 |
| Goodbye to our Port Isaac Hosts, Carole and David |
Another year has gone by, and I don't know how I got to be so old. Crikey! But I wouldn't give up one year and look forward to many more, I hope. And I wish the same for our son!
My birthday present this year is a visit to Highclere Castle "English location of Downton Abbey". I had wanted to go on my birthday, but their first day for the tourist season didn't start until July 8, and we wanted to be farther a long and father north in our travels by then. In April when we were booking reservations, there was a special tour being given on July 3 - close enough! We weren't really sure why the tour would be special, but we booked it anyway, even though it seemed a bit pricey, because it worked with our itinerary. I'll tell you more about our stay in Highclere later.
So on my birthday, we said goodbye to our gracious hosts in Port Isaac and then spent most of the day driving from Cornwell to Highclere, making stops in the little town of Cheddar where cheddar cheese was first made and marketed, whizzing past Stonehenge (having visited this site before and didn't stop),
and the smallest city England known as Wells. We learned about Wells while in Switzerland and chatting with a lady who was from that town. She encouraged us to stop and see the Cathedral there. If we hadn't met her, we would not have gone there.
Cheddar
Cheddar is quite the tourist town at the base of Britain's only big gorge. The cheese was first made in the 8th century when there was no refrigeration. The gorge has cool limestone caves where the cheddar was aged. Church and King gave out royal licenses for the name Cheddar, and only cheeses made with in a 30 mile radius of Cheddar could you the term Cheddar. In World War II, the government wanted to mass produce cheddar cheese to feed the troups, and the licensing was rescinded and no longer inclusive to the Cheddar Valley. By the time we reached Cheddar, both of us needed to use some public facilities. We parked in a lot right downtown near some restrooms, but scoffed at the price of the park and pay. It was five pounds! It would last all day, but as we only planned to use the restrooms and stay for five minutes having already decided not to make cheddar a big stop. So we took turns standing by the car while the other walked to the restroom and the other waited by the car looking like we were going to buy a ticket.
When we were both finished with the restrooms, we hopped back in the car and tried to find another location out of town and up into the gorge to park and take a walk back into town. We go several miles out of town before the parking was free. The day was hot and there was little shade, so we just skipped the town altogether.....sorry no photos. We found a shady spot at the upper end of the gorge, and had a picnic lunch, then got back on the road.
Within 30 minutes, we arrived in the town of Wells, known as the smallest city in England. Even in the smallest city, there is a beautiful cathederal and a bonus here was a Bishop's palace complete with moat (so much for the vow of poverty). The cathedral is beautiful and unlike many we have been in that are dark, this one was full of light and lightness. Here are some photos:
 |
| How many footfalls did it take to wear down these stairs? |
 |
| Chapter Hall |
We walked into the Bishop's Palace grounds, looked around at the gardens and public area, but decided to not take a tour of the palace. We did enjoy watching some folks in white playing croquette.
 |
| Moat around the Bishop's Palace |
It was nearly 6:00 pm before we reached Highclere. We stopped prior to our arrival at large Tesco supermarket and purchased some groceries. After all the fish, chips, and pasties, we were really looking forward to making a big green salad and scaling back on the carbs. Our AirBnB host pulled into the drive way of our accommodation just before us.
Our digs for the next two nights in Highclere look like they could have been here for a hundred years or more, perhaps one of the outlying buildings of Highclere Castle.
 |
| Saint Gabriel's House |
It is a large brick building. Our Hosts Patrick and Collette have 8 children, ranging in age from 3 to 21. Our room is an annex off the house with its own bed, bath, and kitchenette,
and we are within an easy mile or two walk on a country lane from Highclere.
All is Well With the Worrall Travel R's Looking Forward to Tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment