From bustle of Paris we headed north through the countryside to Calais, where our wonderful car GPS took us not to the eurotunnel (chunnel) but to the truck/freight… a tangle of one way roads and roundabouts that once entered provided no obvious way out. Eventually we got to the head of the queue where a bemused traffic director headed us to a way out to the road to the chunnel.

The tunnel is amazing. it’s a drive on – drive off train. so you park on the train, sit in the car (or get out and walk around the foot paths besides the cars) and 35 minutes later you drive off on the other side of the channel. No delays because of bad weather. No getting seasick!  🙂

View from Croft Hill, Leicestershire

After that we hit the motorways and sped to Leicester where our cousin Duncan very kindly accommodated us and showed us around. He lives about 10 km south of Leicester city centre, way out in the country. Lots of public footpaths in all directions past hedgerow edged fields, canals, disused railways. There were signs of habitation from millenia ago – moated sites, roman roads etc… A very relaxing place, which is what we needed after the frenzy of eurofootball-Paris.

Richard III tomb, Leicester Cathedral

Leicester hit the media in 2012 with the discovery of the remains of King Richard III under what is now a carpark, but was previously the gronds of Greyfriar’s Church, so we headed to the Cathedral to see the place where his remains were re-interred.

Archaeological dig, Bradgate Park

Deer, Bradgate Park

Frame knitting machine, Wigston

We enjoyed trips to local parks like Bradgate Park with ruins, archaeological digs, wildlife and scenery, and headed out to the Framework Knitters’ museum at Wigston.

We also headed out to Ironbridge, about 120 km east, a fascinating place, but I’ll leave that for another post.

Lots more photos at https://goo.gl/photos/sJvjaTHbsuhGVm2Z8

Iron Bridge

Ironbridge on the River Severn is touted as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. This may be an overstatement, but certainly it played a part, with Abraham Darby perfecting iron smelting at Coalbrookdale leading to the much cheaper production of iron. The area derives its name from the bridge made from locally produced cast iron, the first of its kind and one of the few that remains.

There are about 10 museums in the area and we thought we’d

Candle shop

visit several so bought a year pass to the lot. In the end we spend all day at the Blists Hill Victorian Town, an open-air recreation of a Victorian town on the site of an industrial area that had brick and tile manufacture, blast furnaces, coal mines, clay mines etc. We’ll just have to go back within the next

Foundry workers pouring metal into sand moulds

12 months to explore some of the other museums there. On most Wednesdays they run the foundry so we got chance to see them operating the blast furnace and pouring metal into molds. One can buy the cast iron objects the pour, but I decided they would not fit into my baggage weight allowance.

Victorian Pharmacy

One of the pleasing things is that the staff, all done up in period costume weren’t just there to look pretty. They really played the part and displayed considerable knowledge of the practicalities of the period.

Lots more photos online at https://goo.gl/photos/VzGXhWAZs5kEZToS9

After dropping Steven and Judy in London to enjoy the the big city experience I opted for the quiet life, heading down towards Southampton, where Jill’s relatives very kindly hosted me over the week (many, many thanks to Polly and Matt in Southampton and Robert and Sally in Ringwood).

Turf maze, St Cathrine’s Hill

First I went to Winchester with Polly as a wonderful guide to St Cathrine’s Hill and the River Itchen. St Catherine’s Hill rises steeply about 70 m above the river valley with lovely views around. It is ringed by the remains of an iron age hill fort, and on top there is a turf maze cut in the mid-late 15th century. We also saw some British White cattle, a heritage breed that, I believe, is specially kept to help maintain the heritage meadows.

River Itchen, Winchester

The water-meadows along the River Itchen are most interesting. The traditional management involved regulating the irrigation of the meadows to keep the soil continuously damp, and the silt and nutrients carried in the irrigating water helped maintain fertility. The meadows displayed quite a diversity of flowers and grasses.

Hospital of St Cross Monastery, Winchester

On, then to The Hospital of St Cross and Almshouse of Noble Poverty, beside the water meadows. This working monastery, founded around 1133, has some fine mediaeval architecture, a fine Norman church, and a lovely garden. And a lovely tea-shop where we enjoyed tea and cake whilst the worst of the wet weather blew over.

I headed then to the Cathedral, founded in the middle of the 5th century and much developed over time. It is now one of the largest cathedrals in Europe. Among its unique features are a crypt that regularly floods and features a statue by Antony Gormley.

Winchester Cathedral

Crypt, WInchester cathedral

Alas there was too little time to visit all the other interesting places in the area.

Some more photos here: https://goo.gl/photos/sHFUEvGC9SQgZLgk7

The English summer brought another overcast day, and Sally kindly took me to see the Isle of Purbeck. Much is in an area designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Rather than an island it is really a peninsula, but still – it is sea on 3 sides. The area is famed for scenery, and the limestone there has been extensively quarried. One form is very hard, polishing well, and is used in many cathedrals as “Purbeck Marble”.

The Knoll, Studland Beach, rated as one of England’s best beaches

First stop was Studland Beach and Nature Reserve. The heathland nature reserve protects an area of special scientific area. The beach is rated as one of the best in England, featuring 4 unbroken miles of sand. The overcast had broken and the sun shone brightly. The locals were on the sandy beach, but we headed for the nature walk. Did the sign say naturist? It seems the north end of the beach is a naturist area. We got about 1 km from the carpark into the heathland nature reserve before a large, fast-moving black cloud drenched us. Sans clothes might have been a good option.

Corfe Castle

Then, on to Corfe castle, a fantastic ruin on a hill above a small town of the same name. Initially established in the 11th century, it had a mixed history with a series of owners. The owners on 1645 were on the losing side of the English civil war, and after the castle fell it was destroyed by undermining and gunpowder. Today the National Trust hosts reconstructions and demonstrations to bring the times of the castle to life. On the day of our visit we had ale-makers, bakers, musicians and armourers among others, with a strong tudor feel. Rather well done, I thought.

Corfe Castle, musician

Corfe Castle

I’ve put more photos in a gallery at https://goo.gl/photos/EvmZdPosiKvcXB8p9.

Robert borrowed a mountain bike for me (thanks Ken) and we headed off for a few hours cycling through parts of the New Forest, and in the evening took me out for a drive to photograph some of the deciduous forest and imbibe some local ale at the tiny town of Fritham. Fantastic.

View from a high point over the New Forest. Int he distance patches of deciduous woodland are visible to the left, and some pine plantation to the right. The poor chalky soils of the upland parts tends to revert to heath once cleared.

The New Forest area was once a large tract of deciduous woodland. Some areas were cleared for cultivation in the Bronze Age. William the Conqueror claimed the New Forest as a royal hunting ground and the are is recorded as Nova Foresta in the Domesday Book in 1086.

Oak tree in the New Forest

Contrary to its name, little forest remains. Once cleared, the poor soils and grazing mean that heath becomes the dominant vegetation type. The heathland is home to the iconic semi-feral New Forest ponies, a recognised breed with complex ancestry. Archaeological remains show horses were present in the area up to 500,000 years ago.

New Forest ponies around a watering hole in the upland heath.

RIngwood Meeting house

Sally very kindly showed me around the town of Ringwood, a historic market town. The town has been there for around a millenium, and is recorded in the Domesday Book. It’s name probably stems from its location at the edge of the New Forest woodlands. Among other fascinating places, we visited the grade II listed 18th century Meeting House. It was built in 1727 by the then strong Presbyterian community, and remains little changed since the 18th century. It is clearly a focus for the local history enthiusiasts. There were very many large ring-binders bulging with collected records and stories from the history of Ringwood, and several people working busily, either reading the records or writing. Among the features, the main floor is partitioned into alcoves which would have been ‘owned’ by a family where they sat for services in their own little section with benches front and back so half the congregation would be sitting with their back to the preacher – listening to the preacher was more important than watching him.

More photos at https://goo.gl/photos/4gMcjuCXuFtbNA7T9.

Salisbury, Meadow Flowers

I headed North from Ringwood under glowering skies, heading for Stonehenge, but just as I was passing Salisbury it started to rain so indoors activities seemed more sensible. I parked beside Old Sarum, an ancient fortified hill that was the site of the earliest settlement at Salisbury, and walked down to the new town through lovely meadows.

Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury is famed for its cathedral, a prominent example of early English church architecture. It has the tallest church spire (123 metres), the largest cloister and the largest cathedral close in the UK.

Salisbury Cathedral, inside the tower

As I entered I was accosted by a volunteer offering a guided tour, so I took her up on the offer. Margaret, like the other volunteer guides I have met in my UK travels, was

a font of knowledge and really did a fantastic job.

Salisbury Cathedral, inside the tower, windlass

I did overhear one volunteer at Winchester saying that to become a volunteer guide involved a 26 week course, formal examinations, and subsequent assessments when the secret assessors simply join a tour. These guides are clearly very dedicated.

Salisbury Cathedral

An hour and a half later…. I headed to the ticket office to get a recommended tower tour ticket. What luck – there was one place available in 20 minutes. Another fascinating tour for another 2 hours. I enjoyed this again. Lots of history, the oldest working clock in the world (AD 1386), the architecture, the tales of renovations and repairs, and the spectacular views from the gallery around the base of the spire. Well worth the effort of all those stairs.

I managed also to view their copy of the Magna Carta in the spectacular chapter house. By the time I had finished there was no time to head on to Stonehenge – something for next time.

More photos at: https://goo.gl/photos/bJP3GzStJVADZZ6w5

Lulworth Cove

The day opened with sunshine, and Robert and Sally took me over to Lulworth cove, along the highly scenic Purbeck coastline. Lulworth cove is a classic small wineglass-shaped bay fringed by cliffs in the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. The pebble beach is pretty, but becomes crowded on weekends.

Lulworth, Fossil Forest

Lulworth

The area around Lulworth cove is mostly Ministry of Defence firing range and is closed to the public except on weekdays; since it was Saturday we were clear to walk the tracks. Our original intent was to visit the fossil forest, but, alas a recent rockfall along the cliffs had caused the closure of this area, so we had to be content with surveying it from above. It was still rather special.

Further along, we got to a headland with a spectacular view of the bays and chalk cliffs to the east. A wonderful place to snack and soak up the scenery.

Tyneham village became part of a military base in WW2 so the inhabitants were evacuated and the town abandoned

We then headed to Tyneham village. This ghost village is within the MoD area and inaccessible except on weekends. The village and its surrounding farmland was requisitioned by the War Office at the start of WWII for use as firing ranges. The 225 residents were displaced, supposedly temporarily, but the land continued in use by the Army, and the village fell into disrepair or were damaged by shelling. Only in relatively recent times has the village become accessible to the public on weekends, and preservation work started.

More photos at https://goo.gl/photos/KQ6gmDKRFYZzQn719.

Our final day. I bid adieu to Robert and Sally and headed to London to collect Steven and Judy. They had had a fabulous time, despite the crowds

Waterlilly House, Kew Gardens

(something to do with Wimbledon was drawing in extra tourists, apparently). With a few hours to kill before our evening flights from Heathrow, we headed to Kew Gardens – reasonably close to the airport and (hopefully) little risk of traffic hold-ups.

Disappointingly the gardens were being closed at 5 PM because they had an evening concert. Nevertheless we headed in to explore the sights. Alas the “music” system was being tested. I measured noise at 80-90 dB near the Palm house at about 400 metres from the stage. If I’ve done the maths right that gives 106-116 dB at 20 metres. The sound level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss is 90-95 dB. Exposure to 116 dB is certainly in the hearing-loss inducing range. Sadly, from pages on the web, it seems that 106-116 dB is in the typical range for rock concerts.

The Palace, Kew Gardens

The Palace kitchens, Kew Gardens

The palace in Kew gardens has been opened for public inspection since any of us last visited years ago, so we headed there first. Royal occupation of the palace lasted 1728-1818, including periods where George III recuperated from bouts of ‘madness’. It is an interesting place, including well preserved kitchens and a lovely herb garden. It is well worth a visit, but far from the opulent overindulgence we saw in places like Versailles.

Palm House, Kew Gardens

We explored the palm house, the waterlily house and the treetops walkway and then it was near 5 PM and time to exit.

More photos of Kew at https://goo.gl/photos/Sr9ZdA9soos18mTr7.

10:15 PM from Heathrow, after endless queuing (Emirates even had pre-queues to get to the check in queue! At one time we noted there was a pre-pre queue to get to the pre-queue to get… !!!); long, long flights; arrived at 6 AM a day and a bit later, knackered, and jetlagged for a week. But it was worth it. My thanks to Steven and Judy for helping make this such a fantastic trip.

In all, nearly 7000 km driving (not counting many minor side trips from the main route or the extra distance when we got lost). Would I do it again – certainly, but next time  we will allow more time for a more relaxed adventure.

My favourite place … so many, so different, so wonderful. Look at the blog and the galleries, and make your own choice.