Above: After landing in London Heathrow Airport, this image in the terminal confirmed I had truly arrived in England.
July 1st: ARRIVING IN CANTERBURY BEFORE THE TOUR
I can't stress enough the importance of trying to arrive at least one day before your tour starts. If there is a travel disruption you will have some breathing room. It will also give you a bit of time to start to recover from jet-lag. I arrived at Heathrow at 8:30 a.m. and it took me about an hour to get through passport control. I took the Piccadilly Line, on the Tube, to get to London's King's Cross/St. Pancras Railway Station and Underground Stop. I recall the ride on the Tube taking almost an hour. HINT: Buy your train tickets online, ahead of your trip, for cheaper prices. I bought them directly from Southeastern Railway's website. I had booked the 12:12 p.m. train to Canterbury and arrived a good hour before that departure time for the train. From there it takes about one hour to get to Canterbury with the high speed train. Pack light!! You will be carrying luggage onto trains, the subway, and up and down flights of stairs and over cobblestones. Nobody else can help or watch your bags if you are traveling solo, although I had several kind people that helped me put my luggage in the overhead bins on the planes, and carry it down the stairs in the railway stations.
THE LONG JOURNEY
The above bag is 21". I put my bag into the overhead bins on the way over. On the way back, I checked it. I brought my travel purse and packed an even smaller purse in my bag for when I just wanted to carry around a few items.
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High speed train with Southeastern Rail from St. Pancras to Canterbury West. It was a comfortable ride.
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I arrived at my hotel a little after 1:30 p.m. and was thrilled that the Canterbury Catherdral was the view from my room.
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Solo Travel Tips |
Slowing Down |
Stepping Up |
Look up the floor plans of airport and train stations ahead of time. This really helped me in St. Pancras Station because I knew from prior research that Southeastern Rail departed from the upper level. This calmed my nerves in the crowded train station when I was jet lagged and on my own. |
I can't say I felt much like I slowed down today. I only really relaxed once I was on the train to Canterbury. My mistake was walking the last 10-15 minutes from the train station to the hotel; by which time I was exhausted. I should have taken a cab for the mental rest. Mistake #2 was going to Evensong at 3:30 p.m. at the cathedral instead of taking a nap. I loved Evensong, but could have gone some other day. Listen to your body and get some sleep if you need it. |
Walking + Running: 5.5 miles Steps: 12,219 Flights Climbed: 3 floors |
