We got up early this morning - 6:15. For those of you who think that's nothing, it's like getting up in the middle of the night for us jet-laggers. I think most everybody is over their jet lag now, though.
At 6:45 the bus - excuse me - coach came to the end of the street and we hurried out, got in, and counted off. Each person calls out their number in order, all the way to 41. My number is 6.
Most of us dozed off on the way, but I did my best to watch the landscape. Really lovely! I love the museums and history in London, but give me the country rather than the city any day.
And then it started to rain.
We'd been warned it might, and it had rained all night, but we were particularly concerned because the first place we were going closes for storms and high wind. Hoping they would let us in, we drove on.
About fifteen minutes out, our director got a call confirming that we would indeed be allowed to access the grounds! Pulling into the parking lot, we were the only bus there. Really, we had the grounds to ourselves. It was still blowing, damp and chilly though, so we took our jackets.
So this is Stowerhead. It's a manor and grounds that can be visited, kind of like Mount Vernon. None of the buildings were open though - just the grounds. Which were incredibly huge.
Now you may wonder what is significant with this place. Well, if you've ever seen the 2005 Pride and Prejudice with Kiera Knightly, then you've seen Stowerhead. Parts of the movie were filmed on the grounds.
Actually, the proposal scene where she (SPOILERS) turns him down was filmed here at this little building. The map called it the "Temple of Apollo."
The grounds were beautiful and the scenery was stunning, and even though it rained the last fifteen minutes, it couldn't dampen my mood in the least. Actually, after visiting this place, I feel like I now better understand every British book I've ever read, from Beatrix Potter to Frances Hodgeson Burnett and everything in between.
There were ducks everywhere, and Miriam kept naming them. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Jane and Mr. Bingley, Emma and Mr. Knightley, Anne and Captain Wentworth. The swans broke from tradition, so she named them Jane and Mr. Rochester. I think she has a theme going.
Oh, and one of the best parts of the trip today? I'll tell you right now. The whole day, I kept seeing flowers from my Flower Fairies book by Cecily Mary Barker! It's been one of my favorite books for years, but some of the flowers simply don't grow in America. Well, they grow here! This was where she wrote them! I think everybody decided I was goofy - I kept slamming on the figurative brakes to obsess over random plants. I think I was goofy.
After Stowerhead, we popped back in the van and went to this place called Wells to look at their cathedral. Miriam and I noticed a sign advertising free tours that started at noon, so we promptly caught one. It was the best thing we could have done! The tour guide knew everything, and we enjoyed the building so much more for knowing about it.
Due to the high water table (notice the name of the town), when builders in the 1300's expanded the tower, a corner of the building started to sink under the added weight. It sank ten centimeters, which is what - two and a half inches? I'm actually not sure, and I don't want to drag out my converter right now.
Anyway, to help the building support itself, they added interior flying buttresses, hidden cleverly in the walls, reinforced all the arches with a second arch built right inside, and then reinforced the three largest arches with a sort of upside-down arch on top. The result was unique, and is now called the "scissor arch."
Now, you'll see a round yellow disk that's almost in the middle. That shows what the moon will look like tonight. As the moon changes, this disk changes to match as part of the clockwork mechanism.
Isn't that neat!
Also of note is the fact that the sun and moon and star hands rotate around the very center, which is earth. This clock face was made before most people realized the earth goes around the sun! Isn't that bizarre?
Below is a picture of one of the few surviving medieval stained glass windows. It has lots of resurrected dead, and also details Christ's genealogy. Actually, there were a lot of images of the resurrection in this particular building.
Before we left, we asked the tour guide if there was anything particular we ought to look for on the outside of the building. She told us where to find Noah's ark. So here it is, right below! It's very weathered, but I can make out a couple elephants. Can you?
After that, we headed off to Stonehenge. We'd seen it earlier in the morning - driven right past it - but it was rainy and foggy and hard to see well. Of course, that made it all the more mysterious.
Fortunately, the weather had cleared up some, but still, it was windy! It was windy and very cold, but I was too excited to feel it. I could see the goosebumps on my arms, but I was honestly not cold at all. I never dreamed I would see this place.
They're huge. Each stone weighs at least four tons. Nobody knows how they got there - they've been there since thousands of years BC. I like the story I read somewhere though, where giants built it in Ireland, and years later Merlin floated them over to land here.
We had wind and rain and sun, shuffled together like a deck of cards. This is a picture of our teacher trying to keep the rain off. I didn't care - my hair was going to be a wreck anyway, so why worry?
As you can see, it's in the middle of nowhere, on a high point so there's nothing behind it in any direction. I found out what that yellow field is, by the way. See if you can guess, and I'll tell you at the end of this post.
Actually, the proposal scene where she (SPOILERS) turns him down was filmed here at this little building. The map called it the "Temple of Apollo."
The grounds were beautiful and the scenery was stunning, and even though it rained the last fifteen minutes, it couldn't dampen my mood in the least. Actually, after visiting this place, I feel like I now better understand every British book I've ever read, from Beatrix Potter to Frances Hodgeson Burnett and everything in between.
This is the Turf Bridge. It's made of stone, but has grass growing all the way over it.
This is the view from in front of the "Temple of Apollo" looking out over the manmade triangular lake.
There were ducks everywhere, and Miriam kept naming them. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Jane and Mr. Bingley, Emma and Mr. Knightley, Anne and Captain Wentworth. The swans broke from tradition, so she named them Jane and Mr. Rochester. I think she has a theme going.
Oh, and one of the best parts of the trip today? I'll tell you right now. The whole day, I kept seeing flowers from my Flower Fairies book by Cecily Mary Barker! It's been one of my favorite books for years, but some of the flowers simply don't grow in America. Well, they grow here! This was where she wrote them! I think everybody decided I was goofy - I kept slamming on the figurative brakes to obsess over random plants. I think I was goofy.
After Stowerhead, we popped back in the van and went to this place called Wells to look at their cathedral. Miriam and I noticed a sign advertising free tours that started at noon, so we promptly caught one. It was the best thing we could have done! The tour guide knew everything, and we enjoyed the building so much more for knowing about it.
Due to the high water table (notice the name of the town), when builders in the 1300's expanded the tower, a corner of the building started to sink under the added weight. It sank ten centimeters, which is what - two and a half inches? I'm actually not sure, and I don't want to drag out my converter right now.
Anyway, to help the building support itself, they added interior flying buttresses, hidden cleverly in the walls, reinforced all the arches with a second arch built right inside, and then reinforced the three largest arches with a sort of upside-down arch on top. The result was unique, and is now called the "scissor arch."
Scissors Arch
In this building, they have a clock from the late 1300's. They claim it is the second oldest clock face in the world. Every quarter hour, knights race around that little dark platform above the clock, and knock each other down. They've been doing it for six hundred years.
Looking at the clock face, you'll see it's a 24 hour clock. The hour hand is the one with a sun on it. In the picture below, it is pointing straight up, because we were there at noon. The minute hand is below it and to the right - a little star. The minutes run around the second ring. The inside ring points to the stage of the moon, and the hand for it is a crescent moon with a spike through it. It's at the bottom, just to the right of the center on the inner ring.
Now, you'll see a round yellow disk that's almost in the middle. That shows what the moon will look like tonight. As the moon changes, this disk changes to match as part of the clockwork mechanism.
Isn't that neat!
Also of note is the fact that the sun and moon and star hands rotate around the very center, which is earth. This clock face was made before most people realized the earth goes around the sun! Isn't that bizarre?
Below is a picture of one of the few surviving medieval stained glass windows. It has lots of resurrected dead, and also details Christ's genealogy. Actually, there were a lot of images of the resurrection in this particular building.
Before we left, we asked the tour guide if there was anything particular we ought to look for on the outside of the building. She told us where to find Noah's ark. So here it is, right below! It's very weathered, but I can make out a couple elephants. Can you?
After that, we headed off to Stonehenge. We'd seen it earlier in the morning - driven right past it - but it was rainy and foggy and hard to see well. Of course, that made it all the more mysterious.
Stonehenge in the morning as we drove past
Fortunately, the weather had cleared up some, but still, it was windy! It was windy and very cold, but I was too excited to feel it. I could see the goosebumps on my arms, but I was honestly not cold at all. I never dreamed I would see this place.
They're huge. Each stone weighs at least four tons. Nobody knows how they got there - they've been there since thousands of years BC. I like the story I read somewhere though, where giants built it in Ireland, and years later Merlin floated them over to land here.
We had wind and rain and sun, shuffled together like a deck of cards. This is a picture of our teacher trying to keep the rain off. I didn't care - my hair was going to be a wreck anyway, so why worry?
As you can see, it's in the middle of nowhere, on a high point so there's nothing behind it in any direction. I found out what that yellow field is, by the way. See if you can guess, and I'll tell you at the end of this post.
I have dozens of pictures now, and a bunch with me with my hair sticking straight up. They're really funny, but I'm not putting them online. Who knows who might find them.
Well, I tore myself from Stonehenge, bought postcards and a keychain at the gift shop, and scuttled back to the bus. I still wasn't feeling the cold, but my hands wouldn't move right, so I'm pretty sure they must've.
Between Stowerhead and Stonehenge, and all the rain, my shoes got very dirty. Remember the scandalized Caroline Bingley in Pride and Prejudice? "Her hem was six inches deep in mud!"
Well, so was mine. I just found out that statement wasn't an exaggeration, like I'd always thought.
Back in London, we were each given eight pounds to get ourselves dinner, since we were too late for the chef to make us anything. Miriam and I and some other girls went to the Cafe Diana, which is just around the corner from us and across the street from Kensington Palace. On our way, an ambulance went by. This is what ambulances and police cars look like here. Policemen sometimes wear the same colors, although still with the traditional "bobby" hats.
As you might expect, they have pictures of Lady Diana all over the place. Actually, they used to just be called "Diana," but one day Lady Diana came in out of curiosity, and they changed their name after that.
It's less expensive to eat if you get it to go, or as they say, "take-out." So we got it to go, and came back to our place and ate it here. I had fish and chips. Not bad for six and a half pounds.
Well, I tore myself from Stonehenge, bought postcards and a keychain at the gift shop, and scuttled back to the bus. I still wasn't feeling the cold, but my hands wouldn't move right, so I'm pretty sure they must've.
Between Stowerhead and Stonehenge, and all the rain, my shoes got very dirty. Remember the scandalized Caroline Bingley in Pride and Prejudice? "Her hem was six inches deep in mud!"
Well, so was mine. I just found out that statement wasn't an exaggeration, like I'd always thought.
Back in London, we were each given eight pounds to get ourselves dinner, since we were too late for the chef to make us anything. Miriam and I and some other girls went to the Cafe Diana, which is just around the corner from us and across the street from Kensington Palace. On our way, an ambulance went by. This is what ambulances and police cars look like here. Policemen sometimes wear the same colors, although still with the traditional "bobby" hats.
As you might expect, they have pictures of Lady Diana all over the place. Actually, they used to just be called "Diana," but one day Lady Diana came in out of curiosity, and they changed their name after that.
It's less expensive to eat if you get it to go, or as they say, "take-out." So we got it to go, and came back to our place and ate it here. I had fish and chips. Not bad for six and a half pounds.
Oh, and a little testimonial to how nice our area is. One of the girls met a lady who said she lived in the Kensington area. "Oh, so do I," said my classmate.
"Really? Where?" asked the lady.
"Palace Court," said my classmate.
She said the lady's eyes bugged out.
"How on earth did you score a place on Palace Court?"
That's the kind of neighborhood we live in. Very posh.
And on that note I'll leave you. Bye, all!
Oh, the yellow fields?
Rapeseed.
"Really? Where?" asked the lady.
"Palace Court," said my classmate.
She said the lady's eyes bugged out.
"How on earth did you score a place on Palace Court?"
That's the kind of neighborhood we live in. Very posh.
And on that note I'll leave you. Bye, all!
Oh, the yellow fields?
Rapeseed.
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