Canterbury is a very old city that happens to be extremely easy to visit with children. The centre is compact, largely pedestrianised and flat; the river runs through the middle of it and you can get onto it by punt within five minutes of the cathedral; and half an hour in any direction gets you to a wild animal park, an ancient wood, a Roman fort on a cliff or a beach.
The one thing to know in advance is that the headline attraction, the cathedral, is a mixed proposition with young children — enormous, quiet and expecting a certain amount of reverence. Plan the rest of the day around it rather than the other way round.
Punting on the Great Stour is the thing children remember. Several operators run trips from the middle of the city — flat-bottomed boats poled along the river past the backs of medieval buildings, under low bridges, with a guide telling stories. Trips are short enough not to try anyone’s patience, the boats sit low so children can trail a hand in the water, and it is genuinely the best introduction to the shape of the city. Our punting guide covers who runs what.
There are also river trips further out at Grove Ferry, where a boat runs on the Stour through the marshes.
Five kilometres east at Bekesbourne, Howletts was founded as a private zoo in 1957 and has become one of the most serious conservation collections in Britain, best known for its gorillas and elephants. Visitors consistently comment that it feels more like a breeding and conservation project than an entertainment park, which is exactly the intention. It is large, it is outdoors, and it takes most of a day. More on the Howletts page.
Blean Woods, four and a half kilometres north, has waymarked family trails through ancient woodland, bluebells in late April and nightingales in May. Stodmarsh and Grove Ferry, to the north-east, have hides, boardwalks and a picnic site, and are good for children old enough to be quiet for ten minutes.
In the middle of the city, this walks you through Chaucer’s stories with sets, sound and costumed actors. It was substantially reworked in recent years and the new version is better than the old one; families who knew the previous incarnation have been pleasantly surprised. It suits primary-age children upwards and takes about an hour.
The largest surviving medieval city gate in England, with a small museum and a viewpoint on the roof looking straight down the high street. Climbing something is always a win, and this one is quick, cheap and central.
Built around a Roman mosaic pavement discovered after wartime bombing, and reached by going underground to the level of the Roman street. It is compact, it is genuinely underground, and older children find it more interesting than they expect. Some visitors find it pricey for its size. See the Roman Museum page.
Founded in 598, dissolved in 1538, and now a substantial ruin with a modern museum. There is a lot of space to walk around and the audio guide does a good job. See our St Augustine’s Abbey page.
Worth doing with children, with expectations set. It is vast, it takes at least a couple of hours to do properly, and the Becket story — an archbishop murdered in his own cathedral by four knights in 1170 — is exactly the kind of history that catches a child’s attention. Our cathedral guide explains what to look for.
Westgate Gardens is the loveliest green space in the city, running along the river with an enormous oriental plane tree in the middle of it. Dane John Gardens, inside the southern wall, has a mound to run up, a bandstand and open lawns. Toddler’s Cove, on the river west of the centre, is the main playground.
One honest caution about Toddler’s Cove that parents raise repeatedly: it sits directly on the river and the fencing between the play area and the water is limited. It suits children who can be trusted near water rather than the very youngest, despite the name.
Canterbury is not on the coast, but the coast is close. Whitstable is ten kilometres north — shingle beach, beach huts, oysters, and the Street, a shingle spit that emerges at low tide and lets you walk out into the sea. Herne Bay, eleven kilometres, has sand at low tide, a clock tower and the remains of a pier. Reculver, fourteen kilometres, has the twin towers of a ruined church on the cliff inside a Roman fort, and a beach below.
All three are reachable by bus, and Whitstable is walkable on the Crab and Winkle Way if you have older children and a free morning.
The museums are the obvious answer: the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge on the high street is free and has a children’s programme; the Roman Museum is underground by definition; the Canterbury Tales is entirely indoors. Beyond the city, Flip Out at Ashford covers the trampoline requirement, and the Faversham and Herne Bay pools are both a short drive. Our wet weather guide has the full list.
Canterbury is a university city and the food scene is priced accordingly — there is a lot of casual, informal, reasonably cheap eating. The Goods Shed by Canterbury West station is a covered farmers’ market with a restaurant in it and is the best place to feed a family properly. The Old Weavers House on the river is the one people photograph. Our eating guide covers the rest.
Do not drive into the city. The three park and ride sites — Wincheap to the west, New Dover Road to the south and Sturry Road to the east — charge a flat daily fee that covers the driver and up to six passengers on the bus, with a cheaper rate later in the afternoon. Buses run every few minutes on weekdays and Saturdays; Sunday service is reduced and Wincheap does not run at all.
Trains. Canterbury has two stations, both within ten minutes of the centre. The high-speed service from London St Pancras reaches Canterbury West in under an hour.
Pushchairs. The centre is flat and largely pedestrianised. The cobbled sections around the cathedral precincts are the only awkward part.
The city day. Punt on the Stour first thing before the river gets busy, walk through Westgate Gardens for a run about, climb the Westgate Towers for the view, and take lunch at the Goods Shed. Do the Canterbury Tales or the Roman Museum in the afternoon — both are indoor, both are about an hour — and finish in the Dane John with an ice cream and a climb up the mound.
The out-of-town day. Howletts in the morning and through lunch, then north to Reculver for the ruined towers and the beach, or west to Whitstable for the harbour and the Street at low tide. Both are half an hour from the city and both put a beach at the end of the day.
Under five: the punts, the gardens, the beaches, Toddler’s Cove with supervision. Skip the cathedral or do twenty minutes of it.
Five to eleven: the sweet spot. Howletts, the Canterbury Tales, the Roman Museum, the Westgate Towers, the Crab and Winkle Way by bike.
Teenagers: the cathedral properly, including the tower tour, Dover Castle’s wartime tunnels, Margate for Dreamland and the Shell Grotto, and self-punting, which is much funnier at fifteen than at five.
Punting on the Stour for an hour, Howletts for a full day.
Yes, with the right expectations. It is enormous and quiet, and the Becket story carries it for children of about seven upwards.
Whitstable, Herne Bay and Reculver are all between ten and fourteen kilometres north, and all are reachable by bus.
Toddler’s Cove, on the river west of the centre. Note that it sits close to the water with limited fencing.
Two for the city and the river, three if you are adding Howletts and a day at the coast.