Leeds Castle was built in 1119 by Robert De Crevecouer as a Norman stronghold. In 1278 the castle became the property of King Edward 1st. Midway between London and Calais and an ideal resting point, in the 16th century it was extended by Henry VIII. The Castle is totally surrounded by water giving it a charm that is unsurpassed anywhere. In more recent times the Castle was bought in 1926 by Lady Baillie, an Anglo American Tycoon who restored it and lived there until her death in 1974. She established the Leeds Castle Foundation, a private charity trust whose sole aim is to preserve the Castle and its grounds for the benefit of the public.

We continue to Canterbury and to its famous Cathedral, which is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the most senior figure within the Anglican Church. Christianity was reintroduced to these islands by St Augustine in 597 A.D. Canterbury’s status as the most important Christian centre is sustained even further by the martyrdom of Thomas Beckett, murdered in his own cathedral in 1170 and canonised as St Thomas in 1123, For centuries after his death, pilgrims would visit the shrine of Beckett, where miracles were said to have taken place and whose stories were the inspiration of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

We then head towards Dover, the nearest land point to the port of Calais in France, just 22 miles across the English Channel, enjoying fine views of Dover Castle. The castle was built during the reign of King Henry II in the 12th Century and was used during the Napoleonic Wars, From the ramparts of the Castle, Martello Towers can be seen along the famous ‘White Cliffs of Dover’. These were defensive forts built for protection against Napoleon and his intended invasion. The port of Dover has a rich history dating back to Roman times, where the ‘Pharos’ Roman Lighthouse was built circa 1st Century A.D.