45-Minute Punting Tour in Canterbury

Sightseeing  :  United Kingdom  :  England-South  :  Canterbury  :  Day Cruises

Each punting tour runs through the historic city centre of Canterbury along the hidden River Stour. You will be comfortably seated on cushions and blankets in a traditional wooden punt. Your guide will drive the boat.On this 45-minute punting tour you will get to take a route that is not accessible by foot and your chauffeur, also your guide, will give you a historic commentary. The tour will start in the centre of historic Canterbury and you will get to see some of the most interesting sites of the city.

Locations include:

• Poor Priests Hospital (Originally built in 1177 as a tannery, it became a charitable almshouse, then a place for priests to live. After being surrendered to the crown during the 16th century, it became a workhouse.)
• Greyfriars Chapel (Originally built in 1267, it is the oldest Franciscan building in Europe. After being surrendered to Henry VIII, it was sold to a wealthy family who fled Canterbury after the civil war, leaving it in disrepair.)
• Eastbridge Hospital (Founded in 1190 as a place for pilgrims visiting the cathedral where Thomas Becket was Martyred by the Swords of the King’s Knights. Chaucer, who wrote “The Canterbury Tales”, probably visited here.)
• 50 Yard Tunnel
• Old Weavers House (Elizabeth I granted refugees, fleeing from persecution in Europe, a chance to set up a business. This building was constructed in 1500 and housed weavers. Today it is a great restaurant where you can get our “punt and meal” deal.)
• Blackfriars Dominican Priory (In 1237, Henry II granted land and money to the Dominicans to build their priory. It covers both sides of the river. Nowadays it is part of The King’s School.)

Alternatively, you can take a tour out of town into the countryside. Hot water bottles are available on request. Buildings on the tour date back eight hundred years, some parts date all the way back to roman times. Tours are limited to 12 passengers per boat.