Salisbury Cathedral (en-route to Devon)

We had intended to stay in the Salisbury area but found it difficult to get accommodation. So instead we decided to go to the south coast of Devon.

We drove via Salisbury as we were keen to visit the Salisbury Cathedral. Not only is it a magnificent cathedral but it has one of the four remaining original Magna Carta documents. Magna Carta (is Latin for "Great Charter") and is one of the most celebrated documents in English history. At the time it was the solution to a political crisis in Medieval England but its importance has endured as it has become recognised as a cornerstone of liberty influencing much of the civilized world.

Salisbury Cathedral - just magnificent.

The Magna Carta is kept in the Charter House and no photos are allowed. This shows the interior of the Cathedral.

 

The feudal system was bound medieval society together in a hierarchy of relationships. Under the feudal system the King was all-powerful. Disputes grew between the barons and bishops and King John over his poor government, heavy war taxes and quarrels with the Pope. Weakened by his defeat by the French in 1214 and keen to avoid a civil war he feared losing, King John met the barons at Runnymede (between Windsor and Staines in Southern England) on 15 June 1215 and agreed to the terms of the Magna Carta. Its content, driven by the concerns of barons and church, was designed to re-balance power between the King and his subjects. When King John set his seal on Magna Carta he conceded the fundamental principle that even as king he was not above the law. Once the Magna Carta was agreed and sealed ten of the thirteen copies made, one of which was given to the original cathedral at Old Sarum (now in  Salisbury Cathedral).

The Magna Carta today:

Magna Carta contains 63 clauses written in Latin on parchment. Only three of the original clauses in Magna Carta are still law today. One defends the freedom and rights of the English Church, another confirms the liberties and customs of London and other towns, but the third is the most famous:

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled. Nor will we proceed with force against him except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land. To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.

The Magna Carta has come to symbolise the rule of law in England, protecting the rights of the individual. Its basic principles have been used in the constitutions of Commonwealth and other countries worldwide.
In August 2009 the worldwide significance of Magna Carta 1215 was recognised as it was inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World register. The register was started in 1992 to protect and promote the world’s documentary heritage through preservation and access.

Two copies of the Magna Carta are kept in the British Library, one at the Lincoln Cathedral and one at Salisbury Cathedral.

The Avon River near the Cathedral.

 

It was well worth the stop to see this ancient document.

Salisbury is a beautiful city located on the Avon River.

 

The University City – Cambridge

People have been living in Cambridge for over 2000 years – the Romans were there in 43 AD. In the 1280’s scholars founded the University. Today there are 31 colleges that make up Cambridge University. Cambridge is a lovely medieval city located on the River Tam. I was most impressed with the fabulous University buildings especially the beautiful King’s College.

King's College

The Cam River - punting anyone?

The Round Church in the city centre.

MH as keen to visit Cambridge to follow up more on his ancestor Thomas Bilney who attended Trinity Hall at Cambridge in the early 1500’s where he studied Canonical Law. MH was aware that there was a memorial stained glass window in St Edward King & Martyr Church. He was also aware of an ancient annotated Bible that was once Thomas Bilney’s. We visited Trinity Hall thinking that the Bible was there, but after some assistance from the librarian we discovered that it was in the Parker Library at Corpus Christi College. The librarian at Corpus Christi kindly located the Bible and we were able to see Bilney’s annotations in the Bible. Various sources investigated indicated that Cambridge University was the place where the British Protestant Reformation commenced. Thomas Bilney motivated other Reformer greats such as Latimer, Barnes and Tyndale to challenge the powerful Catholic Church. Their cause was then taken up by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I who turned England into a Protestant state, destroying most of the Catholic Churches into the bargain.

MH at the Thomas Bilney memorial stained glass window.

MH viewing the annotated Bilney Bible. 

MH in the fabulous 'Parker Library' - Cambridge University.

We decided to visit another National Trust property and what a huge surprise it was! It is one of the best NT places I have been to – Anglesey Abbey and Gardens & Lode Mill. This is a huge property that once belonged to Lord Fairhaven who bought the property sight-unseen because he wanted to create a beautiful home and somewhere to house all his collections. The garden included pathways that meandered through all the various gardens. The property is planted out with a huge variety of trees, shrubs and flowers. There were large carpets of beautiful flowering wild cyclamens – just gorgeous. One pathway took you to Lode Mill a working mill that produces large quantities flour that is sold at the NT shop and other shops. The Abbey was the home of Lord Fairhaven and is beautifully restored including a Jacobean sitting room and a large library. There is a large collection of antique clocks and many wonderful paintings.

The carpets of wild cyclamens.

The 'Lode Mill' and the mill stream.

The Abbey library.

The Jacobean sitting room.

It is early autumn here and the trees are just starting to turn – a really nice time to visit this ancient city.

 

Exciting, Historic, Vibrant, Busy, Fun – that’s London!

My second visit to London has been wonderful. I decided to stay near where I stayed last year and staying at Belsize Apartments has worked out really well. The owner Marc was so easy to deal with, all via email no deposit just pay when you get here. The apartment is a short tube ride into central London and great value especially as London accommodation prices can be horrific!

The first day was a busy one as I had purchased a London Passes and we needed to pick them up near Trafalgar Square. After a second visit to Westminster Abbey it was off to Buckingham Palace. The Palace is usually open each year when the Queen is in Scotland. We had tickets for the palace tour. This was an amazing place to visit.  This year is the 60^th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation and the tour has a Coronation theme. The tour takes you into about 12 fabulous state rooms and rooms where the wonderful Coronation dresses and uniforms are all on display. The room I enjoyed most was the ‘Picture Gallery’ where there are many great paintings by such artists as Rembrandt, Sir Peter Paul Rubens and some early works by Caravaggio and many other great masters. Like most tours in London you do get an audio head-set and this was essential for this tour and you were allowed to go at your own pace despite the huge number of people who do the Palace tour each day. A visit the Royal Mews at the palace is also a must and the famous gold Coronation Coach is magnificent.

 

At Trafalgar Square - some new modern art!

Buckingham Palace - after the tour.

Part of the gardens at Buckingham Palace.

 

A visit to London is not complete without a Thames River Cruise to Greenwich where international time has and is always set. Another must see is the Tower of London – this year we did a tour that the Beefeaters do regularly throughout the day. The guide we had was an excellent guide and real comedian – he made the tour interesting and very humorous. One thing I was unaware of is that two of King Henry VIII’s wives are buried at the Tower of London chapel, St Peter ad Vincula – they are Anne Boleyn & Catherine Howard, both are now buried under the alter.

Tower Bridge open with a yacht & a Tall Ship going through.

From the Royal Observatory at Greenwich looking towards Canary Wharf.

MH at the Tower of London.

A bit of fun in the gift shop at the Tower of London. You looked into a mirror and a crown appeared on your head!

 

A bit of silliness and lots of fun close to Leicester Square is ‘M & M World’. This is a large store. As you enter you are offered a large shopping basket and the whole place is fun. There are lots of huge M&M characters, some animated and of course you can buy just about anything, but all with an M&M theme and/or logo including clothing, souvenirs, plates, cups and yes M&M’s.

M&M World - lots of fun!

All the  M&M characters.

 

After the fun of M&M World we made our way to the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery. Both were wonderful galleries and we saw just so many paintings by a huge number of great artists including two self-portraits by Rembrandt. There were two exhibitions on, one by Laura Knight at the portrait gallery and all her painting were wonderful. The other was Jonathan Yeo. Jonathan Yeo is an artist best known for his celebrity subjects. His sitters have been selected from the world of politics, media and the arts.

We discovered that you could do a Canal Tour on a ‘narrow boat’ in the centre of London. We went to Camden Town, not far from our apartment. Camden Town is an ancient market town and there is still an amazing market at the Camden Lock. We hopped on to Jason’s Canal Boat for a trip along the Regents Canal to a delightful place called Little Venice where there are many long-boats moored and where other companies do canal tours. The same day we went to St Paul’s Cathedral – this in truly the most magnificent building I have ever seen. We went to the Evensong Service and were fortunate enough to sit in the Choir seats near the choir. This was a wonderful service and well worth attending.

Camden Town Lock - where you get the boat from.

"Little Venice" the end of the Canal Tour,

There are some great museums in London and we did visit the London Museum and the Natural History Museum – both worth a look. We also decided to go to London Zoo – this is a wonderful zoo, but I did think our own zoos were just as good.

The West-End is full of theatres where you can see many shows. We decided to see two shows. Being an Agatha Christie fan I wanted to see ‘Mousetrap’ a show that has been running for 60 years. St Martin’s theatre is a smallish boutique theatre but was packed. MH was really keen to see a musical so we went and saw ‘Let it Be’ - a Beetles musical at the Savoy Theatre. We had great seats for this show – front row in the dress circle. This was a wonderful musical that showcased most of the Beetles songs. A visit to the West-End would not be complete without a great pub meal in a typical British Pub – they do a great roast beef!

"Let-It-Be" a great show!

 

On our last day in London we decided to go back into Westminster for a last look at the Houses of Parliament and walk along the Thames.

Along the south bank of the Thames.

 

The tube system in London has again proved to be a great way to get around. We could not help doing a comparison with the metro system in Paris. Our conclusion is that the London system is much cleaner and safer that the Paris system.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this visit to London – there is always something new to discover in this busy, crowed but exciting city.

Norfolk

Travelling to Norfolk we expected to see a lot of very flat land as we had been told to expect miles of flat lowland. We did see some flat land where there was a some market gardening but where we are staying is undulating farm land. We decided to do a farm-stay so we could see more of the country areas rather than stay in a city or town. We are staying near Holt in a small hamlet called Hempstead on a property that has 300 acres of arable land. There are a variety of animals here including cattle, donkeys, a horse and heaps of ducks of all kinds, chickens and a couple of roosters who do wake us up each morning. The farm has several acres of sugar-beet planted. This is used to produce sugar. Much of the sugar used in the UK is made from beet rather than imported cane-sugar. Hempstead Hall, like all the public buildings and houses are largely made of various sizes of rounded, water washed stones taken from the seaside.



One of the donkeys at Hempstead Hall - all very friendly.

Hempstead Hall where we stayed. The house & fence is typical of what you see in this area.

The reason we travelled to this part of Norfolk was so MH could follow-up on some family history. He is a direct descendant of Thomas Bilney who is sometimes known as ‘Little Bilney’ and was born in East Bilney Norfolk, in 1495. He was a scholar at Cambridge and then became a great Preacher. His conversion away from Catholicism sparked off the Reformation in England. In 1527 while preaching in Ipswich he was arrested, taken to London where he went on trial and was imprisoned for a time. In 1531 he was again preaching in Norfolk, Suffolk and London and was arrested again and shut in the Tower of London. On 19 August 1531 he was taken to Norwich and burnt at the stake. His ashes were buried at St Mary’s Church in East Bilney and were accidently found when they were digging a grave site in the churchyard.

We did visit St Mary’s Church in East Bilney where there is a ‘Bilney Window’. There are 2 stained glass panels showing Thomas Bilney. One panel shows him with a new translation of the bible and one shows him bound by chains with red flames curling around him with Norwich Cathedral in the background.

The stained glass "Bilney" window at St Mary's Church in East Bilney.

Outside Thomas Bilney's house in East Bilney.

       

On our last day in Norfolk we decided to have a last look at the North Sea and drove to Sheringham, a coastal holiday and retirement market town. Being a Saturday it was market day and very busy. It was also rather cool and windy and the North Sea was very grey and very rough. We then went onto Felbrigg Hall and Gardens, another National Trust Property. This estate was in the hands of the Felbrigg family as far back as the 15^th Century. In 1863 the estate was bought by a Norwich merchant, John Ketton who had made a fortune from oil cake and cattle feed. The estate today is well looked after and many rooms in the house have been restored. The walled garden is wonderful and includes many varieties of espaliered pear and apple trees. The other unusual thing about this walled garden is that allotments are offered to local people so they can grow their own produce and many locals have taken up this option.



The dining room at Felbrigg Hall showing some of the Jacobean decorations.

The 'drawing-room' at Felbrigg Hall.

The 'walled-garden' at Felbrigg Hall showing the Dove-Cote.

Felbrigg Hall is another well-presented property cared for by the National Trust.

Next stop London!

 

EDWINSTOWE – SHERWOOD FORREST, ROBIN HOOD COUNTRY!

When I was planning this trip I did say (tongue-in-cheek) to MH who has had an interest in the Robin Hood legend since childhood “I suppose you would like to go to Sherwood Forrest”? His reply was “Is there any forest left”? After doing some research we did discover that yes, there is some forest left including a very ancient oak tree called “The Major Oak”.

So we did decide to go to Sherwood Forest. The small village at the edge of the forest is called Edwinstowe. The Nottinghamshire Council now has a National Nature Reserve & Visitor Centre at Sherwood Forest. The forest is famous as the legendary home of Robin Hood. Apparently there is some truth in the legend, but it is not clear exactly who Robin Hood was. Local folk lore tells of the Merry Men who used the hollow trunk of the Major Oak to hide from the Sherriff of Nottingham. The Major Oak is one many landmarks in the forest. It is estimated that the Major Oak is 1150 years old. The Major Oak is huge, it is now fenced off and there is some scaffolding holding up the heavy tree boughs. It is estimated that tree weighs about 28 tons. The forest while not as large as it used to be has been of scientific interest since the 1950’s. The oaks within the forest are some of the oldest trees in Europe and 900 of them are over 500 year old.

The "Major Oak' in Sherwood Forest.

 

The local church at Edwinstowe, St Mary’s has a sign saying “This is the church where legend has it Robin Hood and Maid Marion were married”. The original church on the site was built in 633AD and the present church was built in 1175AD.

 

The sign at St Mary's Church in Edwinstowe.

St Mary's Church, Edwinstowe Nottinghamshire UK

 

The other significant site we visited was the National Trust property “Clumber Park”. Clumber Park was the historic home to the many Dukes of Newcastle. However in 1938 the huge mansion was demolished. These days there are still some historic buildings there including the Chapel and the walled garden. The walled garden has a huge 400 foot long glasshouse, the longest in England. Today they grow various vegetables and grape vines in the glasshouse. Outdoors they still grow many varieties of vegetables and fruit trees and there are several old espaliered apple trees. Over 60 varieties of apples are still grown there. The flower garden was beautiful with many different coloured dahlias, fuchsias, roses and many other late summer and autumn flowers in bloom. In the days when the Dukes of Newcastle lived on the estate the walled garden provide food for the whole estate, plus flowers for the house.

 

The huge glasshouse in the walled garden at Clumber Park.



A very gentlemanly cricketing "scarecrow" in the walled garden at Clumber Park

 

There is an excellent Discovery Centre there, so both adults and children can learn about the wildlife that is found on the estate. We enjoyed walking around the estate and along the huge lake where there was a large flock of Canadian Geese as well as many other varieties of ducks and water birds. We even saw families of squirrels hunting for food. The National Trust does an excellent job managing this estate as it is huge. They do have several shops and cafes there and you can buy fresh fruit and vegetables that are grown there. When I came to UK last year I discovered having a National Trust membership was really worthwhile as they have many properties all over the UK we can visit free of charge.

The lake that was in front of the original Duke of Newcastle's home. It is a 4 mile walk around the lake!

We saw several families of squirrels looking for food.

One of the many walking paths at Clumber Park.

It is now time to say goodbye to Robin Hood country and move southwards to Norfolk.

North Yorkshire

We arrived in Thornton Le Dale and were amazed how picturesque the village was. It is a small village not far from Pickering in the Northern part of Yorkshire. Our accommodation was at ‘East Hill Farm’ on the outskirts of the village. We had booked the ‘Garden Apartment’ and what a garden there is there! The garden at property was magnificent – full of late summer flowers, including the best begonias I have ever seen. The garden is looked after by the owner and his two daughters. The property is a working farm; they have a flock of sheep, chickens, pigs, rabbits and several dogs including 2 working sheep dogs.



The wonderful garden near our apartment.

The view from our apartment window.

When we first arrived we noticed a small stream running through the village. We took off and walked back into the village and a local told us about a thatched cottage by the stream. The cottage is picture perfect and photographed by locals & visitors alike. Photos of the cottage are often used on postcards and boxes of chocolates and biscuits. The stream runs through the village and the water is crystal clear. Thornton Le Dale is certainly one of the prettiest UK villages I have been too.

The thatched cottage by the stream at Thornton Le Dale.

 

I wanted to see the Yorkshire Moors, so on our second day here we decided to drive up to the Moors. Not from the village there was a mobile information van set up and many people were parking there and taking off to walk some of the many walking paths through the Moors. We had a long chat to the information people and discovered that the ‘Heather’ was in flower. Expecting to see a lot of mauve flowers I was disappointed. We were told because of the very late winter in the UK it was bad season for the Heather. The information person gave us some hints and tips where to go and we found we were not far from “Heartbeat” country. The village where “Heartbeat” is filmed is called Goathlands so we decided to have a look. Once we got there we found lots of tour buses and heaps of cars and nowhere to park. So we just drove around the village and did see the garage and one of the police cars used in the series.

The North Yorkshire Moors are a vast expanse of rolling hills covered in Heather far as the eye can see. The moors are a protected area and we had to cross several cattle grids as sheep graze thought-out the whole area. We found some delightful small villages such as Grosmont, Danby & Castleton where we had lunch in a typical English Tea Room.

You do find patches of flowering Heather and it is lovely.

 

Even though it was mid-afternoon we decided to go onto Whitby a well-known coastal holiday town. The town is dominated by the ancient Whitby Abbey that is located high on a headland. There was an original abbey on the site in the 600’s but the Abbey was rebuilt in the 1100’s by the Norman invaders. Today it is a ruin but still an interesting to visit. We were given headsets to listen to these gave us a good overview of the history of the Abbey.



Whitby Abbey.

We walked down into the harbor area of Whitby and walked along the ancient harbor. These days there are many fish’n’chip shops, souvenir shops, lots of other food shops as well as many amusement places the ‘Brits’ seem to enjoy so much. The walk along the harbor was interesting - on every ½ and full hour boats can request that the bridge over the harbor entrance open. We saw this happen 3 times while we were there. Where the harbor meets the North Sea there is an old walled harbor with old lighthouses on the end.

Whitby Harbour

All in all, York and North Yorkshire was well worth including on the itinerary.

City of York – UK

We travelled to the UK on an overnight P&O ferry from Zeebrugge, a major port in Belgium and close to Brugge where we had been staying. The trip was very pleasant and fortunately the sea was very smooth. We arrived into the UK port of Kingston on Hull and caught a bus to the city of York. We then took off and explored this ancient city.

York is a walled city, situated on both the Rivers Ouse and Foss. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two thousand year history. These days York is one of England’s most beautiful historic cities. The Romans knew it as Eboracum. To the Saxons it was Eoforwick. The Vikings – who came as invaders but stayed on in settlements – called it Jorvik.

Within its ancient, encircling walls York’s medieval streets and buildings are beautifully preserved and the historic heart of the city is largely traffic-free, making it quiet, clean and very pleasant to stroll around, day and night.

One of the ancient entry gates to the city of York.

 

Part of the old city wall.

 

This magnificent Minster Cathedral took 250 years to build and was consecrated in 1472. It contains England’s greatest concentration of medieval stained glass, including the great east window which, measuring 186 square metres is thought to be the largest area of stained glass in the world. There is a lot of restoration work happening at the cathedral and there is an area where apprentices are trained in stone-masonry. There were displays of some of the work they are doing carving out new pieces for the restoration including new gargoyles.

We did walk this great city and discovered many of its treasures. One building we did enjoy was the National Trust’s - “Treasurers House” located close to York Minster. In the early days all Minster business was conducted here until the reign of Henry VIII when things changed dramatically. Sadly this building fell into disrepair until Frank Green rescued and restored it. Today it is well worth a visit.

The Treasurer's House, owned & maintained by the National Trust. 

 

One of the rooms at the Treasurer's House contains a collection of clothing, scarves, hats etc. for people to try on - this is one my efforts!

At the Treasurer's House!

 

On our second day in York it rained most of the day but we were keen to walk the ancient walls of this city. The wall goes almost around the old city and is in good condition and despite the rain we really did enjoy the walk.

We stayed at a really good B&B, Burton Villa Guest House. Our host was able to give us some good advice where to go and where to eat. We did really enjoy and old pub called the “Hole in the Wall” which was located just inside the old city gates.

Next stop near the Yorkshire Moors.