Lately Chris & I have been trying to get away about every other weekend or so to places we can either get to easily on the train or that are within an hour or 2 drive from London. Our last overnight brought us to Rye, which is about an hour train ride south of London. Rye was once right on the coast, but violent storms centuries ago led to re-depositing of silt and reduction in tidal flow; the town now sits a couple of miles inland.
And is it ever ancient. Everywhere you look is one building older than the next. We didn't realize it when we booked, but scheduled in Rye the Saturday we arrived was an air show and 40's festival. It was spritzing rain here and there, but by 4 pm the skies had cleared enough for the brilliant display of the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows. Earlier that day they'd flown over Buckingham Palace for the finale of the Queen's Birthday Parade - we actually saw them last year too! (See my Trooping of the Color blog from last June.) We also had the treat before the jets flew of seeing the fabulous swing dance troop, the Lindy Hoppers, who perform wonderful Savoy-style classics with names such as "Shim Sham", "the Shag", and of course, the Jitterbug. What fun to watch! Earlier they'd had displays of WWII-era military and other vehicles; unfortunately they all disappeared while we were inside eating lunch and I didn't get any photos.
After the air display, and with the thought in mind that we have not been to the seaside at all in England, I really wanted to get to the beach overlooking the English Channel. We were told that from Rye Harbor there was a walkway to the sea. The nice lady at the Tourist Information office gave us the bus schedule to get to and from Rye Harbor from Rye, but also said we could walk if we wanted. When we saw the sign that said "Rye Harbor 1&1/2 miles" and since by now the sun was shining we thought a good ole stretch of the legs sounded fine. NOT. The first half mile or so of the narrow road didn't have sidewalks, so we had to scoot to the shoulder whenever a car came by. The rest of the walk - which seemed at least 3 miles - was, in a word, ugly. No scenery to speak of; instead we passed storage facilities, factories, and a water treatment plant. I did my best to convince Chris that once we reached our destination, waiting for us surely would be a picturesque harbor well worth the effort. He never did believe me and good thing, as what awaited us was nothing worth even taking a picture of. We did find the walkway to the beach and started to walk it, but quickly realized that making it all the way to the beach would mean missing the last bus back to Rye and we just couldn't justify making the walk back. So a seaside scene still waits for us somewhere along the coast of England.
We did make it back to Rye by bus, then walked the town a bit more and had "a cuppa" at a nice little tea shop before heading back to the hotel. Have I yet mentioned the hotel? Quite a place, the Mermaid Inn of Rye. Thought to be built in about 1156 (then rebuilt in 1420, following the burning of the town by the French in the late 1300's), much of the authentic details and decor from that era remain. During the 18th century, the Inn was a well known harbinger of smugglers who caroused and smoked their pipes and did unspeakable deeds, to be sure. In 1982, Elizabeth, the Queen Mother stayed at the Mermaid upon her installment as Warden of the Cinque Ports (of which Rye was a member.) Alas, the room we stayed in was, I'm sure, far from any of the grandeur the Queen Mother probably experienced. It really didn't seem to have been updated since the original plumbing and electricity were installed - and who knows when that was. The bathroom and bedspread both looked to be circa 1970 - not a year known for it's forward thinking interior designs. We did eat at the very lovely and atmospheric restaurant for dinner, but again, disappointingly, the service was very stuffy and the food, tho presented beautifully, was only mediocre.
All was not lost, tho' because the pub was pretty awesome. From the hops hanging from the ceiling, to the fireplace that took up an entire wall, you could almost imagine the Highwaymen over the years who must surely have come knocking, knocking, knocking up to that old inn door. Now is a good time to mention another tidbit about the Mermaid Inn and its history of harboring smugglers. One of the most famous was a man named Christopher Syn, who was immortalized in the classic Wonderful World of Disney series, "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh", which any baby boomer worth his or her salt will remember. Click here! The town of Rye sits in the wetland area of Wallend Marsh, part of the bigger Romney Marsh.
Sunday started with a nice breakfast at the hotel (same stuffy service, tho') then a walk around in a bit of rain to do some shopping and visit the Rye Castle Museum and Ypres Tower, originally built as a fortress in 1249. To be honest, exhibits at both of these places (to which you can buy an inexpensive joint ticket) are somewhat amateurish at best, with displays of folding particle board (like you might see at a school science fair) and facts typed on paper, laminated, and taped on the wall in some cases. It all just felt a bit sad in a way, which was underscored when we inquired about purchasing some pottery, for which Rye is known, and were told that most of the potters have gone out of business and their goods hard to come by. We definitely got the sense that the tourism industry is Rye's bread and butter, and that the community - like many others - is dealing with underfunding in some important areas.
So despite a few glitches, I would completely recommend a day or overnight trip to Rye. We enjoyed ourselves, and could almost smell the salty air... sigh.
https://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/Rye?feat=directlink
21 June 2011
13 June 2011
Kew
Kew Gardens are the Royal Botanic Gardens in London. I've been meaning to visit, and as we recently had an above 80 degree day, we took advantage.
They are a lot like Longwood Gardens near Meg (outside of Philly) but a lot more acreage. I really didn't caption the names of the plants for the most part - except for some of the heritage trees. Some of them you will know, as I did; a lot you won't, as I didn't, but they were all lovely. The Brits really do know how to turn a spade - the gardens here are outstanding! The first botanic garden at Kew was established in 1759 and despite a down period during the 19th century, it's been "growing" ever since.
https://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/KewRoyalBotanicGardens?feat=directlink
They are a lot like Longwood Gardens near Meg (outside of Philly) but a lot more acreage. I really didn't caption the names of the plants for the most part - except for some of the heritage trees. Some of them you will know, as I did; a lot you won't, as I didn't, but they were all lovely. The Brits really do know how to turn a spade - the gardens here are outstanding! The first botanic garden at Kew was established in 1759 and despite a down period during the 19th century, it's been "growing" ever since.
https://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/KewRoyalBotanicGardens?feat=directlink
10 June 2011
Oxford & the Cotswolds
It was already nearly 2 weeks ago when Chris & I took advantage of the 3-day annual End of May Bank Holiday weekend (there's a mouthful) and took the train to Oxford, a stop that's been on the list since day One. Once again, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the place, both the amazing architecture of the ancient buildings and the impeccably kept gardens. Oxford is of course the home of Oxford University, which is itself made up of over 30 different colleges. Nearly everywhere you walk you are within yards of a campus, with varying names such as Trinity, Wadham, Nuffield, and the most famous, Christ Church.
We arrived in the rain to a very unpromising weather forecast but vowed to make the best of it. Our hotel was probably the most unique of all of our stays so far - a former prison. Originally part of the Oxford Castle, which dates back to 1071, the facility was actually a working prison up until 1996. I read after the fact that executions did take place there in medieval times - kind of glad I didn't know that little snippet until after we were safely checked out. The developers used the old elements of the jail wherever they could, but they stopped short of locking us in our rooms at night. It was a rather cool place.
After checking in we ventured off in the rain to find our recommended lunch spot and had a nice meal overlooking the Oxford Canal. We decided to take our time eating as we started to catch some hints of the sky brightening, and sure enough, by the time we were through the sun was making a valiant effort to shine through the clouds, and eventually it won as you'll see in the pictures. We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling and just looking at all of the beautiful scenery around us. After unpacking at the hotel, we later walked to a nice little French bistro for dinner. On the walk back we encountered lots of students in sweatshirts and flip flops, drinking beer and having fun and it was clear that in the end, Oxford is after all very much a college town.
The next day we opted to stroll into town for breakfast at a cozy little cafe, then got down to some serious sightseeing. First stop was the Botanic Gardens and they were gorgeous. We got rained upon just a teensy bit a the start but were able to duck into the green houses; the rest of the visit was dry, and then the sun was back out (more or less) for the rest of the day. Story of my British life! Many - but not all - of the colleges in Oxford are open for touring so we picked just two to actually pay and go into. The first was Magdalen College (for obvious reasons) (although the correct pronunciation is "Maudlin" - hmph) and the second was Christ Church, being the most well known. Really, how could I visit Oxford and not take in the very sight of where scenes from the first few "Harry Potter" movies were filmed? Both campuses were beautiful and worth the few quid it cost us to get inside.
After some pub snacks we continued to walk around the city and literally happened into an alleyway that happened to hold The Chequers - a pub where Chris happened to discover his favorite English beer! What are the odds of that? (It's called Thornbridge Ashford, by the way.) So we were diverted for a bit. Then we set off for a river walk along the Thames and back to the hotel. Dinner was tapas at a chain Spanish restaurant, but it was right next to the hotel and we were tired. We had decided earlier in the day to poo-poo the dire weather forecast for Monday (we'd been happily misled so far) and booked a van tour of the Cotswolds which we looked forward to as we went to bed.
And of course we woke up to rain that didn't stop the entire day.
But it was OK, because the tour was still lovely, despite the miserable weather! I can only imagine how this "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" looks on a sunny day. An "AONB" as it's called is an actual designation by the British Government of "a precious landscape whose distinctive character and natural beauty are so outstanding that it is in the nation's interest to safeguard them." I just love how British that is! So anyway, the Cotswolds are a designated AONB. A well deserved designation for this region of southwest England, consisting of villages, hills and rolling pastures, a "cot" being a sheep enclosure, and a "wold" being a hill. This place is full of both.
We were in a van with a very informed guide, John, and 2 couples from France who spoke little English (which was nice as we were more in the mood to sight-see than chit-chat.) John drove us through picturesque villages with awesome names, like "Bourton-on-the-Water", "Stow-on-the-Wold", and "Moreton-in-Marsh"which coincidentally is the same village Dad & Darlene stayed in on their train tour. The scenery was amazing, especially when we stopped at a few of the mentioned villages and toured a church, ate lunch or just strolled along the High Street. I recently enrolled Chris & I in The National Trust, which has several properties in and around the Cotswolds. I hope to get the chance to go back, perhaps on our own, perhaps on a better day weather-wise as it really was outstanding.
Then it was back to Oxford, back on the train, and back to London. Another item crossed off the Ole' British Bucket List.
Pix in 2 separate albums:
https://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/Oxford?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/Cotwolds?feat=directlink
We arrived in the rain to a very unpromising weather forecast but vowed to make the best of it. Our hotel was probably the most unique of all of our stays so far - a former prison. Originally part of the Oxford Castle, which dates back to 1071, the facility was actually a working prison up until 1996. I read after the fact that executions did take place there in medieval times - kind of glad I didn't know that little snippet until after we were safely checked out. The developers used the old elements of the jail wherever they could, but they stopped short of locking us in our rooms at night. It was a rather cool place.
After checking in we ventured off in the rain to find our recommended lunch spot and had a nice meal overlooking the Oxford Canal. We decided to take our time eating as we started to catch some hints of the sky brightening, and sure enough, by the time we were through the sun was making a valiant effort to shine through the clouds, and eventually it won as you'll see in the pictures. We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling and just looking at all of the beautiful scenery around us. After unpacking at the hotel, we later walked to a nice little French bistro for dinner. On the walk back we encountered lots of students in sweatshirts and flip flops, drinking beer and having fun and it was clear that in the end, Oxford is after all very much a college town.
The next day we opted to stroll into town for breakfast at a cozy little cafe, then got down to some serious sightseeing. First stop was the Botanic Gardens and they were gorgeous. We got rained upon just a teensy bit a the start but were able to duck into the green houses; the rest of the visit was dry, and then the sun was back out (more or less) for the rest of the day. Story of my British life! Many - but not all - of the colleges in Oxford are open for touring so we picked just two to actually pay and go into. The first was Magdalen College (for obvious reasons) (although the correct pronunciation is "Maudlin" - hmph) and the second was Christ Church, being the most well known. Really, how could I visit Oxford and not take in the very sight of where scenes from the first few "Harry Potter" movies were filmed? Both campuses were beautiful and worth the few quid it cost us to get inside.
After some pub snacks we continued to walk around the city and literally happened into an alleyway that happened to hold The Chequers - a pub where Chris happened to discover his favorite English beer! What are the odds of that? (It's called Thornbridge Ashford, by the way.) So we were diverted for a bit. Then we set off for a river walk along the Thames and back to the hotel. Dinner was tapas at a chain Spanish restaurant, but it was right next to the hotel and we were tired. We had decided earlier in the day to poo-poo the dire weather forecast for Monday (we'd been happily misled so far) and booked a van tour of the Cotswolds which we looked forward to as we went to bed.
And of course we woke up to rain that didn't stop the entire day.
But it was OK, because the tour was still lovely, despite the miserable weather! I can only imagine how this "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" looks on a sunny day. An "AONB" as it's called is an actual designation by the British Government of "a precious landscape whose distinctive character and natural beauty are so outstanding that it is in the nation's interest to safeguard them." I just love how British that is! So anyway, the Cotswolds are a designated AONB. A well deserved designation for this region of southwest England, consisting of villages, hills and rolling pastures, a "cot" being a sheep enclosure, and a "wold" being a hill. This place is full of both.
We were in a van with a very informed guide, John, and 2 couples from France who spoke little English (which was nice as we were more in the mood to sight-see than chit-chat.) John drove us through picturesque villages with awesome names, like "Bourton-on-the-Water", "Stow-on-the-Wold", and "Moreton-in-Marsh"which coincidentally is the same village Dad & Darlene stayed in on their train tour. The scenery was amazing, especially when we stopped at a few of the mentioned villages and toured a church, ate lunch or just strolled along the High Street. I recently enrolled Chris & I in The National Trust, which has several properties in and around the Cotswolds. I hope to get the chance to go back, perhaps on our own, perhaps on a better day weather-wise as it really was outstanding.
Then it was back to Oxford, back on the train, and back to London. Another item crossed off the Ole' British Bucket List.
Pix in 2 separate albums:
https://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/Oxford?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/Cotwolds?feat=directlink
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