Summer so far and the Olympic Torch is on its way!

Summer has been busy and has seen me travelling all across the South East - over to Brighton, to Hastings, Canterbury, Whitstable, Battle and many more. As well as these tours and my regular Tunbridge Wells tours I have also had some really interesting private tours to keep me busy - including school tours and family history research. It's been very satisfying creating a walk which includes the original home of someone's ancestors and taking people to where their family is buried; especially when some people have travelled from half way around the world to do this. It can be very moving.

As you may have already seen from my website that I'm starting Canterbury Historic Pub Tours and details of the upcoming dates etc can be found under Events/Tours. Walk in the footsteps of Pilgrims, Saints and Kings in beautiful Canterbury. You can always combine your stay with a Historic Pub Tour in the evening plus a day time historic tour around the city with me. Plenty of free time too to enjoy those cafes, the river side and the shopping!

Next week I'm looking forward to a busy week including my first Canterbury Pub Tour on Friday 20th July at 7pm (£10pp. Contact me to book your place). Plus the Olympic Torch starts its tour through Kent in Tunbridge Wells on Tuesday. I shall be there on the historic Pantiles cheering the flame on its way, before offering visitors their own walk around the area at midday. The following weekend is the start of the 30th modern Olympiad in London and in celebration of this and in retrospect of the two previous London games, I will be helping create a Vintage Olympic spirit as part of The Pantiles Vintage Weekend (www.pantilestraders.co.uk).

A Bun on the Run in Sandwich!

There are many local and national traditions that happen throughout the year, plus many fun books written about them. I hope to be able to bring your attention to some of the more unusual ones, especially those in the South East region.

On Wednesday 24th August, try and get yourself down to the Cinque Port of Sandwich - a beautiful town with a large concentration of preserved medieval houses. It is on the 24th August, St Bartholomew's Day, that you can join in the Sandwich Bun Race for free at St Bartholomew's Hospital.

St Bartholomew's Hospital is one of the oldest established hostelries for pilgrims and travellers. The building dates back to 1190 and is located on the Dover road - an important pilgrimage route from London via Canterbury and on to the Continent. The Chapel was built around 1217 and is said it was built to celebrate the defeat of the French.

Every 24th August, a special service begins at 11am which concludes with a run around the church. Children are given buns, and adults are given a hard baked biscuit stamped with the arms of the town on it. The buns and biscuits may represent a dole of bread that may have been given out to the poor, but no one is sure for certain. What you do need to know, though, is that the Bartlemas Bun Run is part of The Sandwich Festival 2011 which this year runs all week from Sunday 21st August to Monday 29th August, with music, festivals, walks, fashion shows, Markets, Duck Races and much more.
Have a look at: www.open-sandwich.co.uk for more details.