Winchester to Home
14th November, 1992
15th November, 1992
16th November, 1992
17th November, 1992
18th November, 1992
Saturday 14th November, 1992
e set off for Winchester in cold drizzle and broke our journey at Stonehenge. I think it must always be cold here, the wind has nothing to stop it. It is still impressive though.
rriving in Winchester we were glad of the map they had sent because it seems to have changed a fair bit, a lot of the centre is now pedestrianised. It is so badly lit that it looks genuinely medieval. Stratton House seems to have gone a bit downhill, but the black and white cat is still there and paid us a visit.
Sunday, 15th November, 1992
e went to Portsmouth to see the "Historical Ships", the Victory, the Mary Rose, and the Warrior. The Victory is, of course, Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar, beautifully refurbished but not remodelled, we trod the very planks that Nelson and his crew did. It was marvellous, just like an Alexander Kent novel, so much was familiar and it brought it all to life. The Admiral's quarters were enormous but the crew had 17 inches each to sling their hammocks. Does not seem very fair. The good old days of the British Navy?
Nelson's Flagship, HMS Victory, Portsmouth
he Mary Rose belonged to Henry VIII and it foundered mysteriously with all hands while fighting to repel a French invasion in 1545. I say "mysteriously" because no-one really knows why but I think that 700 men, some of whom had never seen a ship before, got in the way and seriously overcrowded the ship and when it heeled too far in executing a turn water poured in the lower gundecks and down she went, in full view of the king watching on shore. There is an incredible display of the bit they raised (kept at 4 deg. and in constant water sprays to help preserve it) and some of the thousands of artifacts they recovered from the site, in very good condition because of being covered in silt.
e didn't have time for the Warrior, England's first (and last) ironclad vessel, or for the Royal Navy Museum, as it was 4 o'clock and they were closing. Apart from great difficulty navigating to Portsmouth and inside the city and then back the other way afterwards, to say nothing of trying to find our guest house again in Winchester, it was a good day.
Monday, 16th November, 1992
ain again this morning. We couldn't decide what to do so headed for Lymington through the New Forest. We got mixed up in a horrendous traffic jam from road works, then found the roads we wanted no longer existed or had been turned into motorways or something. Not a pleasant trip. While at Lymington we phoned Qantas and confirmed our bookings then phoned home to warn the boys we were coming. (To give them time to clean up). We bought some sandwiches and cake and went off to the New Forest to find a picnic spot. In spite of the wind and rain we found a pleasant place and ate our lunch.
Old Sarum from English Heritage Brochure
t started to clear up as we headed back and we went through Salisbury, getting a glimpse of the Cathedral with its famous spire half wrapped in scaffolding. We went through some narrow and picturesque medieval streets then found ourselves on the road to Amesbury and Old Sarum, which we found to be open, to our surprise, our book says it's closed on Mondays. However in we went. Old Sarum is the site of the first settlement of Salisbury. It was based on an iron age hill fort, used by the Romans and Saxons and captured by the Normans. They built a Cathedral, castle and Bishop's residence there in the 11th and 12th C. For some reason (probably the horrendous climate - it is always blowing a freezing gale, according to the custodian) they abandoned the site in the 13th C. and rebuilt on the present site of Salisbury. It's quite a fascinating place, especially as you walk along the ruined walls of the inner keep and look down on the cruciform of the Cathedral remains. It is much more impressive from above. But that was very interesting.
hen we arrived home, Chloe the cat made Mac's day by accompanying us upstairs and settling on our bed for a while. She is the same black and white cat that did the same thing three years ago!
Tuesday, 17th November, 1992
Postcard Silbury Hill, Wiltshire
fine clear day today but freezing! We had our usual hassle trying to exit Winchester but eventually made it. We headed for Avebury and its prehistoric stone circles. They are both bigger and older than Stonehenge, completely encircling the village of Avebury with three circles of enormous stones plus an avenue of standing stones leading to West Kennet Long Barrow which is a Neolithic burial site, very long and with detailed chambered cells at the end. We tried to get there as well but the mud defeated us. We really needed thigh high wellies. We did see Silbury Hill which is also close and is simply amazing. It is a man made hill, built by Neolithic man for a purpose nobody knows. There are apparently three mounds in one, each being built over the previous one and stuffed with blocks of chalk which makes up the ground hereabouts. We also saw several ordinary barrows, like little green humps. It was quite fascinating, very muddy and freezing cold.
e came home via Chawton, where Jane Austen's house is. Unfortunately, it only opens Wednesday - Sunday in winter. We may try to get back there tomorrow.
Wednesday, 18th November, 1992
Postcard of Jane Austen's House, Chawton, Hampshire
ur last day in Winchester (and in Britain), raining again and much warmer therefore. We finished our business at the bank and went on out to Chawton to Jane Austen's house. This was a high treat! The rooms had artifacts connected with the Austen family and particularly lots of Jane's letters. She was a very entertaining correspondent. There was a collection of illustrations from the 1894 editions of "Pride and Prejudice" and "Emma" which were very funny. A well researched article for a medical journal was also featured which was highly interesting. A doctor was speculating on the nature of Jane's last illness. There was no contemporary evidence except for Jane's letters in which she had given a number of well observed clues as to her own condition. According to this doctor it showed that she died of Addison's disease, a condition which had not been discovered in Jane's time. Fascinating.
fter lunch we returned to Winchester and paid a last visit to Jane's grave in the Cathedral. We have become quite expert in Cathedrals and correctly identified the medieval encaustic tiles etc.
THEN we went to the Great Hall which is all that's left of Winchester Castle, destroyed by Cromwell in the Civil War.
Postcard of King Arthur's "Round Table"
The Great Hall houses what purports to be King Arthur's Round Table. It is medieval, I think, certainly far later than Arthur, but it hangs on the wall, divided into the names of the knights. A curiosity, who knows where it comes from?
omorrow, up before the lark and sixty miles to Heathrow.
UP, UP AND AWAY!!!!
Arrival at Mascot, Sydney Australia
Geoff met us at Mascot
