England

Leaving Plymouth we travelled to Glastonbury where we inspected the ruined Abbey where King Arthur and his queen, Guinevere are believed to have been buried. There is also a thorn tree believed to have been planted there by Joseph of Aramathea on one of his journeys. There is much speculation whether the child Jesus was with him or not.

Glastonbury is such a holy place. It has such a feel to it. Quite magnificent and amazing.

On to Bath - a real garden city and what spectacular gardens they are. The Roman Baths were very interesting but very stuffy. We had afternoon tea at Sally Lunn's original house and enjoyed one of the buns made fom Sally's original secret recipe. It was quite yummy.

Glastonbury Abbey - the ruins are magnificent.

On to Bristol where we had dinner at the Llandoger Trow - a lovely old pub. A TROW is a 3 keeled boat that could go up and down the river and not get damaged by falling over when the tide went out. The things you learn.
The night tour of Bristol was brilliant. We had a marvellous view of St Mary's Cathedral from our window at the Hilton and then we were off to visit the Royal Worcester Pottery. Oh how we all drooled, such fabulous pottery.
A drive in the country to Ross-on-Wye was next. Ross is a lovely, old fashioned town and the Wye Valley is a little bit of heaven. Then to Hereford and our stay at the Green Dragon Hotel which is a Heritage Hotel. Hereford Cathedral is a wondrous place where we could peruse the old maps of the Holy Land and also visit the library where all the books are on their original chains so that the monks could only read in the library, not take any books to their room.

Hereford Cathedral

Ancient city walls.

On to Chichester for a cuppa and a quick look around and then on to Salisbury with the Cathedral in all its glory and what a magnificent building it is. Across Salisbury Plain to Stonehenge and then through Plymouth to Loe, a lovely little fishing village in Cornwall. Of course we had to try the Cornish pasties for which the area is famous. The scenery is so lush and green and hedgerows make the countryside look so very pretty.

The Glastonbury Thorn Tree -
HM Queen Elizabeth II is given a sprig every Christmas.

The Llandoger Trow -
what fabulous food and atmosphere.

Our hotel for the night was at Clayton-le-Moors near Blackburn and is 700 years old. I have decided that Lancashire is beautiful. After a fabulous dinner of Scottish salmon (it is right near the border) we were treated to a tour of the hotel and grounds and told the myths and legends about the ghost sightings there. Yes, most old hotels in Britain have their resident ghosts. The grounds were beautiful, grass and trees everywhere and a little stream at the bottom of the garden where one of the ghosts is supposed to have drowned herself. The decor is beautiful... oak and walnut furniture, rooms beautifully painted and heated. Bay windows with views of the grounds. True luxury.

Prior to this we had visited Chester to see the Tudor architecture and galleried shops (rows). More shopping of course. Chester is a Cathedral City and quite spectacular. I love the ancient city walls.