ENGLAND
This entry has been a long time coming. We have been busy and there is never enough time to sit down at the computer. Barry has gone fishing today, so I am making the most of the time to start writing about what we have been doing in England. We have had some beautiful days, sunny and very warm with the countryside, as ever, looking a picture.
While we were in Cornwall, there was a bad landslip between Lyme Regis and Charmouth, the worst for 26 years, making the national news on three nights we were told later. Over the years we have seen various holes on the golf course disappear into the sea and the South West Coast Path now follows the road between the two towns as there is no safe alternative. We have walked along the beach but this can only be done when the tide is out and now it is closed off. One day when we were in Lyme looking at the landslip a man heard our accents and asked us where we were from. I said I was born in Solihull and he said he is from Solihull, lives there and holidays in Lyme. We left him scratching his head over our accents, not sounding like Brums or locals, and not enlightening him either.
In May we went to Stourhead, a National Trust property in Wiltshire, to see the rhododendrons while they were at their best. Normally we arrive after they are mainly over. They were spectacular and the whole place looked a picture. We also went into the house, a magnificent Palladian mansion containing superb Chippendale furniture and an impressive Regency library. There are some fabulous books in it, all really old and some with the spines missing but they must be real treasures. They had one massive book "Plates of Cook's Voyage" and an even fatter one, "Plates of Cook's Final Voyage". How I would love to see inside those. People studying for a PhD are sometimes given permission to view them but they are not available to the likes of us! There are many temples and follies in the 18th Century gardens that surround a beautiful lake on the 1,072 hectare (2,650 acre) estate where we enjoyed a picnic lunch in the bright sunshine.
On the property, a two mile walk across the fields or a short drive by road, is King Alfred’s Tower, a folly that was built in 1762 to commemorate King Alfred’s victory over the Danes in 879, at the exact spot where it is believed King Alfred raised his standard. It is a solid looking 50 metre high tower, with protruding round corners but once at the tower we discovered it is a triangular tower, not square, with 205 worn spiral stone steps inside around a stone pillar, with only a rope to hold on to. Every time Barry pulled on the rope ahead of me, my fingers were squashed against the stone and I ended up with grazed knuckles. It was quite dark, with an occasional tiny window to give light, but we made it safely to the top and after ducking through a very low doorway we were greeted with 360 degree views across Wiltshire, Dorset and Somerset. Surprisingly it was easier walking down.
The last weekend in May is always the Whitsun Bank Holiday and on the Monday Barry and I walked the long way round, through the fields into Lyme. When we reached the town, there was a duck race about to start so we stayed to watch. Numbered plastic ducks are "sold" for a pound for Charity, about 300 of them, and all dropped into the stream at the same time. We stopped to watch by a small waterfall, about 4 inches high, right across the stream. When the ducks reached there, they all got sucked in at the bottom and stayed there but eventually started working their way out to the sides and on down the stream. The race finished after one of the bridges - a bit of fun and the children were so excited. Near where we ended up is a fish and chip shop so we bought cod and chips (I had the seniors meal that included peas and a cup of tea as well) and ate that on the front. We were just starting to walk up the hill when we saw the Morris Dancers arriving. It was the Exeter group and they were very colourfully dressed in tails (that they removed before starting to dance) and white shirts with blue sashes, black top hats with blue ribbons and coloured ribbons and bells on their legs. They danced for half an hour, with a group of girls performing two dances as well. It is very energetic, reminiscent of Scottish dancing. One of the dances involved sticks which are intermittently hit together and when the men danced with large sticks they hit them really hard and in another they leapfrogged over each other. A small group played accordions and a clarinet. It was great fun and they had the children joining in at the end. None of them wanted to join in but were all made to and then they all loved it.
One night we walked down into Lyme to see the latest Indiana Jones movie - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - typical Indiana Jones stuff. They have modernised the theatre since we were last there but still serve tea in china cups and saucers. It's a shame they did away with the art deco interior, lampshades etc. Not that I'm mad on that sort of stuff but it was really a lovely old theatre, full of character. They have also done away with the paired "love seats" that we used to sit in.
One Sunday we had a lovely day out on the canal. We drove to Bradford-on-Avon to meet our friend Pam who has a flat overlooking the canal. We drove her to Honey Street, past Devizes, stopping for a delicious canalside lunch at The Barge on the way. Pam moors her narrowboat at Honey Street and we took it for a run - nearly two hours along the canal to a winding hole and then back. It was so beautiful, so quiet and still and the reflections were perfect. Barry took the tiller and wouldn't hand it back to Pam! There were lots of ducklings on the water, luxuriant growth all around encroaching on the Cut, and abundant dog roses and yellow irises in flower. Where Pam moors looks straight across at one of the Wiltshire white horses.
Since then we have spent a few days with narrowboating friends who have sold their boat after living on it for ten years. It was good to reminisce and remember old times.
Angela and Malcolm were over here visiting Angela's Mum and when they spent a few days in Lymington we met them half way for lunch. We drive that way a lot, as it is the road we take to and from Southampton, Winchester, London and the airport and we always pass a pub called the Botany Bay Inne. We couldn’t remember exactly where it was but Barry saw an ad for it, giving its exact location so we agreed to meet there - how appropriate! Apparently it was where people stopped on their way to Poole when transporting convicts to meet the ships to Australia. There is another pub nearby called World's End for the same reason. None of us knew how long it would take to get there and we arrived an hour early. Angela and Malcolm also arrived an hour early and were just heading off to nearby Bere Regis for a coffee when they saw us and came back. We had coffee at the pub before lunch. After lunch we went for a walk to the delightful nearby village of Winterbourne Zelston that we normally miss when driving along the main road. There is a duck pond, a Pooh Sticks Bridge over a pretty stream, lots of thatched cottages and a lovely church. We went into the church and then for a walk across the fields.
Earlier this month we went to Jersey on the Condor Fast Cat, from Weymouth. We had a very calm crossing and checked into our hotel/B&B on arrival before driving round the east part of the island, eating out and returning to the hotel at 10 pm. There are many watch towers around the coastline that were built for defence. They have capped openings looking down for firing from and are painted white on the seaward side as navigational aids. Jersey has a very rocky coastline and there are many rocks out to sea, making approaches by vessels difficult. Many ships have foundered around the coastline.
The beaches on the south, east and west coasts offer many miles of sand and the north coast has picturesque bays and coves. There are several castles and many headlands with Army bunkers and fortifications from World War II. France is only 14 miles away and there are good views to France and the other Channel Islands. The roads are mainly very narrow but there is not a lot of traffic. One-way streets abound in the small towns and villages and mostly involve long detours although nowhere is very far from anywhere else. Many buildings are built of the reddish local stone and some buildings have Portland stone and some Bath stone as well, mainly around the edges and the windows.
We visited the Gerald Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (Jersey Zoo) where endangered species are kept on a 31 acre estate. We arrived in time for the gorilla feeding and were told that the enormous silverback came from Melbourne Zoo. We also visited the Glass Church where the door panels, altar, cross, reredos, screens and font are all made of glass. Portland stone and Bath stone are used in the interior construction.
Over the last week we have been visiting various family members and enjoyed a barbecue with Martin and Melanie, meeting baby Rowan for the first time. He is a beautiful baby but tiny. He was born early by emergency caesarean and Mel was unable to feed him for the first few days but he is gaining weight, albeit slower than most babies. Rosemary was the same age when we last saw her but is now 2 years 3 months and talks non-stop, proper sentences not just words. When we arrived she said “G’day Mate” that Martin and Mel had been teaching her for the previous few days.
We had a super meal out with Ann and Dick and Barry is still raving about it! He is not normally impressed with meals out but this was superb. Ann and Dick are about to take their boat to Dartmouth and Catherine and Barry, whom we had dinner with last week, are planning to sail their new boat down there as well.
We have been enjoying the weekly Charmouth market and car boot sales, eaten picnics at Stonebarrow near Golden Cap which is the highest point along the south coast, been on lots of walks, visited Exeter where we discovered the old city walls and Barry caught twelve mackerel!
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