England - Cornwall and The Cotswolds

We are visiting Clare's bestie from when she was growing up in Berkshire, UK. 
The locals erected a statue of her when she emigrated, aged 13.
Maybe this was actually her house, in Sandhurst. We stopped in on our drive south to Port Isaac.
Her school friend and neighbour now lives in the village made famous as Doc Martins adopted home.
Wild, rocky, windswept ridges; steep, windy narrow lanes. Green cold and wet. Glimpses of the sun every hour or two are heartwarming. We saw the sites, met many family members and felt truly welcome.
St Michaels Mount
King Arthur's Castle ( possible site of)
Nothing lasts forever. We reluctantly left Margaret and Sandy for middle England.
The Cotswolds feel like quintessential England.
Stone walls, slow flowing brooks, green everything.
Scones with clotted cream on the lawn. We visited Oxford and rubbed shoulders with hundreds of students. A quick stop in Windsor to visit the Queen ( Victoria ( above)), pub lunch, pub dinner and pub drink.
We found a five km walk to brush off the cobwebs and the cars ( they are everywhere and they are in a hurry).
Watched a barge crewed by an accomplished couple navigate a lock in Stratford on Avon.
Heading home now. Three hours to the airport, three hours waiting, 30 hours travelling and we should be home. 
Bye for now😃

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Preparing for a 480km walk

Image
We start early, usually 18mths. Clare loves to travel. Ross lovely cool weather walking. We plan when we go by the climate. Walking when it's between 10 and 20 degrees meant choosing Autumn or Spring in France . We don't stay in dorms or carry our own luggage so there is lots of booking to be done. A Chambre d'hotes or a Gite is like a Bed and Breakfast , but they also do set meal dinners for pilgrims /walkers. They have dorms but if you book early they often have 1 or 2 private rooms. We have booked 24 of these and 4 different luggage transport companies as each only covers part of France or Spain Our backpack has daily essentials only, so about 5kg. Our transported bag is limited to 13kg so it's tricky. We need walking gear, cold weather gear and clothes for our Poland and England short stays at the end. There is lots of mowing (about 8 acres ) fruit picking, weeding, spraying and mulchin...
Read more

Day 1 Cahors to Granejouis 16.1kms 320m

Image
We did it! Despite wars, injuries, limited preparation and ever growing age we have finished day 1. It started like this- continued like this and finished with a hot shower - lovely. You may have guessed from the photo that spring is still fighting with winter. We hit 11° today but the wind helped it to feel just a touch cooler. ☃️  The walk was on country lanes and gravel tracks. The climbs were moderate grades and there was a lunch stop with ☕ and 🥪. We are now the first guests for the year at a farmhouse owned by an elderly lady who has returned to her childhood home. It is simple but quiet and comfortable. Here is the view from our verandah. Our host Odette and her sister Marie Therese prepared a simple but delicious evening meal. A salad of carrot egg and lettuce, then sauted chicken and potatoes, then two soft cheeses and then a baked apple. It was all washed down with a local red wine. She is a singer and harmonica player and she sang for...
Read more

Day 8 Lectour to La Romieu 19kms 411m (146.7 and 3175m)

Image
Lectoure turned out to be ancient but quite prosperous The main street, wide enough for 1 and a half cars went on for a kilometre.  By the way " it aren't half hot mum". What a difference a week makes. Our last two days have been hot 26 and 25°. It has felt like 30 with a pack on your back and 20kms under your belt. Back to the story( strange but true). We walked steeply down from the hilltop town and then wound upwards through farmland, walking on the edge of cropped fields for about 9kms to Marsolan. This was another hilltop village, with an ancient church, and a population bolstered expat British. A lovely cafe was 👐 and served a delicious sandwich. A french sandwich is typically half a 🥖 with cheese ham and 🍅. The crust is crisp and the white bread, very fresh - delicious 😋. After lunch our walk continued through meadows, some cultivated and some not. This pond made us feel the land was healthy. Listen - the frogs could be heard 500 metres away. ...
Read more