Windsor Castle

We travelled to Windsor to visit the weekend home of the Queen - Windsor Castle.  I was surprised to see that the Castle is right in the middle of the town for some reason I thought it was out in the country.  Though the castle itself is what I thought it would be - large grey stone - tall walls - a bit overwhelming...  Photos are not allowed inside the state rooms so I only have outside photos.  While beautiful and impressive, it would not be my choice for a home - way to big and cold looking...

changing of the guards...

We did have a wee in the Royal loo and ate Royal ice cream - made from cream from pedigree Jersey cows.  This is one of the little ice cream trucks.

Stonehenge

We left Bath and headed to the Salisbury Plain - beautiful scenery, it was sunny on the drive but the clouds moved in.   Stonehenge is a medival term meaing 'hanging stones', it was created in five stages between around 3000 BC and 1600 BC on the Salisbury Plain - a area devoid of trees since the last ice age.  The site is a bit raised and it was quite windy and halfway around the rain fell. You can't get too  close to the stones but it is a unique experience - we were among the first people on the day we went so it was nice to not have too many people around.

windy and cold - I have on four layers!

the heel stone - a bit away from the circle of stones

Lacock Abby and Bath

April 19
Today we headed to Lacock to visit the abby which was founded in the 13th century and closed down in 1539.  The new owner, Sir William Sharington converted the cloisters, sacristy, chapter house and monastic quarters into a private dwelling.  His last descendant Mathilda Talbot donated the property and the abby to the Nathional Trust in the 1940s.  Here are some photos from the Abby...  Of note - several scenes at Hogwarts School in the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone were shot at the Abby.

Bath is beautiful, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has magnificent 18th century architecture.  We toured the excavated Roman baths built in the 1st century along with a temple in honour of the goddess Minerva.  The baths take advantage of the mineral springs that gush from the earth at a temperature of approx. 116 F or 46.5 C. The water still runs today and there in one pool still in existence but no one bathes in it - the pool is full of green agae.  The Great Bath, pictured below is no roofless and the statuary and pillars belong to the 19th century.

At the centre of Bath is Bath Abby, a 15th century building built in the Perpendicular (English late Gothic) style.

Bath Abby

Jane Austen Centre

Jane Austen lived in Bath from 1801 to 1806 and set two for her writing primarily in Bath - Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.  Bath also hosts an eight day Jane Austen Festival in September.



Unfortunately, our time in Bath was short - if you ever go - plan for at least 2 days - it is a lovely city to walk around.

Stratford Upon Avon

(sorry for the delay in posting - combination of too tired and poor internet service)

We went to Stratford Upon Avon birthplace of William Shakespeare - with our first stop at Anne Hathaway's cottage (above)  I was surprised to see such a large building but we were told that when Anne lived in the cottage it would have been only two rooms - the kitchen and a living room - I say living room as this is where they ate, visited, slept - lived.  Anne came from a family of nine - hard to imagine all living in a relatively small area.  Rooms have been added throughout the years.

We also visited Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare is buried.

Holy Trinity Church

the grave is inside the church

We then travelled through the country side - taking many back roads - some looked like a trail not a road - very narrow, one car only but it is a two way road and everyone seems to drive rather fast... made for an interesting afternoon but beautiful scenery.

this place is for sale - only 675,000.00 pounds





Oxford and the Cotswolds

We met the group with Back Roads tours on Tuesday - bright and early at the hotel and headed out in the rain - thankfully, just as we arrived in Oxford, the sky cleared and the sun came out.   We walked around Oxford - the buildings are amazing

I did not see any students running with their scholarly gowns on but we did make are way to Christ Church College - where 13 UK Prime Ministers attended and more recently the dining hall was the inspiration for the Harry Potter films.  Christ Church Chapel has been the cathedral for Oxford since the time of Henry the VIII

(sorry I am trying to upload more photos but having technical difficulities - I will try another day to see if I can post more photos)

We then headed to the grave of Sir Winston Churchill in Bladon - it is quite an unassuming resting place amongst his family members.  We then crossed the road and visited a pub for lunch.  We then headed off to visit Blenheim Palace - the birthplace of Churchill and the current residence (one of) of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough - they have private apartments within the palace separate from the public state rooms.  The palace and grounds are quite grandiose and include more than 2000 acres, a maze, water features, formal gardens and more.  Kathleen and I had tea on the patio overlooking the formal gardens - we enjoyed our tea with chocolates from Harrods - yum!!

We then wandered the back roads of the Cotswolds and came upon the Kings Men Stone Circle - a circle of stones older than Stonehedge - legend has it that a witch cursed a king and his men and turned them into stones.  The stones are obviously very old and worn and are just is a field a very short walk from the road - there are no concessions or fanfare other than a simple sign. 

We then headed to Chipping Campden and our hotel for a couple of nights The Noel Arms Hotel - getting to our rooms is a bit of a trek and a maze - up and then down steps - through this door, across a sitting room and then through another 2 or 3 doors - it is a test each time we head back to the room to ensure we don't take a wrong turn.



London!

Monday we travelled to London on the train and even took the tube to our hotel - only had to back track once. As we had most of the afternoon and the evening free - we decided to wander. We found a place for lunch in Notting Hill and then slowly made our way to Harrods in Knightsbridge - a great walk through neighbourhoods.

London bus or a double decker

gorgeous blossoms

We made our way to Harrods and bought the most delicious chocolate - yum!! Then we slowly made our way back to the hotel through Hyde Park - lots of people out - some even having a picnic at 7:00 p.m. on a cool evening.   For dinner we went to a pub down the road called The Swan - a old coach inn - possibly one of the oldest in the city.  The sayings "one for the road" and "he's on the wagon" started in this pub - just down the road used to be the gallows and the story goes that the goaler would bring his wagon by with the prisoners and go into the pub and request a last pint for the prisoners, they would take a pint out to them in the wagon - hence 'one for the road'  Once the wagon moved on, the other pub patrons would comment that the prisoners were on the wagon and had drunk their last drink. 

Brighton Marathon - April 15

Today Kathleen ran the Brighton Marathon - all 26.2 miles... We were up early and we walked up to Preston Park for the start - a bit of a warm up for Kathleen - about 5 miles.  It was exciting to see all the runners, friends and families making their way through the Brighton streets to the start and really impressive once we arrived at the park to see all the people - approx. 15000 people ran the marathon and to see them all queue up at the start is so very inspiring. 

Here are some photos from the start of the marathon:

the corrals

Kathleen at the Brighton Marathon 2012

waiting for the start

on the move but not at the start yet

just steps from the start line

The people of Brighton really embraced the runners - there were so many people out cheering, shops, pubs, cafes opened their doors and windows, played loud music and all the staff and patrons cheered.  It was reported that more than 100,000 spectators cheered along the course.   This one gent enthusiastically dance and cheered and the runners loved him and cheered and danced as they run by.

Kathleen ran the race in 5 hours and 20 minutes and had a smile on her face when we met at the meeting place.  We then walked to the flat for a well deserved bath then out for pint and Sunday roast dinner.

aaahhh - finished and steps away from a hot bath!



Brighton in the UK

I am now in Brighton in the UK with my friend Kathleen and we rented a flat near the sea in Brighton. We arrived here on Thursday in the rain but today was lovely, sunny and about 12 degrees Celsius

Our flat is the one in the first building on the second floor with the balcony on the right of the photo

Kathleen plans to run the Brighton marathon on Sunday so we are here a few days early to acclimatize.  Today we walked along the waterfront, saw the Brighton Pier, Brighton Wheel, the Carousel, had a great lunch near the Pier with a jug of Pimm's in the sunshine.

Brighton Wheel

the beach and Brighton Pier

Brighton Pier

Kathleen and the jug of Pimm's

We went to the Brighton Centre for Kathleen to pick up her runner's number - 2874 and we toured the marathon exhibit hall.  I found the softest socks made from bamboo - they feel great!

On the beach we saw this group of people and we figure they are a group of 'Find Waldo' aficionados  - here is a photo...

can you find Waldo?