Fly home on Friday

We've packed in so much on this holiday... the blog is a good visual diary of what ground we have covered.

Once again, thanks to Bronda & Rod, our exchange couple. We have thoroughly enjoyed staying in Andover in a very, very comfortable house.

A big thanks goes to Marilyn for looking after Abby. 

And Glen... many thanks for looking after all edging & mowing at our place.

Finally, thanks to Judy & Carol who are letting us stay at their condo until we move back into our place on Sunday.

What a holiday!

Castle Combe

Today we visited a charming Cotswold village... one of the loviest in England.

The photos say it all!

We shared delicious lunch sitting outside on a warm, sunny afternoon.

Precursor to our Rialta!

Mobility way, way, way back in time... Long before our Rialta!

How about this one?

Or maybe this one?

Now... hundreds of years later, there is this one.

Weald & Downland Open Air Museum

What a day!

This morning we travelled to the South Downs National Park, a 45 acre area near Singleton in West Sussex. Over 50 original historic buildings have been rescued from destruction & painstakingly rebuilt and situated in environments similar to where they originally stood. Fences have been erected, flower & vegetables gardens have been planted, and out-sheds are located where they would have stood. They are furnished as appropriate to the period of the house.

This all brings to life the homes, farms, & workplaces of the south east over the past 500 years.

This entire experience reminded us of visiting an Acadian Village when we were in New Brunswick in 2010.

Avebury

What to say about a society that, over many, many centuries, had the resources, vision, time, & discipline to construct such massive ceremonial sites such as Avebury, Silbury Hill, & West Kennet Long Barrow, as well as Stonehenge only a few miles south? Huge amounts of resources were expended on the construction of these ceremonial monuments.

Visiting Avebury yesterday left us totally amazed over how different life/society must have been. 

Just imagine a common purpose where that vision was realized over hundreds and hundreds of years?

We know that Avebury is the largest stone circle in the world: 

* built 4000+ years ago

* primitive tools (antler picks) were used

* 1400ft. diameter & covering an area of 28 acres; 

* massive ditch & bank 1 mile around;

* 170 huge Sarsen stones; 

* several mile-long avenues lined with Sarsen stones connecting it with Silbury Hill (man-made), & West Kennett Long Barrow (man-made)

The New Forest

This is a former hunting area established about 1079 by William the Conqueror who claimed it as one of his Royal Hunting Preserves. (Little did it matter that 20 small hamlets were destroyed in order for this to happen.)

So, what is now the 'New Forest' is not new at all.

It's a unique area that retains many rural practices conceded by the Crown in historical times.

Rights of Commons were ancient rights entitling commoners to graze their animals in the open forest. So, throughout the  Forest's history, ponies, cattle, pigs, & donkeys have been pastured in the open.

 

It was with the hope of seeing free ranging horses, that we headed into the New Forest... and off the beaten path. Horses were everywhere... Strolling along or crossing the roads, nibbling grasses bedside the roads, & grazing in most open spaces. Once a year they are rounded up and the various owners trim their tails in a specific pattern to designate who they belong to. They also evaluate the health of the horses.

Stourhead Gardens

On our way home from Bristol this afternoon, we stopped at Stourhead, an 2600 acre estate at the source of the River Stour in Wiltshire. 

This painting was done in the 1600's. We saw amazing art throughout the mansion.

The grounds were immense... and so beautiful. We followed pathways up & down, down & up, and up back to the entrance. The sun was out so that was a real bonus.