Visit Canterbury
When planning a trip to South East England, you should visit Canterbury and the Cathedral for a taste of British history.
Eagle Video Productions has now created unique aerial footage using the EagleCam drone, which is a flying video camera, for tourists wishing to visit Canterbury to get a birds eye view of the Cathedral. The camera is able to show close up shots of the upper levels of the Cathedral, flying close to the stained glass windows and gliding through the building, and past the Cathedral Choir, where you can see them singing the beautiful Steal Away. The choir consists of 25 boy choristers between the ages of eight and thirteen, and 12 lay clerks. There has been a choir at Canterbury Cathedral for 1400 years.
The camera then flies outside, up the towers and over rooftops with beautiful views of the area. Eagle Video Productions would like to thank the Cathedral authorities for their generous assistance in the making of the video. The VideoCam was operated by Malcolm Beard, who has over 30 years' experience with remote models and is certified and approved by the British Model flying Association and the Civil Aviation Authority. The filming was done by Marcin Klysewicz and Mara Roberts, using a full HD broadcast quality camera, and narrated by Geoff Annis.
Michael Jaques, the director of Eagle Video Productions, has been fascinated by film from childhood, after being given a Standard 8 cine camera. He immediately began creating his own productions and making short films for his friends and family, and when older he became involved in as amateur dramatic group. He began filming their productions, and found he was asked to use his talents for local businesses who wanted to use video for advertising purposes. Finally, Michael invested in the EagleCam, so that he could offer his clients the advantage of aerial photography. Getting permission to fly over and inside Canterbury Cathedral was something I always wanted to do said Michael, and once this was granted, everyone there was so encouraging and helpful. The Cathedral authorities were very pleased with the skill of the EagleCam operators and with the resulting video which encourages tourists to visit Canterbury Cathedral.
Many tourists visit Canterbury to enjoy the beautiful town and see famous Canterbury Cathedral. The Cathedral is one of the oldest Christian structures in England and is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the Anglican Communion. The full title of the Cathedral is the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ at Canterbury.
The first Archbishop of Canterbury was St Augustine, a missionary sent from Rome in 597 AD. Pope Gregory the Great ordered him to convert the population to Christianity after seeing some beautiful Angle slaves in the market place, and he was given St. Martin's church by the local King Ethelbert to begin his work. There has been a Christian community in that place ever since, and is possibly the oldest organisation amongst all the English speaking world. Recently. The Most Reverend Justin Welby has been appointed as the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. The most famous event in the Cathedral's history was the murder of Thomas Becket on Tuesday 29th December 1170. Tradition has it that King Henry 11 of England uttered the words Will no-one rid me of this turbulent priest? and four knights set off to fulfil his wishes, assassinating Thomas in the Cathedral when he refused to accompany them to Winchester.
Although founded in 597, the Cathedral was completely rebuilt between 1070 and 1077, as it was completely destroyed by fire a year after the Norman Conquest in 1067. Another fire in 1174 meant more rebuilding, and this was then done in the gothic style. This also allowed for the building to be extended eastwards, as it was by now a popular destination for pilgrims wishing to visit the shrine of Thomas Beckett. In the late fourteenth century, the Norman nave and transepts were demolished and the building was renovated to how we see it today.
Canterbury Cathedral has a wonderful library including books on church history, older theology, British and local history, travel, science. medicine, and the anti-slavery movement. It contains over 30,000 books and pamphlets which were printed before the 20th century, as well as 20,000 printed at later dates.
There are three bell towers at the Cathedral, housing twenty one bells in all. The oldest bell is called Bell Harry, and was cast in 1635, and this hangs in a cage in the central tower. Bell Harry is struck each day at 8 am and 9 pm when the Cathedral opens and closes for the day.
Eagle Video Productions, Howfield Lane, Chartham Hatch, Canterbury, Kent, CT47LZ
Canterbury Walking Tour
Pictures taken during a guided tour of Canterbury, including the Canterbury Cathedral, in conjunction with the ITiCSE 2013 conference at the University of Kent.
July 8, 2013 update: There is now a slightly improved version at:
Tourism South East Familiarisation Trip
Organised by the regional tourist board, Tourism South East, group tour operators can embark on a planned coach tour of destinations in the South East of England. It's a great way to learn where's good to return with their groups.
This particular 2-day tour took in some of the best attractions in Ashford & Tenterden, in Kent.
To book your place on the tour contact the Group Team at Tourism South East on +44 (0) 23 8062 5516.
A Drive - Chartham to Canterbury, Kent England - The Back Way
A drive through Chartham Village and following the back route to Wincheap, Canterbury in the County of Kent, England on a sunny day in June 2014
My Favorite Place
I’d been researching my family tree. The trail led to Chilham in Kent. UK. My Grandfather, his Wife and two children, moved from Brenchly to Chilham, where he opened a Bakery in the Village in the late 1920s. I was familiar with Chilham and knew it to be very picturesque. A nice place to visit.
The 25th September was a beautiful day so I took the opportunity to go down to Chilham to find the Bakery. I had the Camcorder set up in the windscreen and the Radio tuned to ‘Radio Kent.’ It was quite a coincidence that they were doing a thing about “Your Favorite Place.” Phone in. So the soundtrack to the Video was recorded from ‘Radio Kent’ as I was driving through Chilham.