English adventures May/June 2008

From New Alresford I caught a cab into Winchester where I stayed at Staddle Stones run by Sheila & David. They are fabulous people, very warm & welcoming even though I was so sick & their baby grandson was due to stay while I was there. They have a pond in the back garden that has the biggest, fattest Koi I’ve ever seen. They are huge!!! And the garden is beautiful, an absolute tribute to Sheila.

Even though I felt like death warmed over I went into town and ‘round the cathedral. I had to see Jane Austen’s resting place & continue my cathedral experience. This was number 7 now! I think Chester’s is the most atmospheric.

Saturday I visited the City Mill and saw the wheat being milled into flour. Somehow I don’t think I’ve ever gotten past grade 5-6 in school…I find it fascinating.  They have otters come up the slower race/channel and there are videos of them! I watched it 3 times. There’s a lovely oasis of cool in the garden at the back of the mill. Yes, another hot day!....don’t care what anyone says, England is HOT in summer!  Then a late afternoon tea at the cathedral café after purchasing the Portmeirion bag I dithered over yesterday.

Sunday was another warm sunny day, so I caught the train down to Bournemouth, and walked along its beautiful sandy beach.  I caught the tram/lift thingy down the cliff. So that’s another thing ticked off my to-do list!! See I am still only 11 or 12, I loved the lift/tram. And I made sure I took photos to prove to my disbelieving husband that YES there are sandy beaches in England. I found another TK Maxx in Bournemouth on my way back to the train station so one red Radley handbag with pink terrier dog tag came back with me. Very pleased with my purchase as I had resigned myself to spending the £130+ at Debenhams etc, but it was £60! So my souvenir of Bournemouth is a red Radley!!!!!! And I saw deer & New Forest ponies on the way back to Winchester….more things ticked off my to-do list!

 Monday I decided to bus it out to Bishops Waltham because it has a medieval centre that has been preserved and I wasn’t disappointed either, it’s lovely. It was while getting my bearings of what lay where that I came across the cat in the charity shop window. I could not believe my eyes when I first saw him/her. The shop was entered in a local competition for best shop window display and their display had won the Gold medal in the competition.….except it now contained  one sleeping black & white cat and not one thing had been knocked over or moved! Clever puss.

I adore Winchester, it’s a place I feel at home in and so I just had to come back again this trip. Walking down the high street on a hot summer’s afternoon shopping is such a pleasure, roaming the back streets, lanes and other nooks & crannies  takes up a pleasant afternoon or two, munching on egg & cress sandwiches while seated under the trees in the avenue leading to the cathedral is a rare treat, finding a 2^nd hand book shop in the back of the cathedral was a blast, especially when they had 5 Derek Tangye’s in stock, my favourite author!  I’ll be back again

From Winchester I travelled across to Royal Tunbridge Wells. I took the scenic route. Again!....changing at Fratton, Barnham, Horley, Red Hill and then Tonbridge!  Another 6 hour journey, I cannot for the life of me understand why it takes so long to go less than 220 kms/136 miles! But I got to see more lovely countryside, including Arundel castle and a grey squirrel going cross country in a rather large field.

Tunbridge Wells is a pretty town but I swear it has the longest, steepest High st in Britain! Stoopid here decided to take a walk and walked the length of it in the afternoon after having travelled for 6 hours.  And then of course you have to walk back, at least that was downhill. But they do have a Mark Wilkinson showroom!!!! OMG, I’m in heaven. I think I spent 2 hours looking at their kitchens and the study and bathroom and bedroom! There is nothing like this quality in Australia. Absolutely NOTHING!! The attention to detail and the timbers used is amazing, I want one!!!!!!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I took the TBW historic walk that is in pamphlet form and saw some of the history of the place. I decided not to drink the water at the Chalybeate Spring after 3-4 people declared it was rank. What can I say, I’m a chickenJ  The Pantiles were lovely. I saw an open-air art exhibition while I was there, with some lovely work on display but no room in the suitcase to drag any back to Oz.  In Calverly Grounds I saw a squirrel that appeared to be rubbish-diving in a bin outside the café. I couldn’t see what he/she was after but they were all over the bin like a furry rash.

In RTBW I stayed at Swan Cottage which is run by Sidney the Russian Blue and David. Both are rather wonderful and great fun. David is a local artist with some of his works displayed around the house.  In the room I stayed in was an amazing painting of a vase of yellow & white flowers with the view of Warwick Rd behind it. It is a huge canvas that takes up the entire space of the old chimney breast. And Sid is the only cat who I’ve ever known to move around so you can do a better job of brushing him.

I took a trip to Hastings from RTBW and walked the Old Town, so that’s another thing off my to-do list. I loved the small narrow lanes that run up the west hill and the streets that are so narrow you can barely get a car up them. Then I took the West Hill Railway to the top of the cliff which was a buzz.  The West Hill Railway is both the oldest working example of its type and the most inconspicuous. It is not immediately visible when walking or driving through the modern town due to its unique design. Almost the entire length of the railway travels through the cliff as opposed to over it.  The line was conceived to carry passengers from George Street on the promenade, to the ruins of Hastings castle at the top of Castle Hill and was opened on 25th March 1891.

I found another secondhand bookshop in Hastings OT with Derek Tangye books! So bought another three to drag back to Oz! On my return journey to RTW I decided to take a loop trip back via Eastbourne, Haywards Heath, Crawley, Redhill and Tonbridge and I saw some amazing East Sussex countryside.  That the train runs along the shore between Cooden Beach station and Pevensey Bay station was amazing!!! I had no idea and was so excited I was noticed by other passengers much to my embarrassment and their amusement.

From RTW I travelled to Canterbury. David, the proprietor of Swan Cottage was very kind and drove me to the station to catch the train. He really is a lovely man. I arrived at Canterbury West rail station to find that there are stairs down to an under-pass and then more stairs up to exit the station. No lifts anywhere! Thank goodness for the lovely Asian couple who assisted me to bring my 2 suitcases down and then up the said stairs. They were so lovely and helpful even though they didn’t speak English well enough for me to tell them how grateful I was.

I was booked into Ersham Lodge on New Dover Rd but the room they gave me was way below standard, I have photos of the black mould growing in the shower & the broken tiles in the said shower too! The room smelt musty as well, but I didn’t realize this until I’d returned from my afternoon of checking out Canterbury as I’d dumped everything and went straight out. So the next morning I went down to the Canterbury Tourist Information Centre at the Butter Market in Sun st. The ladies there were amazing. I was booked into the Tudor House B&B on Best Lane within 30 minutes and what I thought was going to be a horrible experience turned out to be a blessing in disguise and quite wonderful.

The Tudor House backs onto the river Stour and from my room I had a view of Canterbury Cathedral across the roof tops.  The breakfasts were wonderful, the atmosphere friendly and the people welcoming. It’s only a block from the Cathedral and right in the middle of the old town and literally just a stroll to everything!

Canterbury is full of wonderful things to do. I spent an afternoon in the museum….they have a Scold’s Bridle on display!!!! I walked all over the old-town, I saw the Cathedral, and took photos of the cathedral cats. I sat in the sun of the Franciscan gardens at Greyfriars chapel and read, ate lunch and watched a little black cat hunt butterflies in the long grasses in the set aside. Greyfriars Chapel is the only building now remaining of the first English Franciscan Friary built in 1267, forty-three years after the first Friars settled in Canterbury, during the lifetime of St Francis of Assisi.

I also sat in Dane John gardens and recuperated after walking the town walls. Again it was sunny and very warm…..I really don’t understand why everyone complains about it being cold. And I listened to a busker perform amongst other things, Mustang Sally with no accompaniment. He was with a group of homeless kids outside Barclays on the High st and boy could he sing! An astonishing voice that I hope gets the outlet it needs and deserves!

 I visited the Norman Castle ruins of which William the Conqueror began the building of in 1067.  I also visited the Pilgrims Hospital which dates from the 1200’s. It’s an amazing building too, built over the Stour with a large mural on the wall upstairs in the refectory where the Pilgrims ate.

The Roman Museum is so amazing. It’s underground at the level of the Roman town and contains excavated artifacts, authentic reconstructions; and preserved remains of a Roman town house with its famous mosaics.  And there is more of the Roman town under the buildings at street level but not excavated.  It just fascinates me that it’s all there below the street and everyone walk’s about unknowingly…..I guess that’s the frustrated archaeologist!