Thank You Cousin innit M
by Rachael
Salisbury, England via Winchester
They thought they hadn’t been good enough hosts yesterday and so Cousin M and his wife called the manor, where we had slept so soundly we had not heard the foxes barking, with an offer to show us around Winchester. Although his premise was completely wrong (who could complain about the parade of families arriving to visit the long-lost relatives from New Zealand he had organised and the never-ending drinks and biscuits and delicious French cheese?! – tasty innit? amazing hosts, they were), another day with this couple was a delightful proposition and so we took little convincing to accept their offer.
But before setting off for Winchester we attended to chores that have a habit of creeping up on us – when the opportunity to use a washing machine presents itself you do not ignore it, food supplies needed rationalising, and anticipating a late day, we got dinner underway…..and then one of those sentences that takes only a moment to write, but took an age to perform: Rob organised air tickets home.
(We fly on 26 December, arriving 28 December)
All the while, children explored and adventured. Hard not to here, innit?
A picnic lunch was cobbled together and stories of history continued to flow as we filled in gaps on the family tree, asked questions, clarified understandings and laughed a lot under the cream umbrella in the sunny garden. (Oh yes, everyone kept talking yesterday, and again today, about how we have brought scorching weather with us. To be fair, it was high twenties, but by tomorrow the English Summer will be back with morning drizzle, and in a few days we will drive into a late afternoon mist blowing up from the sea. That’s summer in England, innit?)
With an invitation to return to this idyllic spot on our way to France, our leaving was made easier. We have found a wee corner of the world that we would love to explore further (Jane Austen’s House, thatched cottages as yet uncaptured on camera, lanes and footpaths for walking, naturalist Gilbert White’s House) and people we would like to get to know more….we look forward to returning.
WINCHESTER
King Alfred greets us as we shuttle-bus-from-the-park-and-ride-depot into town.
Flower boxes are a profusion of colour. Tudor, Norman, Victorian buildings cluster on narrow streets, character oozing around every corner. A green park filled with tombstones emerges, and rising up from it behind a black wrought iron fence, Winchester Cathedral. A cathedral like no other we have been in. Impressive from the outside, almost beyond belief once inside. With the longest nave in Europe (?and perhaps in the world?), it has an imposing presence. Massive. At first glance, the inside is not too dissimilar to other cathedrals – stained glass windows, stone, pews, candles, organ, banners, statues, icons, vaulted ceiling. But as we stood, we started noticing differences. There were many stone busts of famous people from ages past, memorials to the fallen on the walls, inscriptions in the stone, choir stalls surrounded by the most intricate wood carving, and if you walked around that, there appeared to be another church inside the church like Russian stacking dolls. There were crypts with statues lying on top, some fully clothes in flowing robes, others mere skeletons. There were highly decorated chests containing bones dating back to the seventh century, there were coats of arms painted on the ceiling with a cleverly placed mirror to save your neck from undue strain looking up. Yes, this was a magnificent cathedral.
And just around the corner was a teeny tiny church atop a gate. Cute, innit?
In some ways it doesn’t seem right to only spend two hours in a town, but we had to move on, considering it a bonus that we had stopped at Winchester at all.
On to Salisbury, with another famous cathedral rising majestically from the late-day haze when we crested the hill. A carpark not far from the iconic building ended up being our final resting spot. Not exactly the grounds of a mansion or a beachfront location, but you can’t be in utopia every night!
Time on the road: need to check Jboy13’s record!
Distance covered: 98km
Tags: housing, postcard: England, weather
rayres
My fathers family have lived in Hampshire for 1000 years (that’s not a typo) so I’m very fond of the place. I agree with you about Winchester cathedral, it’s one of the most special places in the world. Glad you are having fun in England, and you’ve bought the good weather with you 😉
Oh wow! I’m going to spend a night in Winchester, obviously I have chosen well!
i hope you’re gonna download PP into a book when yous get home.
guaranteed to be fascinating reading, innit? X
awesome!! the craftsmanship is incredible!
soooo…. how long do we have to wait after that ETA to snaffle rach away for an evening?!?! 😀 (no, seriously..)