Trip Favs

Readers seem to like to know our favorite parts of the trip.  I used to only do this on larger trips, but I get enough requests that I did this for the three week trip to Spain that just Carol and I took earlier this year.  Here's the questions for England with our answers:

Question 1

Three fav things we did in London.  Short explanation as to why for each

Carol:  1. Tower - so much history, great tour, 2. RIB tour - very cool, never been on the Thames, 3. Westminster Abbey - going there means we're in England.

Glen: Same choices as Carol  With the Tower, the history is jaw-dropping, and it is so much fun to both tour and wander around aimlessly.  I was worried about the Thames RIB tour, but it was exhilarating and interesting at the same time.  And yes, Westminster Abbey will always hold a special place in my heart as I discussed in that post. 

I'm going to cheat and add a fourth favorite -- the Churchill War Rooms.  The great man had many famous sayings.  His "never was so much owed by so many to so few" applies not just to the pilots of the Royal Air Force, but it also applies to the courageous men and women who worked in the War Rooms against what appeared to be insurmountable odds.  And they, with some help from friends across the pond, beat back Hitler and the Nazis from ending Western Civilization.

Question 2

Three fav things we did in Cotswold.  Short explanation

Carol: 1. Bourton on the Water - beautiful Cotswold town - exactly what I thought the Cotswold would look like.  2. The Broadway Hike - it was hard, but I made it and it was so prettty.  3.  Listening to music at the Half Way - great atmosphere, fun chatting with our landlords.

Glen:  I'd put Sudeley Castle first -- everything you want in an English castle, including dramatic ruins, towers, and stunning gardens.  Then the Broadway Tower hike -- hard but beautiful.  Perfect way to spend a chunk of a day in Cotswold.  Then the pubs, with the Half Way leading the way.

Question 3

Top two meals/restaurants and why?

Carol: The King's Head pub for lunch after hike. - great food, great atmosphere, fun after the hike.  The Double Red Duke: the pub where we stayed the last night - sitting at the chef's counter was fun and the food was excellent - the scallop was delicious.

Glen: I would flip Carol's choices, with the Double Red Duke first (for reasons I already blogged) and The King's Head pub second.  We ate better food elsewhere, but the combination of hiking, excellent roast beef and yorkshire pudding, and (of course) beer puts The King's Head in a solid second place.

Question 4

What’s one thing you wish we had gotten to do?

Carol: British Museum - haven't been since 1983.

Glen: Yeah, I'm embarrassed to admit I've never been to the British Museum.  In 1984 I thought why spend money on a museum when there is so many cool castles, abbeys, historical buildings to see?  Now I really want to see a lot of the stuff that the museum will be returning to other countries in the next ten years or so.

Question 5

Observations about the trip you would want our readers to know? 

Carol: England is an amazing country.  So much history, great people, beautiful countryside.  We hadn't been there since 2003 and it was wonderful to rediscover England.  It seemed like London didn't have as many cars on the road - I'm sure due to the congestion zones which made it easier to get around.  We definitely need to go back and spend more time in London.  We also need to discover more of rest of the country.

I'm so glad that Glen was willing to do the driving in the Cotswold.  The narrow two-way roads were a bit terrifying.  Finally, being in a country where we both speak the language made everything easier.  While we love going to Spain, my language skills are always rusty for a few days and Glen was able to more freely participate in conversations. 

Glen: Driving in Cotswold is terrifying.  There's so much to see in London and England overall that we're already planning to go back in two years.  I do enjoy hanging out in a pub and talking with Brits -- despite the saying "two countries separated by a common language," I enjoy every conversation with that common language, especially as Brits are so welcoming and friendly. 

A Reverence For What Is Ancient And Free And Great

"(Oxford) inculcated a reverence for what is ancient and free and great.”

Faithful readers of the blog know I'm not usually in the habit of quoting British Prime Minister William Gladstone (who is?), but I'll make an exception for this blog post.

We had a 5:15 pm flight out of Heathrow back to the U.S.A., so I figured we had time to squeeze in a couple of hours in Oxford.  I was right, and while it wasn't enough time to adequately cover Oxford, it was worth the time to see a chunk of the city again, as it had been 40 years for Carol and 39 years for me.

Shortly before the trip, I had the inspiration to check "Tours by Locals" to see if there were any relatively short duration walking tours.  

As it turns out, Sophie D. was available to give us a 90 minute walking tour hitting some of the highlights of Oxford.

While it was easy to drive to the parking lot Sophie suggested, I guess I didn't realize it would be a hassle to get from the parking lot to the meeting point.  Until we parked, I didn't realize we were over three miles from the meeting point, and walking was not an option.  The only option was a bus.  So we had to wait for that to pick us up.

It was a bit stressful figuring out where to get off that was closest to the meeting, and we ended up being about ten minutes late (mostly because of the bus not departing the parking lot for a while).

Once we met up with Sophie, everything was good.  She's an enthusiastic guide.  As typical on these walking tours with guides, they liked Carol more.

(Editor: Doesn't everyone?  Writer: I can't speak for everyone, but I do!)

Part of it is that I get caught up taking photos, and another part is that Carol asks a lot of great questions.  The third part is she's better with people than I am.

My favorite part was the early part of the tour, where we went into New College (most colleges charge a fee to enter in the morning, and are closed to tourists in the afternoon).  

"New" College was founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham (THAT William of Wykeham, not the other William of Wykeham).

(Editor: So by New they don't mean new, eh.  Writer: You pick things up quickly!)

  

Oxford's colleges are independent and self-governing.  There are 44 of them, and I'm to understand that they relate to the University in a federal system.  Oldest daughter Julia did a summer program at Oxford sponsored by University of Virginia.  She attended the University College of Oxford University.  It's most famous for being a college that calls itself a university at a university of colleges.

(Editor: You really do a great job of clarifying nothing, don't you.  Writer: Clarity is over-rated.)

Anyhow, we got to go inside the beautiful Chapel.  No photos are allowed in the buildings, I suppose because each college doesn't want the other 43 to see what the college looks like, except that professors probably can go where they want.

Next was the dining hall, which having been built in 1379, is modeled after the dining hall in the Harry Potter movies, including the idea of a head table.  For a long time, Latin was the required language in the hall and lodgings, back before it became a dead language.

One of the longest-serving Archbishop of Canterbury also served concurrently as the bursar in the early 1500s.  No word on whether the bursar was punched by Alexander Hamilton (confused British readers, it's a reference to the musical Hamilton).

(Editor: You wrote that first sentence just to set up the second sentence?  Writer: Yup.)

After finishing at New College we walked the streets, lanes, and paths of Oxford, with Sophie pointing out many areas of interest, including past the city wall, past another college, past where Edmond Halley lived.  Halley of course is famous for figuring out that the three comets that approached Earth in 1531, 1607, and 1682 were all the same comet, which a grateful populace immediately named Halley's Comet.

It last came through in 1986, and is due again in 2061, which, coincidentally, is the same year the next pandemic starts (kidding, kidding!)

Other sites included the Rose garden dedicated to the Jewish community that was banished in 1290, Deadman's walk across Christchurch's Meadows to Merton College, a site that was a huge inspiration to CS Lewis, and finished up at the famed Bodleian Library.

Carol learned a lot of interesting things, and I learned some, when I wasn't taking photos.

Sophie took us to and dropped us off at the Parsonage Hotel for lunch.  It was a pretty setting.  We ate kind of quickly, because we needed to get back on the bus to our car, and then off to Heathrow. 

We would highly recommend Sophie's tour if you want a quick overview of Oxford.

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Photos From Oxford

Ugh, for the first time this trip the photo order has been flipped by WordPress.  No idea why it does it, but either look at our tour backwards or go to the bottom of this post and scroll up.  Your choice, but I'm too lazy to try fixing it!

The courtyard of the famed

Bodleian Library, which

we couldn't get tickets for.

The All Soul's North Quad, including

the library modelled on the 15th Century

Chapel.

The Radcliffe Camera, which was,

contrary to legend, NOT named

after Daniel Radcliffe.  It's

neoclassical, built in twelve

years starting in 1737, to

house the Radcliffe

science library.

The tree of Jess in the west

window of St. Mary the

Virgin University Church.

This is part of the porch

on which King Charles I

was executed for treason.

King Charles III has so far

escaped similar treatment.

The pillar is the same design

as the Solomonic pillars

at the main altar of the Vatican.

It's the south entrance to

the St. Mary the Virgin

University Church.

A Bishop outside a college

entrance.  Chancellor to two

kings, Walter de Merton also

founded Oxford's third oldest

college, Merton.  The college's

first and only Prime Minister

thus far is Liz Truss.  Of the 61

Prime Ministers of England 

since 1721, only one is from

Merton's, the long-serving and

beloved Liz Truss, who 

spent all of 50 days as PM.

The Tower of

Magdalen College.

The spire of the

University Church.

A view of All Soul's North Quad

building from behind the wall

into Queen's Lane.

Coming out of the dining

hall of New College.  The

ceiling above was made of

stone to protect the stored deeds

of the college's wealthy were

stored.  The stones were

fireplace.

The quad at New College.

The cloisters of the New College chapel.

A different angle of 

the New College quad.

Oxford's Bridge of Sighs, modeled on

Venice.  It connects two parts of 

Hertford College.  Whilst looking

quite old, it was completed in 1914.

A Perfect Last Dinner In England

Our last stop for the day was at the Double Red Duke, a pub and inn in Clanfield, Bampton, not more than 15 mile west of Oxford.

(I still don't understand British addresses.  Clanfield is 82 miles from Bampton!)

Anyhow, Susan Eastoe had sent me the link to the 50 Best Pubs in Cotswold and recommended staying at a pub.  The idea was quite attractive, but I also liked the VRBO Dairy Yard Cottage (and we had a fantastic time there), so I made a Solomonic-like decision.  I booked three nights at DYC and the last night at the Double Red Duke (part of my thinking was it would get us closer to Heathrow).  

(Editor: So you are comparing your decision to a Biblical King of Israel, most famous for his wisdom, especially in the story of his recommendation to split the baby in half to sus out the real mother.  He is also credited with writing the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs.  Writer: Okay, maybe I got carried away.)

Anyhow, my decision to split the baby three-quarters to one-quarter was a smashingly good choice.  Loved DYC, but enjoyed our one night at the Double Red Duke (DRD).  Not only was the room nice (with a nice patio that because of light rain we didn't really utilize), but the dinner was the best meal we had on the trip.

I had booked us two seats at the Chef's Counter for Monday night.  Turns out while there were people in the main restaurant, we were the only people at the Chef's Counter.  That afforded us plenty of time to banter with the chefs.  The head chef took the lead in talking with us, not just about the menu, but lots of other things.

Carol and I shared a scallop (they only had one left).  It is probably the best scallop I've ever had (even if only a half scallop!).  We also split the excellent burrata/tomato salad.  Then we split a rather large ribeye, which we enjoyed watching them grill on wood-fired inside grill right in front of us.  I always enjoy watching top-notch chefs work -- hence Cal Pep in Barcelona being my favorite restaurant in the world, with Cocina Hermanos Torres in second place.

We stayed at the counter until closing.  We bought the three chefs a pint at the end of the evening, which they appreciated.  Definitely a delicious, and entertaining dinner.

Our chefs at work.

Back To Broadway, And A Roman Villa

After Sudeley Castle, we drove over to Broadway for lunch and a village walkabout.  

We went to The Swan Pub for lunch, sitting outside to enjoy the nice weather.  The food was good, and so was the beer.

One of the cooler pub signs.

After lunch, we walked around Broadway, which we had given short shrift to after the hike a couple days earlier.  We went into a few shops, including one called "The Man Cave" where Carol surreptitiously bought my Father's Day gift.  She had also purchased something else so I wasn't suspicious.  Once again, we had a lengthy, very nice chat with the shopkeeper.

The bookshop in town had this wonderful parody in the window:

I laughed.

After a bit, we headed to the car to drive to the Roman Villa in Chedworth.  Discovered in 1864, not much information is known about it, such as the name and role of the people who lived there.  Because it was such a large and luxurious, it is presumed to have belonged to someone important.

The history is more interesting than the actual ruins.  This is the fourth different country this year in which we have seen Roman ruins (Egypt, Jordan, Spain, and now England).  

While it was fine to walk through, the paucity of photos below underscores that it is not as interesting as I had hope.  I find Roman mosaics to be quite interesting, and there were plenty of them.  Beyond that, there wasn't much left of the villa.

All the mosaics had damage, but. . .

some still looked pretty good.

Some of the "rooms" of the Villa.

More rooms, plus a museum

built by Victorians.

These are called Roman snails.

View from the villa.

The nymphaeum, which is a natural

spring, and served as the villa's

main source of water.  It was turned

into a shrine by the Roman-Britons

Sudeley Castle Is Everything Great About Cotswold Wrapped Up In One Package

Well, almost everything great.  It's not a charming village.  And it doesn't have a Cotswold pub.  But it is beautiful, and my own personal favorite thing we did in Cotswold.  I almost skipped it, but I'm so glad we went.

It's stately ruins, a castle, and beautiful flowers.  It's gorgeous views and quite the setting.  It's a chapel with a dead queen (perhaps I should have phrased that better).  Heck, there even a huge number of tiny frogs jumping about as you try not to squish them underfoot like you are a log in a stream of a video game I pumped too many quarters into during the early 1980s in the arcade room at American University.

(Editor: That's an oddly specific reference.  Writer: Oh, I spent more money on Pac-Man and Galaga, but Frogger was up there.  Editor: "           ".  Writer: "           ".  Writer ((finally snaps out of his reverie)) where were we?  Oh, right, Sudeley Castle.)

Sudeley Castle is in Winchcombe, on the western side of Cotswold.  Judging from maps before going, I would have thought it too far from Bourton On Water, but the castle was not very far from it at all.  

From the Sudeley Castle website:

"Henry himself, Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, Queen Elizabeth I and Richard III have all played a part in Sudeley’s story. King Charles I found refuge here during the Civil War, when his nephew Prince Rupert established headquarters at the Castle. Following its ‘slighting’ on Cromwell’s orders at the end of the Civil War, Sudeley lay neglected and derelict for nearly 200 years.

Then in 1837, Sudeley was rescued by the wealthy Worcester glove-makers, brothers John and William Dent, who began an ambitious restoration programme, which was continued by their nephew, John Coucher Dent, when he inherited the castle in 1855."

The first part we came to is the Tithe House, where crops for the clergy were stored until needed.  It's very dramatic, as the roof is long gone, and some of the walls are destroyed.  Inside there are the prettiest flowers growing in a garden.  That building/garden alone made the price of admission worth it (I don't remember the price of admission, but I do mean it!).

Inside the destroyed Tithe House.

There are even more flowers, but you

get the point on just how beautiful

the gardens are.

From there, we walked out into a large grassy area featuring more flowers and a beautiful water feature that included rather large fish.  The fish came over to us, expecting to be fed.  They were disappointed.

Close-up of the water flowers and lily pads.

The water feature.

Then, we walked over to the castle.  We lingered outside at first, enjoying the view of the semi-distant hills.  The castle was surprisingly interesting.  The rooms had very informative signs, with enough detail, but not too much.  We went from room to room, learning the history of the castle.  The signs seemed relatively new, so they were of significant interest to us.  The furniture, displays, etc. are interesting.  I didn't take many photos inside, because, frankly, there wasn't much that is picture-esque.  The outside sure made up for it though.

This Roman mosaic is just

outside the castle building.

The pikes piqued my interest.

Once we moved into a few rooms that are still the private quarters of the family, no photos are allowed, but that wasn't a big deal.  At the suggestion of a docent, Carol did take a great photo of the Chapel from one of the private bedrooms,

Very cool iPhone photo of

the Chapel from a bedroom.

From the house we went into the back gardens, which are spectacular.  There's a series of gardens.  Perhaps the most impressive part is the old dining hall, which was destroyed during the British Civil War.  It was not restored, and looks glorious (photos below).

Further back are multiple gardens and the chapel.  The body of Catherine Parr, 6th and final wife of Henry VIII, is buried in the chapel after her  was coffin found in the 1800s by curious tourists.  She was married to "Eight" (as his wives affectionately called him, at least until he had them beheaded) for three years, six months, and sixteen days, but who's counting?).  Like many marriages, theirs ended when he died.  She was known as "Six of Six," which isn't quite as impressive as being "Seven of Nine" in Star Trek Voyager.

(Editor: Henry only had two of six wives beheaded.  Writer: So you are saying beheading wasn't Parr for the course?) 

Parr didn't even live two years after Henry VIII died.  She did remarry Thomas Seymour, brother of 3 of 6 wife, Jane Seymour.  Marrying your dead husband's ex-brother-in-law may SOUND weird, but it actually IS weird.  When her coffin was found and opened, she had been wrapped in cloth that kept her skin pristine (still dead, but she looked good doing whilst being dead).  Over the years her coffin was opened enough that she turned to ash, in an ashes to ashes, dust to dust kind of way.

Catherine Parr's tomb.  She's the only royalty

in England buried at a private residence.

Anyhow, the chapel was nice, but again, the gardens were amazing.

Taking this selfie, I was hedging my

bets that the Castle would be visible.

I didn't even come close to

including all the beautiful

garden/flower photos

that I took.  

The remnants of dining hall.

So glad the dining hall wasn't rebuilt.

You get an idea of the grandeur, but

it is mixed with nature.

Shrubbery.Garden: It's not

just for Monty Python.

Side view of the chapel.

A view back to part of the castle.

The chapel is on the right, the castle

is to the left.  Shrubbery is in the

foreground.  

The duck was there to

say goodbye as we left.

On the way out, we saw two things I didn't expect.  First, there were all these tiny, tiny frogs hopping around.  You had to look carefully to make sure you didn't step on one (or ten).  Everything about Sudeley Castle was great (including the frogs, of course), except for the last display. which is this path through oversized wooden animals.  I assume it's meant for kids to enjoy, but I didn't much see the point of it.  Oh well, the rest of Sudeley Castle makes up for that weirdness.