On the 18th of July, we landed at Manchester airport after a grueling flight on Thomas Cook Airlines (note to self: never again! and don't be fooled when you actually book with Air Transat!) We picked up our rental car with no problems and were soon on the motorway looking for signs for the M6 to the South. We saw the sign, all 6 inches of it, but sadly just a little too late to make the turn! there was construction at the interchange and we missed it. We were travelling with the Hertz map and soon learned how completely inadequate it was. Eventually, I made the decision to get off that particular motorway as I had been on it before and as we weren't heading to Holyhead to go to Ireland, it seemed a good idea to head off south near Chester, miles out of our way! We eventually joined the motorway south and wondered just how far we would get running on adrenalin. We did stop at a service area and had a bite to eat and bought a proper road atlas where 1" = 2.5 miles. Much better, insurance that we wouldn't get lost again! hmmmmm
We made it to Stroud in Gloucestershire, very close to where Martin's sister Margaret and her husband Tom live. We found our hotel with not too much difficulty and then phoned to make arrangements to meet for lunch the next day.
They took us to a local pub for lunch set in the very pretty Cotswolds. It was a lovely day and we were able to enjoy it by sitting outside in the pub yard.
After lunch we visited All Saints Church in Selsley, Gloucestershire where lettering and stained glass were heavily featured.
This church was the first stained glass commission for William Morris and Co. Their work is / was magnificent!! As photographing them with a small digital camera left a lot to be desired......there is a small sampling on their website.
We spent a very nice afternoon with Marg and Tom, a great start to our whirlwind tour of England.
Our next stop was Bridgwater, Somerset which was close for us to be able to visit Glastonbury. I had been before when the kids were young but Martin had not been. We had a shopping list from Erin to try and find a matching pendant for her Chalice Well ring and to collect a small bottle of water from the well for her.
The Chalice Well, Glastonbury
We saw this random lettering on a wall on our way back to the car from the Chalice Well Gardens. I'd like that on a stone wall outside our house!
Did I mention whirlwind tour? After leaving Glastonbury, we were off to the Cornish coast and Newquay. It rained the whole way across the peninsula which made driving a challenge. We stayed in Fraddon for the night and the next morning were up early to find Ponsonooth, near Truro, to find the dairy where Yarg cheese is made. Found! and purchased a 1 kg. Yarg which would become a major problem to keep cold for the rest of the trip......hotels in the UK do not have fridges in the rooms! If you ever see Yarg to try, do so! the stinging nettles wrapped around the cheese makes an interesting texture and flavour. A favourite in our family.
And then it was on to Tintagel. This time to try and find some "button stones" on Tintagel Bay beach.
And that would be Martin's job! as the tide was in...not great timing on our part. We didn't even think of it.
Mission accomplished though but not before the waves managed to catch Martin a time or two.
Yes, it was chilly enough to need my hoodie and shoes and socks!
Tintagel is King Arthur country.
We left Tintagel after a very tasty Cornish vegetarian Pasty which I shared with some crows and then were were off to Somerset again, this time to Taunton and a quick visit with Naomi and Brad. They took us to their local pub for dinner in Waterrow. All too soon it was over and we were back at our hotel in Taunton-Ruishton and then the next morning moved over to Yeovil, Somerset. We made a return visit to Glastonbury, partly because we had not managed to find just the right pendant for Erin but also, part of one day is just not enough time for Glastonbury. It deserved far more! However, when as it was raining, a bit of shopping was all we managed before heading back to Yeovil for the night.
The next day which I think by now was Friday, we were heading for Birmingham and the family gathering on the weekend. We decided to go through the Cheddar Gorge on our way north and sample some 'real' Cheddar. yum! We bought some to add to the dinner fare that Dave and Mary were preparing to lay on for us all.
Remember the little guy I made the baby book for in a post awhile ago? He was now almost 2 months old! Isn't he a doll?
Samuel Jacob Allen
just about 2 months old
The family minus Alex who was taking the picture for us. She is Thomas' fiance. If I can figure out how to add a photo in this spot, I will load one up of the younger generation of Allens.....our two missing though as Devon had just returned home from a month in the Yukon and Erin was puppy and house sitting at home in Langley.
Yay! it worked.
Left to right.....Daniel, Furtuna, Jake and Sam, Thomas and Alex
Sam and I having a little quiet time.
All too soon, the weekend was over and we were on the road again. This time to Norwich in the eastern part of England. We stayed in Great Yarmouth. We had dinner very near this beach in a pub which actually offered **free wifi**!!!!!!!!!!!! Up to now I had been paying for it at each hotel we stayed at. Five British pounds an hour is a little steep!
I had noticed on the road atlas that there was a "saxon cathedral" sort of on the way to our next stop which was Boston. After several missed roads and a stop at a pub for directions, we managed to drive right by this sign.....
only to be directed back by a farmer who promptly pulled his tractor and hay rack out into the lane and parked, giving me barely enough room to squeeze our little car past!
It was worth the effort to find and must have been an impressive place in its day.
Looking through an opening, what once must have been a window.
And then on to Boston!
I really like old doors and England is certainly the place to find interesting ones.
We found our hotel and then after talking to the girl on the desk, decided that we really should go and visit St. Botolph's Church or as it is fondly referred to "The Stump".
I tried to go up to a viewing level - up a very narrow spiral staircase and about 240+ steps. When it started to narrow about 2/3 of the way up, that was enough for me and down I headed, hoping that no one would be let up before I could get to the bottom of the stairs. I made it but the door was locked at the bottom! and I had to wait for the young fellow from the gift shop to come and let more people up....and tell me that the staircase was NOT to be used to come down..... obviously didn't understand the concept of being claustrophobic!
Once back on the ground, I wandered around waiting for Martin who had no trouble climbing to the top of the steps! I noticed that the church had a library. Hmmmm, I wondered if they had any illuminated manuscripts. My questions set wheels in motion and before we knew it, we had an appointment to return after lunch for a visit to the library and YES! they had one illuminated manuscript. To while away a bit of the time, we sat and listened to a noon hour concert. The music director was playing some French romantic music. It isn't often one gets to hear those magnificent pipe organs - unless of course, you attend a service... I was thrilled to be able to hear the organ in St. Botolph's Church.
In order to visit the library, one must go up yet another spiral staircase... luckily for me, there are only about 24 steps up this time!
Our guide was very generous, hopefully because he recognized a couple of book lovers! We were able to look at any of the books we wanted. First on my list, of course was the hand written book.
It was decided after this card was written that the manuscript was written at the priory in Pontefract, not Canterbury as previous thought.
I had the opportunity to show Sheila Waters' my photos of the manuscript when we were in Red Deer at ABC2010. She agreed that the scribe was probably not the best in the scriptorium but said the illuminator did a nice job!
I was told by our guide that their information was that the work was done by at least two scribes, although I did not have the time to go through page by page to see where the change occurred.
This is one of several playful drawings in the manuscript.
We were also able to look at several of the early printed books in the collection.
The Workes of Geoffrey Chaucer was printed in 1561.
The History of Ethiopia in 1684 and the The Booke of Common Prayer was printed in 1549. Absolutely amazing to be able to hold these books and look at them, feel the pages, smell the oldness..... if you like books, you understand!
It was an incredibly wonderful way to spend an afternoon! I love when the planets align and you just happen to be at the right place at the right time!
On the move again. I love when we arrive somewhere to find that it is market day! I think this one was in Boston.
A trip to Lincolnshire would not be complete without a drive through Beverley. Or so we thought that was all we were going to do. But then we noticed Beverley Minster. I wondered if there was a library there?!
No library but some wonderful stone carvings on the floor as we walked through taking photos (paid for the privilege).
I always find it sad to see how worn the stone carvings are on church floors. I guess there is no real way to preserve them but it is a shame that they eventually wear away with time.
This next photo is of some amazing tile work on the floor in the choir area.
In talking to the volunteers at the church, we found that they offer tours up under the roof of the building. Martin was definitely up for it......but yes, another one of those spiral staircases. I found that if I sent the others up first and went up on my own, I was ok. On the way down, I went first!
Beverley Minster has, if not the last working 'tread mill crane' in the UK, certainly one of the last. It is an amazing feat of engineering - a huge wheel, not quite the size of say a water wheel in a mill, that is attached to a winch with a very thick rope which is attached to a large circle of stone. The guide, who we called, Verger the Younger (his father is the verger and he was filling in for the summer to earn some money to go to Uni), gave us a demonstration of the wheel. It resembles a hamster wheel but for humans. By walking one way or the other on the wheel, it raises and lowers the massive piece of stone (about 6-8 ft. in diameter). It can be lowered all the way to the floor in the church and then loaded up with something heavy such as stone or timbers to build with and then raised up to the upper level under the roof. Sadly my video of it was taken on a side view and doesn't make it very easy to watch.
Remember that tile work on the floor? If you click to enlarge the photo, you should be able to see it in this photo from up under the roof. The way it was explained to us was that everything in the church was built so that it looked magnificent from above as it was built to be 'looked upon from on high'.
Did you know that churches are traditionally built lying east-west? The south side, usually the warmest side was for the poor or the pilgrims and the north side, the coldest side was reserved for the devil!
Having spent so much time in Beverley, we were late getting to York, where we had hoped to spend a full day or more. We did have a good part of the next day to wander through the maze of streets and alleyways in York but were astounded that they charge to enter York Minster! it didn't seem very Christian of them!!
After spending some time in York, we have to agree with the fellows in Beverley Minster, it was much nicer in Beverley, no huge crowds, no Disney-like atmosphere!
After York, we drove through the Peak District in the rain and fog back to the Premier Inn at Manchester Airport. Our two weeks were over!
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