SOUTHWEST (Bristol, Bath, Dorset, Devon, Somerset)
Day 6 Mon April 29
Maiden Castle. Expansive Iron Age hillfort dating to 600BC with multiple ramparts built in the 1st century, BC, plus views & paths. It was built over a Neolithic settlement (5500BC) and in 43AD, taken by the Romans. A nice hour’s walk up to the “castle”, walk across from the east to the west and back down.
Portland Bill Lighthouse, Portland. Preceded by many lighthouses, this one dates from 1906. 167′ tall, it is red and white. The point next to the lighthouse has dramatic seas. It was a long drive here from Portland.
Corfe Castle, Corfe Castle is a village and the site of a ruined castle of the same name. The village and castle stand over a gap in the Purbeck Hills on the route between Wareham and Swanage on the main A351 road. The village lies in the gap below the castle and is around four miles (6.4 km) south-east of Wareham, and four miles (6.4 km) north-northwest of Swanage. In the Middle Ages, there was a considerable marble carving and stone-cutting industry in the village. Purbeck stone was shipped all around the country from Ower Quay in Poole Harbour. In the 18th century, ball clay quarrying developed – in 1791 Pike signed a five-year contract with Josiah Wedgwood to supply 1,200 tons of clay that continued to provide major employment until the 20th century.
St Harry Rocks Trail. About a 1 km walk on the South Coastal Path to the peninsula with the rock just offshore – 3 chalk sea stacks.
ON in a parking lot that accessed Old Harry Rocks.
Day 7 Tue April 30
I continued my drive towards Cornwall.
I am very bored and regret having given almost 2 full weeks to driving around south England. The weather has been crappy – occasional sun but mostly cold, grey and raining most days.
Swanage is a coastal town on the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck. Population of 9,601
Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, Weymouth. A wonderfully lush garden with camellias and rhododendrons all in bloom.
Dorset Natural Landscape.
Sidmouth Countryside.
Canonteign Falls. In Dartmoor National Park, it is 220 feet (70 m) high and is one of the highest waterfalls in England. It was created in 1890 by diverting a stream over the edge of a cliff.
Lustleigh. A small village in the national park.
Exeter Underground Passages. Tours in medieval subterranean passageways that used to transport water under Exeter city centre. Lovely stone construction, claustrophobic. Good guide. 7.50
Exeter Cathedral. Medieval Gothic building, known for its vaulted ceiling and astronomical clock, with roof tours.
Torquay. A tourist town on the southwest coast. I tried to watch the world championship snooker but the bars only showed football.
ON Torquary on the street near the Parade. I have developed a cold adding to my woes of constant gastritis that I experience at the beginning of every trip.
Day 8 Wed May 1
I decided to drive back to see some of the things I had missed in the rain yesterday.
South West Coast Path. This 630-mile adventure is Britain’s longest national walking trail, stretching from Minehead in Somerset via Land’s End to Poole in Dorset. It can be picked up along the coast for day hikes or longer stretches. I walked a short distance on the path before Shaldon Gardens. www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk
Shaldon Botanical Gardens. A great garden above the town and next to the road – grass, a path the length, flowers, some big trees and hedges. Free.
I decided to drive out of my way up into Dartmoor NP and did not regret it as the landscape is unique. Mostly treeless moor, access on very narrow one-lane roads hemmed in by ancient hedgerows (actually grow from the stone walls but are trimmed – When not trimmed they often become full-fledged trees growing from the walls. Pass a section of forest with some plantation trees and logging. The stone walls are wonderful.
Postbridge Clapper Bridge. Pedestrian and Historical Bridges. A clapper bridge is an ancient form of bridge found on the moors of the English West Country formed by large flat slabs of stone, often granite or schist. These can be supported on stone piers across rivers, or rest on the banks of streams.
Don’t miss this wonderful ancient bridge even much older than the ancient road bridge beside it. It has steps on both sides up to three sections of massive granite stones on two piers. The middle section has two stones. Its slabs are over 4 metres (13 ft) long, 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) wide and weigh over 8 metric tons (7.9 long tons; 8.8 short tons) each, making the bridge passable to a small cart. It was first recorded in 1380 and was built to facilitate the transportation of Dartmoor tin by pack horses to the stannary town of Tavistock.
Dartmoor National Park. The largest space of open country in south England (ie no trees except for broom). Just past the bridge is the NP headquarters with displays.
Brisworthy Stone Circle, Devon. Vestiges of the Past. What is seen today is an early 20th-century restoration, before 1909 only three or four stones were standing with nearly twenty others fallen. The re-erecting of the stones took place in that year – an oval of twenty-four standing stones half a metre to nearly a metre and a half tall, the diameter 24 – 27 metres. Thought to date from the Bronze Age.
Getting there. I followed Google Maps which took me through Brisworthy farm, a muddy 2-lane track, and a gate and continued to near a small house and parked. I walked up to the left and climbed a wall but could not see the circle. An ewe had dead twins.
I returned to the farm and he gave completely different instructions. Continue down the entrance road to the farm and keep right at the corner of the good pavement. Just after is a dirt tract that leads to a parking area. Crawl through the gate and follow the fence on a rudimentary path, cross another gate and walk next to the fence along shorter grass. It is a 1 km walk.
In fact, the GM directions were much closer. From the small house, go through the yard and angle up and to the left for about 200 m to the circle. You need to cross at least one wall. From the description above, this circle is much smaller, round and has smaller stones.
Both this circle and the Ringmoor Stone Row and Cairn Circle are marked correctly on the maps.
ON in the parking lot for the stone circles. I had had a very unusual day – an 11-hour sleep in Torquay, A two-hour nap at Dartmoor NP parking lot and then overnight here for another 13 hours. I was feeling lousy with this cold, constant nausea and frequent cough. It rained heavily during the night.
ENGLAND – CORNWALL (Newquay, Truro) and Scilly Isles
Day 9 Thur May 2
I continued my drive on a very cold, rainy day. This is England.
Mevagissey Museum, Saint Austell. Mevagissey is a tiny pedestrianized village. Park in several large lots before entering the village. The museum is small, mostly history and the role of fishing. Free by donation
The Roseland Heritage Coast
Trewithen Gardens, Truro. A lovely 30-acre private garden (on the Trewithen Farm). Lots of huge mature trees and flowers. The rhododendrons in all colours were wonderful (the wood stock was larger than any I have ever seen, even in Nepal). I walked by the entrance not realizing there was a fee, and walked around for about 10 minutes. She didn’t bother charging me.
Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro: Minerals from around the globe and exhibits about the region’s wildlife and history. 7.50£
Truro Cathedral. Open in the evening for Eveningsong. Another great cathedral with very high arch vaulted ceilings and multilobed columns.
With my cold and subsequent bronchitis, I went to a drugstore hoping the pharmacist would give me some free antibiotics. I eventually went to the Truro Hospital outpatients, registered, was seen by a nurse and waited about 1.5 hours to be seen – all free.
ON On the highway outside of Truro.
Day 10 Fri May 3
Continuing my slow drive about. With my cold, I am unusually sleepy, nap during the day and sleep 10-12 hours per night.
Mousehole. Village.
Egyptian House, Penzance. Architectural Delights. I don’t know the history of the facade of this building dating from 1835 but it is wonderful if a bit contrived – trapezoidal windows, decorative features on the building include pillars with lotus capitals, sculpted human heads, a royal coat of arms and an eagle. Above the centrally located front door is a the lintel, a bas-relief depicting two outstretched wings attached to a centrally located sphere from which a pair of bird’s heads each, on their own curved necks project. The bird’s heads are shown in profile with their beaks pointing in opposite directions. It is pseudo-ancient-Egyptian as are many other ornaments on the building.
Pedn Vounder Beach. Access down the path just feet before the campground. Parking is a real issue as the campground refuse to let you park for any duration (I even offered to pay). They tell you there is parking in the town but it is a long way. I eventually parked on the road at a tiny pulloff with some unused gates.
Walk about 5 minutes down the Southwest Coast Trail and take a small loop with great views of the beach. Descend a steep trail to the beach. Several people were swimming with a water temperature of about 11°C.
I continued on the main trail to the large white, stone, pyramidal cairn announcing the end of the transatlantic cable between Brest and New York established in 1880. It was moved in 1919 down the cliff. The Eastern Telegraph Co (1870) laid cable using Brunels “The Great Eastern” from Bombay – Suez – Malta – Gibraltar – Falmouth – Porthcurno.
Minack Theatre, Cornwall. Architectural Delights. Unfortunately, the theatre was closed and can be seen only over a fence with incomplete views. It sits on the edge of the cliff overlooking Porthurno Beach.
Lands End. Signpost mileage: New York 3174 m, John O’Groats 874 m.
I went to St Ives and cooked supper on a bench with a great view of the sunset.
ON on the road north.
Day 11 Sat May 4
Godrevy. Cliffs and a long, deep sandy beach with coves and headland trails. This is very popular with many surfers, caravan parks, walkers and dogs.
St Agnes Heritage Coast. Rugged coastal hiking across cliffs, headlands, beaches and bays.
Healey’s Cornish Cyder Farm. Well-Being. Every apple product known. Tours. I didn’t go on any.
Padstow. Village on the water. Tourists.
Boscastle. Village on a river in a remote valley.
The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle. Bizzarium:
ON in a parking lot in Boscastle
Day 12 Sun May 5
Bude. Village
The Ashbrittle Yew, Ashbrittle. Urban Legends. A 3000–4,000-year-old Yew tree (Taxus baccata), possibly the oldest church in Britain. The tree is growing on the top of a Bronze Age Bowl barrow, now the St John the Baptist church. It is no longer one solid tree having divided into seven separate trunks in a circle with a diameter of 42 feet (13 m). It is a long drive here and back on some impossibly narrow roads.
World of Nature
St. Agnes Heritage Coast
Trevose Head Heritage Coast
The Museum of Celebrity Leftovers, Kingsand: Located inside the Old Boatstore Cafe in Cornwall in an appointment-only corridor, there’s a blue, seemingly normal display case tacked to the wall. Upon closer inspection, one can see various food articles like crusts of bread, sugar packets, chickpeas, and coffee-stained napkins sheltered under little glass domes, all leftover from the plates of celebrities who have dined at the café. The actress, Mia Wasikowska, for example, has a courgette from her soup on display, while Prince Charles has some bread pudding he chose to leave unfinished.
The café has an open and community-minded atmosphere, priding itself on vegetarian food and locally sourced seafood, but one must arrange a private tour to view this semi-masticated celebrity collection. Permanently closed
Return to ENGLAND – SOUTHWEST (Bristol, Bath, Dorset, Devon, Somerset)
Wells Cathedral, Wells. 12th-century building with 300 sculptures on the West Front, a clock made in 1390. The clock is amazing – I ended up chatting to two Welsh men and watched three-quarter hours on the clock. From 1390, it is the 2nd oldest working clock and the oldest with an original dial. The outer records 24 hours, the middle dial star indicates minutes and the innermost indicates days of the lunar month. The disc at the centre shows the moon as it appears. On every quarter hour, the jousting knights gallop around a turret and the same figure has been knocked down for over 600 years. A figure up to the right (Jack Blandiver) strikes bells with his heels on the quarter hour and at the hour hits the bell with a hammer in his right hand. Amazing.
B3135 Cliff Road
ON on Cliff Road. This winding road ascends through the spectacular cliffs of Cheddar Gorge. I drove to above the cliffs and then came back down and parked in one of the many parking areas. All evening, I heard the roar of all the young English losers in their new cars equipped with souped-up mufflers going up and down the gorge.
Day 13 Mon May 6|
BRISTOL
Temple Meads Station. A grand old train station servicing the entire Bristol area and beyond. Stonework, crenellations, high clear glass windows.
St. Nicholas Market. An old street covered with high glass ceiling.
Red Lodge Museum 1600s townhouse with furniture, old art and several rooms lined with great oak walls.
Bristol Cathedral. Anglican cathedral with 12th-century heritage, including a vaulted chapter house.
Royal West of England Academy. Modern art by John Hoyland. What a waste of money. 9.90£
The Hatchet Inn Pub. Hospitality Legends. Dating from 1606, it is Bristol’s oldest pub. I watched the final of the World Snooker Championships.
Blaise Castle. 18th-century decorative castle on a picturesque estate with a 19th-century house & art museum. Not seen.
Cliften Suspension Bridge. A very high toll suspension bridge with great brick stone towers at each end.
Go to WALES
Blockley is a village in the Cotswold district. The Church of England parish church of St. Peter and St. Paul is late Norman, built in about 1180. The church is used as St Mary’s Roman Catholic church in the Father Brown television series and the vicarage as the presbytery, Father Brown’s residence.
Castle Combe
Lacock
Lower and Upper Slaughter is a village in the Cotswold district one mile away from its twin village Lower Slaughter, Population 181. The village is built on both banks of the River Eye. Upper Slaughter is one of a handful of the Thankful Villages, amongst the small number in England which lost no men in World War I. The village also lost no men in World War II, additionally making the village a Doubly Thankful Village. The name derives from the Old English word “slohtre” meaning “wet land”.
Lustleigh
Marlborough is a market town on the Old Bath Road, the old main road from London to Bath. The town is on the River Kennet, 24 miles (39 km) north of Salisbury
The Marlborough Mound is a 62-foot-high (19 m) prehistoric tumulus in the grounds of Marlborough College dated from about 2400 BC. In 1804 the Marlborough White Horse was cut on a downland slope southwest of the town, by boys from Mr Greasley’s Academy in the High Street.
Painswick. The town grew from the wool trade, but it is now best known for its parish church’s yew trees and the local Rococo Garden. The village is mainly constructed of locally quarried Cotswold stone. Many of the buildings feature south-facing attic rooms once used as weavers’ workshops. Painswick stands on a hill overlooking one of the Five Valleys, between Stroud and Gloucester. It has narrow streets and traditional architecture.
Wye Bridge, Chepstow.
Museum of Gloucester, Gloucester:
The Wilson, Cheltenham:
Buckfast Abbey. Buckfast: Tranquil abbey with sensory and lavender gardens, a restaurant and shops selling monastic products.
Gloucester Cathedral. 11th-century building with the tomb of King Edward II.
Malmesbury Abbey. Soaring medieval active church, with fine stonework showing bullet marks from the English Civil War.
Tewksbury Abbey. Norman edifice with a Romanesque tower and ornate roof bosses, plus regular Christian services.
Devizes: Caen Hill Locks. Bizzarium
