Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city and World Heritage Site located in Kent, England. It is one of the most-visited cities in the UK and it's economy is based on that fact.
The River Stour flows though parts of the city with various pubs on it's banks making a wonderful place for the large student population and tourists alike to enjoy the lovely atmosphere. Despite being a popular tourist destination, Canterbury remains a small city in terms of geographical size and population when compared with other British cities.
The city has been occupied since Paleolithic times and served as the capital of the Celtic Cantiaci and Jute Kingdom of Kent. It is also famous for The Canterbury Tales
Many historical structures fill the area, including a city wall founded in Roman times and rebuilt in the 14th century, the ruins of St Augustine's Abbey and a Norman castle. It has and the oldest extant school in the world, the King's School.
Modern additions include the Marlowe Theatre (closed in 2009, re-built and re-opened in 2011), University of Kent, Canterbury Christ Church University, the University for the Creative Arts and the St Lawrence Ground, home of the Kent County Cricket Club.
The city has two railway stations, Canterbury East (which feeds to/from London Victoria - Faversham - Dover) and Canterbury West (which feeds to/from London St Pancras - Ashford - Ramsgate - Broadstairs - Margate)
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion owing to the importance of St Augustine, who served as the apostle to the pagan Kingdom of Kent around the turn of the 7th century.
Canterbury cathedral became a major focus of pilgrimage following the 1170 martyrdom of Thomas Becket, although it had already been a popular pilgrim destination since the murder of St Alphege by the men of King Canute in 1012.
Canterbury also has a thriving business hub worth £1.3Bn (as-at 2001), with some 4,760 businesses (60K full-time employed).
The total value of tourism to the city of Canterbury was over £450 million (2015) with over 7 million visitors. There are many more small businesses based near Canterbury that deal with dancing classes and/or fitness. A few are listed here :-
- Sporting Dates caters for all fit, sporty people in Kent who want to meet like-minded people who also enjoy keeping fit.
- Lifestyle Fitness No matter where you are in your fitness journey - whether you’re a seasoned gym goer or a complete newbie, they are here to support you and help you achieve your goals.
- Energie Fitness Their gyms are inclusive spaces where you feel like you belong and are inspired in whatever you want to do – whether that’s pushing yourself solo on our top notch equipment or joining people just like you in one of our specialist classes. Either way, you’ll leave buzzing.
- Grandma Groove was created by fitness professional Michelle Gilbert and caters for anyone at any fitness level.
- Pure Gym join to achieve your fitness goals. With 50+ FREE Fitness classes, No Contract & FREE Parking. Based Canterbury Sturry Road.
