Here are some pictures from my trip! I hope you enjoy them because I loved being there to take them. I was in high school during the "English Invasion" of the " sixties. Everything new and exciting came from England, fashion, music and language. Then three new students came to our school from England during one school year. I became friends with one of the girls and I was lost forever..

Yes, I am a confessed anglophile. I love all things English and after visiting there would transplant my life if I could. Instead I just visit and keep in touch with my good friends who were my hosts during this trip, Ricky and Marion Batten.

The Battens know my obsession with Queen

Ricky and Marion's "semi-detached" in the seaside resort town of Westgate-On-Sea, Kent. This is near Margate and Ramsgate which have been summer resorts since Victorian times.

The Nearby City Of Canterbury
More Canterbury

The nearest "city" is Canterbury. The status of city over town in England is determined by whether the community has a cathedral or just a church or two. This, of course, makes Canterbury a city with it's magnificent and famous Canterbury Cathedral. Inside the cathedral there is a cornerstone remaining from the original structure. It is dated 1600 AD. Amazing. They wouldn't allow pictures inside the cathedral but here are some of the outside.

Canterbury Cathedaral 1
Canterbury Cathedral 2
Canterbury Cathedral 3

It seems that everywhere you turn in England there is some ancient relic, which the locals accept as perfectly normal. We Americans however are constantly amazed by walking down the street and finding the foundations of, say, a Roman Church or a whole castle built by the Saxons 700 years ago still standing on the edge of a modern city. This is the doorway of the castle in Deal, near Margate.

The Gate of Deal Castle

And sometimes it's a left-over from the Victorian age. Here I am at the entrance to Watercliff Lift which takes you from one level of the city of Folkestone to another. This was built in Victorian times and works beautifully still (I rode on it). The lift is powered by water, no electricity.

Watercliff Lift, Leas

We did take a short trip to "the continent". The city of Calais in France is about an hour by ferry and slightly less using the "chunnel" under the English Channel. We left Dover early in the morning and spent the day in Calais, shopping (of course) and soaking up a slightly different atmosphere.

The Town Hall, Calais
Lunch In The Park, Calais

So, I hope you enjoyed this quick trip. I had a wonderful time and of course have MANY more pictures, too many to put here. When I return to England (and I will!) I'll put up more pictures.

Thanks for traveling with me!