My day in Canterbury - Things to see and do

In my new series 'My day in...', it will consist of my recommendations for what sights and activities to do in a specific town that I have visited. This is to give you ideas for places to go and they will all be in England, as 'staycations' are this year's safest bet for being able to actually enjoy a mini-holiday.

On my birthday, my boyfriend surprised me with an overnight trip to Canterbury. I've been there many times before with my family and him, and I love hearing the historic tales of the town and exploring what the bustling high-street has to offer. So here are my recommendations for an activity and places to have drinks, dinner and stay overnight.

Activity: Historic Punting Boat Tour

This activity isn't cheap if you want the private boat, but it is well worth it! We was given the option of going the city way or the nature way so we chose the city, as we wanted to see as much of Canterbury as possible and hear the history behind the old and famous buildings. This tour was 45 minutes long and we had the lovely Andrew as our boat guide, we laid down on the boat and looked out onto the beautiful river views. Andrew explored a lot of history, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, King Henry VIII (I LOVE learning about the Tudors) and Christopher Marlowe. We also received a complimentary drink, so we chose Pimms, the perfect summer drink. Although, little tip, be careful if you have a bladder like mine after a couple of ciders, as there was no way of getting off of the boat until the tour had finished😂 Would highly recommend and would definitely come here again!

Website: www.canterburypunting.co.uk

Instagram: Canterbury Punting Company

Drinks: The Foundry Brew Pub

We came to The Foundry for a couple of drinks before we went on our punting boat tour as it was recommended to us by the Canterbury Punting Company, and as we had already bought our ticket for the activity with them, the ticket enabled us to get a discount off of our drinks at the pub. Usually (as you all probably know by now) I would have ordered something pink and fruity, buttt we wanted to try something new. So, we saw that they were doing a 'Taster Tray' option, where you could choose any five 1/3-pint samplers of any of the Beers or Ciders for £6.95. There were plenty to choose from and it was served in a 'tray' that was made from an old wooden beer barrel (pictured). I only managed to drink 3 of the ciders, but couldn't stomach the last 2 beers/ales, which were the strongest in flavour. I would highly recommend visiting this pub, as the interiors was stunning, it has a fantastic history and it has a great selection of food and drink.

Website: www.thefoundrycanterbury.co.uk

Instagram: The Foundry Brew Pub

Dinner: Wildwood

I chose where we ate, so I chose Wildwood, as I saw that it served 'Pizza, Pasta & Grill', which was heaven to my ears. I (obviously) chose to have Spaghetti Bolognese, which was of course delicious and not too filling, which I find some pasta dishes in restaurants to be. My boyfriend had a Steak, which he said wasn't amazing, but it was still nice. We've had alottt of steaks in our time, so we're pretty harsh when reviewing steak meals. It was affordable, there was a great atmosphere in the restaurant and there was plenty of food and drink options to choose from. What more could you ask for!

Website: www.wildwoodrestaurants.co.uk

Instagram: Wildwood Restaurants

Hotel: Air BnB - The Hugo Canterbury

My boyfriend booked us an Air BnB called The Hugo, it was right in the heart of the town and literally just on the high-street, and coincidently close to Wildwood. It was a spacious room with a quirky decor design, it had a beautiful yellow and black colour scheme and there was also plenty of toiletries and extras. There was a TV in the room that had Netflix set up, so we carried on watching our favourite TV show Designated Survivor (which has now been devastatingly cancelled😢). There were little chocolates given to us from the staff to celebrate my birthday, although we weren't able to eat them sadly, as they contained nuts which my boyfriend is allergic to, but I really appreciated the gesture!

Website: www.airbnb.co.uk/england

Instagram: Air BnB

I had an amazing time, I would highly recommend a visit to this wonderful town in Kent. There are obviously lots of other things to see and do in Canterbury but I will only review places that I have actually visited, so if you want to see more in Canterbury or in another town, then please feel free to contact me on my Instagram page @carlylauren_. I would love to come back and do a part 2!