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
“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