TOM MORGAN takes the Canterbury trail to pay homage to St Thomas and discovers some heavenly dining

"NOW, can  you tell me on which day of the week Thomas Becket was murdered?" As our starter for 10, the question posed by John, our Canterbury Cathedral tour guide, was a rotter.

"Erm, Thursday?" I guessed. Like the bloody act committed against St Thomas 800 years ago, it was a stab in the dark. "No, Tuesday!

Around teatime on December 29 1170, and at this very spot"enthused John, who wears his yellow guide sash with pride.

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Becket's rapid canonisation established Canterbury as one of the world's major centres of Christian pilgrimage. Tens of thousands still flock every year to the city, and the Unesco World Heritage site cathedral is without doubt the jewel in its crown.

Unlike the characters in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, my wife and I arrived by rail rather than on horseback. As we entered the cathedral's soaring nave, we were swept along by an army of jingling Morris Men holding their annual Hop Hoodening service to celebrate the hop harvest for which this part of Kent is famed. You felt Chaucer would have approved of the joining of the pious and rowdy in this celebration of booze.

The cathedral is far from the only thing worth making a pilgrimage to Canterbury for. Ensconced in "the Garden of England", the city is a true foody's playground.

One venue contributing to this is the four-star ABode Hotel in the bustling High Street. It is part of a chain of boutique hotels owned by two-Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines. So we were already salivating as we checked into our luxurious, Enviable-class room (they go up to Fabulous), with free-standing bath and gigantic bed.

That night in the sleek bar we enjoyed award-winning sparkling English wine Chapel Down Brut NV, from the vineyards of Tenterden, just 26 miles from the city.

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The restaurant itself was comfortable and contemporary, with the well-drilled staff bustling between the brown leather banquettes. The menu showed its dedication to sourcing local food - a salad of Hythe crab to start had the appropriate fresh zing while a main of perfectly cooked Romney Marsh lamb was meltingly delicious.

The hottest night life is the funky Farmhouse, a lovably scruffy, open-all-hours restaurant/bar/ nightclub. The drinks list includes a Bakewell tart cocktail made from vodka, amaretto and cranberry.

What a shame we'd had pudding.

The next day we did a spot of shopping among the quirky boutiques and trendy Bohemia Market of the King's Mile, a snaking city centre street longer than its name suggests. The afternoon we devoted to The Canterbury Tales Visitor Attraction - an animatronic wander through the sights and sounds of Chaucer's tales. It's a faithful recreation of murky medieval days, a (literally) warts and all depiction. Our final stop was the Weaver's House opposite our hotel, a timbered Tudor building now filled with tea houses and restaurants.

It boasts a ducking stool once used for plunging scolds and witches into the River Stour.
But I reckon John the guide might also use it now and again for those who get too many wrong answers on his brain-teasing tours.

THE KNOWLEDGE:

ABode Hotel (01227 766266/www.abodehotels.co.uk) offers doubles from £99 per night (two sharing), B&B.

Southeastern Trains (0845 000 2222/ www.southeasternrailway.co.uk) offers return fares from London Charing Cross to Canterbury West from £23.50.

Canterbury tourism: 01227 378100/www.canterbury.co.uk