England and Wales

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England and Wales - more scenery, some Stone Age and Roman history (one of my majors at UW), and a castle. There is so much to see and do in England, we had a hard time figuring out how to plan our 2 1/2 weeks there. We flew in and out of London and could have spent a week or two just seeing the sights there, but we chose to focus on the countryside instead.

Our first stop was Winchester Cathedral, as in the ‘60’s song (yes, I’m dating myself). We had currency issues, though. Planning ahead in Northern Ireland, we got what we thought were British “pounds,” the local currency. Turns out (Northern) Irish pounds, which are what we had gotten, are not always accepted in England, which takes English pounds (although Northern Ireland is part of Britain; go figure), so we had to exchange some of our Irish pounds for British pounds (which has the same exact value). Anyhow, I did a quick walk around and saw Winchester Cathedral, while Pete spent about a half hour trying to get through the one-way streets to find a parking space. After a stop to exchange some of our money, we went to Salisbury, which has its own, famous cathedral, from the 13th century. Besides the cathedral (which holds one of the original copies of the Magna Carta), Salisbury streets “form an architectural timeline ranging from medieval walls and half-timbered Tudor town houses to Georgian mansions and Victorian villas” (Lonely Planet, England, 2017, p. 253). Very charming town.

Traffic in Oxford was terrible, so we didn’t spend much time there. I got out and walked a bit; I had wanted to take one of the Inspector Morris or Inspector Lewis tours, but they weren’t offered on the day we were there. Oxford is a “beautiful, privileged place” (LP, p. 177); the oldest colleges are from the 13th century. Some Harry Potter scenes were filmed at some of the colleges here.

The Cotswolds are a “delightful tangle of glorious golden villages, thatched-roof cottages, evocative churches, rickety almshouses and ancient mansions of honey-colored stone. If you’ve ever lusted after exposed beams, cream teas or cuisine crammed full of local produce, look no further” (LP, p. 190). There weren't many sites in the area, just the beautiful villages and flowers as a whole. One of the towns, Chipping Campden, is “an absolute gem in an area full of pretty towns. Chipping Campden is a glorious reminder of the Cotswolds life in medieval times. The graceful curving main street is flanked by a perfectly picturesque array of stone cottages, fine terraced houses, ancient inns and historic homes, most made of that beautiful honey-colored Cotswolds stone” (LP, p. 200), and thatched-roof cottages, too.

Stonehenge is a mysterious complex consisting of a ring of stones known as the Stone Circle, and other stones. No one knows why the stones were brought to this specific place, built in this specific layout, or how they were brought here. Considering that the stones stand 13 feet (4 meters) high, 7 feet (2 meters) wide, and weigh about 25 tons each and are believed to have come from Wales (250 miles away) and construction probably began around 3000 BCE, how did the stones get there? Why there? It probably started out as a burial site; it could also have been a place for sacrifices, or a celestial site. We just missed a special celebration of the summer solstice, where people are allowed to sleep in the stone circle to watch the sun rise, with certain stones lining up at a certain point to catch the sun’s rays. There had been news in the last few days that after testing the remains of some people buried at Stonehenge, they came from Wales. Did those people bring the stones? Or were their bodies brought to Stonehenge for burial? As part of a celebration or worship service?

Avebury is another complex of stones near Stonehenge. While visitors to Stonehenge need specifically timed, expensive tickets to enter that complex (although you can see it from the main road, but only from a distance), the Avebury stones can be seen and visited 24 hours a day, free of charge, since they are scattered throughout the town of Avebury. The Avebury complex is larger than Stonehenge’s (348 meters, or about 1,142 feet) and originally had 98 standing stones of up to 6 meters in length, and weighing up to 20 tons. Again, why? And how? Their destruction was caused in the Middle Ages when “Britain’s pagan past was an embarrassment to the Church” (LP, p. 260) and the stones were removed, broken up and/or buried. They were re-erected by a wealthy businessman/archaeologist in the 1930’s.

The Roman Empire had established itself in what is now Bath in the first century CE. Bath has three natural hot springs, which “emerge at a steady 46 degrees C, or 115 F” (LP, p. 303). The Roman baths were complete with changing rooms, and a place to take a dip in cold water. As you tour the complex, images are projected on to the walls in different rooms, showing what they were used for; in one, people are getting a massage. You can also take to the waters yourself, in the modern Thermae Bath Spa nearby (for a fee, of course).

Bathing aside, Bath is also known for the Royal Crescent, a “semicircular terrace of majestic townhouses overlooking the green sweep of Royal Victoria Park” (LP, p. 306).

Port Isaac, home of the series “Doc Martin”, was also on my must-see list. There’s really not that much to see or do here (a few shops, a few restaurants, lots of Doc Martin fans, even though it wasn’t filming at the time), but it was cool to walk around and recognize where some of the scenes were filmed.

Hay-on-Wye is a town full of bookstores, but no Barnes and Nobles. All independent bookstores here; it is the most “book-imbued place in the world” and ”Woodstock of the mind,” “Nirvana for book lovers (Lonely Planet, Wales, 2017, pp. 12, 18). I spent about an hour in the store called Murder and Mayhem (mysteries); what a great way to while away some time! I saw people with shopping bags full of books (I only got four books, since I would have to schlep them wherever we went).

Speaking of books, our b&b host in Wales has two full shelves of used Lonely Planet guides. Can I go back over our travels and reclaim all the Lonely Planet guides we’ve left behind to save on luggage space and weight?? The host was a chef in his former life; his breakfasts were more than the usual “English Breakfast” variety. He was also very knowledgeable about the area, and gave us some great ideas for things to do and see.

The castle we chose to visit is Caernarfon. This “fantastical” castle is in a town with “a lot of charm in its untouristy air and a tangible sense of history in the streets around the castle;” the castle is one of the most “complete and impressive castles in Britain.” It was built betwen 1283 and 1330. You can walk around the inside of the castle through interconnected walls and towers, “most of which are well preserved but empty ... It is thoroughly fortified, with a series of murder holes and a sophisticated arrangement of multiple arrow slits” (LP, p. 268). This is the place where the investiture of Charles, Prince of Wales, took place in 1969. There are also great views from across the river. There are a few other castles nearby which we drove by, but we had spent so much time at Caernarfon, they were closed by the time we got there.

One town we wanted to see: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (aka Llanfair). The town was so named to draw the tourists in, and it has worked. The name means St Marys Church in the Hollow of the White Hazel near a Rapid Whirlpool and the Church of St Tysilio near the Red Cross.

The Lake District, like the Cotswolds, is another area where there are not many sites to “see” - just small towns, gorgeous scenery, and some beautiful walks through the countryside. If you're a Beatrix Potter or William Wordsworth fan, you may want to follow in their footsteps.

More Roman history - Hadrian’s Wall. The Romans built a 73-mile wall between 122 and 128 CE, to keep the Picts (Scots) out of Roman territories. Every Roman mile (just a little short of an American mile) had a gateway guarded by a small fort and between each of those gateways were two turrets (towers), so that there were lookout points about every one-third mile. The wall was up to six meters (20 feet) high and up to three meters (about 10 feet) deep. There are a few garrison towns that have been excavated; up to 800 troops were stationed at one of the garrison towns at any one time. People can still hike on a path alongside what remains of the wall, or portions of that path.

And onto ???

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