On the road again
Trip Start
Feb 24, 2003
1
7
13
Trip End
Aug 23, 2003
South West England, England, United Kingdom
Monday, June 16, 2003
We've spent the past couple of weeks cruising around the south west of England, something I didn't get a chance to do when I was living in London, as whenever my ex would head down there to go surfing, I'd be off climbing a mountain somewhere.
Charlie's a weird creature - he hates starting up, but once you get him out on the open road, put him into fourth gear and up to 100kph - he loves it. We've had a few mishaps with getting him going, but funnily enough there's never a shortage of guys willing to help out two damsels in distress. Sometimes being a woman does have it's good points!
The only real problem we had was deciding where to store our massive shoe collection and assortment of clothes. After getting that sorted, we headed to Windsor and had a lovely day out walking around the castle grounds and over to Eton. Had to hold Nic back more than a couple of times when the young boys in their school uniform of tailed tuxes and pinstriped pants walked past.
We stayed that night and the next with a fantastic friend of mine Wesley, at the George Hotel, a wonderful 15th century coaching inn in Odiham.
We next travelled to the beautiful cathedral towns of Winchester and Salisbury, spending the night on a lush green verge overlooking Salisbury. Would have enjoyed it more the next morning had our heads not been pounding from all the tequila shots we'd been bought the night before.
Headaches cleared, we drove on to Stonehenge then down to Torquay. We went for a couple of bevvies (now there's a surprise for you) then camped in view of the ruins of an abbey.
The weather at this stage had worsened, which was a huge disappointment as we were really looking forward to spending some time on the coast, but it was not to be. We skipped through Penzance, Mousehole and Lands End in a day, ending up in St Ives to celebrate Nic's birthday. Bit of a quiet occasion but great none the less and spent parked overlooking their tiny harbour. Even treated ourselves to fish and chips instead of the tinned food we'd been having - trying to save our pennies where we can!
The next day I finally made it to Newquay, but the weather was that squalid we didn't even get out of the van. By the time we got to Tintagel, mythical birth place of King Arthur, it had somewhat cleared and we were able to spend a few hours walking around. Nothing like a fresh sea breeze to enliven you. Then it was onto Boscastle, another picturesque little fishing village before spending the night in Glastonbury.
Well's cathedral was amazing and the fact that the cute priest was willing to do silly poses for us made our day. Who said the religious don't have a sense of humour... Bath is a great city, but a little too touristy for my liking, much like the Cotswolds area. Still, Bibury, Bourton-on-the-Water and Upper & Lower Slaughters with their honey coloured stone cottages set amongst flowering fields is a must see.
Avebury should also be on your list of things to do - another stone circle site to rival Stonehenge and there's no barrier stopping you from getting up close.
We arrived in Stratford-upon-Avon, home of Shakespeare, did the whole touristy thing of seeing his wife's house, his birthplace and his resting spot, tackling some random guy on the river walk...
Then finally, finally... the sun was shining for us in Oxford. To see the rays hitting the stone colleges is truly beautiful, but the best was the pints of beer sitting down by the river feeling the real strength of the sun on my face for what seems like had been an eternity. As much as I love travelling, and I've spent quite a few years doing it, nothing will ever rival Sydney for it's beaches and weather.
On Saturday we attended the wedding of Ominda and Ross at the 12th century Headingham Castle in Essex. Ominda was stunning in her Camelot inspired dress and Jackie O bouffant hairstyle, and Ross looked part of the true English gentry. The ceremony was held in the castle itself, befit with glowing candles and white lillies, drinks were served in the main hall and on the rolling grass hills leading down to the river, while dinner was to be had under a huge white marquee in the garden. An absolutely prefect day for a perfect couple.
The wedding also meant that we got to catch up with our best friends Carly, who we hadn't seen for two years and Tammy who we hadn't seen since leaving home. The amount of gossip that was shared that day would leave the Sex and the City girls for dead.
So now we're back in Odiham, Wesley was kind enough to put us up again at the hotel, but we're going to Brighton for a couple of days. Gotta love the English sea side towns...
