Driving to the Lakes District (Cumbria)

Well off we set from our position at Bath for the four hour drive to the Lakes district - well that's what the GPS said!!

Again, I am so proud of Peter - traffic was deadly and at times on the motorways you need to have more than two eyes.

We also forget just how lucky we are to have the open spaces - a six lane highway and at times we were at a complete stop, and other times only able to do 30mph. We also did something our friends told us not to do and that was stop at a service centre for coffee and lunch. Two sandwiches and coffee cost us £25 - so we will not be doing that again.

 We also have come across these little trailers - people seem to have them stacked up with their holiday bit and pieces, but we think they are neither "use nor ornament" they really are tiny - check out the wheels.

Anyway, we did arrive in Windemere, some 7.5 hours later and found our accommodation.

Another drive in the country

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day, so off we set in a different direction to explore neighbouring villages and towns. We set off for Frome, then went to Warminster - this was a lovely town which surprised us, it had a nice feel to it and an interesting Main Street.

We then decided we would head towards Bradford on Avon ( not to be confused with the other place). On the way we were able to get a good view of the white horse of Westbury.

 We were told that the horse is said to be from the 1700's and is the oldest white horse carving in Wiltshire (apparently there are four altogether ). On a clear day it can be seen on the hill from Bath. During WWII it had to be covered up as the Germans used it as a directional marker.

Arriving in Bradford on Avon we were delighted to find an old mill town . The only entry in was via a bridge that dated to 13 century and the small winding cobblestone streets were wonderful to explore.

 As I said the town used to be a mill town. The old mill has been converted into retirement apartments.

 Peter was also impressed to come across an old Saxon church. Information suggests that it was standing in the 1120's, but some historians think it may be dated back to the time of St Aldhelm (d.709)

 After exploring this little village for some time, we set out for Priston to try a pub that we had been recommended. The Ring of Bells. We found the pub, and thought it would be open as it was 5.30pm - but no, it did not open until 6.00pm.

We decided to wait - which we were happy we did, as good food and drinks were enjoyed.

Off to the Lakes district tomorrow . 

Have been notified that the ship will not be going to Egypt - not surprising really, but it is disappointing. Still hope to get to Petra, and we are doing plenty of walking as training - Peter's belt has gone in one notch!

Around Somerset

Before we get started on today's activities , I will share with you that Irene now has a chook named after her. When Mary returned home to Cornwall from Wales, she found a chicken had been hatched - and has proudly called it Irene. Hope it does not turn out to be a male - as sadly will not be long in the paddock. 

Also, something that might not be known is that in Bath, while all houses seem to have a number of chimneys - they are never used. It is illegal to have wood fires or smoke, as it creates the black coating on the buildings and as the limestone is soft, it gets damaged when it is cleaned.

Now today, weather a little overcast and gloomy so we set off this morning for a bit of a drive, and ended up going south of Bath to Glastonbury - the town where it is believed that King Arthur and Genievere are buried,well, I am not sure about that but today there seemed to be every " free spirited" cheese cloth wearing people in the town.The town was very interesting, but I have never seen so many crystal shops and "healing centres"l in the one place. I had a bit of a giggle when I saw that today in the main hall was the Annual Godess Conference ( photo below). There were also three women - 1 playing a drum and two others painting their handprint all along the street - not sure what it was about, but they looked like they were enjoying themselves. The fellow on the mobility scooter was greatly intrigued by them.

   

  

Anyway after having a look around the town, taking in all the activity and checking out the Abbey we made our way to Wells. This is the smallest city in England however has one massive beautiful Cathedral and Bishops Palace. 

This town had a lovely feel about it and we enjoyed strolling the streets . Also today was Market day and the street outside the cathedral was shut off and filled with stalls - Peter was sooooo excited about this.

The grounds around the Bishops Palace were lovely and there was a spot of croquet being played - it looked so "English " but so nice.

 On our travels today we also visited the villages of Radstock, Sheppton Mallet ( where up until January this year the prison was the oldest one in UK - started in 1600), and Midsomer Norton. The last one we just had to go as Irene is a bit of a Misomer Murders tragic  - however no Barnaby to be found!

All in all another good day and lovely to see a bit more of the country side.  

Bath

E

Well after saying farewell to our friend Mary, Zoe and Bec we headed for Bath.

We found our cottage however the sat nag proved to be a godsend. The cottage is delightful - an old stable situated in the owners yard. Both owner and cottage are great. The only disappointment is that it is a little further out of Bath than we were lead to believe . Having said that, we quickly found our way to the park and ride and that is a very easy way ( and cheapest) to get into the city. We have spent the past two days using the hop on hop off bus and have walked miles to explore the beautiful architecture of Bath. The Roman baths were an eye opener - so much to see and it is difficult to understand just how old these buildings are.

Again being the summer holidays the crowds are thick but they have not worried us in the least, we have found it easy to find our way and any queues seem to move through quickly. We have also had the first day of rain since arriving in UK, however out came the trusty rainproof jackets and a good day was had.

The building above in order are the Abbey, the Roman Baths and the Royal Crescent - a very exclusive area to live. When the Royal Crescent was built, the Marlborough building was also built but its purpose was to serve as a windbreak for the crescent

Strolling through the city, Peter was left drooling when he saw a vintage guitar shop - beautiful instruments all Fender, Gibson, Gretsch - all the top line.

We finished today with  a cruise up the Avon river ( this is one of six Avon rivers in England) which was a nice way to end the day. it also gave a different perspective  of the Pultney Bridge ( which is modelled on the Rialto Bridge in Venice and has shops on top of it).

Tomorrow we hope to have a look at some surrounding country side - this is a beautiful part of the country.

                              

London, Cornwall, Wales

Peter was a little disappointed that we were not in London for the royal birth - he even made a trip to BUckingham Palace to check out arrangements.

Any way after enjoying ourselves we made our way to Cornwall using the British Rail system. Without any hassles we arrived in Cornwall - met by our friends. We then managed to pick up the car and found our way to our little cottage. I must admit our friends did assist us, I am not sure we would have found the right un named little lane if they did not know the district. We had packed our Tom Tom and it has proved to be invaluable in our. Drives around. Over here, all little places have their own postcode , so you just put in the code and it seems to find where you need to go - very clever .

Peter has been so good, he has insisted on driving ( lucky really as my reversing would not b a pretty on these little narrow roads). Anyway - Peter has don so well on little lanes, fast motorways and anything in between .

We spent a week in Cornwall, and our friends were amazed just how much of the country we saw. While it has been fairly crowded, the roads have still been manageable, and towns are not a long distance apart.

Our little cottage was at a small area called Ladock, and it was near our friends who live at St Agnes. We went down to LAnds End, and up as far as TIntadgel ( the home of King Arthur)

Other favourites were Fowey (pronounced Foy), Megavissey, Padstow, Truro and Falmouth.

We then went with our friend Mary to a little village in Wales Laugharn ( pronounced Larn) where Irene's god daughter is a vet. It is the home of Dylan Thomas ( pictures below is his writing room - green garage) and is a very pretty place. We stayed overnight in a B&B and the next morning went to Picton Castle as a frind of MArysbwas competing in a carriage event. there certainly was som money in horse and carriage. We had a lovely picnic lunch out of the back of the car - not quite Melb cup standard but great.  When Peter was introduced he noticed he had a polo shirt on ith a Bundanoon insignia, itnturned out he had been over in Australia last year. It was only a very quick ( and unexpected) trip to Wales but we would certainly go back again.

London,

Well we arrived in London feeling surprisingly good, however we think we made a good decision to fly premium economy. We very quickly found our way through customs and found our driver - off to our hotel .

Peter still smiling at Heathrow

We spent a week in London, then first two days were spent viewing courtesy of the hop on hop off bus, cruising the Thames and walking the streets. We managed to take the good weather  with us, and this meant that the many crowds sun baked whenever they could on any spare bit of grass they could find.

We also took a couple of day trips and saw Windsor Castle, Stonhenge, Oxford, Leeds Castle, Canterbury Cathedral and Dover.

Off on our next big trip

Leave Canberra Saturday 13 July for three months in UK ,Paris, Venice and then cruising back to Oz. we are so looking forward to it - it has been a bit of a challenge getting all the clothes I need into one medium size case (21kg).
Will try and post some news every now and then.