22. Cornwall and Lands End

Wednesday, June 5

We left Plymouth in three lanes of traffic going out around the city. On the bus we rotate seats every day and today was our day to sit in front behind the driver.

It was great with a beautiful view, beautiful weather and me snapping pictures again as we climbed through rounded grassy, patchwork mountains. We were braking coming down the hills and chugging going up them, the steeper they became.

Cornwall's industries are fishing, tourism, surfing and sailing. Their crest is a sailor on one side and a tin miner on the other with gold balls below signifying coins used to rescue the king from ransom. Their motto is, For One and All.

The barren mountains with patches of woods and heather are called Upland Moor. The two lane road we drove is the main road into Cornwall and in the summer, there can be 5 mile back ups. We're lucky it is a good time to visit.

While we drove Henry put on the story of Sir Francis Drake. It was a good story told in chapters and very well done. It sounded pretty exciting and made me want to learn more about him.

As we got closer to the coast, a fog rolled in and the temperature dropped. Many of us did not bring warm enough clothes as it was so warm in Plymouth.

We went by a pheasant farm and saw quite a few wild pheasants along the road in our drive. We also saw many Wind Turbines and Henry said Cornwall leads the country with them. No one seems too enthused.

We stopped in White Cross for a comfort break. It was on the sea with a view of St. Michael's Island. It was grey and windy, but very beautiful. We watched a horse and rider gallop full speed down the beach. It was impressive. The. Bathrooms were being fixed, so we had to use the Porta-Loos.

On out towards Land's End, we passed an old church and cemetery. The church was started in 520 AD and had a sign that said it was the last church in England as we were almost at the end of the point of land. In the cemetery was a typical Celtic cross with the cross set in a circle combining the Celtic circle of life and cycles of seasons with the Christian faith.

Land's End had the typical little shops and a snack bar, but it had a fabulous view of the cliffs. It was windy, cold and rugged, but so beautiful. We were all out hiking the trails and it was worth it.

As we left Land's End, Henry and Ron, our relief driver for the day, made the decision to take the Tin Coast road to St. Ives. It went past abandoned mines and houses. What a day to be in the front seat. It was narrow and curving and at times people had to back up to let us through. We had to stop for horses too. Henry said we were lucky as most drivers did not want to attempt it with a bus. It was breath taking we were so close to buildings and hedges. We kept trying to get a picture and just couldn't do it justice. It was an exciting ride and I tried not to gasp...well maybe a little.

 

The Cornish Peninsula is dotted with small fishing villages at the bottom of very steep hills. Our bus can not go down into St. Ives, so we have to walk or take a shuttle. Houses there are thrown up together every which way, where ever there is space. We walked down the very steep hill bracing all the way to keep from pitching forward. It was rough on the knees, but we did it. We wound down down through the streets full of shops to the beautiful harbor front. The sun was back out and it was hazy, beautiful. The connected buildings looked different here with their pastel colors. The sand, water colors and buildings made me think of pictures I have seen of the Mediterranean.

We met up with Daryl and Jo-Anne and had a lovely seafood lunch overlooking the harbor.

Then we walked along the harbor and met up with some of the others. John and Mary showed us where to get ice cream and Bob had to try a lamb and mint pasty. After all of that, we took the bus back to the top. It was a delightful place to visit.

We drove back to Plymouth to the harbor and took a cruise learning the history of the area. We saw where the Pilgrims embarked on their voyage to America. It was pretty impressive.

We stopped in the park on this now gloriously warm, sunny day and took pictures of the monuments including one to Sir Francis Drake.

We cram so much in to a day it's no wonder we pass out at night. Just when I think we're winding down, we have another great adventure.

21. South England

Tuesday, June 4

We left Cardiff driving through typical city outskirts and heavy traffic on our way to Bath, an old Roman city with healing hot springs. The legend is that a great Celtic King had a bad skin disease and exiled himself from his people as he was afraid they might catch it from him. Living alone under the Oaks in the woods he watched the wild pigs. They enjoyed rolling in the mud by the hot springs and they had the most beautiful skin. He decided to try it and in time was completely cured. He went back to his people to share and rule. Later when the Romans came, they developed the area.

We skirted the Cotswolds and drove on into the ancient city of Bath. We stopped in a square by a hotel and lovely gardens and walked into the center of town by the Abbey. We decided to go in and tour the bath and see all of the artifacts.

We wore a recorder around our necks and could punch in the number of things that interested us to gather information. It was very nice and individualized. We didn't stay long as we wanted to explore the rest of the town.

We went into the beautiful Abbey. The sweetest older lady, who reminded us of Carol's mom, Greta, showed us some highlights and then left us on our own. At one point you could see some stone pillars beneath the building through a vent that was left from the Norman Cathedral, that was 1000 years old. The rest of the church was 500 years old. This was a fascinating place.

We wandered the town and taking the advice of our friends back home, Bob and Laurie, we stopped into Sally Lunn's Tea Room and had a lovely pot of tea and a Bun. Bob had cinnamon and I had lemon curd with clotted cream. Delicious!

We left Bath and went on through more of the Cotswolds with those beautiful old stone houses, fences and lush farmland. My eyes can't get enough. We've calmed down a bit from being snap happy, but you still hear the cameras clicking. We all keep hoping for that perfect shot that will capture it.

Our next stop was the very quaint, medieval looking town of Glastonbury. It was a very metaphysical town full of shops with fairies, magic and fortune telling. The people watching was great with a lot of hippy, woo woo types. Fascinating and fun to explore. There are old Abbey ruins there where, supposedly, King Arthur is buried. 

On we went towards the coast and our night's destination of Plymouth. We entered the area of Dartmoor with very narrow winding roads with hedge rows that Henry said could be 500 years old. At times we are hitting branches at the side of the bus and when we approached other cars, one of us had to pull over.

We climbed higher and it got more barren and Henry said these were moors. A moor is really just an area of poor soil with Heather and scrub brush. Henry told us the weather was not always sunny like this and if you took off on a hike you would have to be prepared as the weather can change in an instant with a cold fog or rain moving in. You have to be careful on the peat bogs as you can get off track and fall in up to your waist in a thick soup like quick sand. He said it can be quite a dangerous area, but today it looked lovely and we saw many hikers up on the trail. We could have stayed and played here, but time to move. This is the area made famous by the Sherlock Holmes stories. Out on the moors there is nothing, no shops, pubs, or phone signals and only a few roads. Great place for a mystery.

We came down a very steep winding road into the tiny town of Widecombe.
People from the tea shop came out and waved as we passed. We stopped and sat outside at little round tables and had tea with scones, clotted cream (much like rich butter), and strawberry jam. It was all very civilized. 

As we drove on through the hills, there were no fences. We saw many horses and we had to stop for sheep in the road. There were two horse back riders with their two dogs and we had to stop and wait as they have the right of way till we could go around them. One of the dogs sat down and looked at us and cracked us all up. We have many dog lovers on board.

Finally we were back on the Dual Carriageway and drove on into Plymouth which is sometimes called the English Rivera. We'll get to see it tomorrow. For now, we were happy to relax, have dinner and go to bed. We actually were in bed at 8:30 and later talked to others who did the same. It's all catching up with us.

Meanwhile as we got ready for bed we turned on television and saw the Queen and Royal Family at an Evensong Service at Westminster Abbey with the Boys Choir singing. They showed an aerial shot and we could see right where we sat when we were there. What a cool experience!

20. Lovely Wales

Monday, June 3

We spent the night in Wexham at a very nice Ramada Inn that was well organized and very comfortable. As we traveled south to Cardiff, the road actually took us back into England for a bit. As we drove we relaxed, enjoying the scenery. I have overused all of the worlds, but let me say one more time that there were rolling, lush green, patchwork farms, dense woods, sparkling rivers, pines, then up to barren mountains, magnificent views from the rugged sea coast and then the whole thing repeats again. Mix in quaint villages, fascinating ruins, and modern cities with impressive, ornate, historic buildings. We continue to be amazed at the vastness of open land. I pictured it all more built up and populated. The British Isles are an incredible experience. They have managed to preserve so much history and they honor and encourage beautiful plant life and grand old trees. We are impressed!

Driving along, Henry had some pretty heavy men's choir hymns playing. Someone spoke up that it was beginning to sound like a funeral on the bus. Henry had moved back on the bus to speak with someone and we declared mutiny. Our friend John shot up to the front in Henry's seat, turned off the hymns and turned on the microphone, to all of our encouragement. He then sang some lovely Irish ballads in his sweet tenor voice. It was great!

A couple of terms - 

A divided four lane highway is a Dual Carriageway.

When you need to yield in traffic, the sign says, Give Way.

Take out food is Take Away.

We stopped in the little town of Ludlow for a break. It was a delight and might even be better than York. We walked through the beautiful church of St. Laurence of Ludow. We were awed by the ornate stone and woodwork. Anne, our friend from Tasmania, found her husbands family plaque. It gave her chills and made all of us misty with emotion for her as we shared this special time.

There were yummy little bakeries and Bob got a lovely warm Cornish Pasty and I had an English Cheddar and tomato sandwich on a small freshly baked bun. No McDonalds or any chain stores in town. Everything is local. Nice.

We got back on the bus and found out Joe had had some stomach pains and stopped in to see a chemist (drug store pharmacist) who insisted he see a doctor. A local doctor took him right in. So we all got back off the bus with more time to explore.

We poked through the flea market and then heard about a nice hike around the castle ruins in town. Off we went for some great views, but began to worry about time.

We realized no one was around and jogged all the way back to the bus just in time. They were about to look for us. Joe had a urinary tract infection and they fixed him up with medication and orders to drink water. It was a good lesson for all of us as we're in such a rush to see it all we forget to take care of ourselves and keep hydrated and use those comfort stops.

We went through an area known for apples and cider, and Henry told us that people long ago drank beer or cider as so much water was polluted with human and animal waste.

The road eased back into Wales and we went by more beautiful country past more canals and mountains. Henry told us a saying - A Welsh man is not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he is a rich man, born with a poem in his heart and a song in his soul.

We stopped in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, for the night. We entered in three lanes of traffic with modern buildings, but also some clean, quaint houses. It is a busy city. We settled in the hotel and when I couldn't get on the Internet, four different clerks helped with two coming up to the room. I kept saying it was OK, but they insisted and then did not charge me. That was so nice. We have met wonderful people in this world.

We cleaned up and went off for a tour, dinner and a show at Cardiff's Castle. We climbed 120 steps around the circular stairway up the narrow tower. It was fascinating to see the artwork and furnishings. Then we went back down to the reception room for a glass of Meade, honey wine. The stone wall behind the bar was part of the original Roman wall dated 250 AD. Incredible!

While we were waiting for dinner and the show, the young host was joking around and asked my name. I didn't want to tell him, but didn't want to be rude. Sure enough our seats were right by the stage and he was the head entertainer and used my name often. Then he made me come up on stage to help tell a story with five others. I just had to swish my hands back and forth every time he sang the part about an avalanche.

Some had worse parts and I was thankful. After that I thought I was free to just sit back and enjoy...but no. When they talked about Tom Jones being from Wales he made me come back up to sway with the back up singers for the guy singing the Tom Jones song "Dahlila."

The singer then took my hand and had me sway with him as he sang. I was so darned embarrassed, but went along with it. I got teased a bunch the rest of the night and the next morning with our traveling friends asking me for an autograph, swishing by me, and offering to put me to work with a scythe. The show was fabulous, but that's the last time I tell a performer my name!