Southampton Canterbury Train

Southampton is the largest city in Hampshire on the south coast of England. The city lies at the northern tip of Southampton Water, where the rivers Test and Itchen converge. The River Test runs along the western edge of the city. It is roughly 75 miles to the south west of London and around 20 miles to the west of Portsmouth. The Port of Southampton is a major cruise ship terminal and ferry port. The ferryport is no longer home to any international ferry operations but it is the terminus for three ferry services to the Isle if Wight. Southampton's tradition of luxury cruising began in around 1840. Many of the world's largest cruise ships can regularly be seen in the port including vessels from Royal Caribbean and Carnival Corporation, which includes brands including Princess Cruises and Cunard Line.

Southampton has two large live music venues, the Mayflower Theatre and the Guildhall. The Guildhall has seen concerts from a wide range of popular artists including Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Manic Street Preachers, The Killers, The Kaiser Chiefs and Amy Winehouse. It also hosts classical concerts presented by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, City of Southampton Orchestra, Southampton Concert Orchestra, Southampton Philharmonic Choir and Southampton Choral Society.

The city of Canterbury in Kent, England, contains many ancient buildings despite it being heavily damaged during the Second World War. The heart of the city is its cathedral which is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the world wide Anglican Church. The cathedral is also the burial place of King Henry IV and Edward the Black Prince, but most famous as the scene of the murder of Thomas Becket in 1170.

The ruins of the Norman Canterbury Castle and St Augustine's Abbey are both open to the public. The medieval St Margaret's Church now houses the "The Canterbury Tales", in which life-sized character models reconstruct Geoffrey Chaucer's stories. The Westgate is now a museum relating to its history as a jail and the medieval church of St Alphege became redundant in 1982 but had a new lease of life as the Canterbury Urban Studies Centre, later renamed the Canterbury Environment Centre; the building is used by the King's School. The Old Synagogue at Canterbury, now the King's School Music Room, is one of only two Egyptian Revival synagogues still standing.

Travelling too and from the city is easy because it is connected to the national rail network by its two railway stations: Canterbury West and Canterbury East.