The Great Escape

  Apr 29   - Beer (in Devon) Back to hiking today A little bit of an upset to our schedule this morning. Due to the vagaries of the local bus timetables (due in part to different bus companies), our original plan to walk to Lyme Regis and walk back got upended.  On top of that, facing a near 2 hour wait for transport leaving Beer, we decided to drive to Seaton and get the bus to Lyme Regis from there!   After a pleasant bus ride through the coastal countryside we started our walk by having a wander out to ‘The Cobb’.  Originally built In the 13th century, this is an old stone pier/ breakwater that helps form the local harbour, however, nobody seems to know the origin of the name.  It’s pretty impressive in size which makes you wonder what sort of wave action it has to tolerate.  Once out of town, and on to the Coastal Path proper, we started our walk in the local woods.  As it eventuated though about 95% of the path back to Seaton was in woo...

  Apr 28   - Beer (in Devon) A bit of a change in tack today i.e. no hiking, as we took off to Exeter, mainly to see the cathedral.  Officially named the ‘Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter’, it’s Anglican, and also the seat of the Bishop of Exeter.  Built around 1400, the cathedral has the longest uninterrupted medieval stone vaulted ceiling in the world, which makes it look absolutely stunning!  Apart from the main ceiling though, all the seperate chapel’s have their own version of the same, making the building even more impressive.   Ceilings throughout Exeter Cathedral  Another feature worth mentioning is the astronomical clock hanging on the wall in the transept. Made in the late 1400’s, it was supposedly the inspiration for the nursery rhyme ‘Hickory Dickory Dock’! On top of all that the stained glass windows are pretty ‘speccy’ as well, making this one special place to visit. 

  Apr 27   - Beer (in Devon) After some advice from our genial ‘mine host’ at the B&B our itinerary for today is to visit the local Beer Quarry limestone caves, hike to one of the local villages, Branscombe, and then hike back via the SW Coastal Path.  First stop to the Beer Quarry Caves just outside of town.  These caves are a man-made complex and are a result of over 2000 years of mining. The Romans first started mining here after they discovered that the rock here, that was to become  known as ‘Beer Stone’, was ideal for use in the making of church and cathedral features such as window and door surrounds.  This was favoured because of its colour and when recently mined it is still soft and ‘damp’, therefore easily workable, however, it becomes five times harder and stronger when completely dry.  The tour was interesting, however the description of the quarrymen’s work conditions just sounded horrendous. Working in the dark, noise, and cold fo...

  Apr 26 - Beer (in Devon) The plan today was a return walk to the Seaton Wetlands, just a few kms along the coast and then inland a bit. However, when we got to Seaton JEM got sold on the idea of us getting a tram ride to a village called Colyton and then walking back through the wetlands, and how glad we’re we that she did!  For the railway nerds amongst us the tram runs on a 2 ft 9 narrow gauge electric track and the 3-mile route runs alongside the Axe Estuary and the River Coly wetlands ending at Colyton.  Colyton itself is a lovely little village, given ‘town’ status by Henry VIII, and has many thatched cottages.  There’s also a beautiful 11th century Norman church that has a 14th century octagonal lantern tower, not something seen very often.  There’s a real ‘Olde Worlde’ feel about the place, and in discussion with one of the residents , this ‘feeling was supported by the fact that one of locals found 2 swords from the 1600’s in their attic! ...

Apr 25 - Beer (in Devon) Off this morning for a week or so trip to Devon (Beer) and Dorset (Lymington) to stretch the legs a bit and do some walking.   We’ve hired a car, a Toyota Aygo (not exactly the smallest car in the world but whatever is it would give it a run for it’s money!) and it’s a manual! (I just don’t get it over here, why don’t people drive automatics?).  Anyway, it was a great drive down here to Devon with just a few stops for photos and sightseeing.  Our first port of call was to a town called Wimborne, this was because I wanted to see the ‘chain library’ in the Minster (one of only 12 such libraries in the UK).  Unfortunately though the church is shut on Mondays(!) so we’ll have to go back.  We also stopped a couple of times to get some pictures of the many rape seed fields that we saw on the way, what a magnificent colour yellow flower these produce! Beer itself is a lovely little fishing village, set amongst some beautiful limestone cliffs, a...

  Apr 17-24 Worthing   Nothing too exciting this week, lots of walking along the beach, booking places to go, JEM doing water aerobics in the sea(!), visits to the pier, and a walk in Sullington Warren (a local wooded area) are about it. The planning bit worked out quite well this week with trips planned being a week or so in Devon, a similar amount of time in East Anglia (mainly Cambridge and Norwich), we’ve already got a cruise booked in Norway (which is finally happening, yay! 😃 ), and we’ve sorted out a trip to Belgium, Holland, and then off to Malta for a couple of weeks. We’ll be back in the UK for the start of August, for Dad’s 92nd bday, and then I’m sure by then we’ll have a few more places booked. 🤞  

  Apr 16 - London This morning we took off for a bit of a hike to Bermondsey, to an old favourite of mine, the Pie, Mash, and Eel shop.  Pie & Mash, a traditional working-class food,  typically consists of a minced beef pie, mashed potato and a parsley sauce (made with the water that the eels were cooked in) and known as liquor, although JEM calls it ‘green gravy’! 😊   The shops (not restaurants or cafes) traditionally have white tile walls with mirrors, marble floors, tables and work tops, and sawdust on the floors.  Having Pie and Mash tends to be a ‘must-do’ for me every time I come back to London but must admit that I’ll always give the jellied eels a wide berth! 🤮 Off to Leadenhall Market this afternoon and on the way we stopped off at a couple of nearby points of interest, Postman’s Park, and the ‘The Gherkin’.  In Postman’s Park they have a display of ceramic tablets for the ‘George Frederic Watts's Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice’, a mem...

  Apr 15 - London Off to the Sir John Soanes Museum today in Lincolns Inn Fields, the largest square in London. The square, named after the nearby Lincoln’s Inn, one of London’s four Inns of court, has a bit of a chequered history.  Previously this had been the home to public executions, as well as a training ground for parliamentarian troops during the English civil war (during the 1600’’s).  Today though it’s just a very nice square that we walked in/ around while waiting for the museum to open. Sir John Soanes’ life story (i.e. he of the museum fame) was one of ‘didn’t he do well’ as he was the son of a bricklayer who eventually became Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy and then went on to receive a knighthood.  The museum holds many drawings and architectural models of Soane's projects, as well as a large collection of paintings, sculptures, drawings and antiquities that he acquired over many years.  Impressive as the collection is, and there a...

  Apr 14 - London There was a potential to have museum overload today as we were off to South Kensington to visit 3 of the most well known museums in London. First cab off the rank was the Victoria & Albert, commonly known as the V&A.  However, as we’d arrived far too early, they open at 10:00, we went to look for the Science Museum ‘Covid’ centre.  The reason for this is that we needed to get our Australian vax certificates converted into something the EU recognises if we want to do any travelling in Europe i.e. a British NHS Covid Pass.  This agreement with the EU is something else our illustrious federal government has failed to do during Covid (yet the Kiwis have had an agreement for ages!).  Anyway, all sorted now, and we were off to the V&A. The V&A is the world’s largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts, and design, and according to the official blurb houses a permanent collection of over 2 million objects, it’s brilliant (and ...

  Apr 13 - London More art galleries today as we visit both the Wallace and Courtauld collections.  First port of call was to the Wallace Collection in Manchester Square.  This is a museum that houses fine arts, porcelain, and paintings, all from the 15th to 19th centuries in 20 or so galleries.  Neither of us had been here before but we should have, it was fantastic!  Two major standouts for me were the ‘The Laughing Cavalier’, by Franz Hal’s, and a collection of Canaletto paintings, mainly of Venice, they were brilliant.  To top it all of though there’s a great selection of Dutch Old Masters as well.  All up a great place to visit.  Paid a visit to Australia House at lunchtime to see if they had any news on voting overseas. All very friendly but not much help at all really, basically “Just look it up online!” This afternoon a visit to the Courtauld Collection which is housed in one of the buildings in Somerset House, a huge neoclassical c...