive into the city‘s story of violence, cruelty, fire, and destruction – but also extraordinary hope and progress.

Along the way, you‘ll discover the gruesome fate of Archbishop Simon Sudbury, who paid for the wall with his head. I‘ll show you the statues of King Ethelbert and Queen Bertha, who famously converted pagan England to Roman Christianity. You‘ll also hear about the Canterbury Blitz of 1942, when German bombers devastated the medieval city. The tour ends at the Westgate Bridge where you‘ll see the enigmatic Alluvia, the haunting underwater sculpture inspired by Millais‘ Ophelia and linked to Judge Sir James Hales‘ 1554 suicide.

On this 90-minute Canterbury walking tour, you‘ll have the chance to:

Learn about the world‘s earliest, regular steam-driven passenger railway at North Street Station
Visit Abbot‘s Mill and learn how Britain‘s Industrial Revolution helped end slavery by reducing reliance on forced labor
Follow Canterbury‘s last Roman legions as they march out in 407 AD, leaving the city to fall into ruin
Discover the Anglo-Saxon roots of Tolkien‘s Lords of the Rings in the gold and silver rings gifted by Kent‘s King Ethelbert
Appreciate Sir John Hales‘ 1733 water system, which brought clean water to Canterbury and saved countless lives
Shudder at Father John Stone‘s brutal 1539 execution, where he was hanged, disemboweled, and had his heart torn out
Hear Alice Benden‘s story where she was betrayed, starved in a dungeon, and burned at the stake for refusing to renounce her faith

Join me for this meander around the city walls to peek behind the curtain of Canterbury‘s extraordinary history, and become a Lord of the Inner Ring.

Tour Producer

David Reekie

3 tours

A Yorkshireman by birth and an adopted and proud Man of Kent by choice, I have lived and worked in the county for more than 40 years and raised a family here. I built up a general dental practice in Herne Bay and now live in the smallest town in Britain, a lovely place called Fordwich. I have always loved walking and history and discovered a wonderful way to combine the two by leading guided history walks in and around the city of Canterbury. I'm the Chair of Canterbury Ramblers and lead walks for them and also for my own group on Meetup. I give talks to local organisations on a variety of historical subjects including the Bayeux Tapestry which was made in Canterbury. I do yearly talks for the Canterbury Festival and this year gave a presentation on the Shakespeare authorship problem. I have always had an interest in how history can be brought alive by new technology and Voicemap is the ideal platform to do this. Presenting history in the places where it actually happened is the perfect way to bring it to life.

Preview Location

Location 14

Lady Woottons Green

Stop in between the two statues. We'll be spending a few moments here.

The statues are of the most important royal couple in early Anglo-Saxon history. They are of King Ethelbert and his Frankish wife Queen Bertha. They are most famous for being responsible for the convers... Stop in between the two statues. We'll be spending a few moments here.

The statues are of the most important royal couple in early Anglo-Saxon history. They are of King Ethelbert and his Frankish wife Queen Bertha. They are most famous for being responsible for the conversion of pagan England to Roman Christianity in 597AD. The story goes that the man who was to become Pope Gregory the Great, was walking in the marketplace in Rome one day and came across two beautiful blond haired slave boys. When he was told they have been brought from England (Anglia) he quipped "they are not Angles but Angels" and promised that if he became Pope he would send a mission to convert the pagan English to Christianity. He fulfilled his promise in 597 AD when he sent an elderly monk called Augustine with 40 companions to this remote island in the North. They arrived on the isle of Thanet and after a parley with the King were allowed to settle in Canterbury and given land to build a Cathedral inside the City walls and an Abbey for important burials outside which later became St Augustine's. Bertha was already a Christian when she married Ethelbert and she is thought to have been responsible for convincing him to allow the mission. It was a great success and the King and his Jutish subjects were baptised. Ethelbert. Bertha and Augustine are the reason that Canterbury is to this day, the most important cathedral city in England and the seat of the most significant churchman in the land - the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Ethelbert was a remarkable man. He was the most powerful monarch in England and was given the title of "Bretwalda" or overlord whose power extended up to Yorkshire and beyond London. He made Kent the richest and most developed of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms and was responsible for ordering the creation of the first written Laws of England, the earliest document ever written in the English Language. These laws still exist in Rochester Cathedral and are called the "Textus Roffensis". Ethelbert's skilful metal workers created some of the most magnificent jewellery ever made. If you look at the statue of Bertha you can see she is wearing on her breast, a large circular broach, This represents the Kingston broach, discovered near Canterbury which is a stunning object made of gold inlaid with garnet , glass and shell. Its well worth googling for an image. Sadly its no longer in Kent and it is now languishes in a museum in Liverpool. In Canterbury, we feel that it should one day be returned to its rightful home in Kent.

The Canterbury Inner Ring continues along Monastery Street but talking of Rings reminds me of JRR Tolkien's famous Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Tolkien was a Professor of Anglo Saxon at Oxford University and was an expert on the earliest English poem Beowulf which gives us so much information on the Early Anglo Saxon background in Scandinavia and about Kings like Ethelbert. In the poem, King Beowulf is described as a "Lord and lavisher of Rings" and I think this might have been the inspiration for the Lord of the Rings, We know that gold and silver rings were given by warlords as rewards for loyalty and valour. The British Museum contains a sword pommel with one of these rings attached which was found in East Kent and may have been associated with Ethelberts Royal family. Could Ethelbert have been a "Lord and Lavisher of Rings" which inspired Tolkien?

Now move to the end of the green and stop at railings in front of the impressive gateway with two turrets.

[[Photo credit of Kingston broach: http://reptonix.awardspace.co.uk/photos/2012-02-19.htm] Read More

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Major Landmarks

1 Pound Ln
Longport
Pilgrims Cycle Trail
Pound Ln
2 Mill Ln
1-9 Church Ln
Lady Wootton's Green
Monastery St
Church Street
Burgate Ln
Canterbury CT1 2QU
Dane John Mound
Canterbury CT1 2PR
Canterbury CT1 2SW
Whitehall Rd
Westgate Gardens Riv Walk

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
18 High St, Canterbury CT1 2RA, UK
Total distance

3km
Final location
Canterbury CT1 2DB, UK
Distance back to start location

54.53m

Directions to Starting Point

The starting point is outside one of the most famous city landmarks,: the Westgate Towers, 1 Pound Ln, Canterbury CT1 2BZ, United Kingdom

Westgate Towers is at the junction of St Dunstans Street and St Peters St. There is parking nearby at North Lane and at Station Road West. If you are arriving by rail then the start point is easily reached on foot from Canterbury West Station in under 10 minutes.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

There are many pubs and restaurants on the route and even more at the end. There is a vegetarian restaurant in Burgate (The Veg Box) and many cafes on St Georges St in the shopping area. This route is especially well provided with public toilets which are to be found near the Zoar Chapel, Burgate Lane and at the entrance to the Dane John Garden at Castle Row.
The Westgate Towers are open to the public through The Pound Restaurant and St Augustine's Abbey is a fascinating place to visit.

Best time of day

From dawn to dusk. Crowds are not a problem on this route as you will be visiting the parts of the city most visitors never get to see.

Precautions

The route is entirely on well surfaced footpaths. Just take care on the road crossings and use the pedestrian lights when possible

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