Blogs from England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2262

My First trip across the big blue ocean and my first (of many) stamps in my passport. London, England 1999 Thursday, February 18, 1999. It is hard to believe that only a week ago I had no plans to go to Europe and for that matter, I didn’t even have a passport. But after some super saver emails, trips to the post office and some quick packing, here we are. Deanne and I boarded the plane around 8ish EST. Our in flight food and entertainment was nice. We had pasta with cheese and sausage for dinner but they showed Simon Birch as the dinner time movie. Ever seen it? It is extremely sad. However, later in the evening, when everyone else was trying to sleep, they played the new Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker movie Rush ... read more

Visit England and Simon for the first time... read more

This 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 url=https://www.bri... read more

From the hotel, we were dropped off by Mike, a part-time driver (when he’s not working for the County cutting grass). He chatted with me all the way, since I rode in the front of the van. Peter is our guide. We walked along well-defined paths and roads. Houses and beautiful gardens were seen with some frequency. These groups of houses are nominally villages, although none have any services beyond a mail box and a (red) phone box. Most of the houses have been extensively refurbished, repaired, and extended. Apparently they are expensive. Some villages are farm yards, in which all the outbuildings have been converted to houses. We saw this in Devon, too. To get to lunch we walked along a paved road to the Highwayman Inn, an old coaching house, now adjacent to the ... read more

We drove up to Exmoor, which is wide and almost flat. The ground cover is short with patches of low bracken and wild flowers, mostly heather and cowslip – purple and yellow again. There is also Cross-leaf Heath, with very small, very pink flowers. The ground is boggy from all the rain yesterday, but this is apparently unusual. We have to watch our feet, which is difficult while taking in the beauty of the scene. The hills covered with bracken surrounded the heath, showing lovely contours and shades of green. We were lucky enough to see wild Exmoor ponies. They were amongst the sheep that graze the moor. The ponies are stocky with particularly thick necks and distinctive green muzzles. Their coats are warm brown or dapple... read more