Canterbury the spirit of
Christmas
Get into the Christmas spirit with a visit to Canterbury over the festive period. With its twinkling lights, cobbled streets, beautifully-designed Christmas displays, food, drink and gift stalls, and the Cathedral taking on an even more celestial presence against the skyline as you walk around the city, Canterbury is firmly setting itself as the ideal destination for celebrating this season. Things will look a little different but we are working hard to keep you safe. Our wide streets and green parks are perfect for social distancing and our businesses are operating within government guidelines - there’s no bah-humbug here!
Make it a Christmas to remember, canterbury.co.uk/christmas Images courtesy of Whitefrairs, City Feast, Jon Crwys-Williams, Canterbury Guides, Rachel Phipps, Matt Williams, Visit Kent, Alex Hare, Canterbury BID, @jrguk, The Beaney, Canterbury Cathedral, Canoe Wild, Kathryn Hearnden and Leanne Bracey. We apologise to anybody that has inadvertentlybeen omitted.
For your
Christmas wishlist Destination.
Canterbury What are the must-see events and things to do in the city this season to add to your wish list?
Christmas stalls A collection of festive stalls and live music will be dotted around the city this season to browse and experience something special. Whitefriars Festive Pop-up, 2 to 24 Dec - a collection of inside and outside stalls offering locally made gifts, food and drink and more! Westgate Hall Market, 19 and 20 Dec – complete your Christmas shopping with original and handcrafted creations at the monthly local producers’ market. Canterbury High Street Market will run throughout the festive period with a variety of traders offering festive fare.
Rupert Bear Centenary Exhibition The Beaney, Thu 17 Dec 2020 to Sun 7 Mar 2021 Bring your family and friends to an interactive exhibition celebrating Rupert the Bear's 100th anniversary! Immerse yourself in his magical seasonal landscapes, enjoy a story corner, play interactive games and create your own story.
City Feast - Christmas Take Out Guildhall Street, 12-31 Dec Savour the season at City Feast. This street food market will tempt your tastebuds as Guildhall Street fills with sumptuous aromas – just follow your nose!
City selfie trail Time to get in your daily steps and keep warm by following the city centre selfie trail. Hunt down the selfie walls, grab a photo and enter the prize draw to win a £50 gift voucher. Happy hunting!
Christmas Window Advent Calendar The city looks its best at Christmas with jawdroppingly beautiful window displays. To celebrate, My_Canterbury on Instagram will reveal a stunning Christmas window each day to inspire your shopping this festive period.
Gulbenkian’s Christmas Season 2020 Enjoy a selection box of treats, whether it's a wintery show for the whole family or a festive film favourites there is something for everyone this December.
Christmas Canterbury Virtual Guided Tours Make the most of this magical time of year as your guide takes you on a virtual live tour of our beautiful city, exploring its fascinating history using a series of images and slides
Make it a Christmas to remember
canterbury.co.uk/christmas
Nurse Nellie Saves Panto The Marlowe, Thur 16 Dec to Sun 3 Jan Don’t miss this fun-sized, socially-distanced festive family treat. Starring the awardwinning Marlowe pantomime legend, Ben Roddy, alongside four phenomenal panto performers, this joyous, funny and uplifting show promises to be the perfect antidote to 2020!
Brew distillery tour and tasting Discover The Foundry Brew Pub, home to Canterbury Brewers and Distillers, who produce their own beers, ciders, gins, vodka and apple pie moonshine on site. You can see their full range online and buy a gift vouchers to enjoy their tour and tasting at later date and have something to look forward to.
Tiny Tim's Tearoom Just the name of this tearoom conjures up Christmas, it's a must for your travel wishlist when it reopens. Until then you can buy gift vouchers online, along with all their customised necessities for brewing the the perfect pot or cup of your choice to enjoy at home.
Christmas at Canterbury Cathedral This year the cathedral is committed to sharing celebrations online and welcoming people everywhere to a Canterbury Christmas, with streamed services and prerecorded events for everyone to enjoy .
Make it a Christmas to remember
canterbury.co.uk/christmas
canterbury.co.uk/christmas
s ' y r u b r e t n Ca
s a m t s i r Ch . . . e l a T BY
CT TOURS
Our story begins in 1647 when Christmas was officially cancelled and the eating of mince pies declared illegal! Welcome to what has become known as the ‘Plum Pudding Riots’. canterbury.co.uk/christmas
During the 1600s Christmas became a traditional 12-day festival of merriment and revelry characterised by rich food, dancing and excess. Puritans sought to abolish Christmas. Across England, church services, decorations, mince pies, plum puddings and carol singing were banned. Shops were ordered to open and many churches were locked to prevent them holding a service. In Canterbury, there were no garlands, wreaths and boughs that usually marked the season. Citizens had been unenthusiastically compliant, until Christmas Day 1647. A shopkeeper refused to open his shop. He was put in the stocks to be made an example of. But the crowd took the shopkeeper's side and it brought more people out into the streets. Someone in the crowd produced inflated pigs’ bladders and games of street football broke out. These were the days when football had no pitches or rules.
The game (involving most of the population, whether they wanted to take part or not!) criss-crossed through the streets of Canterbury, breaking a few windows of puritan supporters and shouting ‘Conquest’. The sporting action was interspersed with traditional Christmas acts. Holly bushes were set up in doorways and entertainment offered. And that could have been the end of this unruly Canterbury Christmas. Boxing Day was relatively peaceful, being a Sunday, but fresh riots broke out on Monday and continued until early January. However, it all came to an end when Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentary forces burnt down the wooden gates of the Westgate tower, demolished the city wall between the Westgate and Canterbury Castle and made a high number of arrests. Courtesy of Sam , CT Tours (cttours.co.uk)
Canterbury's
Christmas selfie trail ...strike a pose
Be a part of Canterbury's Christmas Tale for a chance to win ÂŁ50! There are 10 selfie walls dotted across the city. Find your favourite one or two (or more) and take a photo. To enter the competition, simply post your photo on Instagram and tag @My_Canterbury Happy hunting!
Make it a Christmas to remember
canterbury.co.uk/christmas
Celebrating Rupert's Canterbury connections The tale of Rupert Bear is rooted firmly in Canterbury and begins with the story of the Caldwell Family.
Sunday 8 November marks 100 years since Rupert the Bear first appeared in print!
The Caldwells were artists who worked on the restoration of stained-glass windows at Canterbury Cathedral. Their daughter, Mary, attended Simon Langton Girls’ School and then studied at the Sidney Cooper School of Art, where she was tutored by Thomas Sidney Cooper, in Canterbury before going on to marry Herbert Tourtel. Herbert worked for the Daily Express, and knowing his wife was somewhat of an artist, she was asked by the newspaper to invent a new children’s character. Her creation, Rupert Bear, was born!
Mary published the first Rupert serial The Little Lost Bear in the Daily Express on Monday 8 November 1920. It quickly became very popular, and continued to run in the paper every day for fifteen years. Mary Tourtel illustrated and wrote her Rupert stories until 1935, and her works have sold 50 million copies internationally! Albert Bestall continued the strip cartoons and became well-known for the Rupert annuals – a number of which are on display at The Beaney. Their new exhibition brings to life the museum's varied collection of Rupert the Bear objects and artworks.
The Beaney's interactive exhibition is open Thursday 17 December until Sunday 7 March canterbury.co.uk/christmas
Rupert Bear's
Canterbury Competition To celebrate Rupert Bear’s 100th birthday this winter, Rupert has placed some lanterns around the city to light up Canterbury this winter. There are 30 Rupert Bear Lanterns hidden around the city windows. Find at least five to be in with a chance to WIN A CANTERBURY GIFT CARD WORTH £100 AND A RUPERT BEAR GOODY BAG WORTH £50! To enter, collect a printed form from the Canterbury Visitor Information Centre (VIC) write the locations of where you spot them and return it to the VIC to submit it. Or enter your answers online at canterbury.co.uk The competition runs from 9 January 2020 to 7 March 2021. T&Cs apply, see website. Brought to you by Canterbury Business Improvement District partnered with Canterbury Museums and Galleries and Visit Canterbury.
When you’re in Canterbury don’t forget to pay Rupert a visit at his Centenary Celebration exhibition at The Beaney! canterbury.co.uk/christmas
Christmas Shopping IN THE CITY AND BEYOND Canterbury shopping offers a wide variety of unique, independent shops alongside luxury high-street brands. Canterbury's independent quarters
Top brand fashion and lifestyle shopping
The King’s Mile, Cathedral Quarter and Castle Quarter are just a step away from the high street where you can find an eclectic mix of independent shops and traditional traders offering handcrafted jewellery, arts and crafts, fine art, antiques, hair and beauty, sweet treats and gourmet cuisine to tempt you.
Whitefriars shopping centre offers more than 60 top fashion and lifestyle stores. Alongside your traditional High Street shops, Fenwick offers leading brands such as Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, Mulberry, Weekend Max Mara and more. Plus, some of the top names in beauty including Jo Malone, Bobbi Brown and Dior.
Sweet treats Looking for delicious sweet treats this Christmas? Madame Oiseau Fine Chocolates are worth a visit - and you can watch them being made too!
Hops and gin We have beer made from local hops and yeast right here within the city walls at The Foundry, where they host distillery tours and tastings - including their Canterbury Gin using all local ingredients. The Goods Shed by Canterbury West Station is a must-see for seasonal fresh goodies, as is The Cheese Shop on Palace Street.
Jewellery The city has a terrific group of artisan jewellery designers and makers. Ortwin Thyssen, Justin Richardson, Luke Goldsmith, Yi Lin and Trevor Fitzgerald are all continuing the ancient jewellers craft in Canterbury.
Pottery and glass Canterbury Pottery in The Buttermarket, Glass Art, Cosmo China and Espression Arts in Palace Street, and Rock Paper Scissors in Stour Street are the perfect places to pick up unique, handmade and personalised gifts.
Arts and crafts See amazing, handmade, locally produced art and craft gifts at Walrus and Oyster, Lilford Gallery, Stark Gallery, Platform and Sowley UK. Plus the craft fairs and markets at Westgate Hall are worth a visit too! Make it a Christmas to remember
canterbury.co.uk/christmas
canterbury.co.uk/christmas
Winter warmers AND TEMPTING TREATS When visiting the city centre to grab your Christmas gifts, we're sure you'll be on the search of a warming beverage to keep your fingers toasty warm. So, for your caffeine fix, take away tea or even a seasonal spicy latte – here is your guide to our local cafés offering take away! Burgate Coffee
Don Juan
43 Burgate Family run coffee house based in a beautiful tudor building on the corner of the Buttermarket. Enjoy hot drinks, sandwiches and cake on the go! Open daily.
Dane John Garden This fantastic open air café is a perfect refuel stop with the beautiful Dane John Gardens as a beautiful backdrop while you relax with your cuppa. Open 10am to 5pm daily.
Fond Coffee (Fruitworks) 1-2 Jewry Lane Enjoy a takeaway from this excellent café, based on the ground floor of the uber cool Fruitworks Co-working space just behind the High Street.
Fringe and Ginge 72 Northgate The latest addition to Canterbury’s coffee scene, Fringe and Ginge offer a fantastic array of coffees and coffee beans to take away along with sweet and savoury treats.
Garage Coffee 17 Sun Street Offering coffee beans, refreshments and cake, these coffee experts are ready to give you a warm welcome.
The King's Corner 21 The Borough Get your Turkish coffee and baklava fix to take away, at The Kings Corner – situated in Canterbury’s most instagrammed corner!
Lost Sheep Coffee Whitefriars / Bus Station Delicious specialty coffee served from their fabulous pod in Whitefriars (just behind Fenwick).
Love Brownies 5a Whitefriars Lane Whether you’re out for your daily exercise or taking a break from those zoom calls, pop by for a freshly-roasted coffee, award-winning brownie or legendary brownie milkshakes! Make it a Christmas to remember
canterbury.co.uk/christmas
Micro Roastery 4 St Margaret Street This team not only creates perfection in a cup, but they also roast their own beans!
Moat Tearooms 67 Burgate A very English experience. They stock over 40 loose leaf teas and provide a full high tea and cream tea for those who want to shop and eat in style!
No.35 35 St Margaret Street Stop by and say hello to Canterbury’s newest independent restaurant serving local coffee, drinks and fresh food to take away and enjoy.
Starbucks St George’s Street Offering food and drinks to-go. You can order ahead using the Starbucks® UK App to collect at a store.
The Sandwich Bar 41 St Margaret’s Street This fantastic local, family run sandwich bar is offering freshly made baguettes and delicious pastries (and coffee!)
Fast food take aways Burger King Cafe Nero (take away and Ubereats) Costa (take away and Ubereats) Greggs KFC Mcdonalds (takeaway and delivery) Make it a Christmas to remember
canterbury.co.uk/christmas
canterbury.co.uk/christmas
Twixmas Time to take a
break Looking for ideas of what to do between boxing day and new year? When it comes winter walks and outdoor adventures, you’ll be spoilt for choice in Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable.
Fresh air, seascapes and countryside scenes make the perfect escape during Christmas and the new year. There are all sorts of ways to stay active and see more of our city, coast and countryside during the winter months. So put down the box set, lace up your trainers and take a look at some of our top tips for outdoor activities this winter http://ow.ly/zlW750CpldE
Make it a Christmas to remember
canterbury.co.uk/christmas
Experience an award-winning
coastline
Canterbury is more than a first class cultural heritage city, it also offers an award-winning coastline. It’s so close that it makes an easy ‘add-on’ to your trip, but also worth a visit in its own right! Just 20 minutes away is Whitstable, a picturesque coastal town rich in maritime history, where you can indulge in fresh seafood, visit the working harbour, take a boat trip to see the Second World War Maunsell Forts and get a glimpse of the seal colony. Or simply explore Whitstable and Tankerton's independent shops, art galleries and museum. Whitstable’s Tankerton blue flag beach is popular with the locals as well as tourists and Whitstable beach is known for its water sports.
A few miles down the road is Herne Bay, well worth a visit for its miles of coastal paths, areas of outstanding natural beauty, wide-open vistas and awardwinning beaches. The town holds onto its traditional seaside fun with pier and promenade coupled with a vibrant town and many independent traders. Further up the coast is the famous Saxon Shore Way with stretches of pebble and shingle beaches. All three areas connect well for walking trails and cycle routes, which attracts visitors year-round.
How to
get here
Whether travelling by train, bus, biking, walking, park and ride or road, we are so well connected you will find us with ease.
By train
With direct connections to and from London Charing Cross and London Victoria, both Canterbury East and Canterbury West stations offer flexible travel to and from London with the High Speed One through Canterbury West only taking 59 minutes from London. Canterbury East connects to Dover Priory station in just 17 minutes. From Canterbury to Whitstable or Herne Bay trains travel via one simple change at Faversham. Visit nationalrail.co.uk for details. By bus
National Express runs from London Victoria Coach Station. Stagecoach East Kent local buses service the district well with the triangle route covering Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay. Visit stagecoachbus.com and nationalexpress.com for details.
By road
Close to all of the major south east motorways, including the M2, M20, M25 and M26 Canterbury is well connected to Kent and beyond!
By Park and Ride
For an easy parking option use Canterbury’s Park and Ride loop. Buses run approx. every 10 minutes, have free WiFi, cost £3.50 per day and you can hop on and off as much as you want. There are three sites (New Dover Road, Sturry Road and Wincheap) which all have disabled parking and spaces for motorbikes. The New Dover Road site offers motorhome parking too. Visit canterbury.gov.uk/ parkandride for details.
Shop now visit later Looking for the perfect gift this Christmas? Our city and coastal towns are full of independent shops and local traders excited to be welcoming you back for some Christmas shopping this December! Our hospitality businesses and visitor attractions have the perfect gift for foodie lovers and those wanting new experiences after a long year of lockdowns. Treat them (or yourself) to an online gift voucher for when you're able to visit us in person and stay for longer.
Make it a Christmas to remember
https://bit.ly/VCPayItForward
We all need a little something to look forward to. So we’ve teamed up with Best Western Abbots Barton Hotel and friends to bring you a city break to remember! Prize includes accommodation, a meal and a bottle Canterbury Gin at The Foundry Brew Pub, Canterbury. a guided tour of Canterbury Cathedral, tickets to the Canterbury Roman Museum and a My Canterbury £100 Canterbury Gift to spend during your stay!
To enter
bit.ly/VCWinterComp
JOIN US THIS
Christmas @visitcanterbury @visitcanterbury @visitcanterbury
canterbury.co.uk/christmas
#
#CanterburyIsChristmas
Businesses across Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay continue to work hard to keep you safe and follow government’s covid guidelines. For example, adapting their spaces to allow you to maintain social distance, wearing face coverings, having hand sanitising stations, introducing one way systems and reduced capacity, taking online bookings only, offering contactless collection and delivery, and, where applicable, following the government's Track and Trace guidelines. Remember
Hands.
Face.
Space.
