Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was Winston Churchill’s birthplace in 1874. Not too shabby of a place to begin life on this earth!
The palace was built between 1705 and 1722, and it is massive. We spent the morning visiting this enormous palace as well as the beautiful gardens.
(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)
Coming up next: UNITED KINGDOM #20: LOVELY LONDON
Splish splash, I was taking a bath! If you are a Gen X, Y, Z or whatever, you probably don’t have a clue about that reference. The song, Splish Splash was even before my time! The story about Bobby Darin’s novelty record is funny, though. Back in 1958, DJ Murray Kaufman bet that Darin couldn’t write a song that began with the that first sentence (above), as suggested by Murray’s mother, Jean Kaufman. Darin won that bet, so the song was credited to Darin and “Jean Murray,” (a combination of their names) to avoid any hint of payola. The song was a big hit.
But I digress. This post is about Bath, the lovely city in Somerset, England, near the southern edge of the Cotswolds, named for its Roman-built baths.
The baths are THE main attraction, so our group toured the complex. We learned that before the Romans invaded in 43 AD, the hot water spring was a sacred place of worship for the local people. The Romans came in and harnessed the hot water to supply a new bath house. They built a temple and dedicated it to a new goddess, Sulis Minerva. People visited the baths, Sacred Spring, and temple from around the Roman world.
The 114-degree (Fahrenheit) water in the spring bubbles up into the King’s Bath, which was built in the 12th century. Beneath the King’s Bath is a reservoir built by Roman engineers who used the hot water to supply the baths. Studies have shown that the “magical waters” are full of minerals and have antibiotic properties.
The baths have quite a history. They were designed for public bathing and were used until the end of the Roman rule in Britain in the 5th century. A century later, they were in ruins and then redeveloped several times after that. Today, it is a huge tourist attraction with a museum that houses artefacts from the Roman period, including objects that were thrown into the Sacred Spring as offerings to the goddess.
(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)
Following our visit to the baths, we had time on our own to explore this city of around 94,000 people before joining a local guide for a walking tour. We enjoyed spending our free time seeing the picturesque Pulteney Bridge that crosses over the River Avon. Built in 1774, it has shops and a restaurant across its span.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site city, Bath is also known for Bath Abbey, founded in the 7th century and rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries. We didn’t see the interior; however, the exterior is quite a centerpiece of the town, along with the baths.
Our walking tour covered the highlights of Bath, most notably the Royal Crescent, a row of 30 terraced houses. Completed in the same year as the Pulteney Bridge, it is considered one of the greatest examples of Georgian architecture in the United Kingdom. The 500-foot-long crescent has been home to many rich and famous people, and it has appeared in several films.
Here are more scenes around Bath:
Re: The robe. Are you kidding me??? Love the shirt!
Next up: UNITED KINGDOM #19: BREATHTAKING BLENHEIM PALACE
The first word that comes to mind to describe the Cotswolds is “charming.” It IS just so charming! Located in South West England, the region is full of rolling green hills, beautiful historic cottages, and quaint little towns.
Our day in the Cotswolds began with a visit to Bibury, in Gloucestershire. Our walking tour took us through Arlington Row to see the limestone cottages that were formerly a 14th century wool store.
What a beautiful little village! The River Coln runs through the village and it was quite picturesque with Arlington Row as the backdrop.
(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)
It is an interesting story how swans became regular residents on the River Coln. Swans were raised by Benedictines at the monasteries, because it was forbidden by their religion to eat meat on Fridays. They reasoned, however, that since swans had webbed feet and lived on the water, they were close enough to being “fish.” Quite the loophole to those religious rules! To this day, swans can still be found living near former monasteries.
The next town we visited was Burford, a former market town that dates to 1086– similar in age to Bibury.
Needlepoint church pew pillows at the Church of St. John the Baptist:
On our way to the next village on our itinerary, we stopped to see Kings Stone Circle, a ceremonial ring of boulders that were erected between 3,000 and 2,000 BCE.
Stow-on-the-Wold, a former wool market town, was the final Cotswold village we visited before returning to Cirencester. Founded in the 12th century, it was, of course, charming!
St. Edward’s Church, a popular tourist attraction, was a must-see:
We especially enjoyed stopping at The Porch House, claimed to be the oldest pub in England with timbers carbon dated to the 10th century.
Poking around these Cotswold villages was a wonderful way to spend a day!
Coming up next: UNITED KINGDOM # 18: BEAUTIFUL BATH
Cirencester (“Sirensester”) is considered the “capital” of the Cotswolds, although the population is just around 20,000. Like the other quaint hamlets of the Cotswolds, homes are made of yellow limestone (called Cotswold Stone) and topped with thatch roofs or jagged slate.
Housing regulations in the Cotswolds are strict. When a roof needs to be replaced, Cotswold stone slate must be used. There are only two suppliers of this stone, so the owners run it like a cartel—the stone is very expensive, thanks to their collusion.
Our home base in the Cotswolds was right in the center of town at The Fleece, Cirencester, a charming inn made up of three historical buildings they have linked together. Walk inside, and the rooms of the bars and restaurant on the main level are like a jigsaw puzzle! The upstairs rooms are a similar configuration and branch off from one wing to another through a series of doors. It was very cozy and charming!
(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)
The location was excellent; everything was so close. The Church of St. John the Baptist, just up the street, was our first stop on Marc’s walking tour, and it was gorgeous! The oldest part of this medieval church was built in 1170.
The following are photos I shot during our walking tour and free time:
Next up: UNITED KINDGOM #17: CRUISING AROUND THE COTSWOLDS
On the last day of the main tour, we visited the Culloden Battlefield, the site where the last major battle fought on mainland British soil occurred.
For our farewell dinner that evening, our group had a private room at Tulloch Castle, which dates back to the twelfth century, according to their website, or the fourteenth century, according to Wikipedia. Either way, it was old!
(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)
We bid farewell to Tom, our wonderful tour leader as well as half of the group who opted not to join the post-tour extension. The remaining eight of us headed to the airport the following morning to fly to London and join our new tour leader, Marc, for “Classic English Landscapes: The Cotswolds to London.
Oxford was our destination for the day. We visited the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world. (There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096!) The university is comprised of 43 constituent colleges that were built in one of the English architectural styles: Anglo-Saxon, Gothic, or Tudor. 40,000 students attend the university in a town of 150,000.
Following Marc’s walking tour and a group lunch, we had time to explore the town on our own. The different styles of architecture were quite a gorgeous site to see (and photograph)!
We continued to charming Cirencester, our base for three nights. This will be the subject of my next post: UNITED KINGDOM #16: CHARMING CIRENCESTER IN THE COTSWOLDS
It was a bit of a drive to the Isle of Skye, so Tom took the opportunity during the bus ride to talk about current history, which captures my interest more than ancient history. I like to learn about how events during my lifetime have affected the lives of the people who are still alive to either benefit from or suffer from the consequences.
One example: Brexit. More people of the United Kingdom are going to suffer the consequences than benefit from that debacle. So, you say they voted for it and deserve what they asked for? Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay in the European Union (EU), but England did not. They were sold a bill of goods and flat-out lied to by Boris Johnson, their “Liar in Chief,” as Tom so aptly called him. (Funny, because Tom was such a gentle, mild-mannered soul, but he couldn’t help himself. To that, I say, “Good on ya, Tom! Call it like it is!”) We have one of those who will get inaugurated on my birthday. What a birthday “gift”…
We passed a road sign that stated, “Investing in your future,” referring to improvements that had been completed on a previously horrible road, according to Tom. Now, with Brexit, there will no longer be access to those funds for improvements.
The only benefits of Brexit, according to Tom, were faster access to COVID vaccines and higher wages for hospitality workers. Otherwise, the results have been negative: Exports have declined, the GDP has dropped, the value of their currency has decreased, there is a labor shortage in some sectors, immigration has tripled, and much, much more.
As it turns out, the money the United Kingdom was paying to be a part of the European Union was less than what they gained economically from doing business with other EU countries.
Tom got the shaft from Bexit, because he had been covered by medical insurance no matter where he worked in the EU, which, in his case, included Prague, the Netherlands, and France. When Brexit began, he lost his citizenship to every EU country and had to return to the UK due to the loss of benefits.
After a long bus ride, we arrived at the Isle of Skye, known as the “Misty Isle,” except we were fortunate to have a rare sunny day!
The Isle of Skye is a sparsely populated place; just 10,000 residents. Gaelic is spoken in this region. (A total of only 50,000 people speak the language in all of Scotland.)
We stopped at a few viewpoints, took a hike, and enjoyed a lunch of Cullen skink, a delicious, creamy Scottish fish chowder. Later, we stopped to get a view of Eilean Donan Castle, the iconic Scottish monument that stands on a tiny island overlooking the Isle of Skye.
(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)
Coming up next: UNITED KINGDOM #15: A FOND FAREWELL AND OFF TO OXFORD
As I mentioned at the end of my last post, the afternoon continued with a visit to Ruthven Barracks. Following the Jacobite uprising in 1715, these barracks were built on an old castle mound to police the Highlands.
(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)
For the remainder of the afternoon and evening, we had free time to explore Inverness, a city with a population of around 50,000. The city was built along the River Ness, and some of the bridges crossing the river were filled with baskets of beautiful flowers. It was a lovely city to walk around and explore, so it served as an ideal base during the remainder of the main portion of our tour.
Next up: UNITED KINGDOM #14: ISLE OF SKYE
We returned to the Scottish mainland from the Orkney Islands by ferry, from Stromness to Scrabster. Nobody was looking forward to the ride, because Tom told us how rough the crossing could be. We dodged a bullet, though. It was a cold and damp day, but the waters were calm, and the ride was smooth. Whewww!
(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)
Following the ferry ride, lunch, and a scotch tasting at Clynelish Distillery (Bruce and I slipped our samples to the Scotch drinkers in the group), we arrived in Inverness, our home base for four nights. (More on Inverness in my next post.)
The following morning, we visited Rothiemurchus Estate. On the way, we stopped in the nearby little town of Carrbridge to see a beautiful stone bridge that dates back to 1719 and crosses the River Spey. We also saw an amazing carved bench that was the winner of the Carve Carrbridge Open Chainsaw Carving Competition and captured the attention of all of us. I wonder how many pictures we all took of this incredible masterpiece!
The Rothiemurchus Estate is privately owned and nestled in the heart of Cairngorms National Park. It has been in the Grant family for eighteen generations, and the latest owner opened it for recreation.
We took a lovely hike through the beautiful forest with a local guide.
What came next tickled us all: Getting to see and feed Heilan Coos (instead of just that Heilan Loo truck cruising through town)!
“Heilan Coo” is Scottish for Highland Cow, a Scottish breed of rustic cattle that have adorably long, wavy hair and long horns to match. They are a hardy breed that can tolerate the frigid winter temperatures of the Scottish Highlands.
The remainder of the day will be the subject of my next post: UNITED KINGDOM #13: RUTHVEN BARRACKS & INVERNESS
This was a day of seeing stones and rocks- and lots of them! We began at the Stones of Stennes, a stone circle raised about 5,000 years ago, thought to be used as a ceremonial site.
(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)
Thankfully, it was another gorgeous day, because the views from the Stones of Stennes and our next stop, the Ring of Brodgar, were beautiful. This Neolithic henge and stone circle is thought to be between 4,400 and 4,600 years old and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Not being a big stone circle history buff, I just enjoyed walking around the circle, taking photographs, and enjoying the views.
Skara Brae was a fascinating archaeological site with more amazing views! This 5,000-year-old settlement is so fragile, we were only permitted to view it from the walkway above.
Archaeologists think that a small community of 50-100 people lived on this site, and that it was inhabited for several centuries. Ten structures remain, and it is Europe’s most complete Neolithic village. Another UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is older than Stonehenge and was discovered when a historic storm scoured away sand revealing the site.
Two new friends I made at our lunch stop:
Our final stop was my favorite, and it wasn’t even scheduled! The walk out to Brough of Birsay can only be done at low tide. The conditions must also be calm to avoid being swept away off the rocks by winds and the sea. We hit it just right, so off we went for one of the most beautiful coastal hikes I have ever done!
The Birsay coast faces the Atlantic, so it suffers from high levels of coastal erosion in certain places. Sadly, there have been numerous archaeological sites that have fallen into the sea. The area is being monitored closely by the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) Archaeology Institute.
How fortunate we were to be able to hike to Brough of Birsay and back! Once we were out there, I had a choice to either listen to the local guide talk about the history of the area or make a beeline up the steep grassy hill to see the lighthouse. Thankfully, my swimmers’ lungs allowed me to run up the 150 feet to the top for a quick view of the 1925-era lighthouse and spectacular views of the coast below. The run back down, I must admit, was a lot easier!
I was very much in my element in Birsay and it was one of the highlights of our visit to the Orkney Islands. The ocean, beautiful coastline, hiking, and taking photos; it was fabulous!
Coming up next: UNITED KINGDOM #12: FERRY TO INVERNESS & CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK
In 1939, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Royal Oak was sunk by a German U-boat at her moorings within the natural harbor of Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands. This led to the First Lord of the Admirality, Winston Churchill, ordering permanent barriers to be built, linking the mainland of Orkney to four of the south isles, enabling the Royal Navy to better defend the vital anchorage of Scapa Flow.
It took nearly one million tons of rock and concrete to form the Churchill Barriers by 1000 Italian prisoners of war.
(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)
The Italian Chapel is the only building that remains of Camp 60, a Prisoner of War (P.O.W.) camp constructed in 1941 to house these Italian P.O.W.’s. The prisoners, thousands of miles from their homeland, deeply felt the need for a place of worship. Led by Domenico Chiocchetti, an artist, a team of the prisoners built the sanctuary of concrete and scrap wood from a wrecked ship. The alter is Chiocchetti’s masterpiece. It is based on Nicolo Barabino’s Madonna of the Olives from a small picture given by his mother to Domenico, which he carried with him throughout the war.
It was heartwarming to learn that during the time the Italians were in Orkney, friendships formed between the prisoners and Orkney residents; and, the British were supportive of the Italians and the chapel.
Fast-forward to Orkney today, I found it interesting that Orkney residents feel ignored by Scotland and feel more a part of Norway, which is located just 300 miles away.
Here’s a fun fact: Would you like to know what the world’s shortest regularly-scheduled flight is? It’s a flight in Orkney Islands, from Westray Island to Papa Westray, just 1.7 miles away. The flight is only 53 seconds long. Personally, I would rather be on that flight than the world’s longest commercial flight, Singapore Airlines route between New York (JFK) and Singapore, which averages 18 hours and 40 minutes!
Scenes around Orkney:
Orkney Fossil & Heritage Centre:
Next up: UNITED KINGDOM #10: EXPLORING ORKNEY’S ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES
Elaine-iaK's Travels: A Traveler's Tales of People, Places, Photos, Pools... and CHOCOLATE! 