Tales from the Highway: October 2018

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Cornwall

This is going to be a bit of a rushed post.
We've covered a lot of ground the past 11 days or so and time is running out on my
ability to get this out before we are back onboard the Queen Mary headed West.

After leaving Bath, we headed south west to the end of England, where it juts
out into the North Atlantic.
This area of the country is called Cornwall.

Our friends from Switzerland flew into London and drove over to Cornwall to
spend our final days in Europe with us.

This would be our third, and final, visit with them this trip and the last time we
would see each other until.....

We stayed at a very large home (5 beds - 6 baths) situated in the side of a hill overlooking
an estuary on the Pentire Peninsula in Newquay.

The view from our home

It was a beautiful place for all of us to spend 8 days together.

Its a huge surfing area as the large North Atlantic Swell rolls in from the West.

The waves here are impressive

The Harbor in Newquay

One day we drove north up the coast to Padstow, England.
Along the way we stopped to admire the view at the Bedruthan Steps

Bedruthan Steps, Cornwall

It reminds us a lot of the Oregon Coast.

Us and our very well traveled Doodles.

The doodles in Cornwall

Another stop just outside of Padstow was Prideaux Place, an Elizabethan Home dating
back to the 1500's.

Unfortunately the house was not open but the grounds were - so we had fun
checking out the estate on a fine autumn day.

Prideaux House

The Doodles in the Rose Garden

Prideaux House Rose Garden

Prideaux House Temple

There was a fair amount of large game wandering out the grounds.
This big buck took particular interest in the Doodles

Prideaux Place Gardens

We stopped in Padstow, a quaint village along the coast north of Newquay

We had lunch in the Old Custom House Pub

Dog friendly England.

The doodles have become quite used to Pub Life

Another days trip was to Lanhydrock House - a Victorian Era home with sections dating back
to the 1600's - now owned by the National Trust.

The kitchen and other cooking areas were massive.

Lanhydrock House Kitchen

The House Bakery

Lanhydrock House Bakery

The Dining Room

Lanhydrock House Dining Room

Lanhydrock House Billiard Room

Lanhydrock House Smoking Room

A view thru the windows out to one of the gardens.

The Gallery.
35 meters in length, the ceiling contains 24 plasterwork panels depicting stories from the Bible.
The Gallery is a part of the house dating back to the 1600's

Lanhydrock House Gallery

Walking back up the hill to the carpark.

Another fine day comes to a beautiful conclusion.

As our time is running out and its now just a few days till we get back on the
ship - we took the dogs to the self service doodle wash in Saltash.

Gracie gets a batch

Lucy gets a bath

The girls came along to help.

The girls holding a clean Gracie

Another days trip was to St Mawes Castle on the southern coast of the Cornwall Peninsula.

Ship departs port behind St Mawes Castle

The castle was built by Henry VIII to guard the entrence to the port of Falmouth.

Unlike many castles which were a place where Royals or Nobles would live,

St Maws was purely a military installation.

One of the gun Batteries.

St Mawes Castle Guns

The Castle is in very good shape.

St Mawes Castle

Just down the hill from the Castle is the quaint harbor side village of St. Mawes.

Note the Thatched Roofs in St Mawes

Another day the Gang went to the Eden Project.

On this day I stayed behind as I had a bunch of work to get caught up on prior to our

travel across the Atlantic.

The Eden Projects consists of two large biomes formed by adjoining large domes.

The scale of the biomes are evident by looking at the people on the platform

viewing location below the roof.

Before we knew it - our 8 days in Cornwall was over and we were down to only 3

more nights left in the UK.

For two of our final nights I had selected a special location.

Thornbury Castle.

The castle - now a hotel - is considered one of the finest surviving examples of

Tudor age architecture in England.

It was started in 1511 as a Tudor Country Home and as such had minimal defensive

features built into the home.

The original builder - Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, was beheaded in 1521

for Treason by King Henry VIII (his distant cousin), and the

home was confiscated by the King.

Henry and Anne Boleyn stayed here for 10 days on thier Honeymoon in August 1535.

Thornbury Castle Front

One of Thornbury Castles side wings

Our room in the castle.

A popular venue for weddings, the castle has several dining rooms.

One of Thornbury Castles Dining Rooms

Another dog-friendly location, the doodles joined us for breakfast.

The castle vineyard is showing its fall colors.

Thornbury Castle Vineyard

Our package included breakfast & dinner each day.

Thornbury is an ancient market town and its status as such continues today.

Thornbury, England

There are many restaurants, pubs, and coffee shops in town.

Fresh produce (The Britts call it "Veg") outside one of the local markets

Fresh Veg in Thornbury

The doodles have become a fixture in the pubs in the UK.

Always great travelers - they have really added some new dimensions to their

repertoire this trip and take everything in stride.

Pub Doodles in Thornbury, England

It's now Oct 17 early morning here in Thornbury.

Today marks 5 months since we set sail from NY on the Queen Mary 2, and

tomorrow we will again board for our 7 day crossing of the North Atlantic

back to the New World and some exciting new adventures in our lives.

Soon we pack up and head to the Holiday Inn Express in Southampton

where we will spend our final night on this side of the pond.

Perhaps I'll get to send a quick update after we board the ship,

if not, then we'll see you on the other side.

Hope that you all have enjoyed riding along.

Friday, October 5, 2018

Idyllic England - The Cotswolds

We are wrapping up about 3 weeks in the Cotswolds Region of England

and I think its safe to say that we have a winner!

Unless Cornwall turns out to be something really super special,
it is going to be hard to beat the Cotswolds for its beauty and pure idyllic charm.

Sudeley Castle

For 15 nights we have called the Gatehouse of Sudeley Castle our home.
And it really felt like home. We did not want to leave!

Sudeley Castle Gatehouse

Our friends Mark & Karen from our Eastbound Crossing on the QM2 came to visit with
us for 3 nights.

Mark & Karen Visit

We had a nice patio at the back of the gatehouse with a peaceful view and
nothing but sheep as neighbors.

Our Back Patio

Our first night, the 4 of us went to one of the local pubs for dinner.
One of the great things about the Gatehouse was that there were several pubs and restaurants
and a great village, within about a 10 minute walk.

Corner Cupboard Inn & Pub in Winchcombe

The next day we walked further into the Sudeley Castle Estate, and took a tour of the
Castle and the gardens.
The castle is open to the public, and one of the perks about renting the gatehouse is that we
have full access to the Castle and grounds free of charge.

Path to Sudeley Castle

The Castle dates back to the 14th Century and earlier.
It was owned by King Henry VIII and he and Anne Boleyn spent time here plotting the
dissolution of the monasteries.

Sudeley Castle Garden

It is now owned by Lady Ashcombe and her children who live in the castle.
It is open to the public from the spring into the fall.

Sudeley Castle

We had a lovely fall day to explore the castle gardens in the rear of the castle.

Sudeley Castle

The gang.
Behind us lie the ruins of the great hall, and beyond that, the surviving part of the castle.

The Castle's St Mary Chapel.

Sudeley Castle St Mary Chapel

King Henry VIII's 6th and final wife, Kathryn Parr, survived him, and upon his death

in January 1547 took up residence in Sudeley Castle.

It wasn't long till Kathryn rekindled an old flame in Thomas Seymour.

Thomas Seymour was the brother of Jane Seymour (Henry VIII's 3rd wife).

Henry and Jane had a son, Edward - who became King Edward VI

That made Thomas Seymour Edwards Uncle.

When Kathryn and Thomas married (about 5 months after Henry died,

if I have my family tree right, that made

Kathryn, Edwards Step-Mother and Aunt

and Thomas his uncle and step-father.

Got all of that?

Kathryn and Thomas got busy and soon she was pregnant.

Unfortunately Kathryn died 8 days after giving birth to a daughter Mary.

And.. Thomas Seymour fell out of favor at court and was beheaded for treason about 2 years later.

Kathryns tomb is in St Marys Chapel at Sudeley Castle.

She is the only English Queen buried on Private land.

Katheryn Parr Tomb

The Sudeley Castle Estate is about 1200 acres and we had all of it to roam freely!
Below is the road leading back from the castle, to the Gatehouse
which peeks out between the trees on the right.

Path from Sudeley Castle back to the Gatehouse

Not far from our Castle home was the delightful town of Winchcombe.

Winchcombe Village - North St

Winchecombe was large enough to have the essentials, but was not overly touristy so
we were always able to find a free table at a pub for a pint.

Above are the other cottages located on the Sudeley Castle Estate.
Special about the gatehouse is that it sits all alone with lots of room around it.

Like all of the English Countryside that we have visited...
The homes and farms here are all very clean and well manicured.

Cotswold Cottage

The public footpaths are an interesting English feature.

Since way back, the land has been crisscrossed by footpaths. These footpaths run thru
farm fields and private land on rights of way. Open and close the gates and you are free to proceed.
Just don't let your doodles chase down the sheep or the farmer can shoot your dog!

Kate & Doodles under the watchful eye...

These are the Almshouse in Winchcombe. Low income housing.
Occupants could be a family or elderly.... the only requirements are a certain income
and "good moral character"

Almshouses Winchcombe

Midway thru our stay at the Castle we had visit from other shipmates of ours.
Craig & Vicki and their two dogs Belle & Poppy.

They are another great couple that we met on our Eastbound Crossing.
The best part of it is that we will be sharing the Westbound back to the US with them too!

Shipmates all.

Craig & Vicki introduced us to a proper afternoon tea on the verandah.

Afternoon Tea at the Castle

We had learned that on Weds nights, the local Church of England Church (St Peters)
has practice sessions for the bell ringers.
They invite the public to come and see and hopefully can recruit a few to help out
as I guess its getting harder to find people who are willing to devote the time.

So on Weds night the 4 of us set off into town and up the steep spiral staircase into
the St Peters Bell tower to observe and learn about ringing the bells.

Spiral Staircase up to the bell tower at St Peters

Finally up to the ringing room.

There are 8 bells but on this night they were using 6.
First they must ring the bells, getting them to swing in ever wider arcs until they get them
to stop upside down. It is from this upside down position where they can ring the bells and
stop them at will.

Bellringing at St Peters Winchcombe

The video below shows them first getting the bells into position,
then ringing the bells,
then Kate gives it a try.
Notice how the rope is pulled in the first session, vs how it is pulled in the next two.

Returning to the castle we have the friendly welcoming committee.

Waiting for dinner.

One of our favorite things was to take drives thru the idyllic countryside.

Each day it seems the scenery changed as the trees and their colors changed more and more

in anticipation of fall.

Beautiful Cotswolds

I've found the colors here are not as dramatic as in the US,
but the countryside makes up for that shortfall and then some.

Autumn is knocking on the door in the Cotswolds

Just a special place on this earth.

Idyllic Cotswold Scenery

Another day trip was to the nearby village of Bourton on the Water.

Bourton on the Water

Another storybook location in a beautiful place.

Bourton on the Water

Some video of our drive home from Bourton on the Water thru The Cotswolds

Spending time here is pleasing on so many levels.
There is of course, the gentle countryside.
The beautiful scenery seems to calm and nourish the soul.

Then there are the people.
The English are a kind and gentle lot.
Polite almost to a fault.
Always with a smile and a cheerful hello.
Its a super dog-friendly country.
It is easy to feel at home here.

A Peaceful Cotswold Country Lane

Before we got off of the ship I had asked Craig for some driving tips.
One thing he mentioned is that the roads are much narrower than in the US.

When I first hit the road I found out immediately what he meant.
At first it was a very stressful experience.

Driving on the left, trying to judge clearances from the right seat,
and not clipping the cars or the curbs on these tight roads proved to all be challenges.
I missed the cars but not all the curbs.

Once I became accustomed to it - I started to really enjoy these roads.
You must drive them.

But you are paid back for that with something that is hard to put a finger on.
The Germans call it Farfegnugen.

Meanwhile there are the Pheasants.... I mean - they are everywhere.
Scurrying about - they remind me of Roadrunners.

They are not in any particular rush to get out of your way
and many of them pay the ultimate sacrifice.

We fortunately missed them but one barely managed to
spring into the air and over the car as we rounded the corner.

Pheasants on the road

September - having turned into October - our 15 days at Sudeley had quickly come to an end
and it was time again to pack up and move on to our 30th home of this trip.

Stonehenge

On the way to this new home - we made a side trip to visit the ancient stoneworks at Stonehenge.
To get to the stones, you must walk about 2 miles from the parking lot up a paved road,
or alternatively thru the fields.

There is an option to take a shuttle bus - but dogs are not allowed on the bus and
we wanted to take the Doodles, so by foot it was.

While the main attraction is the stone monument below - I did not realize that it is a large complex
of several hundred burial mounds, ancient earthworks, and even roadways.

Stonehenge

We arrived at our new home - a converted barn on the side of a hill with a great view overlooking
Bath England. It is part of a whole little village perched on a mountain top.
Very cool indeed!

We only had two days on the ground here, and with that short a time I decided to take
one day to get caught up on work and stay home.
Then on Friday - our second day we would see what we could.

The view from our mountaintop. To the right is the barn next to our home.