A couple, three days have gone by and I’ve got some catch up to do again. We did have a great time seeing “Lion King”, and it was everything that we have heard it was…Fantastic !!! We had good seats, 3&4th seat in from the middle Isle, and about 2/3rds of the way up from the stage in the first section. Pretty lucky for those of us that have waited until the last minute. We were there for the matinee, and because it rained, we didn’t feel like we were taking away from seeing other sites. As it was, not to soon before the play was over, it cleared up, so off we went to continue walking the streets and having a good time again in London. For the 2nd day in a row, we didn’t get back to the campground until after 10. This is not like us, we normally like to have our glass of wine, make our dinner, wash dishes, and be all done by 7:30 at least. Thursday, we took in another show…”Billy Elliott”. We had seen the show when it was in the theatres, and when we saw it was on the stage here, we just hoped we could get seats. We heard that the box office opens at noon to sell the tickets that may be available for that same day performance, so we were there by 11:30am. The line had already started to form, so we jumped right in. Some how, Louise had heard from someone in line or passing by, that if you went to another line inside…you could get tickets right away…. She jumped at the “chance” and got us 2 tickets for the matinee again. We were thrilled, that is until we got inside, went to our seats, and sat down… WE COULDN’T SEE THE STAGE !!! Our tickets were for balcony box seats…they were just in front of the stage, and up on the 2nd and a half level. If and when you sat down, you couldn’t see anything. If you were to stand, you had a great view. As it was, we found that these seats were, for us, the best seats in the house…we had a great time…we could wonder around the whole area, take off our shoes, eat and drink our snacks with out bothering anyone, and just have a good time with an incredible show. Billy Elliott was outstanding !!!! Again, another late night in getting back to “Bumble Bee”, and getting to bed tired… Friday morning as I was entering the shower, I just barely noticed someone passing through the door. After a quick thought, I thought about who that might have been. Sure enough, after showing and checking with the reception desk, I found out that Bob and Helen (a couple we had met in Ireland, and whom we had been since corresponding with emails, and trying to get together again) were indeed here. They had pulled in yesterday and here we were, pulling out today. That’s ok, we had a chance to get together for coffee and a long talk, and with hopes of getting together somewhere in Europe later in the year. They are a couple from Fall City Wa., and are traveling for a few months in Europe as well. Eleven AM and we were pulling out of London and heading towards the coast for the last few days in Great Britain. About 15 miles north of London, and on one of the many freeways, I noticed that the “hot engine” light was blinking, and the temp of the engine was climbing pretty quickly. After pulling off on to the shoulder and getting to the back of the van, I noticed that the cooling water was “flowing” out of the engine…I couldn’t stop it if I had wanted too…we had lost the water pump !!! !!it, not now… We had a couple of quart bottles with water in them, so dumping them into the radiator and watching as it flowed out as fast as I was putting it in, we had no options. Get the hell off the freeway and find help. Now tell me, why is it you can only have serious problems on Fridays, Saturdays, or “Bank Holidays” (National Holidays to us) ??? Well, to shorten this up, we did find a mechanic in Harlow (just north of London), we couldn’t get in until this morning at 11:00, and they had to order 2 water pumps (not sure which one, if any, would fit). It was to take 1 to 2 hours max to do the job, but as our luck continues, we didn’t leave until after 4:00. After all was done (we hope, as they had a heck of a time getting the water to stop), we found a nice campground about 5 miles west of town. After sleeping in the parking lot of the garage last night, this is going to be heaven tonight. Fact is, we had dinner tonight at one of the local pubs, and I had probably one of the best meals of the journey, right here in this, very little community…Tomorrow…only He knows… wish us luck…
18 June ’05, Saturday. Our Box Seats ???
A couple, three days have gone by and I’ve got some catch up to do again. We did have a great time seeing “Lion King”, and it was everything that we have heard it was…Fantastic !!! We had good seats, 3&4th seat in from the middle Isle, and about 2/3rds of the way up from the stage in the first section. Pretty lucky for those of us that have waited until the last minute. We were there for the matinee, and because it rained, we didn’t feel like we were taking away from seeing other sites. As it was, not to soon before the play was over, it cleared up, so off we went to continue walking the streets and having a good time again in London. For the 2nd day in a row, we didn’t get back to the campground until after 10. This is not like us, we normally like to have our glass of wine, make our dinner, wash dishes, and be all done by 7:30 at least. Thursday, we took in another show…”Billy Elliott”. We had seen the show when it was in the theatres, and when we saw it was on the stage here, we just hoped we could get seats. We heard that the box office opens at noon to sell the tickets that may be available for that same day performance, so we were there by 11:30am. The line had already started to form, so we jumped right in. Some how, Louise had heard from someone in line or passing by, that if you went to another line inside…you could get tickets right away…. She jumped at the “chance” and got us 2 tickets for the matinee again. We were thrilled, that is until we got inside, went to our seats, and sat down… WE COULDN’T SEE THE STAGE !!! Our tickets were for balcony box seats…they were just in front of the stage, and up on the 2nd and a half level. If and when you sat down, you couldn’t see anything. If you were to stand, you had a great view. As it was, we found that these seats were, for us, the best seats in the house…we had a great time…we could wonder around the whole area, take off our shoes, eat and drink our snacks with out bothering anyone, and just have a good time with an incredible show. Billy Elliott was outstanding !!!! Again, another late night in getting back to “Bumble Bee”, and getting to bed tired… Friday morning as I was entering the shower, I just barely noticed someone passing through the door. After a quick thought, I thought about who that might have been. Sure enough, after showing and checking with the reception desk, I found out that Bob and Helen (a couple we had met in Ireland, and whom we had been since corresponding with emails, and trying to get together again) were indeed here. They had pulled in yesterday and here we were, pulling out today. That’s ok, we had a chance to get together for coffee and a long talk, and with hopes of getting together somewhere in Europe later in the year. They are a couple from Fall City Wa., and are traveling for a few months in Europe as well. Eleven AM and we were pulling out of London and heading towards the coast for the last few days in Great Britain. About 15 miles north of London, and on one of the many freeways, I noticed that the “hot engine” light was blinking, and the temp of the engine was climbing pretty quickly. After pulling off on to the shoulder and getting to the back of the van, I noticed that the cooling water was “flowing” out of the engine…I couldn’t stop it if I had wanted too…we had lost the water pump !!! !!it, not now… We had a couple of quart bottles with water in them, so dumping them into the radiator and watching as it flowed out as fast as I was putting it in, we had no options. Get the hell off the freeway and find help. Now tell me, why is it you can only have serious problems on Fridays, Saturdays, or “Bank Holidays” (National Holidays to us) ??? Well, to shorten this up, we did find a mechanic in Harlow (just north of London), we couldn’t get in until this morning at 11:00, and they had to order 2 water pumps (not sure which one, if any, would fit). It was to take 1 to 2 hours max to do the job, but as our luck continues, we didn’t leave until after 4:00. After all was done (we hope, as they had a heck of a time getting the water to stop), we found a nice campground about 5 miles west of town. After sleeping in the parking lot of the garage last night, this is going to be heaven tonight. Fact is, we had dinner tonight at one of the local pubs, and I had probably one of the best meals of the journey, right here in this, very little community…Tomorrow…only He knows… wish us luck…
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14 June ’05, Tuesday. London at Dusk “We’ll get that picture when we come back…”, or “there is another one up the road, that is just as good…” Ya Right !!! We always have good intentions, but not always follow up by getting that “perfect” picture. Well, that’s the story this time as well, we (I) thought we would definitely find another picture just as good, but when we did, I couldn’t find a was to get close enough. I’m talking (writing) about a Oast House…anyone know what a “Oast House” is ? Briefly, it’s barn with a silo or 2 or 3 attached. The top of each silo is like an up-side down ice cream cone. These also have an arm attached that runs out at 90 degrees and has some type of ornament attached at the end. This arm is about 12 feet long. Most of these old “silo’s” have now been converted into B&Bs, but originally they were used to store and “dry” barley. The cone would turn into the wind because of the arm finding the direction, and as the wind would enter the cone, which had circular baffles built-in, it would whirl and dry the grain. Today as I mentioned, most are converted into room’s at B&B’s, and are really well done. The cone’s can be seen for a long distance, as most are either painted chrome or have brass or copper. I bring this up now, as we had not seen this on any other part of England, but hope to see more after we leave the core area of London. Our trip brought us up from Battle, to Bodiam (which is due north of Battle about 15 miles) and the Bodiam Castle. The 14th century castle is a simple four-squared walled, 8 round towers rising out of the surrounding moat. As it sits on a slight hill with the water all around it, it is really picturesque. We didn’t take the time to go through the interior, as it was mostly in ruins. But exterior, it was worth the stop (and the $2 parking tab). The rest of the ride to London was still due north until we hit the city. We have a campground that is close enough for us to get into Piccadilly Circus by bus in 45 minutes and at a cost of $1.20 each. By the time we got all setup, and on the bus into town, it was just about 5pm. It has been 7 years since we were here, and it is good to be back. We had nothing planned, but as it was we didn’t grab the bus back until after 9:30. We did pick up tickets to see “Lion King” tomorrow, and we also took the ride on the “Eye of London”. By the time we got back, we were ready to hit the rack. Tomorrow…more London 13 June ’05, Monday. The Cliffs of Dover The sun was out bright, breakfast done, and we were ready to head off for the day. We headed off down the coast and the first village we were looking for was Rye. Rye is a mix of cobbled stone streets, towers, and half-timbered buildings. By half timbered buildings, I mean that the bottom half are stone, and the top, “black timber”… There is a small river, that has a “lock” system in it. Because of the tides of the English Channel, the rise and fall of the tide would just about drain the river, so about halfway through the village, the drop of the tide leaves everything high and dry and on the other side of the “lock”, it has water as usual. The first impression, is this is a “artsy” type of village, and you would be right on…hippish and artsy… Then on to Dover. Just over 2 hours out from Battle, is Dover (that’s Bumble Bee time…). Just west of Dover is Folkestone. This is were the “Chunnel” is located. The Bullet Train runs from London to Paris, through this Chunnel (Channel Tunnel), under the English Channel. Just as you pull into the city of Dover, your eyes come in contact with the Dover Castle and Fortress high on the hill. This HUGE complex is now and I’m sure centuries ago as well, is and was impressive. Dover is known for it’s “White Cliffs”, but now that I’ve been there, it will always be the fortress and the underground caves that make Dover. The castle and it’s fortress, is thanks to King Henry II, back in the 12th century. Since that time, Dover and the Dover Castle / Fortress, has seen many significant battles. From the 13th century to WWII. The chalk cliffs of Dover have many tunnels dug into them, and all of these have been used to house armies. In the case of WWII, the English had a “Top Secret” Intelligence network that led the rescue of over 300,000 men that were caught in a trap in France. It was also the location, while receiving constant shelling from the German artillery in France, served as a major partner in the D-Day invasion in 1944. We not only took a self guided tour of the castle, walls, grounds, and the 13th century Saxton church, we had a guided tour of about 30 percent of the underground tunnels. That was all they would allow us to see. We toured 3 levels of tunnels, which included the mapping rooms, communications rooms, hospital, and some of the kitchen and crew quarters. The Heritage Group was fortunate in getting back some of the original equipment, including planning tables, hospital equipment, and phone communications systems, just to finish this fine site. I must say, this was quite a day… When we got back, one of our neighbors here had spent the day of watching professional tennis. They watched the women’s preliminary games to Wimbledon. Well, you can’t be everywhere at once… Tomorrow…London… 12 June ’05, Sunday. The Village of Battle Hastings? Well, not yet, but Battle we found to be a great stop. It seems that I have some ties to Battle through family. I wont go into a lot of detail, but that we know, goes back to “Thomas Goodman” being born in Battle in 1840 or there about. Sunday, we went into town after setting up at this fantastic campground, and had fun going through one of the many cemeteries looking for someone with the “Goodman” name on their tombstone. I’m sure it doesn’t surprise anyone, but we didn’t have any luck… I know I told you that we had purchased a “English Heritage” membership when we arrived in England. This is because of all the wonderful sites that they have and take care of. We have used our card for free admission so many times, it is almost embarrassing, and we were able to use it one more time here in Battle. Heck, it even pays for our parking in most of the places as well. The “Battle Abbey” and the fields around it, is the location that the invading Normans defeated the Anglo Saxons in 1066 and we were able to stand on “The” site were King Harold fell and died. Most of the original buildings were destroyed, but some were rebuilt soon after. One of the best preserved, is the Great Gatehouse. It is said to be the finest of the surviving medieval abbey entrances. It is used daily by the teachers and special guests who drive their cars onto the grounds of the private school that now occupies the courtyard of the abbey. In walking around the abbey grounds and then out into the fields were the battle was actually held, was interesting, to think that my grandfather may have grown up playing in this field, and a thought on the other side, thinking of all those that lost their lives on this “Battle Field”. Just as we were walking along a portion of the exterior wall that overlooks Battle, we noticed that a band, and 3 different military groups were lining up for a march through town. We saw them off from our position on the wall, and then finished our tour. After walking through the gates of the Great Gatehouse, we saw the small band sitting in a small courtyard in the main part of town and playing songs. Just across the street from them I saw a great place to have a “cup of coffee”… well, I was ready… I really enjoyed Battle. It is a small, quaint, and friendly place to visit and I’m sure, live. After getting back, we found that we just weren’t hungry enough to make up dinner, so we pulled out this computer, slipped in a movie (Fiddler on The Roof), and settled in for a couple of hours before closing our eyes for the night. Oh, I forgot to mention I had bought something new… A couple of campgrounds back, a van somewhat similar to ours, was parked behind us. I had noticed a small tent set up behind it, but kind of passed it off to being for the dog, or maybe the “Dog House”. Upon questioning, I found they had it for storage so when they get to the campgrounds, they don’t have to “shuffle” everything around so they can take the van out. They told me they had paid $20 for it, and it was worth every penny of it….I found a sale and paid $5.24 !!! I already love it !!! We pulled in to camp, put all the “extras” in it, and we were ready to leave with Bumble Bee anytime we wanted…and we did… 10 June ’05, Friday. Ancient Stonehenge I was told that I had misspelled Stourhead by leaving out the “t” in my last journal…sorry about that, I guess that having only misspelled one word in the last 14 months of writing this journal isn’t too bad… Leaving Stourhead, we headed again east. Our next stop and campground was going to be in Salisbury. It was a fairly short drive of about 1 ½ hours, and it turned out to be a very nice site and a good nights sleep. We were on our way by 10am and heading back the same way we came in. 7 miles out, and we were pulling into the parking lot to see the great and ancient stone circle of Stonehenge. This is one of the oldest sites we have seen in a long time. The remnants of Stonehenge date back between 3000BC and 1600BC. This monument is a circular structure, that is aligned with the rising of the sun at the solstice. They are still not sure just what purpose this structure was for, but it is impressive. These huge stones had to be carried hundreds of miles over land and water to get them right to the right spot. Then that were shaped and raised into position, as we see some of them today. They tell us, and I’m sure it’s true, it took a very sophisticated society to have had the total design and construction skills to put this together. There is a lot of very interesting things written about Stonehenge, and I’m not going to put them all here, so you are on your own to learn more. Now we are going to take a little detour back northwest. We have heard a lot about the “White Horse” that was carved into the chalk hillside just outside of Westbury. Another amazing site, but maybe not quite up to the hype. There is no doubt, it took a lot of work. The overall look of the horse has been changed a little over the centuries, but it didn’t really hurt anything. There are 2 more different sites we would like to see, but let’s take one day at a time. Now a turn around, and head off for the English version of the “Riviera”…Brighton. The Cathedral at Wells 9 June ’05, Thursday. 40 minutes after leaving Bath, we were deep into The Cheddar Gorge. Our trip there was going through some slight rolling farm hills, and then just out of no where, we were heading down at a 15% grade. Winding and twisting, with tall deciduous trees completely covering over the narrow roadway. Little by little, we started seeing the rocks start forming and then, it was all rocks…straight up, over 400’ straight up. It was also kind of funny that we had very little traffic on the road getting there, but once we were there, cars and people just seemed to come out of the rocks. The village and the gorge of Cheddar was all set up for the “Tourist”, with a capital “T”. I can’t imagine what it will be like this summer, as the real crowds arrive. The high hills aren’t the only thing that brings the crowds…Cheddar Cheese was first developed here, and there are 3 different “Caves” that are attractions. It was nice to see, and I’m glad we were there now instead of later. We passed on everything but the drive through the gorge. At the end of town, we turned south and headed for Wells. Wells is known as the “smallest cathedral city in England”. The awe inspiring medieval cathedral, which they say is the “finest in England” gives Wells this title. I think, personally, that Wells deserves to be recognized for more than the cathedral, although the cathedral is something special. The little “city” really has charm and is very quaint. There is even a little channel of water that runs down each side of the street (it separates the mail street from the sidewalks right in the main shopping area). The water comes from a medieval spring (at 40 gallons a second), and in the 15th century the Bishop of Beckynton gave this channeled water to the village as a gift. At the end of the street from the village (City), stands the historic buildings of the cathedral, the Bishop’s Palace, the walls of the palace, and adding more atmosphere, the moat around it. There is also the Vicar’s Close, which is the oldest continuously inhabited street in Europe. Construction on the cathedral started in the late 1100’s. The expanse of the cathedral is unbelievable, but as you walk through, it all seems to fit quite easily. By the time we had walked all the cathedral, it was time to grab lunch, and head on down the road. We made our way further south to A303, and then headed east. Our next stop was going to be Sourhead. Sourhead is thought to be the finest examples of 18th century landscape gardening in Britain. The garden was started in 1740 by Henry Hoare, who inherited the estate. He built a large lake, that is fed by 3 other smaller ones, planted rare trees and plants, and Neo Classical Italianate temples. There are also grottoes and bridges. The house, is a “Palladian” style, that dates from 1724. We parked the van, and needing a walk (what, another walk !!!), we slow walked the 2 miles around the lake and the beautifully planted grounds. 5 o’clock already, so we continued heading east, and ended up in a campground just outside of Salisbury. Tomorrow…Stonehenge and…. The Pulteney Bridge 8 June ’05, Wednesday. Tuesday morning we left our campground, just 15 miles north of Abergavenny, and headed down to Newport, across a long and beautiful bridge to Bristol, and then on to our next campground in Bath. While in the UK, we try to stay in campgrounds belonging to The Caravan Club, but in Bath, we decided on a municipal campground. We are about 15 minutes out of Bath by bus, and the bus stops right across the street. Yesterday turned out to be a bright and sunny day. Seeing as half of our day was getting here, and seeing as how we needed to do a little washing of clothes, we spent the day in camp catching up. This morning we were out at the bus stop and on our way into see the attraction in Bath by 10am. We had a list of places we wanted see, and wanted to get with it. Bath (as the name might indicate) is noted for its baths”. At least it was in the Roman times and other times, off and on, since. Our first visit was to the “Roman Baths”. Even to this day, the center of Bath maintains its hot springs and with them, the Roman Baths. The original Roman baths from the 1st century (and they weren’t the first baths here), weren’t excavated until the late 19th century. The water coming out of the ground is still coming out at 116 degrees, but unfortunately, there are no spa’s available today to use this soothing water. There is a new complex that has been built, and was to open 2 years ago, but as of now it still has problems and no date available as to opening. Across the plaza from the baths, was the Bath Abby. We joined a tour going through the Abby and really enjoyed it. This Abby was built in 1499, on top of a church that was here in 973. The Abby, as it stands now, is over 500 years old and a fine example of “Late Perpendicular Gothic” (mean anything to you???). 12 noon, and we boarded a doubledecker red tour bus for a hour ride around the town. This is always a good way to acquaint ourselves with the layout of the city and the things to see. Then a picnic lunch, sitting on a bench in the center of town, listening and watching the street musicians. 2pm, it was time for a “free” guided walking tour of Bath. Then, we walked over to the Pulteney Bridge. This 18th century bridge is not only wonderful to look at, it is very functional as each side is lined with retail shoppes, from one end to the other. 4pm, we boarded the same sightseeing bus, and visited the hills around the city, having a good view of the houses and the city below. We saw “The Circus” (Georgian architecture at its best), a beautifully laid out prominent living complex. It is 3 large curving structures that make a complete circle, with a large park in the center. We also saw the Royal Crescent, which was a similar complex, only in a “crescent shape”. I guess I could have saved you a lot of reading, and me a lot of typing, if I had just said, “we saw Bath today”, and let it go at that…. Tomorrow…The Cheddar Gorge, and Wells… 6 June ’05, Monday. Stokesay Castle A good nights rest, a great shower, and we were ready to head out again after breakfast. Our route will take us north from Kidderminster to Ironbridge. Then, further north to Shrewsbury, about turn, and head south just short of Abergavenny for the night. We were out to see some of the “Historic West Midlands”. Our first stop was little town of Ironbridge. In 1779, Abraham Darby III cast the world’s first iron bridge. It spans the Severn River and really is a “monument to the ironmasters” of the time. Abraham was the grandson of the first man to smelt iron with coke. Next we headed down stream and visited a mine. This mine was actually started as a tunnel, but after bricking up the walls as they went, they found that something was “leaking” out from between the bricks. It turned out to be “liquid coal”. Fact is, they also found large quantities of the black goo that eventually was sold to buyers all over Europe. The large quantities didn’t last too long, so they boarded up the entrance. It was re-opened to the public in 1987, and there is still a small quantity streaming down the walls. Well, we have now been in 1 ice cave, 2 salt mines, and 1 liquid coal mine… Next stop not far from Ironbridge, is the ruins of the Buildwas Abbey. This was a “fine 12trh century church” and a Cistercian Abbey. The back drop of the wooded gardens and it’s beautiful chapter house, amazingly intact tiled floor and decorative stonework made this a very interesting stop. A few miles further down the road was the Wenlock Priory. The ruins of this large Cluniac priory, was once part of the Europe wide network of the immense French Abbey of Cluny. This was one Abbey that I wish King Henry VIII had left alone. It must have really been something special. One more stop after lunch, and then on down the road to find our next campsite. Just off the roadway we found Stokesay Castle. The books call this the most perfectly preserved medieval fortified manor house in Europe, and it was built in the 13th century. This castle is out in the countryside and very close to the Welsh border. Also on the grounds is a 17th century parish church. The timber framed 17th century gatehouse is spectacular. This manor house was built by Lawrence of Ludlow, who was most renowned for his wool merchants, that made him very wealthy. There was only one time when the castle came under siege, and then the “guards of the castle” threw up their arms at the approaching army and gave up without a shot being fired. They say that is what saved the castle from being destroyed. Inside the house, were still some pretty incredible pieces of craftsmanship. From the stone work to the wood beams and wood sculptures at the top of one of the fireplaces. A full day was had, and Louise is now asleep across from me, so… Tomorrow… 5 June ’05, Sunday Royal Shakespeare Theatre Stratford-upon-Avon was just as good as all the books told us… and Wm. Shakespeare, as you already know, a legend. Arriving early we found a parking lot with room for us, so after putting in our ₤4 for 4 hours, we were heading into town. Stratford-upon-Avon is one of those towns with canals cutting through it at all angles. It is filled with tour boats, a small chain pulled ferry (about 15 people at a time for about 50 cents), small power and row boats, and canoes…a tourists delight, and it showed as you could practically walk across the canals without touching the water. Because of the canals, the roadways through the town were at all angles, and very confusing. After stopping at the Information Office, we headed over to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. There are 2 theatres there and we thought a tour of both of them was a good start in getting in the mood for “Shakespeare”. The largest sat about 1600 for a performance, and the smaller and much the older of the two, sat less than 700. Of course the smaller had the feel that we were looking for, the larger was the one that was used for all the plays except if a play is being put on by a non-professional troupe, or special occasion that would fit the smaller theatre better than the larger one. Then it was out to see the rest of the town. There are buildings that Shakespeare was born in, lived in, and died in. Homes that his mother, sisters, and daughters lived in… We also saw a church that he attended… Then, we saw that we were out of time at the parking lot, and as we were leaving we also saw a sign saying that parking without paying or expired, was a ₤60 fine… Now we were in trouble, because of all those angled streets and canals, we weren’t too sure of how to get back. I know Drew, “put a map in your pocket and you’ll never get lost…”. I can’t wait for you to get out into the real world… Well, after grabbing that little ferry, and making a couple of wrong turns, we got back to “Bumble Bee” and found that we were out of time by over 30 minutes, but still no ticket. Seeing as how we had seen most of the things we wanted, we took off for our next destination. On a good day it would have taken us about 2 hours to get there, but today…let’s just say we had a driving day from hell. It took us almost 4 hours, and just about an extra tank of gas before we found a campground that we could stay in. I know you all want the details, but it is best that we forget it…at least for the time being. Tomorrow… if we are still talking…the “Old Iron Bridge” and more 4 June ’05, Saturday. Warwick Castle After a cloudy day driving, we pulled into Warwick yesterday about 4 in the afternoon. Never having been here, we were in a little bewilderment in the “campground site” book. It said that during “race day” you would “have restricted access”… Race days ?? Well, it seems that this campground is located in the center grounds of a horse racing track, and during race times, you have to wait to either get in or out. As it was, it wasn’t race day and we made out just fine. Fact is, it was a campground that was located within easy walking to just about anything of importance in the area. The city of Warwick was just about totally destroyed in 1694 because of a fire, but fortunately, there are still some very fine medieval guild buildings that survived. Warwick not only has a fine collection of the gild buildings, there is the Doll Museum from 1573, the really beautiful Lord Leycester Hospital, Beauchamp Chapel, and of course the “splendid” (as the British would say) Warwick Castle. Being an medieval fortress, the Normans rebuilt it and made a fortified castle of it in the 14th century. Then in the 17th century the Greville family transformed it into a great country house. It was the residence for the Earls of Warwick and his family. This “Castle” is really set up for the visiting tourist, and maximizes the opportunity to gain $$$ from them. Now saying that, I feel it was still a bargain. It was restored beautifully with the help from Madame Tussaud’s. Not only was the work carried out on the structures, it was also well documented with those who lived there by the Tussaud’s. Their creations in wax were outstanding. They really did come to life. Then there were the hired medieval guards, the ladies of the house and their ladies in waiting, the knights, and even a jester to entertain us. We were invited to a “Royal Weekend Party” with the Prince of Wale’s from 1898 as our host (thanks to Madame Tussaud), and with special guest Winston Churchill (in his late teen’s). We also visited the private rooms of all the family, the Great Hall and State Room, The Mill and Engine House and, and… Overall, we spent over 5 hours on the grounds. We were also entertained by a “court action” against “William The Conquer”, and then outside for a flying display of “Birds of Prey”. Their handler treated us to a wonderful show with such birds as eagles, vultures, and hawks. I don’t know how many acres there were for the “grounds”, but they were all magnificent. Louise has really gotten into the huge trees, and they were well represented here. It is amazing, but there are more really large trees here in Europe and Great Britain, but as far a “forests”, they have very few. Tomorrow…Shakespeare and Stratford-upon-Avon… |
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