smallest

IF YOU told me there was a place that had the streets of Paris but in England, I wouldn’t believe you.

But there is, and after years of living in London, New York and Los Angeles, I decided to move back to the storied cosmopolis that is Canterbury.

Canterbury has just been named the best small city in the UK by The Telegraph, and it isn’t hard to see why.

With a wealth of glorious green spaces, museums, ‘traditional meets trendy’ pubs, inviting restaurants and unique shops, the UNESCO World Heritage Site city in The Garden of England leaves me with a grateful heart.

I first fell in love with its cobbled, meandering streets and willowy riverbank walks as a student at the university here in the 1990s, where I met my husband.

When we finally decided it was time to bring our family home to the UK after two decades living in the US, there was only one place on our list.

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And three years after our return, I still get a buzz walking past the hodgepodge of medieval taverns and churches immortalised in the novels of one of the city’s biggest fans, Charles Dickens.

Here’s my insider guide to get the best out of this glorious city, whether you’re coming for the day or a week.

Canterbury technically invented tourism when it started making the most of the martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket, who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170, encouraging people to travel to the site for miracles and blessings, and stay for the fine ale and feasts.

Today, the UK’s oldest cathedral and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican community, is still a beautiful place to spend a peaceful few hours.

You can admire the breathtaking stained-glass windows, gawp at the tombs of The Black Prince and Henry IV, or explore the wildflower gardens that surround the Gothic cloisters.

And with the first female archbishop in the cathedral’s 1400-year history being enthroned this month, there’s never been a more meaningful time to visit.

Tickets start from £18 per person and include exhibitions, mini talks and activity trails.

Under 18s can go free when accompanied by one paying adult (max two children per adult).

Social media had recently been alive with comparisons between Canterbury and Paris, thanks to both cities’ abundance of pavement cafes and tree-lined streets.

The cities are only being 177 miles apart and my car even picks up French radio stations.

“For me, Canterbury feels like a tiny English version of a Paris arrondissement… a storybook full of historic wonders,” agreed my friend Marie, a Parisian who has called Canterbury home for the last five years.

“I fell in love with its quirky tea rooms, independent boutiques, traditional
pubs and cathedral bells.

“Plus, this place has really friendly locals, who are way more welcoming and laid-back than the people you will find in most French cities!”

For the best of France right here in England, wander The King’s Mile and pop to local gourmands for sweet treats, including Madame Oiseau Chocolatiers for handmade truffles.

Or head into Café Turquoise for delicately fragrant macaroons, and there’s A. T. Patisserie as well, which has inventive eclairs that make your mouth scream hallelujah.

Our shopping definitely compares in originality to the greatest global metropolises.

From the rare gems waiting to be discovered in the infamously wonky and haunted Crooked House Bookshop (where every penny made goes to support a local charity, Catching Lives), to the made-and-glazed-onsite teapots designed by a husband-and-wife team in Canterbury Pottery.

Another spot worth exploring is The Goods Shed – an indoor farmer’s market which boasts farm-fresh soups and stews.

Thanks to Canterbury having the UK’s biggest student-to-resident ratio, the vintage shops are abundant and full of quirky finds.

Check out the Cathedral Quarter’s Superstore, Retro Remix and Karma too.

You’ll leave with a head full of history and a bag full of pre-loved treasures for much less than you’d pay in a bigger city.

Spring is the perfect time to visit, thanks to its plethora of free parks and gardens.

Toddler’s Cove is an action-packed mecca for the under-eight-year-olds, which is just along from Westgate Gardens, with its award-winning flower displays and views of 12th-century towers – the oldest surviving gateway in the country.

Inside the towers is now a museum, escape room and a kid-friendly restaurant called The Pound (don’t miss the spicy chicken
sandwich).

Entrance to the old gaol (jail) museum is free with every meal.

After people-watching on the patio, walk past the controversial new statue of a drowning Ophelia (Shakespeare was inspired to write her character after being transfixed with a similar local scandal).

It is next to The Guildhall – where a young Mozart performed – which houses a great coffee shop.

You can also jump onboard a chauffeured punt for a dreamy historic tour
along the River Stour.

Back on dry land, head to local boy Orlando Bloom’s favourite restaurant, Café des Amies, which serves the best Tex-Mex I’ve ever tasted (and I lived in Austin for seven years).

If you’re up for more action, rent your own paddleboard or kayak from Canoe Wild for a sunset paddle along the river to gaze upon the resident beavers (from £40 per person).

The brand-new Canterbury Tales Experience is a state-of-the-art interactive, immersive journey through the stories of Geoffrey Chaucer – with holograms and actors, sounds and smells of the 13th century.

The experience ends up in a pub too, where you can meet the Father of English Literature himself.

A family ticket for two adults, three kids costs £60.

Other cultural must-dos include the Roman Museum, which gives a family
friendly insight into life in Roman Britain, built around the remains of an original Roman

Another option is Town House, which is complete with stunning mosaics (Adults, £11; children £5.50) and the free Beaney House of Art & Knowledge, which hosts workshops, art shows and exhibitions for all ages throughout the year.

It is also the home of a few of Canterbury’s most beloved fictional characters, including Rupert the Bear and Bagpuss.

For more cities to explore in the UK, here’s the UK’s smallest city with a pretty high street and 26 nearby beaches.

Plus, our expert picks for UK staycation trips to banish post-summer blues – including free hidden gems for kids & £1.50 meals.

‘There! There – I can see it!” The cries of my four-year-old echoed around the ruins of 13th-century Urquhart Castle, causing a group of US tourists to come running over to the corbelled bartizans (overhanging turrets) where we stood. “It’s Nessie, I saw her,” he insisted, pointing at the ripples spinning out from the back of a sightseeing vessel on Loch Ness.

Owning the smallest house in Britain comes with its fair share of history and responsibility, but the owner’s ancestor only bought it for a mere £20

Year in, year out, tourists flock to this seaside village to see what is known as Britain’s tiniest home, and day in, day out, its owner is still in shock at just how much attraction it continues to gain.

Jan Tyley inherited the little red house in Conwyn, Wales, from her mother’s cousin back in 2015, and over 10 years later, she is heading up a small business that continues to boom, all thanks to its unusually small size.

Measuring just 72 inches wide and 122 inches high, it holds the official World Record of being the smallest house within the British Isles – a phenomenon that draws in roughly 50-60,000 visitors each year.

The origins of the place sit way back in her family, when her great-great-grandfather bought it in 1891 as a letting property with a sitting tenant. Jan shared: “He was called Robert Jones, and the sitting tenant was called Robert Jones, which has created a lot of confusion over the years.”

Tenants of the past

Robert, the tenant, was a six-foot-three fisherman who was living there up until 1899, when the local council decided that it was not, in fact, a house fit for human habitation.

“I’m 5’7″, and I have to duck to go in, and I frequently forget to come out again,” Jan joked. “So you can imagine what a sore back he must have had.”

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There was no toilet, but instead a shared toilet with the cottages beside it, and so, they threatened to tear it down.

Disheartened and unsure what to do, the landlord was chatting to his friends at the pub, one of whom was the editor of the North Wales Weekly News, Roger Dawson, who suggested it may be the smallest in the country. This led them on a wild pursuit in which they travelled across the UK measuring numerous houses, after advertising the quest in newspapers.

In turn, the council agreed for it to stay put, but that nobody could actually live in it. “So being the enterprising chap, um, my great-great-grandfather said, ‘Well, I’ll turn it into a tourist attraction,'” Jan explained. In May 1900, it became a tourist attraction, and the family never looked back.

The building remains dressed as it was when it was last lived in in 1900, Jan confirmed. Unfortunately, being open to the public has meant they have seen a few items go missing over the years.

While it’s bursting with humorous stories and tales of those who once lived in this tiny abode, the reasoning for them inhabiting such an uncomfortably small space is a lot darker.

“It’s a real testament to the shortage of property in Conwy and how people wanted to live in a house of their own, because sadly the alternative was a poorhouse,” Jan explained.

“When Robert Jones, the last tenant, had to move out, that’s where he ended up. He was in the poorhouse, and sadly that’s where he died. So that’s why, although it’s tiny, people didn’t have a problem living there.”

During the 18th and 19th centuries in Wales, poorhouses were institutions designed for the less fortunate, with conditions made to be ‘prison-like’ in a bid to deter those in financial need from seeking help. Inhabitants were forced into rigid, segregated and often unsanitary living conditions, and so while the cottage was small, it was somewhere people could call their own.

According to records, there was shockingly a family of six all living within the tiny home – a mum and dad and four children. The little one’s beds were believed to be hammocks, which hooked on to the walls and sat in between the beams.

The house today

While the property remains in Jan’s hands, and with no looming threats from the council anytime soon, it continues to be a tourist attraction.

However, the one shift she has noticed in recent years is a rather unusual request, not from landlords or the council, but from YouTubers hoping to immerse themselves in the 1800s experience and share it online.

“I’ve had lots of YouTubers who say, ‘Oh, can we stay the night?’ and they think they’re the first one to think about it. Except, I probably get three or four of them a year.”

Although the house is closed during the winter, from March it is open seven days a week, from 10am right up until 4pm, and Jan has a team of people helping to keep the whole thing running.

“I have a team of eight lovely ladies who do the shift. So, we have two shifts a day. I take my turn on the door as well, but I live about half an hour’s drive away.”

Originally, Jan was living in Oxford, but after inheriting the property, she moved closer to the North Wales spot to take on its wealth of responsibilities.

But for her, it seems a worthwhile decision. She said: “It never ceases to surprise me how many people come to see it each year and from all over the world, which is amazing.

“I’m still amazed at how many people do come through our doors. We probably could get more if we were bigger, but then that wouldn’t be the point.”

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