9:30am Friday 25th January 2008
By Nicola Fenn
WHILST being sent to Canterbury to check out the Kent town for Valentine's Day couples, a suggestion was made about it being a leap year and women making proposals.
Politely ignoring the inference and wisely keeping this suggestion from my boyfriend, I jumped at the chance to get away for the weekend with him.
Yet wandering around the streets of Canterbury, it is easy to see how someone could get swept up in the romance of the town.
Cobbled, winding streets, teaming with stunning architecture and historic references - check. Intimate cafes and candlelit restaurants - check. Beautiful, interesting and engaging attractions to visit - check.
I had to actually pinch myself as a reminder I was in Kent because if you blur out the estuary twang of locals' accents, you could fool yourself to thinking you were in Paris, Dublin, even Venice.
It took us just over an hour to drive from Grays to Canterbury, despite missing the junction off the M2 and approaching the town from the wrong direction.
Magnolia House is a Georgian family guest house, rated five star by the AA and it is easy to see why.
I felt like we were staying with an aunt as the room was comfy and cosy, containing everything you could possibly need from clean towels, through to fresh milk in the fridge.
On Saturday morning, we decided to walk off our delicious breakfast with a walk and naturally gravitated to the cathedral in the centre of town.
Millions of people have made a pilgrimage to the famous landmark since the martrydom of Archbishop Thomas Beckett, murdered by knights of King Henry II in 1170.
We decided to go the whole hog and have a guided tour, so we could learn as much as possible and it was definitely worth every penny.
After grabbing some lunch in a nearby cafe, we crossed the road to the Canterbury Tales, where Chaucer's characters come to life with sights, sounds and smells of 14th century Kent.
We visited the ruins of St Augustine's Abbey, where St Augustine set up his church after being sent by the Pope to reignite Christianity in England in 598AD. Although the gates where closed we still got to see the ruins from a distance.
If sight-seeing doesn't interest you then there are plenty of shops, gardens and activities to keep you amused, including horse and carriage rides, ghost walks and river tours.
Come 8pm we were famished and happily settled into the comfortable sofa seats at the Cafe Mauresque, a Moroccan restaurant, tucked down a side street near the cathedral.
The food was delicious and our eyes were far too big for our bellies as despite our best efforts, didn't manage to finish a two-course meal.
As Canterbury is a student town there is a vibrant nightlife, with loads of pubs, bars and clubs to suit every taste, so there is plenty to keep you entertained after-dark.
There is no way you could ever get bored of Canterbury and the surrounding area. With the seaside towns of Whitstable and Herne Bay a stone's throw away, even if you manage to get around the town's numerous activities and attractions there is still places to visit and things to see.
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