175 Shopping in Canterbury

By Maggy Hendry 

Canterbury has long been the shopping centre for the area and has always had an adequate number of chain stores in the High Street, but with the building of Bluewater, the new  shopping centre 40 miles up the road towards London  the city council planning department began  to get worried and over the last few years has developed a new shopping area in the town. The Whitefriars development has shifted the focus of the shopping experience away from Canterbury’s medieval streets into a modern square which has attracted enlarged versions of many of the original chain stores and added many others.

Meanwhile the High Street has gone through many changes, the loss of a number of shops has meant the advent of a number of temporary cut price stores, charity shops and massive coffee bars, which are gradually being taken over by some more individual shops and small coffee bars.

On Wednesdays and Fridays the general  market in the High Street provides fresh fruit and veg, flowers, plants, clothing  and so on, and there are also a couple of French stalls selling bread, patisseries, olives, cheese and perfumed soaps etc. from Provence.

For visitors who prefer to get off the beaten track,  Palace Street  and Northgate (go straight down the road to  the left of the front gate of the Cathedral)  have a number of  independent shops selling jewellery, antiques, designer clothing, and so on, several interesting cafes, restaurants and pubs, and a wealth of interesting architecture.