The Mother Church

Today, rather than pushing on straight over the Channel, I took a more restful day and just made the 15km trip to Canterbury. I thought it might be worth a couple of hours.

I was way out.

I arrived in Canterbury late morning, picked up a few essentials and enjoyed a cup of tea in a coffee shop, then sauntered over to the Cathedral for a little look. And, as it turns out, that was me for the next six hours.

I'd never been to Canterbury Cathedral before, and perhaps you haven't either, especially as a pilgrim. So let me say this: if you plan a pilgrimage, whether to Canterbury, from Canterbury, or just passing anywhere near Canterbury, GO TO CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL. You won't regret it for one second.

I walked in the door of the visitor centre to buy a ticket and was immediately greeted by Torin, one of the staff, with the words, "Well, you look like a pilgrim!" (Perhaps it's the cassock and pilgrim staff?) From that moment on I was wrapped in hospitality. There was no question of paying to go in ("We don't charge pilgrims"). Torin asked if I had a pilgrim passport; since I didn't he issued one and stamped it (twice, for good luck!). Then I was guided to the entrance of the Cathedral and handed over to Nigel, one of the team inside the building itself. Nigel gave me a run down on where to find everything, including the best and quietest places to pray. "There are quite a few little spots that are good," he told me, "but I recommend the crypt most of all."

I headed straight down and found myself in the Chapel of Our Lady of the Undercroft (I think I'm remembering that right) surrounded by murmuring voices, stillness, candlelight and the deepest sense of prayerfulness. Others were already sitting quietly in the Chapel area. I joined them and was caught up in the prayer for ... well, I don't know how long, but it was mid-afternoon before I reemerged to take a look around. I walked round the whole Cathedral for an hour or so - I don't have time to spell out all the details, but unsurprisingly it is absolutely stunning.

I met Nigel again who passed me over to Billy, one of the chaplains. "I'm a lay chaplain," he told me, which seemed great to me. Turns out that's a fairly new thing, introduced by the Dean (my old friend David Montieth) and Billy was the first. He kindly took me back down to the crypt and prayed a pilgrim blessing prayer with me. Just wonderful.

I took a walk round the cloisters, chatted with a lovely couple who wanted to know all about the Chapter House (I told them I didn't work there, but did happen to know what a Chapter House was, so I became an unofficial guide for a few minutes). Then, as I was preparing to go, I realised it was almost time for Evensong. So I went for a quick cuppa, then headed back for the service. About which, more in the next post!

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