Kent

We'd arranged to pick up our hire car from Marble Arch of all places, and had to get south of the Thames and down to Canterbury. Tom Tom saved the day. Its first suggestion to drive along The Embankment near Westminster but we reeled in shock so it suggested an alternative route which proved to be quite OK. It was too easy and we've been using it for two days now without a glitch.

First on our list was a visit to Plumstead where my Cook ancestors lived in the 1800s. They ran a very popular tea garden in Wickham Lane near Bostall Wood. We went to have a look at their church, St Nicholas, and St Johns in Erith where William Cook married Rebecca Weekes and Mary Ann Price (not at the same time you understand). Plumstead used to be a quiet village but now it has been swallowed up by greater London.

And then we drove down to the city of Canterbury. It was like stepping into a time warp. Roman walls, a gate still used to access the city, a stunning cathedral and medieval buildings in use by current chain stores like Marks and Spencer and Pret a Manger.