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Jan's Holiday Diary - England 2007 (week 5)

Saturday 23 June 2007
Today is Wellington day! Today is also the start of two days of partial underground track closures for maintenance (the Circle Line and the central part of the District Line had no services this weekend). I had to wait till the historic buildings opened at 10:00am, so had a look at the Australian War Memorial in Hyde Park (photo 1). It is in a corner of what is effectively a huge roundabout. I then visited Apsley House, a residence of the Duke of Wellington and now a museum. It was full of art and quite spectacular. Next on the list was the Wellington Arch. An opportunity to see the three levels inside and to look out over the area from the viewing platforms near the top.

I next began an epic shops walk, along Knightsbridge Rd to Harvey Nicholls, down Sloane Street (stopping at Peter Jones), and along King's Road. At the far end of Chelsea I walked back to Earl's Court and back here to my room, via the Brompton Cemetery. This was really interesting (and old), and I found the headstone in photo 2 - have a read. Oh, and I actually found a skirt I liked and bought it! (not in the cemetery - at Peter Jones) A quick rest off my feet and a consult of my maps and I was back to the trains to have a look at the shops around Russell Square. I thought I had seen a shopping strip when I went to the British Museum a month ago, but I walked far and wide for very little result. Back to the station for the return trip. I sat down on the train to hear the message that the train ahead had caught fire and Piccadilly Line services in this area were suspended. Since no other lines ran through this station, I walked to Holbourn and caught a train there. This hiccup meant that very few central London lines were now operating. so I planned my return to Earl's Court in a convoluted route. I made it, and survived my first major shutdown. There were hundreds of people leaving Russell Street station on foot. To fill the photo slots, I have included one of my room for this week. Spacious?

Friday 22 June 2007
Last night, I sat down and went through my books to write down everything I still wanted to see. There is still a big list! The Docklands seemed a good option for today, because the forecast was for showers/rain, and the Docklands is meant to be one huge shopping centre. I took the Underground and the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to Canary Wharf. Photo 1 shows the DLR approaches to one of the Docklands stations. Photo 2 is a view of the wharf area, as redeveloped. The shops were certainly there, but were tricky to find. After going in various directions, I discovered everything was underground, and separated by 'walkways', and long shopping strips. By lunchtime, I had worked out the extent of the shopping centres, and realised that the hordes of people were mostly office workers looking for somewhere to eat. It looked impressive, but the range of shops was quite limited.

I then visited the Docklands Museum to see displays of the Docks over the centuries. Finally, I caught the DLR back to central London, and walked along the Thames for a kilometre or so. Photo 3 is a view downstream along the river The Millenium Bridge is in the foreground, and the Tower Bridge is in the background.

Thursday 21 June 2007
I decided that Blenheim Palace was the place to visit on my last day with the car. It is quite extraordinary in size, and it contains lots of treasures, paintings, and especially 300 year old tapestries. No photos could be taken inside, and one of the reasons is that people were taking photos of security equipment for sinister purposes. We were given guided tours of the many State Rooms and shown the exquisite furnishings and fittings. When I realised most of the building was original craftmanship, it has survived remarkably well. It is said that Hitler did not bomb this Palace because he wanted it as his headquarters if he defeated England. The outside photos show the majestic facades, and one view of the formal gardens

I then drove back to London to return the car to Shepherd's Bush. I got lost again, and had to ring the car place for directions. Tonight, I am back in Earl's Court for my last week in the UK.

Wednesday 20 June 2007
I decided to visit Stonehenge first this morning, because I needed to see and do things to be close to my accommodation tonight, which is further west than I had wanted to be. I discovered that b&bs were in short supply west of London because of the races at Ascot, and around here everyone goes mad over the summer solstice tomorrow at Stonehenge and Avebury. There were campers and police everywhere. The music festival at Glastonbury this weekend also is attracting hordes of people. I arrived at the World Heritage site at Stonehenge at about 10:00am, and was pleasantly surprised at the openness and lack of crowds. The roadways were not busy nor intrusive, and I could get within about twenty metres of the stones. I took plenty of photos, and selected photo 1 as being a view which shows the size of the stones in a different view. I then went to Avebury to see the lesser known but still very important site. The stones are smaller, but the ditch and ring of stones are much bigger. Photo 2 shows a few of the stones and the huge mound behind. Interestingly, the village of Avebury is built across and through this ancient site.

I had time so I went to the village of Lacock to see a museum of photography, and the Lacock Abbey and Cloisters. The museum commemorated William Henry Fox Talbot who did much of the early research into photographic papers and emulsions. He lived in the Abbey buildings for much of the 1800s. The buildings were saved after the dissolution of the monasteries, and converted into a manor home. Much of the stonework is really old, but the rooms are very nice. Photo 3 shows the entrance.

Tuesday 19 June 2007
I started the day by walking along the tow path of the Avon River into the far side of town. My first impression is that the town is run down, because many of the buildings are dirty looking, rather than painted and well kept as in most towns and cities I have visited. However, the places I went into were definitely well kept inside. The big city shopping centre had been demolished, ready to have a bigger, new building on the site. I came to the Bath Abbey first, and went inside for a look (photo 1). The verger I met had a son teaching at Rostrevor College in Adelaide. Almost everyone I speak to has a close connection with Adelaide!

Then to the Roman Baths. These were fascinating, and the whole tour included lots of archaeological excavations of the site to get a feel for what must have been here almost 2,000 years ago. Of course, a lot of rebuilding also took place in the late 1800's. Photo 2 is the usual view, and photo 3 is of part of the excavations that we get to walk around. I wandered most of the streets and lanes in central Bath, and visited the Costume Museum and the Assembly Rooms. Much of this museum was closed for re-arrangement, but it was still interesting. The Assembly Rooms were from the 1800s, and gave a glimpse of the way of life for the 'well-to-do' of the time. I came back to my b&b through the park, and just made it before the heavens opened around 5:00pm.

Monday 18 June 2007
I left Alcomb rather later than I planned, and got to Dunster Castle at about 11:00am. I looked through the Castle and grounds for a couple of hours, and then had a last look at Dunster shops and the cemetery again (still no luck with a headstone). The photos are (1) a view from the castle, (2) the castle under wraps, and (3) the stables next to the castle. I drove towards Bath where my accommodation is for tonight, and had a stop at Street, and at a Tesco's. Nice basement place tonight.

Sunday 17 June 2007
I slept in on Sunday morning so did not go for a last walk. Had breakfast and headed into Minehead to meet Daphne. She is a family history contact that happened a few weeks ago by chance. She knows Alcombe well, which is where my great grandparents lived for many years. Daphne showed me a copy of a postcard with Staunton Cottage and the sheep dip in front. I wonder if any of the men working the dip are Isaac.

We went for a walk with the dog on top of a nearby hill, just outside of Alcombe. Photo 1 is the remains of an Iron Age camp site on top of the hill. Photo 2 is a view from the car park towards Porlock. On the way back we went past Staunton Cottage again and Daphne could tell me about many of the buildings in the area. After lunch, we went to Dunster to try to find the grave of my great grandparents. We walked through the cemetery but could not find the headstones. The place was very run down and some stones were damaged (photo 3). Still, I am happy I have looked around there, and I felt an affinity with the place. We walked the village High Street, and had a rather rich afternoon tea, before heading back home. Daphne was game enough to ask me to stay the night, and we spent the evening talking about history and a little about computer matters.

See my diary for earlier weeks - week 1 | week 2 | week 3 | week 4

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This page last updated on 23 June 2007.

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