Cornwall Coast

Okay so I didn't get around to catching up on writing any posts while on the plane home but I will continue on here, even though I'm home now, so that our travel adventure is complete.

When we arrived in Weston-Super-Mare last night it was overcast and bleak but we awoke this morning to beautiful sunshine, ideal sightseeing weather. Weston-Super-Mare is very close to where Cornwall meets Wales at the start of the Bristol Straight.

It was fascinating to see how far the tide went out. Where there had been water here last night, this morning we couldn't see any for miles. We have seen a lot of boats beached on the sand like this in our travels. It seems that every time we've been near tidal waterways the tide has been out.

The Cornish countryside is beautiful with a patchwork of paddocks divided by hedgerows and trimmed with cliffs dropping into the sea. The hedgerows are taller here than in other parts of England so you only get glimpses of the scenery every now and again when your on the crest of a hill. To be truthful I'm a little over the hedgerows.

 

This is the coast near Tintagel Castle where we stopped for a good look around. 

Tintagel Castle is associated with the birth of the legendary King Arthur.

 

The views from the ruins were stunning no matter which way we looked.

And the the wildflowers were so pretty growing everywhere, amongst the grass and in rocky crevices.

We had set off this morning thinking we would get all the way along the north coast of Cornwall and some of the south as well but it's so beautiful it cannot be rushed,  so we decided to head for our accommodation at Truro and continue to Lands End tomorrow.

TOODLES

Lacock

We woke up to rain this morning (it is the first real rain since our first day in Scotland) and it looked like it was going to last all day. We were headed to Cornwall today so most of the day was going to be in the car so the rain wasn't going to effect us.

A road shot as we drove past Birmingham. 

As it turned out the rain stopped about lunchtime and like yesterday we had the opportunity to stop at a National Trust site, a little village called Lacock.

Apart from the cars it looked like time had stood still. 

The main attraction was Lacock Abbey. I'm trying to play catch up with my blog posts at the moment and can't concentrate very well so If you don't mind I'll let the photos tell the story for now and I may be elaborate later.

As you can see another beautiful place. Onward to Cornwall.

TOODLES

My Kinda Day - Part 2

When I left you last post I was off to get my patchwork fix with Brenda. The Quilt Museum and Gallery was only a short walk from York Minister so with map in hand we left the men to find something else to do.

On display at the gallery was an exhibition of quilts by Kaffe Fassett (well known textile designer) with the antique quilts which he had used for inspiration for each quilt. It was interesting to see his interpretation and how he broke the more intricate antique designs down to simpler but still effective quilt designs.

We were particularly taken by the intricacy of this little number. It is only cot size but you can see by my pinkie how small the little squares are. It was all paper priced by hand and the stitches were so close together, fascinating.

We met up with the men again, walk back to the car and headed for our next destination. As I've mentioned previously, we joined the National Trust before we came away so we could take advantage of getting into their sites for free. Everywhere you go in the UK there are signs for National Trust sites so on our way to Birmingham we had a enough time to stop at Clumber Park (yeah, I hadn't heard of it either). As the name suggests it is a big parkland which surrounds an enormous walled kitchen garden. The house that the garden used to service longer exists but garden still provides for a cafe/restaurant that's there.

Of interest, the longest glass I've ever seen, the second largest rhubarb collection in Britain, over 100 varieties (who knew), beautiful flower garden and lots of bumble bees.

No, Ross isn't admiring this flower, it's a wonder I didn't have to restrain him from pulling the flowers off. It is Orange Hawkfeed, a noxious weed at home in Australia, that he has been battling with for years in the National Parks. 

Anyway we enjoyed our impromptu stop off and it capped off a near perfect day for me, an old cathedral, a patchwork exhibition and a garden, what else could I ask for. 

TOODLES

My Kinda Day - Part 1

This was my kind of day. Three activities that were right up my alley. We walked into the centre of York (about half an hour) so that was a good start to the day. It is a lovely city and has a wonderful casual vibe about it. There's hustle and bustle and lots of people but somehow it's not frantic.

Our first stop York Minister.

This was one of those breathtaking, emotional, WOW experiences. Not only is this cathedral magnificently massive, it is beautifully decorated, both inside

and out

 

The 275 steps to the top of the tower were a must, especially with a view like this as a reward.

Under the cathedral is a display on its interesting more recent history. About 50 years ago it was in danger of collapsing. Major excavations revealed the foundations were on ancient Roman ruins. Tons of concrete and steel had to be used to stabilise the main tower. 

All the cathedrals (still in use) that we have visited are in some state of repair and York wasn't an exception, the stonemasons were busy with their tedious task.

After the cathedral tour Brenda and I left the fellas and made our way through the cobbled back streets to my one and only real patchwork fix for the trip but more of that next post. 

We're on the move again. I'm about a week behind now, oh well I'll have plenty of time on the plane on the way home to catch up.

TOODLES

Oh, The Dales

What can I say about the Yorkshire Dales? It is everything you've ever heard about it. I felt I'd been dropped into scene from "All Creatures Great and Small" or any of those television series or films set in the English countryside. The green hills crisscrossed with stone wall fences gently roll along, with stone houses & barns (or ruins of) scattered liberally and stone bridges all adding to the charm.

As you can see we had the most glorious day for our drive up hill and down dale (sorry just had to throw that in there).

The highlight for the day was to find this river. For those who aren't family, the significance is that Ross and Brenda's mother, Ruth, was a Ure before she was married. We had set out in the morning with a general idea where the Ure River was but not exactly so when we rounded a bend and there was this sign it was a big surprise.

We're not sure if there is any family connection to this particular river and a short search of the adjacent church graveyard didn't reveal any Ure graves. Connection or not it was still a thrill and Ross spotted a 3lb trout from the bridge (very appropriate for this family) and Brenda dripped her hands in. We ended up crossing the river half a dozen times before the morning was finished as we made our way to York.

A change of scenery for the afternoon. We arrived at York early afternoon so had time to visit the Yorkshire Air Museum. There are planes of every size and age, most air force service planes and lots of info on their use in the various wars.

 

It has always been a dream of Ross' to see a Lancaster Bomber in the fresh, so to speak, and this is pretty close, it's a Hallifax.

I stepped back in time to my childhood, when Mum and I used to fly to Melbourne from Corryong in one of these. Of course ours was a passenger plane not a troupe transporter (this one was a little basic inside). Admittedly this activity was more a Ross thing than a me thing but I still found it really interesting.

It was with a little trepidation that we went to find our lodgings for the night, very cheap (£41 about $85 including breakfast) and mixed reviews. We were pleasantly surprised, one of our best yet and they did a very good evening meal for about £10 each. 

More of York tomorrow.

TOODLES

Back in the Highlands

Silly me I forgot to hit publish yesterday so you will have two posts to read today.

After finishing our Britannia tour, we hit the road back to the Scottish Highlands. Following a couple of comments on Facebook about some things we had missed seeing at Fort William, we thought we might regret not making the effort to back track the 200km. It doesn't sound like much in Australian terms (a couple of hours) but when travelling in the UK driving is a bit slower, the 200km was going to take at least 3+ hours and that's without stopping, but we were compelled to stop to take in scenes like these.

The photos don't really do justice to the majesty of these mountains. We have higher mountains in Australia but here in Scotland the roads follow the valley floor so the mountains rise up on either side, almost swallowing you. At one stop we had a piper adding to atmosphere. Ahh, there is something about the sound of bagpipes in these mountains. About 4 hours later we arrived at Fort William, which sits at the foot of Ben Nevis, the UK's tallest mountain, and is Scotland's major ski resort.

The next morning we got moving early as there was lots to see and do.

First stop Glenfinnan Viaduct also known as "Harry Potter" bridge.

The view in the opposite direction with someone hamming it up. I had to include one of these photos and our kids will get it. The tall skinny thing near the lake is a monument to "Bonnie Prince Charley".

Next stop Neptune's Staircase, a series of 7 locks on Calondian canal. These locks are capable of taken really big boats. This prawn boat was travelling from the sea in the south west to Loch Ness.

Next a cable car ride up Ben Nevis.

This is as close as you get to the top without a big trek.

The view down to Fort William and Loch Linnhe. We enjoyed lunch near the top and back to our lodgings. We were all a little weary so decided to have a rest afternoon.

Following day we said goodbye to mountains and made our way south again, to Yorkshire.

Not many photos today apart from a few of Loch Lomond along the way.

Thanks to Jane and Faye whose Facebook comments prompted us to revisited this beautiful part of Scotland it was well worth the 2 days of our travels, most memorable.

TOODLES

Rule Britannia

Another day of Scottish contrasts. We started the day with a self tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia.

We were so glad we didn't rush to fit it into yesterday. For those who don't know, the Britannia no longer sails, it is a permanent tourist attraction in Edinburgh. We were there right at opening time and for the first half an hour it felt like we were the only people on the boat.

I was surprised to see how modestly the Queen chose to live while on Britannia, quite normal really, though the class did show in the dining room with silverware and elegant china and crystal.

It wasn't all about the Queens stuff though, the rest of the boat was fascinating as well, from the helm to the engine room (which apparently was kept in this sparkling condition even when she was running).

By the time we finished there were a lot more people but because there is set sequence to follow on the tour we were always in front of the crowd.

And of course we had to have morning tea while on board.

In the afternoon we left Edinburgh and back tracked north. We decided there were a few things we needed to see in the Highlands near Fort William but that's for the next post.

TOODLES