Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Travels with "Auntie" Mom



My mom loved to travel, always had a good time and enjoyed life to the fullest!


OUR FIRST BIG ADVENTURE

2001 England, Wales, Ireland & Scotland


ENGLAND

My first adventure with my mother was quite eventful.  We were booked with Insight Vacations, a tour group I highly recommend.  We flew into Gatwick Airport, quite a ways from London, but the trip into the City was interesting.  We flew in early so had 2 nights in London at the Kensington Hilton which is located in a very walkable section of the City.

We met our fellow travelers at a reception that evening and hooked up with some delightful people.  I recommend traveling with Aussies and Tasmanians whenever possible.  They liked to drink, eat, sing and have fun.

DAY 1

The next morning after a wonderful full English Breakfast, my favorite meal, we were on our way to Stonehenge, Cerne Abbas, Dorchester, Thomas Hardy's grave in Stinisford and ending in Torquay at the Hotel Grand.


Stonehenge: 

I was a little underwhelmed by Stonehenge, we were given self-audio tours, and it was extremely crowded.  The audio tour was not all that well done and I had to try 3 of them before I found one that worked.  You are unable to get close to the stones because of the amount of people who visit, they have barricades up to keep the tourists at a rather great distance so it wasn't really possible to get a good picture.  Those above are postcards I purchased at the visitor's centre.


Cerne Abbas:

Again, a disappointment.  At the time we visited it was so overgrown you could barely make out what you might be seeing.  Located in Dorset, it is a 180' tall figure of a naked man (with a large erection) etched to a width of 1' into the chalk hill.  It was originally believed to be an ancient figure such as the Uffington Horse which has been determined to be 3,000 years old.  However, it is now thought to have been carved into hill during the time of the English Civil War as a satire on Oliver Cromwell during the 1600's.  The picture above was located on the Internet.

Thomas Hardy Country - Stinisford Saint Michael Church

Dorset was very interesting, all the buildings, including new construction, have to conform to a building code, which means all have thatched roofs to match the the original buildings.

We had a delightful "Plowman's" lunch in Dorset.  We visited St. Michael Church where Thomas Hardy was a parishioner, as was his father and grandfather.  His ashes are interred in Westminister Abbey in London, but his heart is buried at Saint Michael, in the grave of Emma his first wife, who died in 1912.  His second wife, Florence was also buried in the same grave in 1937.

The church was constructed in the 13th century, and the oldest feature is a Saxon relief of St. Michael.  Originally located above the west door, it was removed and installed in the south aisle, to protect the oldest feature from the weather.

The countryside was very beautiful as we made our way to the sea and Torquay, where we would spend two nights at the Grand Hotel.

3 comments:

  1. LOVE that you've started a blog, will be fun to read about your adventures and see your pictures. You've traveled so extensively. This picture of your Mom brings a smile to my face. She looks like someone that knew how to have a good time. Wished I had known her.
    Traveling Suitcase

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  2. Sorry to hear about Stonehenge. It's a place I've always wanted to visit. They probably have to keep people back, cause some jerk would try to write on it, or damage it in some capacity. Is there a non busy time...I wonder. Never knew about the naked man, but it's kinda funny.

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