We are only finally getting around to writing this on our
return to London, and trust me we have been to a lot of places since Liverpool.
So we are determined to get up to date with our blogs before moving on to
France in a few days. We tried on this slowing down idea, we liked it and kept doing it and possibly over did it. We just returned Maddy before
entering London, so there will be nothing but us and our packs and hopefully
this will be the kick in the butt we need.
An overdue play date
with Family
After a well deserved sleep in we arose at 12 (totally
indulgent of us) and then enjoyed a leisurely lunch and hit the road. This was
one of our longest journeys yet, travelling from Liverpool to Denise’s (Simons
cousin) house in the very south of England in the little village of Sturminster
Newton. This is the kind of village that when you go to the local supermarket
all the locals know each other, and we overheard on two occasions the village
gossip being shared. There is something charming about knowing everyone in your
village and something concerning about your dirty laundry being aired to
everyone in the local supermarket. Not sure if this is the life for us – not
that we have any dirty laundry. Actually who are we kidding you should see how
much dirty laundry we have *note to self must do some hand washing.
But I digress, back to the point - FAMILY! We arrived at
Denise’s for what was a very overdue visit with her and her daughters Zoe and
Holly. We last saw them when they visited Australia for Christmas 9 years ago.
We were completely spoilt with Denise giving us her beautiful bedroom and
amazing luxurious bathroom – a treat we haven’t had in a long time! Our first night
was spent catching up and drinking down.
On Sunday Zoe and her partner Al, took us out for a leisurely
day along the coast, which ended with crazy golf on the beachside while the sun
was setting. It was a great afternoon filled with loads of laughter. Simon
somehow managed to fluke a win, apparently the strategy is to have no strategy.
Word on the street is that he will be releasing his book called Winning at
Crazy Golf in 2014. The night was topped off with a Sunday roast perfectly
prepared by Denise and was our opportunity to meet the gorgeous Isabelle,
Holly’s daughter. Any of the Wile family know her as ‘the worlds most
photographed child’, because there is always a new photo of her on Facebook and
there is a reason for this, she is ridiculously cute!
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| Simon and Zoe hanging out at Crazy Golf - Simon looks confident in his lead |
The rest of the week at Denise’s gave us a great opportunity
to spend time with this wonderful family, get some overdue planning done, and
to see some spectacular sights that were close by. We can’t thank Denise enough
for her generous hospitality!
Salisbury
Thirty minutes from Denise’s is the beautiful town of
Salisbury which is famous for its majestic Cathedral. This cathedral is
stunning, and that’s not surprising given it has the tallest spire in England.
There is a beautiful cloister inside the Cathedral walls which houses a
beautiful garden space, it is quite special and was refreshingly unique. The
Cathedral houses one of four surviving copies of the Magna Carta (if you don’t
know what this is have a quick google – its pretty important).
The city is an architectural timeline, with nearly all the
famous English styles represented here. But with the limited day light we
resited exploring and headed to Stonehenge only 30 minutes away.
Stonehenge
We’ve all seen pictures of it, but you don’t feel how special
and cold it is until you’ve seen it in person. It is truly awe inspiring
standing there trying to figure out why and how this was built. Stonehenge is
in the middle of an extremely large open area making it and its viewers exposed
to the elements from every angle.
The way it stands alone with only crows
looking down on the passers-by adds to the atmosphere of mystery and makes it
stark and imposing. Walking the circle around the circle it’s hard to believe
you are looking at something as old as the pyramids.
The question ‘why’ to so
many things is left unanswered, even the ‘how’ is not completely known.
Stonehenge is one of those places where you can just look and wonder and let
your imagination go.
Bath
It’s no surprise what Bath is famous for given its name. The
Romans were drawn here by the natural hot springs that flow from deep under the
earth. They established a massive bathing and religious complex the likes of
which had never been seen before in the Western Roman Empire. After the Romans
left the baths fell into disuse and decay to be eventually found and restored
by the Victorian English. Today the baths are open to the sky and their glory
diminished but you still get a very strong impression of the important and
magnificence of this site. In fact it’s hard to resist the urge to take a dip,
the water temperature is so inviting. Personally we would like to see the
return of Roman bathing it sounds fantastic.
Both the Romans and the Victorians believed the water had
healing powers and that by bathing in it and drinking it all ailments would be
cured. Some doctors even prescribing up to 5 litres a day. We tried a little,
the water is warm and tastes a little eggy. We were ok with just a mouthful.
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| You can just see the steam rising off the top from the thermal water. The green is because it has been exposed to the Sun for algae to grow - unlike in the Roman days where the bath was enclosed. |
After the Baths we spent the afternoon exploring the
gorgeous town, with its upmarket shopping and beautiful streets.
Parting Thoughts
- One can only imagine where Britain would be today without the Romans.
- Stonehenge is thought provoking and humbling
- Feather down doonas are the best, so are the jackets
- “the best strategy is no strategy” – Simon Wile
The weather is really starting to chill down and is getting
pretty miserable at times. At the moment we can just cope all layered up it has
become pretty apparent that we can’t take it much colder than this without
upgrading our outer layers. Amy now has a knee length, duck down, completely
waterproof with a furry hood jacket – it is toasty warm in the UK so the real
trial will be Switzerland in the snow.
Whilst the weather is cold the perks of
low season are becoming apparent with no queues or crowds, making everything
more enjoyable without having to compete to view things and saving us hours.
This part of England has definitely brought some of the best
‘tourist spots’ we have seen so far in England. All mentioned here are well
worth the time and money to see them.
Simon and Amy xoxo
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