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Jan's Holiday Diary - England 2007 (week 4)

Saturday 16 June 2007
Another great day today. I went for a walk early, and then walked up to meet Uncle Wally at 10:00am. Photo 1 is part of Lynmouth, and shows the area where Wally's parents lived in the Guest House before the flood. Wally drove me to Alcombe which is now connected to the town of Minehead, and showed me where his parents lived, and where he spent his early childhood. We then drove to see Staunton Cottage where my great grandparents lived. By luck, the lady who now lives there came back from walking her dogs, and we were able to have a look inside. Photo 2 is a picture of the outside of the cottage. He also showed me where the farm was that he worked. Wally then showed me the church and cemetery where Isaac and Ethel Squire were buried, but it was too far for him to walk. I will go back to look tomorrow. We returned to Lynmouth by a different road, and stopped at a small pub in Brendon to have lunch. We returned to his place and I showed him some photos of Australia and my family before leaving after 3:00pm.

I came back to the Bath Hotel, and was contacted by the wireless internet provider who offered me some free internet time in exchange for testing its effectiveness. I went for a ride on the water driven railway to see Lynton at the top of the hill before the shops shut. I saw most of them and took this photo of the railway on the way down.

Friday 15 June 2007
I left Salisbury just after 9:00am to try to avoid the peak hour rush. Today I was driving quite a long way, but wanted to see a garden or castle or something on the way. I consulted my Great British Heritage Card book to find the best places, only to discover the two places I wanted to see were both closed on Fridays. Oh, well, the weather forecast was rather poor anyway. I drove for four hours in total today, a third of it in pouring rain, and stopped at a tiny village called South Molton for lunch. Hardly a metropolis, but was bustling with people going nowhere in particular.

I arrived at Lynmouth at about 2:00pm, found a park and checked into the Bath Hotel. I found I had a room upgrade because my Uncle Wal Gilson is a good friend of the manager here. I have a second floor room with a view across the bay to the cliffs of Wales. I walked up the road and knocked on my Uncle Wal's door. We had never met, but I spent two hours with him, finding out about my great grandparents, and their life, and looking through photo albums. I feel a great affinity with this area. Tomorrow, Uncle Wal is driving me to Dunster to see where my g grandparents used to live and are buried. The photos are nostalgic. No. 1 is across the beach at low tide, looking to the cliffs next to the town, photo 2 is of the old main road shopping strip, and photo 3 is the hotel 'The Falls', where Wal's parents lived and ran a guest house, and where my g grandmother Emily Squire lived after her husband Isaac Squire died.

Thursday 14 June 2007
I left Portsmouth this morning and drove around Southampton to visit Beaulieu (pronounced 'Buli') to see the National Motor Museum, as well as a small castle and the ruins of yet another Abbey. Photo 1 is of part of the interior of the museum, and photo 2 is the very old bus they use to transport visitors around. The collection is quite amazing, and includes a large number of racing and speed record cars and bikes. I then walked to the castle building and was greeted by two guards dressed in period costumes The crowds stayed away today, and the woman (maid) spent about 15 minutes giving me a guided tour of two of the rooms. Photo 3 shows her at the table in the dining room. I had lunch in the on-site cafe, and then walked around the ruins and the gardens. It started drizzling, so I went back to the Motor Museum building for another look before leaving about 3:00pm and driving to Salisbury for tonight's b&b. I drew out a map of where I had to go through Salisbury and made it here safely.

Wednesday 13 June 2007
I got moving early after spending a most enjoyable two nights with my host in Brighton. I headed to Portsmouth for the day; a drive of about ninety minutes. I parked near the historic port area but the cost of almost 20 pounds (A$50) to see the attractions was more than I was willing to pay. I could still walk around and see the ships from the outside, and took a photo (1) of HMS Victory. I then wandered around the shopping precinct of Portsmouth, but thought it was rather small for a city the size of Portsmouth. After lunch, I went back to the car, and drove to have a look at some of the seaside locations. Finally, I walked around the shops in Southsea, which is supposed to be the old Portsmouth. Photo 2 is of a very colourful rose bed next to where I parked. I then came to this hotel for the night. After five nights of abstinence, I have internet again, but have paid an exorbitant cost for a 'free' connection for the evening.

Tuesday 12 June 2007
After getting the lowdown on Brighton from my host, I caught a local bus into the centre of Brighton. I wandered around having a look at a large shopping complex, and then explored the streets for an hour or so. They have a network of narrow, windy lanes called (oddly enough) 'The Lanes'. I then did the tour of The Pavilion and the Brighton Museum. The Pavilion is opulent in the extreme, and is in perfect living condition. It is incredibly well preserved. They documented some of the disasters that have affected the place in the past 30 years, and the restoration efforts over the past 100 years. Photo 1 is part of the outside view.

I found a cafe for morning tea (after midday), and then headed to the Brighton Pier. It was fascinating to see in person, but I thought it was just a casino and side show alley rolled into one. Photo 2 is the entry to Brighton Pier, and photo 3 is the view along the beach from the Pier. I then found another network of streets to the North of 'The Lanes', with a vast array of wares - great to look at, but inappropriate to buy. The wares were either too big to carry, too small to wear, age inappropriate (mostly), or too risque. Soon after 4:00pm, I met Alan (formerly at EOI) at the Marina for a coffee and chat (I also had a Rissotto). He kindly dropped me back at my b&b at about 7:00pm on his way back home to Crawley.

Monday 11 June 2007
This morning I left the b&b near Canterbury and drove to Sissinghurst Gardens. I tried to connect to the internet through a wi-fi connection at a Canterbury hotel on my way through. I got the important Emails in and out, but could not get the web pages uploaded. No internet tonight either, so will have to go to an internet cafe tomorrow. On to Sissinghurst. Got there just on opening time at 11:00am. The gardens were created in the 1930s, on a site which has a history of different buildings over the centuries. Photo 1 is of the main building now, plus the tower behind. I spent about ninety minutes wandering around the gardens and then had a late lunch at the restaurant on the grounds. Photo 2 and 3 are examples of the photos I took here. I have driven on to Brighton tonight.

Sunday 10 June 2007
Today I went to Dover to see the White Cliffs and Dover Castle. I was able to take the first guided tour of the secret wartime tunnels deep under the castle. We walked along a few of the many tunnels, and saw parts of the hospital and the war rooms where the Dunkirk evacuation was planned and directed. There were more than 1,000 people working and living down here for most of WW2. The first tunnels were dug in the limestone in the 1700s, and were expanded in the late 1930s. I also wandered around the Castle Keep and saw where Kings stayed in the 1400s and 1500s. Photo 2 is the view from the top of the Keep, showing an old Norman Chapel (recently restored and in use), and the remains of a Roman lighthouse. This was a most interesting and historic site.

I had a late lunch here and then drove down to the town of Dover to have a look around. Not much to see, and not many people around. However, the port is massive with several ships loading for the crossing to France. Photo 1 shows a small part of the port, but a dense fog blocked any view across to France. I drove a few miles north to the village of Walmer, where there were some gardens (attached to yet another Castle). This is the traditional residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, although they do not stay here very often. Sir Robert Menzies held this post, as did the Queen Mum until she died in 2002. Photo 3 is the garden side view of the main building. It has a commanding view across the Channel. The formal garden was good, and I took lots of photos.

See my diary for earlier weeks - week 1 | week 2 | week 3

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This page last updated on 16 June 2007.

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