Cotswolds, Gardens, Houses and a bit of detective work

After our whirlwind trip to London, we have been spending a quiet few days in Shipston-on-Stour getting to know 2^nd and 3^rd cousins better.

I had been waiting to hear about a job I had applied for…but as yet, nada. Very frustrating. However, life goes on and so did our week. We didn’t actually do very much at all which was a welcome change. As the Bank Holiday long weekend approached though there were a few trips.

We had a lovely stroll around the gardens at Hidcote and then up to the top of Dover’s Hill to admire the view one afternoon.

On the Sunday of the long weekend we all piled in the car and went off to Blenheim Palace and spent the day with more 2^nd and 3^rd cousins. There is a lot to see there, inside and outside to fill the day. There was also a Classic Car show on in the grounds which was like a magnet for small boys…and not so small boys.

We picnicked on the lawn where generations of the Duke of Marlborough’s family will have wandered, and where Winston Churchill may have played with his brother as a child.

Afterward we headed to Woodstock the small town next to the palace in search of somewhere for dinner. There was a music festival on, so many eateries were not serving food, since so much was on offer in the Square. But we found a charming Italian restaurant which could accommodate all nine of us and had menu options for children and vegetarians too.

Back in the 19^th century there was a workhouse in the Woodstock area which may be the one where some of our family lived after the death of their husband & father in the 1840’s. But that story, is for another day.

Some family tree-ing has been done through the week, too much for some people though. It has to be said that some of us are detectives, and others are sponges who soak up all the information that has been found.

We’re off on another journey now. Two nights in Wolverhampton first (not sure why, I was going to do some researching but it doesn’t seem conducive to that on first impressions) and then off to Suffolk for a couple of weeks – hopefully to hunt down some jobs.

Before we left tho, we went and took photos of the house on the property where Nana was born. We had always assumed it was nearer the church at Old Milverton. But some of the detective work this week proved that theory wrong. It was actually at Blackdown. The coachman’s cottage where they lived (because great granddad was the coachman) doesn’t seem to be there now, but the house is pretty impressive.

 I just need to track down which house, in the same road, was the one where great grandma was in service before her marriage. I think it could have been very close by.

Earth has not anything to show more fair:

I love London. 

On my first visit to this great metropolis seven years ago I didn't enjoy it so much. That time, I didn't stay right in the city and found everything very disorientating and muddly when I came in each day. I found my way around okay, but just couldn't get it all sorted in my head.

This time is different though. My internal GPS is working. When we were first here in June we saw and did a few things we wanted to. This time we're having a weekend to try to do more. Only thing is the list is quite long...and new things keep getting added, some even jumping the queue and we end up going somewhere we hadn't actually planned to go.

On Friday when we arrived, we left our bags in our tiny room in a small family run hotel and went for a walk. We collected our tickets to see Ben Hurley & Jarred Christmas later that night and had some lunch at Fiore in Leicester Square. Yum. Our walk took us to Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, The Strand and Fleet Street (a bit of a Monopoly board tour !) We found Yoda (actually several Yodas) hovering in Trafalgar Square - how do they do that ? and the Twinings Tea Shop on Fleet Street where it has been since 1706, now dwarfed by neighbouring buildings. Then walked back to rest our feet before going back for dinner and a good laugh.

 Regent Street

 Piccadilly Circus

 Yes he is floating - but how ?

 Twinings Tea Shop

the lights in the M&M shop window

Saturday we thought we'd try to find the New Covent Garden Flower market, since they have moved from Covent Garden. The "tour" people I asked about buses didn't seem to be aware of this, even though they have been at the new site near Vauxhall since 1974. We found it though, but it had ended just before we arrived. Oh well. Then we walked back along the Thames Path towards Westminster Bridge. On the way we stopped and bought a ticket for a river cruise to Greenwich so we wouldn't have to queue at the pier. What they actually meant but didn't say was, we wouldn't need to queue twice. The queue to actually get on the boat was almost as horrendous as the queue for the London Eye (which we haven't done, but might next time). 

 Sir Walter Raleigh

We eventually got to Greenwich but only stayed for a coffee. Although there seems like there is a lot to do and see, it felt like we should have planned to spend the whole day there, and there didn't seem to be a lot of information about where to go exactly. So we cruised back to Tower Bridge and went to see the art installation of poppies which is still growing in the moat of the Tower. It is part of the commemoration of the beginning of WW1 and honouring those who gave their lives. Pretty impressive. It will be there until November at least so if you can, you should go see. From there we caught a bus back to Trafalgar Square and walked back via Neal's Yard (a not so secret alleyway near Covent Garden) to give our feet a rest before going back out for dinner.

Sunday we caught a train to Waterloo, then walked along the Thames Path again to the Tate Modern. We were meeting a cousin for lunch so decided we'd give ourselves an hour - turns out looking at art takes much longer than you think. We saw the exhibition "Poetry and Dream" and only just made it back to Waterloo in time for our train to Woking. We were met at Woking by my 4th cousin, who I have been emailing for the last four or five years sharing family tree research. We had a lovely home cooked lunch and spent some time comparing notes about the family. Then back on the train to Waterloo. A short walk to Trafalgar Square and we thought we'd have a quick look at the National Portrait Gallery if it was open and there was enough time. It was, and there was. Although to be fair I think we only managed to see part of one floor, there are so many rooms with other rooms going off on all sides !

It has been great to tick off some things on our list and get in a few extras as well - and a lot of them have had no cost attached. Bonus.

Earth has not anything to show more fair:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

A sight so touching in its majesty:

This City now doth, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie

Open unto the fields, and to the sky;

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

Never did sun more beautifully steep

In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;

Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!

The river glideth at his own sweet will:

Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;

And all that mighty heart is lying still!

William Wordsworth

Cotswolds, Oxford and a bit of decluttering

We have had a lovely week staying with cousins in Northamptonshire. They live in a 350 year old house complete with sloping walls and floors in a lovely village which also has a sizeable marina on the canal. 

We had some busy days and some lazy ones. One day we went to Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds and also to an arboretum nearby (Batsford) that would be lovely to revisit in different seasons if we are able to.

Is autumn on the way ?

Another day we went to Oxford and went to the Ashmolean Museum and did a FREE walking tour of the city. Ostensibly it is free, but you are encouraged to make payment to the host at the end - no pressure. It lasted two hours and took us around some of the colleges which make up Oxford University. Our host was a wealth of information, lots of extra tidbits gained in his three years in the role. A lot of it felt like walking around the Harry Potter set, there was a Harry Potter tour as well but we didn't know until we had set out on this one. We started on the spot where Thomas Cranmer and other martyrs were burned at the stake when Queen Mary Tudor decided to make examples of them for not being catholic. A pretty gruesome way to go. 

 This used to a brothel - now its a Pret !

 Wonder if Oxford grads get in trouble for not returning their mortarboards when they have flung them over zealously

On our lazier days we went for a walk along the canal and also tried to eliminate some of the stuff we have bought with us. We feel like extremely overweight snails carrying our belongings everywhere. Two bags of clothes and shoes have been donated to a charity shop and we have left one large and one small case in Northamptonshire for now. Still, catching the train today was fraught with frustration as we heaved our remaining bags up stairs and minded the gap as we heaved them on and off the train. I think there will be more being discarded or packed up and sent home very soon. Unless we find somewhere to stay more permanently.

I'm hoping to hear about a job on Monday, or at least an interview, and we have another few possibilities to follow up. 

Can we last til Christmas ? I hope so - I'd love to stay longer but an income is pretty imperative to make that a reality. 

A bright red beetle

Reading, I really like you. I wish you were a bit more amiable about renting us somewhere to live though. I guess we'll just have to wait until we have found ourselves jobs and try again.

We decided that we should just put the whole rental hunt on hold and see other parts of the country in case we had to alter our entire plans. So we left the cramped little icky B&B we had been staying in and got another rental car. 

The B&B was well located, close to the Thames Path, so nice riverside walks and about 1km to the town centre or maybe 2km in the opposite direction to Caversham and the best pub ! Baron of Cadogan - go there. It's a Wetherspoons pub and they have a great menu for meat eaters and non meat eaters. So great that we had dinner one night, breakfast the next day and then dinner again ! Why would you go out for breakfast when you are staying in a B&B ? Because the selection was rubbish and hardly appetising. We won't go into the other negatives like the stained linen, broken shower, bathroom door that wouldn't shut and security light outside the window which was more like a strobe light - I'm saving all that for TripAdvisor. 

We collected the car. A nice red beetle ! Very cute, but not quite as easy to get all our stuff in as the last one was. But we did it. We have been through a part of a number of counties today. Berkshire (where we started), Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and finally Kent. 

As we left Berkshire we went here, no time to go in or look at the gardens this time though. Did you know filming has started for Series 5 ?

In Surrey we found Jane Austen's house in Chawton, where she lived for the last 10 years of her life with her mother, sister and a friend. It is lovely, and without the hordes of people in Bath visiting her home there.

Then on to Royal Tunbridge Wells for the night. I had never had it on my list of places to go but now that we are here I think I will have to make a return trip with more time. We chose it because it is close to Hever Castle which we'd like to visit and some places in Kent which have family associations. But there are heaps of things to do and see; castles, gardens, coastal towns, cathedrals...

We enjoyed a nice dinner at a local restaurant and are now relaxing watching the opening of the Commonwealth Games. The B&B we are staying in tonight is at least a 300% improvement on the last one. Superb host, great room, the promise of an amazing breakfast. We'll definitely be back here.

Shakespeare Country

We're in Warwickshire now. 

We left the rellies in Somerset and travelled up to Bristol. We went through Wells and this time the sun shone brightly. We didn't find what we were looking for though so we will have to go back another time. (Perhaps when we go back to collect any mail that has arrived at Stoke St Gregory). 

Our rental car was due to be dropped off, but we had also booked another to collect the following day. So we called in at the drop off depot at Bristol airport and were able to keep the car we had and combine the two rentals. Yay, we werent looking forward to unloading the car, lugging everything to the hotel in Bristol and then to another rental depot the next morning.

We found our way to the hotel and just blobbed for most of the afternoon. It was V-E-R-Y warm. Who knew England had summers like this ? We ordered room service and then walked to Colston Hall to hear and watch our compatriot Rhys Darby. Typically he was very funny. It was good to hear another kiwi accent too.

Next morning before we left we went to try to find the Banksy artwork that had been spotted from the car the day before. It was in Clifton. Why had we not actually found Clifton the first time we were in Bristol ? We liked it a lot, no smelly rubbish on the streets or rundown looking buildings, lots of cafes, shops, young people (and some not so young) and close to the University. Oh well.

Then it was off to meet a cousin for lunch in Wiltshire - after a detour to Compton Dando (the inspiration for someone to change careers) and then on to Shakespeare country.

On the way we caught glimpses of the Red Arrows aerobatic display at the airshow. If you like planes, now is the time to be here - there are lots of airshows scheduled this month.

We are staying at my cousin's home looking after their cats while they are on holiday and enjoying being able to feel a little more relaxed. We were left copious notes to help us settle in and have made firm friends with one cat so far and are being tolerated by the other. We will win him over though. Nothing we like better than the challenge to befriend shy felines.

Yesterday we drove to Stratford on Avon and visited Shakespeare's Birthplace along with bus loads of Japanese tourists and OAP groups, USA school groups and others. Although I have a photo of his birthplace from my last trip to the UK I don't recall going inside at all. I think we must have just gone to the Visitor Centre or the Shop that time. We also visited the Christmas Shop where Mum and Dad bought their Christmas Tree on their 1989 trip and had it shipped home to NZ and the Peter Rabbit Shop where you can buy all the Beatrix Potter books still.

Then we drove to Charlecote Manor - in for free (thanks NT membership) and had a look about. The whole experience though was ruined by an over snappy dragon of a NT volunteer who kept targeting us. "Don't use flash photography" Okay, but sometimes you need to if you are using a manual camera. Perhaps you should have signs, or include this on your fact sheet. "Don't go up that stair case. You MUST go through the billiard room first and then come back down that way" What are we ? Sheep ? Again...better signage would help. Also if you are going to be volunteers you could learn a bit from those we met at Montacute House and at Shakespeare's Birthplace. Being a volunteer and "a guide in every room" actually means you should engage with the people who have paid good money to see the property, not just sit there making sure we don't touch something we shouldn't or go the wrong way. I only saw this happen in one room while here. Very disappointing as this is a home that belongs to a family with a link to Lauren's. We wanted to study the portraits and feel the ambience and that opportunity was lost.

However, the church adjacent to the property turned out to be glorious and not an officious NT person in sight. Lots of references to the Cameron-Ramsay-Fairfax-Lucy family (imagine if you had to fill THAT out on a form everyday !)

Oxford and Banbury might be next to see as well as Leamington Spa, Warwick and some more cousins before we have to decide where to go next week.

Goodbye Bristol, Hello Bath (and Stoke St Gregory)

Getting a rental car here has been an interesting process, but get one I did. However, we needed to get a taxi to the airport to pick it up. They have a system here where you can pre-book a taxi which sounds great in theory, but it seems when they arrive they aren’t quite what you expected. It has happened twice now.

Today the driver only just managed to get our monster bags into his Mercedes sporty type car for the drive out to the airport which is miles away. Once we got there, there was a queue of people to pick up cars and two people working. As well as doing the paperwork for each person, they also had to man the barrier to let the completed renters exit the carpark. Thirty minutes later we had a car, and piled our bags into it relatively easily. We were off, in pretty much a brand spanking new car, with no maps – because they were a bit budget in that department.

Following signs seemed like the sensible option, and very soon we arrived in Bath. Total contrast to Bristol. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is absolutely stunning, and so many museums and activities to experience. Plus, all of this AND the shops are right in the heart of the city. Today as well as all the normal tourist crowd it was graduation at the university so there was extra traffic and less parking.

We parked, found a lovely place for lunch and then marvelled at the shops and soaked up the vibe. People were so much warmer than they seemed in Bristol, willing to stop and chat instead of scurrying off and avoiding eye contact. We looked at 3 flats after lunch and are going to have trouble choosing between them I think.

Then it was back to the car, with our new map book and off to Holly Farm. There were some tense moments of map reading, and a couple of instance where the driver doubted the map readers skill, and the map reader used a shouty voice instead of a SatNav voice.

But, we made it and have been made to feel most welcome. Our hosts, who are related distantly (6^th cousins to me with common ancestors who were born early 18^th century) have given us all sorts of ideas for places to visit and even other places we could consider to live. More of that as time goes on.