Sherborne - Day 9

***Note:  We are officially back in the normal swing of things in the US.  We arrived home very early Saturday morning.  Anna made it to ballet for a 9:30 class (true dedication).  I drove back to Concord on Sunday.  The first day back to work after a long break is always rough, but I've been looking forward to going through photos to finish my blog postings for our last 2 days in England.

There are always bunnies in this part of the field.

Today we were feeling, right from the morning, that our beautiful vacation is coming to an end.  There were so many things we wanted to see and do, but of course we knew we wouldn't be able to fit in everything.  Anna was feeling like she didn't get enough shopping in while at Bath yesterday.  I was feeling like I haven't been able to relax and enjoy the immediate area enough. Michael was feeling like the decision of what to do today would best be left to me and Anna.

We picked Sherborne, another medieval market town located about 20 minutes away from the cottage.  It is bigger than Crewkerne (which has been described by Eileen, the owner of the cottage, as a "one horse town," which might be a fair assessment, but I do love its charms), and has a reputation for good shops and antiques.  There is also an abbey and a castle that was built by (for) Sir Walter Raleigh.

It was market day, so local vendors were set up along the high street.  Anna and I bought some hot cross buns, while Michael looked longingly at the local meats, knowing they wouldn't keep in the car all day.  There was a steady drizzle, which made it imperative that we stop in each shop along the street to keep dry on the way to the abbey.  We found another hat shop, this one more expensive than the one in Bath.

We also stopped for the best lunch we've had yet - fish pie with mashed potatoes and cheese on top for me, steak and ale for Michael, and more eggs, bacon and potatoes for Anna, with her usual hot chocolate and whipped cream (she's in a rut!)  It was again the best whipped cream Anna has ever tasted!  I couldn't even wait to take a bite before I took this photo...

Sherborne Abbey was so beautiful - Anna said it was her favorite church.  There were sections of the Saxon structure, medieval stained glass, and the nave was stunning and colorful.

There were also some colorful stories associated with the abbey.  When it became a Benedictine Abbey, the monks built a separate but attached structure for the villagers to worship in and kicked them out of the abbey proper.  The baptismal font which had been used by the villagers for generations was still located in the abbey, so whenever there was a child to be baptized, the villagers had to request of the monks permission to use it.  The villagers didn't like this, so they carved their own font and began using that.  The monks didn't like this, so they smashed the villagers' font.  In retaliation, the villagers shot flaming arrows into the abbey, where the ceiling was being renovated.  The scaffolding caught on fire and the flames permanently stained some of the stone red.

We stayed at the abbey all afternoon, and didn't make it to Sherborne Castle before it closed for the day.  With a little extra time on our hands, we took the back way home to the cottage, driving up Ham Hill to take in the view of our village and the surrounding countryside.

We got home early and had a relaxing evening.  Anna and I went over to the farmhouse to chat with Eileen and a couple other guests. We talked about the Royals, and Anna got quite an education about the naughty behavior of some of the members of the Royal family!  She still loves the idea of having a queen, though, and we both regret not being able to be in England for the Diamond Jubilee in June.

Bath and Cheddar - Day 8

We’ve been going to Crewkerne every day since we arrived for bread and essentials, but today, Anna and I went early for a traditional English breakfast at Bilby’s and then a little shopping while Michael caught up on his work.  Well, Little Miss Anna had the big breakfast - runny eggs on a sandwich with bacon and mushrooms (changed out from sausage - yes, the special was actually eggs, bacon AND sausage!), potatoes and a dressed salad, and her usual hot chocolate with whipped cream ("English whipped cream is the best whipped cream I've ever had in my life" - we've heard that a lot).  My roots are clearly continental because I prefer a cup of tea and a bit of bread or other baked good in the morning.

As always, the drive into town was gorgeous (and grey!)

When we got back, Michael was still working, but we soon left to spend the rest of the day in Bath, which is a beautiful city.

We saw Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths, which are located right next to each other in an interesting architectural and religious juxtaposition.  You can see the Abbey peaking out over the Baths in the photo below.  (I'll spare you interior photos of another church!)

One of our main reasons for going to Bath was to visit the Makery.  Unfortunately they didn't have any workshops during our time in England (we just missed the knicker workshop), but we spent a good long time picking out some crafty items and fabrics at the shop.  And to make it up to Michael, we had an early dinner at the pub right next door, which bills itself as the tiniest pub in Bath.  That seems likely.

We also spent some time in a hat shop.  Anna is really embracing British culture!  And it looks so good on her.

On the drive back, we took a detour through Cheddar Gorge.  Cheddar cheese was first produced there, with the numerous caves in the gorge used to cure the cheese.  It was raining and getting dark, but the gorge was spectacular.

What a long and busy day with a lot of driving.  Tomorrow we should pare down our list - maybe pick only one place to go - and try to have a more relaxing day.

Dorset Coast - Day 7

The weather was even more beautiful today than yesterday.  It was the perfect day to spend time at the coast.  We got an early start, stopped in Crewkerne to buy some new shoes for Anna (beautiful, expensive German shoes to provide support for her ballet arches - she left her sneakers outside overnight and it rained - I think she did it on purpose!) and some bread for lunch (to go with all the magnificent British cheese!) and then drove south to Durdle Door, an arch worn by the sea through the rock.  There are many superlatives I could use to describe the coast, but I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

The walk down was not for the faint of heart, but it was warm on the pebble beach, which was protected from the wind by the chalk cliffs.  Anna sketched, I rested and we all walked along the water - it was cold, but still not as cold as the ocean at Hampton Beach, NH in the summer!

We drove to Lyme Regis for dinner.  Driving through the back roads of the countryside is a pleasure.  "It is just so beautiful."  (I put that in quotes because Anna and Michael have been teasing me about saying that particular phrase constantly.)  But it is my favorite part of out trip to be able to see beautiful little villages and parish churches that are off the beaten path.

Along the way to Lyme Regis, we came upon this ancient church in Whitcombe, no longer in use.  I had a nice conversation with Ian, the caretaker, who was cutting the grass, and we found we had many things in common.  We both have a 13-year old daughter who is home-educated, we are both very skeptical of genetically modified foods and animal feeds and consider it important to live in an area that produces good food, and we both keep chickens and had similar bad experiences with roosters (or, as Ian called them, cockerels).  We also talked about the differences in the agricultural landscapes of England and New England.  (In case you are wondering, there is more agricultural land, and the grazing lands and farm fields are vast and undulating in the south of England, whereas in Western Massachusetts, there is much more forest land (85% of the landscape), the fields are much smaller, and at higher elevations the land becomes rocky glacial till unsuitable for farming, although fine for sheep as Anna’s Little Farm can attest.)  It was a pleasure speaking with Ian and seeing that we are all the same.

We arrived at Lyme Regis fairly late and had dinner at a local pub - fish and chips for me, baked whole dab for Michael, and a vegetarian mushroom, spinach, cranberry and brie Wellington for Anna.  They were all excellent.

Such a very pretty seaside town, isn't it?  And just an hour's drive from Bagnell Cottage.