Bath and Environs
27th August, 2000
28th August, 2000
29th August, 2000
30th August, 2000
31st August, 2000
1st September, 2000
Sunday 27th August, 2000
ain today, for the first time. A whole week fine and warm is to be treasured, but it would be nice to have longer. We decided to make it a rest day, to wash our clothes and plan the week.
eil phoned from London to say he had arrived safely, his hostel was a dump, but the people were nice, he was on his way to the Tower of London - hope he makes it this time.
e are also going to get some shopping done. Did three loads of washing, hung some and dried two small loads. The washing machine is a dryer as well. I wouldn't mind having one like that. It was a good rest day.
Monday, 28th August, 2000
Cherhill White Horse, near Avebury
oday was a fascinating blend of prehistory, with Dick Francis overtones.
e started on the way to Avebury, and on the way passed the Cherhill White Horse, carved into the hillside in 17 something, for some unknown reason.
Avebury Stone Circles
hen we reached Avebury, after traversing some really pretty villages, typically English, thatched and mullioned, we parked and had a good walk round the stones that remain in the circle round the village.
Geoff at Avebury
eoff was communing with them as we went and it was much drier than it had been when we were last here in 1992. The mud was very high last time and we couldn't make it to the West Kennett Long Barrow.
Rosemary and Mac at Silbury Hill
his time, however, we gazed on Silbury Hill, 4000 years old and still nobody knows what it was for, and then went on to the West Kennett Long Barrow. On the way we saw two or three crop circles in stubble fields near the barrow. I couldn't believe it. I didn't really think we would see any.
West Kennett Long Barrow Entrance, near Avebury
he Long Barrow was very intriguing, a burial site where they have found 40 or 50 skeletons. Several separate chambers inside and thousands of years old. After this Geoff went to see what remained of the Sanctuary, a circle which predates Avebury itself and we had lunch where the Ridgeway path comes out. The Ridgeway traverses lots of counties and has lots of prehistoric sites. In "To the Hilt" by Dick Francis, his hero rides a horse along the Ridgeway to hide it from the baddies.
White "Horse" on White Horse Hill, Uffington
fter lunch we set off through mazes of little towns and villages to find the Uffington White "Horse", which we think looks more like a cat. On the way we passed through Marlborough, where Winston Churchill went to school, Hungerford, where the hero of Dick Francis' "Straight" lived and Lambourn, race horse country, home of studs, training stables and jockeys, many of whom are heroes of Dick Francis books.
Crop Circles from White Horse Hill, Uffington
e got to Uffington and there were lots of people on White Horse Hill, flying kites of all shapes and sizes from the top. (It is Bank Holiday). We felt that the only way to really see the White Horse would be from the air. But we saw most of it (it is huge) and while we were there we saw a fantastic crop circle in a standing crop, not just stubble. It was so strange, no sign of a foot trail or anything - very weird.
e drove towards home, stopping for shopping and afternoon tea in Hungerford, in a little cafe near the bank of the Kennett and Avon Canal. There were lots of narrowboats and ducks and swans, hope the weather holds for us. It has been great today. We got lost on the way home and went round in circles for a bit, but got home eventually.
Tuesday, 29th August, 2000
oday we moved from prehistory to medieval. We explored Wells and Glastonbury. First to Wells. We parked, had some morning tea and went to look at the Bishop's Palace. It was out of season and closed to the public last time we were here so we went in today.
Anyone For Croquet? Bishop's Palace, Wells
here was a couple in whites playing a heavy duty game of croquet on the manicured lawn and we watched for a while, then we walked around the lovely grounds to the Wells (natural springs) which give the town its name.
They also fill the moat of the Bishop's Palace, which is like a castle, with battlements and arrow slits (the Bishop's life must have been more exciting in the middle ages) and also run down the gutters of the city and clean them.
Cathedral from the Bishop's Palace Grounds, Wells
Bishop's Palace, Wells
here were several very interesting sculptures in the garden and lovely peaceful strolls by the water. We had a glimpse of the Cathedral (which was on television the other night) and the Vicar's Close and then left for Glastonbury.
Ruins of the Abbey, Glastonbury
ere we picked up some drinks and had a picnic in the grounds of Glastonbury Abbey. This is a ruin, of course, which Mac and I have seen before, but its grounds were lovely and the new museum fantastic.
hey also had men dressed in Benedictine habits (and I don't know whether they were indeed monks or just costumed players) especially the one in the Abbot's kitchen who had all kinds of ingredients to smell. Interactive history, he called it and it did seem to help bring the place to life.
Ruins of the Abbey, Glastonbury
e couldn't park near the Chalice Well, so gave it a miss, and went on to see Cheddar Gorge, hugely scenic and such a surprise in that largely flat area. There were little mountain goats trotting about the road, taking their lives in their hands (or hooves).
ame home and made a nice Spanish style chicken dish with rice, washed down by a bottle of Greyfield's own label white wine.
Wednesday, 30th August, 2000
oday we headed for Burnham-on-Sea, via lots of little tree shaded lanes and lovely sweeping views of Chew Lake and Blagdon Lake, both artificial reservoirs but very picturesque with ducks a'dabbling.
Mac and Rosemary with Beryl, Mac's Cousin
urnham-on-Sea is a coastal resort (surprise surprise) popular with the elderly, Beryl says, because it is flat. Beryl lives in a warden protected block up a flight of stairs. She has quite a spacious flat, but the community hall, with laundry attached is down the stairs and across the yard, not very suitable for a lady on a walker. No shops in the area either, Mum is better off.
owever she greeted us warmly and fed us morning tea, then Mac and Geoff went for a walk while Beryl and I washed up and prepared the table for lunch. When they came back she put on a delicious lunch of melon, chicken with lemon sauce, new potatoes and green beans, followed by apple strudel or fruit salad with cream.
hen we washed up while Mac and Geoff dozed off. After looking at her photo albums and family scrapbook and taking some photographs we had some afternoon tea and drove home.
t was a pleasant day - fine again - long may it continue.
Thursday, 31st August, 2000
oday started out fine but deteriorated into rain this afternoon and evening. Hope it isn't an augur of weather to come, but we have been so lucky so far.
Tudor Shambles, Bradford on Avon
e drove first through Bath to the lovely little "Saxon" town of Bradford-on-Avon, a town which had a railway station, a river, a canal wharf and a road all running parallel together. It was a charming medieval mish-mash in the centre, a little Tudor shambles and some lovely old buildings, with, oldest of all, the little Saxon church of St.Lawrence. It had a stone altar with Celtic carvings on it.
Ancient Saxon Church of St.Laurence, Bradford on Avon
Kennett and Avon Canal, Bradford on Avon
e explored on foot and then walked to the Canal Wharf. This is a lock and basin on the Kennet and Avon Canal and we were checking out the system, to see how things were organised, when a man working on a boat asked for some help to remove a screw and nut from his cabin roof, he needed extra hands. After Geoff had helped him he fell into conversation with us and gave us lots of advice about locking etc. He was very pleasant and if all boaters are like him, it should be good.
e drove on towards Lacock and had lunch in a little Christian cafe in Melksham. It was very nice too.
Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire
acock is a wonderful, unspoiled (except for tourists and motor vehicles, of course) medieval village. It was used as Meryton Village in the latest BBC version of "Pride and Prejudice". First we went to Lacock Abbey, which had an exhibit about the life and work of Henry William Fox Talbot, who was pretty much the father of photography. The exhibit was fascinating and Geoff, of course, found it very interesting. We wandered in the lovely grounds of the Abbey until it started to rain, and then we came out and had afternoon tea in the Stables restaurant.
Lacock Village, Wiltshire
hen we wandered through Lacock Village. It is stupendously picturesque! I couldn't stop taking photographs, It was lovely.
Geoff in Lacock, Wiltshire
nfortunately it started to rain again so we drove home, thinking of having fish and chips in the local chippy but it was closed for renovation. The only other places at all local are pubs and we really don't like eating in pubs. Maybe we should conquer our prejudices and try a few, especially on the canals. Anyway, we bought some frozen fish and chips at the Co-Op and brought them home. Bummer. Anyway, they are cooking while the second load of washing goes through the cycle.
Friday, 1st September, 2000
Sally Lunn's Tea Shop, Bath
oday we went into Bath, but mostly for business purposes. We bought the train tickets from Bristol for tomorrow and a couple of post packs to send stuff home in. It is pouring with rain, on and off, and the traffic in Bath is horrendous. But we found a place in a car park and went out on foot, past the Roman Bath and the Abbey, then had lovely cinnamon buttered Sally Lunn buns in Sally Lunn's with coffee for morning tea.
The Pump Room, Bath
eoff finally found the microphone he has been looking for and some books in Arcania, the shop which sells herbs, spices, candles and other occult gear. We came home early to pack the post box and our bags and clean up as we have to leave very early tomorrow.
e finally found the pub recommended by Jim Merry and had a wonderful meal there for our last night. So pub food may have something to recommend it after all. They even had a non smoking section (Our main gripe about pubs is that they are too smokey)
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