12 Sept 2014

Trying to cut back on the itinerary, we decided to go the Blenheim Palace then back to Chipping Campden for an hour – early stop. Then we talked to Veronica, our hostess, and she suggested we go “cross country” from Blenheim to the “Slaughters”  (Upper and Lower) and maybe Broadway. Definitely avoid Burdon in the Water. (Tour buses can’t fit into the Slaughters. )

So we set off for Blenheim. The place is huge. Reminded me of Versailles. Lots of portraits and state rooms are what is open to the public.

The grounds are also very large. We walked down to the rose garden, but that was about it. There were horse trials going on on the grounds and we were lucky that the traffic was not bad. Another location with a café – in fact about 6 of them. I was very happy with my arugula, pear, local blue cheese, and walnuts salad.

We also heard and interesting short lecture by the organist. I had not idea how a pipe organ works, but he did a demonstration of the effects of the various stops. And I now know where the expression, “pull out all the stops” came from.

Then off to Lower Slaughter. We were able to take main road up until the last mile or so. Lower Slaughter is a charming village with a shallow river and an old mill. There’s a café and a gift shop with ice cream!  Double chocolate. Yum.

The old mill at Lower Slaughter

We told the nav system to take us back to Chipping Campden. She wanted us to turn around – not happening on that road, so we chose an alternate – off we go on the narrow back roads again.

View from one of the no-name roads in the Cotwolds

Finally back on A44 headed for Campden where we intend to wander around and maybe eat dinner. We came into town the same way we went yesterday when we had to circle back Left turn, right turn, right turn, left turn. Somehow we end up going the wrong way on a one-way street. Aiieee!  Finally got straightened out and parked. There is a very nice craft gallery in an old silk mill. Glass, pottery, silk scarves, stone sculpture, and some very good watercolors.

All the pubs we wanted to eat at were booked, so we called the Ebrington local and booked a table for 6:45. We both had the cod and finished off with a very good port. Tomorrow we are back to Wales. North Wales, that is. Conwy, which is a walled city. We decided to pass on Warwick Castle after reading that it has been turned into a sort of theme park. But we’ll probably stop at Iron Bridge and check out some of the museums to break up the drive.

11 Sept 2014

Thursday, 11 Sept 2014

Change of plans. The past two days have been long, especially with Michael doing all the driving (He does not want to navigate). We had planned to go the Wales and make a couple of stops. One at on outdoor museum and Tintern Abbey. We decided we had seen enough ruined abbeys and we wanted a shorter day. So instead of going to Cardiff, we went to Caerphilly to see the castle. Yes, it’s in ruins, but it is quite extensive and you can wander around it – both inside and out. You can climb spiral staircases in the tower, walk on the battlements, see the eating implements that would have been used when the castle was built in 1271. A lot of it was built in just 3 years in response to political and military threats.

As you can see, the castle is surrounded by water. The Earl figured out that water defenses were the way to go after the siege of Kenilworth failed.

Everyone feeds the birds that hang out in the lakes. There are a pair of swans and the cygnets have not lost their cygnet plumage in favor of the adult white.

So we did the castle, had a nice lunch in Caerphilly and set off for Chipping Camden and Ebington, the location of our next stay. We spent most of the day on 6-lane highways, which helped the driving a lot. But the directions to the farm on their web site were different, depending on whether you were coming from London, or the southwest (us).  We stumbled around Chipping Campden a little, then decided to follow the Tom Tom to Ebington and that worked.

We’re up under the eaves at the top of the house, which dates to the 14^th century! homefarm

Very nice dinner at the local pub, the Ebington Arms, which is within walking distance. I should have taken a picture of my sea bass with pearly barley, king oyster mushroom and tiny clams. Michael has the fish and chips. Even better than Killarney. Local beers, too. 

Wednesday 10 September

Wednesday, 10 September

We set of at 10 for Avebury. For some reason the Tom Tom app on theiPad sent us on a bunch of back roads – 4 digit numbers. No center line and about 1.5 cars wide. Very nerve-wracking for the driver – Michael.  It may be the fastest route for a British driver. Not so sure about us.

Avebury is the home of another stone circle (two) and henge. No where near as crowded as Stonehenge. You can walk among the stones, which are in a natural state rather than shaped. The circle is huge, compared with Stonhenge and the henge (“moat”) is much deeper. You can walk on top of the barrow most of the way around. The town of Avebury is partly within the circle.

At one point the good Christians of Avebury were concerned about the pagan stones in their midst and knocked them down and buried them. Most have been dug up and reset. There are concrete markers where the stones are missing. As you can see, these stones are shorter than the sarcens at Stonehenge and do not have lintels. They are set about 30’ apart.

Stone circle at Avebury

Henge at Avebury

Second stone circle at Avebury

After lunch at the Red Lion (we need to eat at a Swan and a Lamb somewhere on this trip), we made our way to Glastonbury, home of the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey. The Abbey was the victim of Henry VIII’s vendetta against the Catholic Church. Wells Cathedral, 6 miles down the road, was built at the same time and still stands. But the Wells Cathedral was not owned by the Church.

Glastonbury is an interesting town. Like Yellow springs on steroids and then some. Lots of small shops selling everything from crystals to ice cream. The Abbey was interesting. They are still doing restoration work. Based on the archaeology, they have determined that this was the earliest Christian church in England. Parts of the structure date to 580. There is also the legend that King Arthur and Guinevere are buried here. Three early English kings are definitely buried here. This picture is of the Lady Chapel at the west end. The whole church was huge.

Lady Chapel Glastonbury Abbey

Glastonbury Abbey 

Having chatted with a couple of the docents, we headed off to Wells and another cathedral. Wells is where the bishop went from Bath, which is why Wells has a cathedral and Bath has an abbey. No bishop – it’s not a cathedral.

The Wells Cathedral is huge. Unfortunately, the eastern end is no longer open to the public. But you can still see the scissor vaulting at the transept – very unusual.

Wells Cathedral facing east - note the "scissors" supports 

Scissors Supports

Wells Cathedral West Face

At the end of a long day, we headed back to Bath – on wider roads than this morning. Tomorrow we are off to the Cotswolds (Chipping Campden) by way of south Wales. I did get to see some sheep today. English roads have no shoulders and the laybys are not in the most scenic places. You need some scenic overlooks, people.

England 2014

Sept 2014 Trip to England

Monday 8 Sept 2014

Plane landed early. We managed to get through customs and immigration quickly and pick up our luggage. Interesting hand drier UI in the washroom. There is one at each sink. Stick your hands under the mirror. There is an icon, but it was fun to watch people try to figure it out. No phone so no picture.

We were planning to take the Rail Coach to Reading and train from there to Bath. Elisa gave us great directions from Terminal 5, but we came into 3. No worries, we were directed to the central bus station where we were just in time to catch the next bus to Reading. Free WiFi on the “coach” – Whoo hoo!. Got to Reading in time to catch the 9:59 train to Bath with 10 minutes to spare. No WiFi on the train, tho’.

We got to Bath just after 11. We found a nice little café across from the station to have a late breakfast – eggs and English muffins. Also got directions to the Apple store (really?? In Bath?) to find out where to get SIM cards – just around the corner. 15L for 2 GB data, 200 min and 2000 texts for a month. Not bad. Don’t lose the US SIM – taped to the folder.

Cab to the B&B. The room is very nice. Light and airy, and we can open the windows. Michael took a snooze while I fixed a knitting mistake. We’re off to see the Royal Crescent and the Roman Baths. And the Abby.

It’s been a while since we’ve traveled somewhere where there are a lot of tourists. Tour buses everywhere. The royal Crescent is at the top of Victoria Park. Very hard to get a picture with out doing a panorama.

We walked down hill towards the Roman Baths and the Abby. Michael was feeling the effects of a lack of sleep + jet lag, but hung in there. Like the Crescent, the Circus is a street with houses built in a crescent. There are 3 of them, creating a circle, with a park in the middle

The Circus

In the late 1700s and early 1800s Bath was a spa. People came to drink the waters for their health. I’m sure no one knew there were Roman baths buried under the Pump Room. If you are a fan of Jane Austen, you know she lived in Bath for several years. If you are a fan of Georgette Heyer, you know about the Assembly Rooms and the Pump Room. They are still here and you can visit them.

Bath Chimneys.

I had no idea the Roman baths were so extensive. I’m thinking military outpost, but no, the entire complex is much larger  than I expected. Not surprisingly, the baths are way below the current ground level, and excavations are still underway. Part of the complex lies under the Abby.

The Roman Baths – the Main Baths

The Bath Abby is next to the baths. It used to be a Cathedral, but the Bishop moved the Wells. Without a bishop, the church cannot be a cathedral. The vaulting is very unusual. Unlike the Gothic vaulting, this is fluted. I have never seen anything quite like it.

Fluted vaults at Bath Abby.

Michael is dragging so we found the information center and a brochure on restuarants. There is a Moroccan place a couple of blocks away.  The food is very good and we grab a cab back to the B&B. We are asleep by 8 PM.

Tuesday 9 September

Stonehenge is on the itinerary for today, but first we have to pick up the car. We have not driven on the left since 1995 when we went to New Zealand. And that was mainly back roads. This should be interesting. The car is new – a Renault “Captur”. Bright blue. At least we can find it in a parking lot. It’s a diesel, which is good. Diesel prices are cheaper.

We set off for Salisbury and the cathedral. The plan is is to have lunch there and get to Stonehenge by 2:30 – 3:00. The roads are narrow and we’re driving a lot slower than the speed limit. But we get to Salibury by noon,find a parking lot, and do the short walk to the cathedral. The spire is the tallest one in Britain. It was added after the cathedral was built. The weight has caused the columns to bend and the spire is now leaning out of plumb.

The guides are super – clearly they love what they do. We could have spent more time listening to all they had to share, but we had the 2:30 time at Stonehenge. The cathedral is huge. There are 2 transepts. Not all built at the same time. The stained glass was removed at one point as they tried to get more light into the cathedral. They were able to salvage some of it and create new windows at the west and.

Salisbury Cathedral.

Salisbury Cathedral towards the altar.

As you can see, the vaulting is quite different from Bath Abby.

Vaulted ceiling at Salisbury.

They have a very nice restaurant (refectory) at the Cathedral. Here the view through the glass ceiling.

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View from the refectory.

Off to Stonehenge. The British are not that impressed with the place. They miss being able to walk among the stone, but with 1M visitors a year, that’s impossible. The new visitor’s center is great and the new paths should get you closer than the current temporary ones. It’s still a cool place. Warm, sunny afternoon. Very un-English.

We walked the whole circuit and took lots of pictures. It’s hard to choose just one. Every angle is different.

One thing they do at the visitor center is show a 360 deg video from inside the circle, so you get some sense of what it’s like.

Off to Avebury and Wells today.