Friday 20 May - Bath

Still feeling under the weather but we are beginning to run out of time in Salisbury so with a cloudy and cool day forecast we decided to take the train to Bath.  The train took us quickly via Warminster, Westbury, Trowbridge and Bradford-on-Avon through pleasant but unspectacular country where the overall green was offset by fields of bright yellow (either mustard or rapeseed). On the approach to Westbury we could see one of the white horses carved into the chalk hillside. It seems today that this is a concrete horse painted white:
http://wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk/westbury.html

I have always found Bath difficult.  The street layout is very confused and it is easy to get lost.  We took the hop on, hop off bus tour to get an idea of the layout of the place but the route is confusing in itself.  The buildings are all constructed of the same colored stone, quite dirty in places which leaves a dreary feel although these are gems according to the architectural purists.  There are streets and streets of similar buildings with very little green and few flowers - not so much as a window box. We stopped to look at the Royal Crescent which I found drab in its sameness, only interrupted by scaffolding. Bath is past its best before date by a couple of centuries.

This beautifully restored vintage vehicle helped to relieve the monotony of the buildings with its blue paintwork

The Abbey

It was easy to walk downhill back to the area of the abbey where we visited the Roman Bath Exhibit.  This was well done as it guided visitors through the excavations but didn't give a very good impression of what it must have been like to the Roman visitors.  There were good videos showing the use of lead and how the tiles were made while the many school kids enjoyed the excellent displays of roman coins.  However, the several baths of nasty looking green water did not add the the ambiance of a Unesco World Heritage Town.  Surely not even Romans would want to immerse themselves in that water.  As we left we sampled the famed waters - warm but relatively sweet smelling.

I was feeling the effects of traveling on the open top deck of the tour bus but a glass of London Pride together with a bowl of broccoli and stilton soup soon improved matters.

On the way back to the station we stopped off at the Sally Lunn Tearoom to buy a Sally Lunn Bun, a large bun or teacake made with a yeast dough including cream, eggs and spice similar to the sweet brioche breads of France.  It was first recorded here in 1780. To get to the counter we had to climb down some very cramped, dark stairs into a low basement room, not an accessible location.

The train back was very full but we found seats after Bradford-on-Avon.

Click here to see all pictures taken at Bath

Thursday May 19 - Salisbury Cathedral

I am getting over a bad cold while we are both at the end stages of jet lag but today seemed to be a good time to visit the cathedral.  The sun was good early on and we were able to enjoy this magnificent structure at its best.  One advantage of English cathedrals as opposed to those in France, Spain and Portugal is that a payment is required and this money is devoted to the upkeep and improvement.  Salisbury is heavily visited and the revenues are put to very good use.  The entire building is spick and span and everywhere you look the features are clean and well cared for.  We spoke for some time with a docent who was very knowledgeable and who showed us the small opening in the floor which gives on to a small pipe that is plumbed regularly to verify the water levels in the sub soil.  The cathedral is built on some glacial till but, because of the water levels the foundations are only some four feet deep which is amazing for a structure of this size and weight.  The stone used came from Dorset in the west.  It is also remarkable that the structure was built in a very short time by a bishop who was well funded and very good at project management.

The reflections from the font brought out the colored glass windows

The best preserved example of the Magna Carta can be viewed in the Chapter House.  This is a large, beautiful, light and airy room which is worth a visit in its own right. It is much larger and brighter that that of York.  There were a large number of school parties from France.  We wondered how they were able to get over here with all the disruptions taking place over there at present. 

Wednesday 18 May - Eltham College Class of 1960

I took a train from Salisbury to London Waterloo and had a little time to spare so I watched the crowds at Kings Cross.  The new statue of Sir Nigel Gresley attracted little attention but the Harry Potter platform 9 3/4 was busy as usual.

Sir Nigel Gresley (without the mallard duck)

It was raining heavily when I entered the Skinners Arms just after 1200.  We had a good attendance and I was particularly pleased to see Ray Godfrey and John Boyd, neither of whom I had seen since leaving school.  We were disappointed that Colin Bishop and Charles Smith were forced to cancel at the last minute.  We had fun and made some noise while solving the problems of the world.  Our treasurer, Dai Rhys-Tyler kept an experienced eye on the beer and meal kitties and those who participated last time were given appropriate discounts.  Pictures speak louder than words.  At our last get together I was criticized for taking unflattering pictures that did not show a proper amount of hair.  This time I lowered the camera angle.  Next time if more hair is required we will have to find some wigs.

Dai Rhys-Tyler

Derek Browne and Rob Carter

John Boyd and Peter Gregory

Mike Fulford

John Boyd, Peter Gregory and Derek Browne

Dai Bamford

Ray Godfrey and John Bingham

Clive Grenyer

John Boyd

Colin Churcher and Ray Godfrey

John Palmer

John Boyd and Peter Gregory

  

Tuesday May 17 - Hilary comes to visit - Lardy Cake

Hilary came for the day by train from Newport. She was met by a platform man at the station and handed over to us.  Yalena is very good on trains as she sits quietly under the seat or table.  We walked over to the Old Mill at Harnum where Yalena was let off to run around on the grass and she quickly jumped into the water.

She loves chasing after the ducks

Having given Yalena some exercise we had a long lunch in the pub garden after which we went for a walk along the river.  Yalena was not working as we took Hilary's arm.  The dog was chasing after sticks and playing with other dogs' balls.  At one point she made a mad dash into the river only to find the water was quite deep so she had to swim around.  Her fur quickly dried off and the water doesn't seem to penetrate to the skin.

WE saw a kingfisher sitting on a twig close to the water.  I first saw the orange brown breast then it turned sideways to reveal its beautiful iridescent green back - like a large humming bird and so different from the north American variety.

On the way back into town we noticed the sheep in the field have all been shorn.

A walk through town in worsening weather and we took Hilary back to the station where a platform attendant found a seat for her with a table which would give Yalena more room to go to sleep.  She is a very good dog when she is working but with all the exercise she had had she was looking a little sleepy and probably enjoyed a nap on the train back.

I found a lardy cake in a local bakery.  It is sweet and full of fat,  Very good but should only be eaten in small quantities.

Lardy cake, also known as lardy bread, lardy Johns, dough cake and fourses cake is a traditional rich spiced form of bread found in several southern counties of England each claiming to provide the original recipe. It remains a popular weekend tea cake in some of the southern counties including Wiltshire. 

The main ingredients are freshly rendered lard, flour, sugar, spices, currants and raisins. The cake is made by layering thinly rolled dough with the other ingredients. It should be turned upside down after baking so the lard can soak through. Despite contemporary concerns about high-calorie, high-fat foods, it is still widely eaten, However, lard, which is made from pigs, which are reared in large numbers in this area, has a significantly lower proportion of saturated fats than butter, a common cake ingredient.

Monday 16 May - Stonehenge

We took the hop on-hop bus tour to Stonehenge today.  This is by far the easiest way.  The bus leaves every hour from the station forecourt, picks up in town then takes us straight to the visitor centre.  The ticket price includes the cost of entry to both Stonehenge and Old Sarum.

The visitor centre is a low building nestled in a depression so that it cannot be seen from Stonehenge itself.  There are shuttle buses taking people to and from the stones.  It was a sunny and bright day with a bit of wind which made us glad we had brought our fleeces. There were a lot of visitors and I hat to think what it would be like in high summer.  Of course I took many more pictures than I really needed but it is an impressive structure both from the point of view of its size and age.

We had a little time at the Visitor Centre to get a sandwich and a drink before the next bus took us to Old Sarum.  This is now a complete ruin as the town was moved many centuries ago to the current site of Salisbury.

A great advantage of the tour bus service is that we could take any Salisbury Reds service back into town.  The first bus through was a Park and Ride which worked well.

The last time I was at Stonehenge was on Tuesday 20 June (http://www.railways.incanada.net/Diary/Diary_1961-06.html)
when I cycled down from Reading to experience the midsummer solstice.  It was an exhausting ride and I remember sleeping in a field nest to the stones.  We wandered freely through the stones - something which is not allowed today.

Click here to see all pictures taken at Stonehenge

Sunday 15 May - Haunch of Venison

The market area in town was very different today.  Yesterday they were selling strawberries by the punnet while today there were people selling second hand stuff out of their car boots - a flea market on wheels.

The Odeon Cinema was owned by a one time mayor of Salisbury.  It is magnificent both outside and inside.

The mayor and lady mayoress lead the procession from the church to the town hall

Lunch was at the Haunch of Venison, a pub that is over 700 years old.  Devon brown crab cakes, roast port belly with all the trimmings and sticky toffee pudding.  Very good but very filling.  The pub has reputedly the smallest bar in town.

The Haunch of Venison

An evening stroll to the Old Mill at Harnum was very pleasant with mire striking views of the cathedral.  The dogs were not playing in the water this evening and the field was left clear for the mallards, swans, wagtails, swallows and other bars.

The Old Mill at Harnum has become our local

Saturday 14 May - Sheep May Safely Graze

We had some supplies to buy and check out a few things at the very helpful tourist office.  We searched high and low for the indigenous Melton Mowbray pork pie and the native Battenberg cake and eventually ran them to earth in their natural habitat - the Marks and Spencer food hall.  We tracked down a magnificent specimen of  a blackberry and apple pie at a baker close by.  We had a disastrous lunch at the Mill in the centre of town.  Poor food, poor service and dirty washrooms.

This evening we walked again across the water meadows to the Old Mill at Harnum.  Once again the light on the cathedral was beautiful.

Today there was a flock of sheep close to the path and they grazed all the way to the cathedral

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg9Uv0wUZdM

This time we found a table outside the Old Mill with a view across the water where some small kids and several dogs provided much entertainment.

The river Nadder at Harnum

Again on the walk back it was difficult not to take pictures.  The blackbirds were singing away and there were several small birds singing to each other in the reeds.  There are lots of ducks, most in the water but many wandering around in the long grass and sitting on roofs of buildings.