Windsor

Still raining unfortunately, but last chance to go to Windsor Castle.  Less than an hour train ride to this one of three residences of the Queen. Also the largest inhabited castle in the world and oldest in continued occupation.  Contains the tomb of Henry VIII, Jane Seymour, his third wife, and King Charles I.  Couldnt take pictures inside and wanted to in the worst way.  The northern European renascence art collection housed here in outstanding.  We toured St George's Chapel, the State Rooms and a doll house given to Queen Mary in 1924 with authentic miniatures, real running water and electricity.  And we were there in time to see the Changing of the Guard.

We are all watching the changing of the guard in the rain.

London

Last three days of the trip.  Settled into a flat not far from Heathrow airport for ease of departure on Thursday, turned our rental car in because there is no way we are driving in London. We are very close to train and the Picadilly Line of subway so we are set. Got ourselves each an "Oyster Card" so we can hop on buses, trains or subway and we are ready to go.  (No idea why its called that, but its our all purpose transportation pass.)

  We had to straighten out our AirBNB accomodation because it was a bit disappointing. Felt like we had to clean it before we could move in and not at all welcoming. Judy ended up sleeping on the couch because her bed was so uncomfortable. We made do, and it worked fine but assuredly, this gal is not getting a good review! 

      First day in London we went to Kensington area. Victoria and Albert Museum was first on our list. It is not only an incredible museum but building itself is worth seeing.  Not sure how to explain what this museum is all about but it is a Design museum and houses all manner of British life through its history.  One could spend days here. Judy and I never got off the 6th floor and only got a taste of the Ceramics and Furniture sections. It was something like the Library of Congress instead of books, it was examples of ceramics from every period, every country, every major ceramic house. 

 

From the V&A we strolled thru Kensington Gardens to Kensington Palace. Judy took a tour of the palace State Rooms while Will and I enjoyed the gardens and then enjoyed a nice cup of tea.  This is William and Kate's official residense.  

Prince Albert's memorial in Kensington Gardens. Not far away was a fountain memorial to Diana but was hard to take a picure. Its a large ring of quiet running water where you could sit and put your feet in the water to relax. Very understated.  We stopped at the famous department store, Harrods and oogled over the prices of handbags on the first floor.  Checked out the food halls then went on to Trafalger Square where we met up with Stewart and Sheila under Nelson's Column.  Had a lovely dinner together while we told them about our adventures traveling In the West Country.

Subway back home where we fell into bed! Lots of walking and siteseeing.

Next morning Will and I figured out a bus to Kew Gardens for a couple of hours. We only covered such a small part of it. Another place one could spend days and days to see it all.  Weather was perfect in the morning while we enjoyed it all.

Conservatories, formal gardens, expansive lawns, art instalations, and our favorite-- the Water Lily House

This oak tree was planted in 1798. 

Back to downtown London to Theater off of Picadilly Circus to see a play!!  We have been looking forward to this for weeks so we were disappointed when the clouds rolled in and it began to rain on our night in Central London. Went to see "Book of Mormon." It was amazing theater, enjoyed it.  I expected it to be a bit irreverent but wasn't expecting it to be as bawdy as it was, however. Music and all was amazing but lets just say it is not one for the easily offended. 

Doesn't feel like June here with a cold, wet rain.  I didn't pack enough warm clothes and am going to be in shock when we get back to Arizona sun and heat!  Right now it sounds pretty inviting.

Another long day, subway ride home.

Blenheim Palace

Went to see the home of the present 12th Duke of Marlborough, Sir Charles James Spenser Churchill.  So happens that the 7th Duke of Marlboro was the paternal grandfather of Sir Winston Churchill. This is his boyhood home.  Is certainly a grand place. There is an American connection here that is pretty interesting. . .and the reason this place is so richly decorated. Consuelo Vanderbilt married  the 9th Duke of Marlborough in 1895 and in gaining the title of Dutchess, she brought with her a dowry of the millions that saved and restored this place. Its really something.

Morning walk in Broadway

Garden view of our B&B

Peek through a hedgerow.

Dryrock fences everywhere.

Locks and the Cotswolds

Found Cain Hill Lockes near us and had to walk down the tow path to check it out.  Went into disrepair in 1948 but has been completely repaired now and used by hundreds of pleasure locke-boaters.  They are a series of 29 lockes bundled into three flights raising the boats 237 feet in two miles, a marvel of canal engineering created in the early 19th century.  They can take 5 or 6 hours to complete. Boat operators open and close lockes behind them as they vacation across Britian.

On the way to spend the day in The Cotswolds.

Had to drive through another rain shower.  Nothing new but today's didn't last long.  The black cloud dumped and then the sun came out. Was like that all day, either showers or bright sunshine. 

Town names like Bourton on the Water, Lower Slaughter, Upper Slaughter, Stow on Wold, Chipping  Camden, the Cotswolds is a protected landscape that is a popular tourist destination to see the quaint villages and rural setting. Popular thing to do is hiking the countless footpaths between villages.

Old Mill, not working anymore, but pleasant spot.

A covered market square that dates back to 1600's.  Original floor.

Thatched roofs here too.

We stayed in this B&B in Broadway. 

Thatching a roof

We came upon a worker Thatching a roof today and we immediatly pulled over to watch. Soon we were out of the car and asking all kinds of questions.  He was kind enough to show us what he was doing and added a good natured commentary of how it is done.  Doing it the way it has been done for hundreds of years.

Oh, and you can still get milk delivered to your door every morning in this part of the country.  Came upon this little truck doing his morning deliveries while Will and I were out for our early morning walk. You can just see his crates of glass milk jugs.

 

Stonehenge snd Salisbury

First stop was Stonehenge which is very close to our barn lodging here in Urchford. We avoided it earlier in the week because it was Summer Solstice and thousands of people camp out there to be there at sunrise when it happens. Hard to realize that there were people actively living here and building such immense structures 4000 years ago with simple tools, and a whole lot of brute force.

Thats where the sunrise beam of light showns through every year, if its not raining.

We actually had as much fun watching a family of ravens bickering over thier morning catch amoung the stones. Wasn't hard to pick out who the dominant ones are.

Next stop Salisbury Cathedral.  Absolute favorite, hands down. Was constructed in 13th century and finished in something like 34 years.  Most take decades to finish and become a hodgepodge of archetectual styles, but this one is pure Gothic.

This is hard to see what you are looking at, but it is a Baptismal Font in center of church that is a 2008 addition to the church. It is a fountain with water that slips off the 4 corners so gently that the surface of the water creates this "mirror" that reflects the ornate ceiling above. 

One of 4 copies of the 12th century document, the Magna Carta is housed in a Chapter House connected to the Cathedral.

Found on the wall of a house as we walked back to our car. .would love to know the story behind this.

A British artist, Sophie Ryder, was stagging an exhibition of her modern sculpture all about the church close (yard) and inside the Cathedral which was pretty interesting.  Salisbury Cathedral's pioneering art policy seeks to use the medium of visual art to inspire and allow contemplation of the Cathedral from a new perspective.

As extraordinary and historical as this place is, it still remains and active church with several services and holy events going on.