Canterbury's Gardens

Many of Canterbury's gardens have had a spruce-up as part of the council's project Connected Canterbury: Unlocking the Tales of England, paid for by the UK government.

From well-known hot spots such as the Dane John gardens, with its new café building, steps to the historic mound, improved pathways, lighting, and new flower beds, to some hidden gems such as Solly's Orchard, with its new viewing area for Cathedral views, additional trees and flowers, refurbished benches, resurfaced pathways, and more.

New for 2026 - coming soon!

Visit Canterbury's story gardens and unlock Canterbury's history with famous storytellers.

Canterbury is known worldwide for its cathedral and as the destination of Chaucer’s pilgrims from The Canterbury Tales.

The city is the birthplace of dramatist Christopher Marlowe and Aphra Behn, the first professional female author.

Dickens was a frequent visitor, Virginia Woolf praised the city’s beauty, TS Eliot wrote Murder in the Cathedral here, and Joseph Conrad lived nearby and is buried in the city.

And now, coming soon in 2026, you can discover more authors with links to the city by visiting our nine 'story gardens.'

These gardens unlock Canterbury's role in England's history by telling the stories through new interpretation and design.

View the story gardens map here.

This event listing is part of Canterbury Unlocked, a city-wide celebration.