Canterbury Tales Day 1: Southwark Cathedral To Dartford

I always bring this upon myself was my thoughts as I rounded off the last hour of the full day 9 1/2 of which had been spent trudging along merily on the hard paving stones and asphalt that had been so good a road to Canterbury as to have been paved completely over.

By now it was getting on nearing 7pm which is when I had wanted to finish.

Having started the morning early I had walked through the nigh deserted streets of an early morning Sunday London, where my only companions were seemingly the odd early morning vehicle, brilliant morning sunlight and birdsong. Southwark Cathedral though open for early morning prayer seemed deserted enough, if not for the two priest who recited a few common prayers and a reading from one of the more gentle books of the old testament.

I was lucky enough to collar a churchwarden in order to get my pilgrims passport after prayers had concluded.

From there it was a return home, ironically my housing is on the trail so I was able to travel to the cathedral, back for breakfast and then off.

What can I say about the trail in London apart from its London from metropoli to suburbia, there are very few chances of any green space until on ascends Black Heath Hill and is greated with a wide open plateau lined with beautiful Georgian houses.

From then on it invariably got more green and more suburban until I reached Shooters Hill. The main appeal, the green chain walking trail alongside Severndroog Castle, I couldn't pass up so I detoured. Then had lunch in the Bull pub.

It was at this point I asked for a stamp thinking that I hadn't seen it mentioned in the guide book, nor was there any to be found. Resorting to the internet I'd found that I'd merrily blundered past six or so, so contented myself with getting one from a local community farm and trying to reach Lesnes Abbey which closed before I managed to reach it.

The Abbey park is beautiful, evenmore so with the twilight of late evening setting in, and the beauty if albeit briefly of walking through parkland and not block housing.

The rest of the journey was through Belvedere, Slade Green and finally Dartford where I checked in to a beautiful old coaching inn called the Royal Victoria and Bull.

A place where Jane Austen stayed once or twice under its prior name.

After a couple of drinks and a dinner, half falling off asleep between them, I had an early night.