Leeds Castle, Canterbury & White Cliffs

Guests will be picked up from Dover's cruise ship terminal and driven direct to Leeds Castle (45 minutes). On arrival, guests can either walk to the castle via the lake (c15 minutes) or use on-site transportation. This will be followed by a guided tour of the historic castle (c1.25 hours) and return via a scenic riverside walk through its spectacular grounds (15 minutes). Alternatively transportation is also available if preferred.

Guests will be driven through the country lanes of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in which you will pass through delightful villages such as Godmersham and Chilham on your journey through to the historic city of Canterbury. You will see Chilham's beautiful cobbled market square and timbered buildings which is overseen by a majestic stately home and former Norman castle.

You will be driven into the centre of Canterbury and taken on a walking tour of the most significant, beautiful or iconic locations within the city. You will hear about Canterbury's Iron Age and Roman history; the city's role as the birthplace of Christianity in England and a focal point for pilgrimage; the impact of King Henry VIII and the Dissolution of the Monasteries; and more recent times including World War II. After the one hour walking tour, you will have the opportunity for some free time to enjoy popular venues for local food and drink. Guest favourites include Canterbury's oldest pub (1370AD) for a Kentish real ale and a sit-down lunch; a traditional English tea shop for scones, salad, sandwiches or pastries; or a take-away including fish and chips!

As we leave Canterbury, we will pass by the second of the City's most important UNESCO World Heritage landmarks - St Augustine's Abbey. Founded shortly after St Augustine arrived in Kent in AD597 to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity, the abbey was a residence for Augustine and his brother monks and functioned as a monastery. It was also a 'missionary school' where classical knowledge and English learning flourished. Among its library of illuminated manuscripts, only 150 survived the English Reformation and the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538. One of these - 'the Canterbury Gospels' - survived from AD597 and was used in the recent coronation of King Charles III. As you leave the Abbey's main entrance, you will pass two statues depicting King Ethelbert and Queen Bertha on Lady Wootton's Green. As King and Queen of Kent, they were most responsible for welcoming Augustine into Canterbury and enabling him to build the foundation for Christianity throughout the country.

As the tour leaves the outskirts of the city, there will be the opportunity to observe the country's oldest surviving church, St Martin's (the third UNESCO World Heritage site in Canterbury), which also dates from cAD597. The church was originally a chapel used by Queen Bertha but became used as a base by Augustine. The church has Roman origins with Anglo-Saxon and medieval additions.

Our route will head east towards the coast via a number of pretty villages. You will first be driven to Wickhambreaux with its delightful medieval village green around which are located the church, the manor house and rectory, inn and mill. You can stop briefly for photos at the 13th century church of St Andrew's where one of the WWII Dambusters, Squadron Leader David Maltby, was both married and later buried after his death in 1943. Another famous resident of Wickhambreaux was the singer and musician, Christine MacVie of Fleetwood Mac.

We will then depart for the neighbouring village of Ickham with its attractive white weatherboard cottages, attractive listed buildings and 13th century church.

We will pass through the ancient village of Wingham which, with many buildings dating back to the 1200s including the Grade II listed 'The Dog Inn', provides a picture perfect part of the tour.

As we leave the countryside and turn towards the coast, you will be driven to a special vantage point on the White Cliffs which is largely unknown to most visitors. At this most iconic of locations, you will get views of Dover Castle, the harbour, the English Channel and, if the weather is clear, the nearby coastline of France. We will stop here for a history of Dover from Roman times up until the 1940 Dunkirk evacuation and Battle of Britain and how its role became commonly associated as 'the Key to England'.

As we leave Dover Western Heights, guests will be returned to the nearby terminal where they can re-join their ship.