Advertisement
Cleeve Hill
Endless viewsThis was the day to walk over
Cleeve Common , a high plateau. After the initial climb (1000 feet above sea level, of which the hotel is half way), the walk is gently rolling. At the south edge are the remains of a hill which was use for double-ditch protection over 2000 years old. Much further on and around is
Belas Knap, a burial mound over 4000 years old. Built into the mound were small stone caves for the bodies (over 38 were found, according to the information board).
More gentle walking, then down, down, down over fields, descending to the village of
Winchcombe for lunch. This was the scariest
(steepest) terrain and the longest leg – 6.5 miles.
Our reward was a quiet visit to St Peter’s Church where tapestries stitched by Catherine of Aragon were carefully preserved under glass. I found the age and specificity of the display oddly emotional. Our afternoon was spent at
Sudeley Castle, an option we all took. It was interesting to see the reality of a great house. This castle was important to Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Jane Seymour and so on. It looks very much what castles are supposed to look like. Inside the public rooms were many
Sudeley Castle
Built in 1443 by the Lord High Treasurer to replace a manor house Van Dyck paintings, other paintings, dresses, marquetry, and carved furniture, especially from the time of Cromwell and Elizabeth I.
The modern feature was a room displaying the gown from the wedding of Henry (the family’s male heir) to a model from Hawaii in May of this year! Photos and a video showed the beautiful people, none of whom I recognized, except for Mick Jagger and Bryan Adams (who provided the music).
Finally, we saw a display from the diaries and collections of
Emma Dent , a Victorian who did much to restore the castle after 180 years of disuse. Her husband was a silk-mill owner and MP. She wrote extensively, and she collected things, as Victorians did. The best part of the display was the lace, made into collars, veils, Christening dresses, etc. You can see why people went blind doing it. One sign said Emma Dent thought her own lace not well done, but that she did recognize good work.
View map of tour to date.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.096s; Tpl: 0.022s; cc: 10; qc: 31; dbt: 0.0402s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Isabel Gibson
non-member comment
Tapestries and bales of hay
Looking at Catherine's tapestries got me wondering how they were made. I was thinking of needlepoint, I guess, rather than hand-loom weaving. I can understand how you make a pattern in needlepoint, but weaving is beyond me. The detailed scenes they created are quite amazing. And looking at the dates for Catherine, I was surprised to realize she was only 24 when Henry married her. She was 6 years older than he was, which hardly seems to justify all the "older" comments about her that I've read over the years - it's not like she was 40 and he was 20 -- although given the life span of the day, maybe 6 years loomed larger for them than it might for us. As for your landscape photos, those rolling hills are lovely, aren't they? Especially at harvest. The last one could almost be a scene from near Red Deer, although there's something '"wrong" about the trees.