Visits to any of the city's museums with a green badge guide can also be arranged.Dowtours Guiding Services
We offer your group the services of guides throughout the region covered by
Tourism South East. That is, in the counties of Kent, Surrey, and
East & West Sussex.
In Britain all regionally qualified guides hold blue badges while city guides have green
badges. Canterbury is the only city in the South East Region to use green badge
guides. These badges are awarded by the Institute of Tourist Guiding (formerly by
regional tourist boards) only to candidates
who display a very high standard of professional conduct and in-depth knowledge of the
entire area(s) for which they are registered. Some guides hold several badges,
and a there are a number of guides who are qualified both for the south East Region and
for Canterbury. Some blue and/or green badge holders are also qualified to guide
in Canterbury Cathedral.
Foreign languages qualification is only granted when the guide has demonstrated a high
level of competence in the language concerned. While many agencies take on anybody,
So as to provide you with the highest possible standards of service Dowtours normally only employs
guides who hold the relevant blue or green badge for the area being visited.
The south east of England is one of the most interesting and varied regions
of the country, starting with the North Downs which stretch from Berkshire and
pass south of London through Surrey to the east of Kent. The South Downs stretch
from Hampshire, just outside the region, through most of Sussex. Between these
two ranges of hills lies the Weald of Kent and East Sussex, an area of outstanding natural
beauty with many "chocolate box" locations which personify many people's idea of a typical
English village. To the south east of the Weald is the renowned Romney Marsh, a well-loved
holiday spot with a number of interesting churches, and which is well known for the famous
Romney Marsh breed of sheep.
Our guides can offer your group a multitude of interesting tours throughout the region.
For lunch or at the end of the day a visit to a traditional English pub is highly recommended.
Blue badge guides are normally hired by the day, half day or evening.
Canterbury is probably the most historic city in the south east of
England. Our guides have a detailed knowledge of the city, its history, and of many
of the interesting characters who have lived there over the centuries. Most of them
are also qualified to guide in the cathedral. City tours can only be carried out
on foot, and a typical tour will take 1½ hours, though it can be varied in length to suit
your group's wishes. The tour will usually include a visit to the Cathedral precincts,
but unless booked in advance, it does not include the inside of the Cathedral.
Visits to any of the city's museums with a green badge guide can also be arranged.
During the summer months regular 1½ hour scheduled tours leave the Visitors' Information Centre, and individual visitors are advised to use this facility.
Green badge guides are normally paid for by a fixed amount per person, depending on the length of the tour, with a minimum charge.
Please note: we do not normally arrange tours of the Cathedral except
as part of a combined city and cathedral tour.
Coach tours of the city or tours in other motor vehicles are not possible (no motor vehicles permitted).
If you have a special interest tour we can also provide experts to guide and/or assist you. For this reason we select people for their in-depth knowledge of the subject, and for these tours we may not always use blue or green badge holders.
Click on the buttons for:-
| Start page |  |
|
| Main page | |
|
| Our services | |
|
| Some lesser known facts about Canterbury | |