Kent: Chatham, Margate, Canterbury and Dover

 

From a base of The Lodge at Knowlton Court, I've enjoyed visits to Chatham Dockyard, Canterbury, Deal, Dover Castle, Margate, and Wingham Wildlife Park over the past week.

The story of Chatham Dockyard and its people can be discovered in immersive exhibition galleries, such as Command of the Oceans and The Ropery. Three historic warships can be explored to learn about warship construction, refit and repair and examine important objects related to the Dockyard and the wider maritime world from the collections of Royal Museums Greenwich and Imperial War Museums.

Canterbury is a medieval walled city that has been hosting visitors for more than 1,000 years. Founded by St Augustine in 597 AD, Canterbury Cathedral is a unique place of worship, a major pilgrimage destination, a masterpiece of art and architecture, and one of the UK's most-visited historic sites. Often referred to as ‘England in stone', the Cathedral has been at the centre of momentous events and upheavals. It is the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion, seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, UNESCO World Heritage Site, and resting place of royalty and saints.

'Sacred Resonance' by Renaud Muraire is an exhibition reimagining Christian Iconography at Canterbury Cathedral. Muraire’s paintings create a powerful dialogue between traditional Christian iconography and contemporary human experience. Drawing on biblical narratives that continue to resonate today, his work explores universal emotions, challenges, and aspirations, offering space for reflection on identity and lived experience.

Influenced by High Renaissance and Baroque masters such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio, and Rubens, Muraire presents biblical figures as deeply human, using gesture, colour, and expression to bring emotional immediacy to familiar stories. His work honours the historic role of sacred art as a source of comfort, guidance, and shared belief, while reinterpreting it for a modern audience. Exhibited in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral, these paintings present sacred imagery as a living language.

Commanding the shortest sea crossing between England and the continent, Dover Castle has a long and immensely eventful history. Known as the ‘key to England’, this great fortress has played a crucial role in the defence of the realm for over nine centuries, a span equalled only by the Tower of London and Windsor Castle. Visitors can immerse themselves in the drama of the Dunkirk evacuation of May 1940, in the very tunnels where the operation – codenamed 'Dynamo' – was masterminded. Guided tours through the tunnels use state-of-the-art special effects, dramatic projections and real film footage to bring this dramatic rescue operation to life.

Margate is a uniquely creative, historically important community, shaped by generations of artists and makers. Turner Contemporary continues that legacy—supporting local people, local businesses and the local visitor economy through our programming, marketing and events. Turner Contemporary celebrates Margate’s unique community, culture, and history through an ever-changing programme of events, opportunities, and free exhibitions by international artists. 

Their current exhibition is 'Hulda Guzmán: Please awake – asked Nature kindly'. Guzmán’s paintings open portals into vibrant, dreamlike worlds, where the artist, her family, animals and mythical beings exist in close dialogue with nature. Drawing on folk art, Caribbean vernacular traditions, and art history while spanning a decade of work and featuring new, large-scale works, the exhibition introduces Guzmán’s vibrant vision of landscape as a site of mysticism and ecological consciousness to Margate.

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Talk Talk - Eden.