I had not planned to blog today, but I have to write about my favourite hotel of the trip so far.
The Cathedral Gate Hotel is the sort of place that you couldn’t make up. It, or its predecessors on the site, have been hosting Canterbury pilgrims for almost 600 years. It is right beside the main entrance to the cathedral precinct, although you have to look hard as – in true Harry Potter fashion – there is nothing to see but a discreetly signed doorway.
To get from that doorway to my room (“Nightingale”), which is on the second floor, can be done in a few different ways, all of which involve taking about six flights of stairs, umpteen turnings, and an open walkway across a rooftop (umbrellas are provided). Once in the room, the floors are pitched so sharply that I had a near-disaster when a cup of coffee placed on a highly polished bedside table started sliding abruptly sideways toward the table edge (the staff tell me that part of the reason for the tilt is supposedly that, when Henry VIII built the main cathedral gate in the 1500s, he simply had the house pushed sideways to make room).
It’s quirky. But the staff are delightfully friendly and helpful, my bed is a massive fourposter, and this was the view I saw through my window when I woke up this morning.
I really, really like this hotel.
Day 33 Rest day, Canterbury.
Come Wind, Come Weather 
Many congratulations Simon on reaching the end of part one. We may not have walked with you yet but we have been avidly following your progress. I hope the trip across the chanel goes smoothly. Thanks for the hotel recommendation!
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