Buffy's Salon

Stratford-upon-Avon

 

I thought you might be interested in seeing some photos from a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon aka Shakespeare's birthplace.  This is typical of the architecture in the High Street.  As you can see the sixteenth century timbers, windows and gables have been lovingly preserved.

 

This is Hall's Croft where Shakespeare's daughter, Susannah, lived with her husband, who ran a medical practice from this house. 

This is a side view of Nash's House and gardens, now a museum.  This house was also in Shakespeare's family because his granddaughter lived here after she married Thomas Nash.

This lovely half-timbered building was Shakespeare's birthplace and where he spent his early childhood.  His family were comfortably off and his father ran his glove-making and wool dealing business from these premises.  Alas, at the time of Shakespeare's birth the streets were not so clean as they are now.
 

Here you can catch the chain ferry over the River Avon.  It was built in 1937 and is the last of its kind in Britain. 

Here it comes now!  A handcrank has to be turned manually to propel the ferry along the chain across the river.  At 50p a person it's good value.

 

A close up of the rowing boats for hire shows they are all named after Shakespeare's heroines.
 

The North East - A Tour Through History Part II

 

You are looking down on the Poison Garden at Alnwick Garden.  Belladonna, mandrake and cannabis are among the toxic substances grown here.  No wonder some of the plants are in cages and all visitors are escorted round.  Alnwick Garden has been built over the last ten years, inspired by the Duchess of Northumbland it covers what was once a derelict site which is now open to the public.

 

Here we are at the top of the Grand Cascade looking down.  Every half-an-hour the water feature explodes with energetic fountains of water spraying everyone around, to the delight of the children!

 

Children also love this giant treehouse which is accessible only via some very wobbly rope bridges. Other attractions at Alnwick Garden include the Cherry Orchard, the Rose Garden and The Serpent Garden.  Work is ongoing on The Garden of the Senses!

 

Traveling further north we arrive at Bamburgh, which was the centre of Christianity in the north of England during the Dark Ages.  This imposing building is Bamburgh Castle, built on the same site by the Normans as the original which was destroyed by Vikings.  Happily the owners during the seventeenth century onwards did a lot of restoration work so it is in a very fine state for such an old castle.  From his castle the King of Northumbria had a fine view across the sea including Holy Island and the Farne Islands.

 

Here is Bamburgh beach, over which the castle towers.  Bamburgh itself is a small village which makes a good base for people exploring Northumberland.  If you are wondering, Northumberland is the northernmost county in England, and because it borders Scotland it has seen a fair amount of fighting.  This is probably why it has more castles than any other county!  It is called "the cradle of Christianity" because of the vital role in the conversion of the British by monks who lived here. 

 

This is one of the Farne Islands, off the coast off Northumberland.  St Cuthbert, a hermit and bishop,  lived here in the seventh century.  He was responsible for introducing laws to protect the wildlife on these islands!  No one lives on these islands now except bird wardens and these buildings are about 600 years old.  The chapel you can see here is on the site of St Cuthbert's oratory.

 

Here are some of the protected birds nesting on the Farne Islands.  (If anyone knows what they are please do say.)  On the boat trip around the islands one ofen sees grey seals and puffins.  Last year, for the first time, an otter arrived on the islands!  In the 1950s and 1960s the otter population was much diminished by pollution in the UK, but now we have literally cleaned up our act they are making a welcome return!

Here we are at the crossing to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.  This is a tidal island, which is to say that the North Sea covers the causeway when the tide comes in so the island is only accessible at certain hours of the day.  Lindisfarne is the Anglo Saxon name, but it is now referred to as Holy Island.  The name changed following the devastating attacks on the monastery here by the Vikings in the late eighth century, because it was "baptized with the blood of holy men".

 

Lindisfarne was the home of Celtic Christianity and the source of many conversions in northern Britain.  Even now many people travel here for retreats, as well as to do a little historical research or enjoy the wildlife.  In this public garden we can see an example of a celtic cross.

 

We are looking out now from Holy Island; the ships grounded whilst the tide is out.  The island is popular with tourists who come to visit the priory ruins, the castle and just take walks around the island.

The North East - a tour through History Part I

      Last summer we visited the north east of England.  The area is absolutely brimful of history and wildlife.  The photo above is from St Paul's church in Jarrow.  Part of the building dates back to the seventh century when it was attached to a monastery.  As you can probably tell, the church is still used today and very colourful it was too, decorated with angels.       The church is next to Bede's world, which contains an Anglo Saxon farm of the type typical at the time of the Venerable Bede, around 700 AD.  The buildings, the animals and the crops are as close as possible to how they would have been all those years ago.     Here you can see inside one of the timber buildings.  Clearly life at this time, for most people, was pretty basic.  Imagine how smoke filled this home would get once you lit the fire in the middle of the room.     This stylish dwelling was for the farm animals.  There were sheep, oxen and pigs, all mostly smaller than the farm animals we see today.       Now we leap forward in time to the nineteenth century as we visited the Beamish museum, a working museum which recreates how people used to live in the industrialised north.   At the colliery village you can peep into the miner's houses, with their trademark big black stoves which did everything from heating the home, providing hot water, cooking and heating the irons.  Once a week every good housewife got down on her hands and knees and went to "blacking" this monster.  You can also visit the pit, where the men and boys worked in dark and cramped conditions.         The board school caters for the younger children.       And for the older ones.  (Boys could start working in the mine from 14 years of age.)       These trams transport you around Beamish.  My mother can remember trams operating in most of the cities when she was young, but they have nearly all gone now.       We took the tram to the town where you can visit homes from the Edwardian era, along with shops and even a dentist.  Here we have a nursery.       Inside the co-operative store grocery.  Other shops included a bank, a hardware store, a motor and cycle works and a newspaper shop.         One of the replica locomotives working the Pockerley Waggonway, dating from about 1825.       Now a jump back in time again as we visited Housesteads fort on Hadrian' s Wall.  This fortification, which runs along northern Britain, was built by the Romans in the second century AD.  Its intention was to keep out the barbarian Picts (aka Scots).  The photo above was taken looking north over the wall.  The wall runs for nearly 80 miles and is broken up by forts such as the one we visited.       This is what remains of the public latrines!  You can see the channels down both sides for the waste (they probably had wooden seats over them) and more channels running around the middle of the room for water where they could wash their hands and utensils.      Here is what it probably looked like in its prime.  I hope the ladies had a separate area.       This would have been the granary.  You can see how the pillars would have supported a raised floor to keep the grain both dry and safe from rats, mice etc.

Tour of France Part V:Provence

Here I sit, in a world of frost and bone-chilling iciness, preparing for the Christmas festivities, watching the dusk appear earlier and earlier, and remembering the days we spent in Provence back in September.  The temperatures reached the 30s, we ate dinner outside with the other guests until late at night and read by the swimming pool.  Another country, another time.

 

Antique shops along the banks of L'Isle sur la Sorgue (island on the River Sorgue).  Prettiest town in Provence, beloved by English tourists; light reflects from the canals running through the centre and side streets.

 

I couldn't resist taking a photo of this artistically arranged courtyard shop.

 

Colourful Roussillon, ochre deposits explain the yellow and red tints of the buildings.

 

Church at Roussillon

 

So much thought had gone into decorating this tiny terraced house, the views from the rooftop must be excellent. 

   

Refreshing greens against the ochre tints.

 

Inside the Palais des Papes at Avignon.  In 1309 Pope Clement V moved the papacy from Rome to Avignon.  Later Popes returned to Rome in 1377 causing the Papal Schism (during which time there were two or more popes simulataneously), which lasted until 1417.  It fell into a state of disrepair over the years, and was taken and sacked by revolutionary forces in 1789.  Over the next century it was used as a military barracks and prison.

 

This is the village of Bories, abandoned a century ago but lovingly restored.  Bories are built from flat stone, without using mortar.  It is unclear exactly how old these habitations are.  As well as homes they include a barn and a silk-making shop.

     

Gordes, most fashionable of the Provence towns because of its stylish buildings made of creamy rock. A castle dominates the town centre at the top of hill, the buildings and terraced gardens hug the incline.  Gordes was the site of a hilarous goat race in A Year in Provence.

   

The medieval Abbaye de Senanque, surrounded by fields of lavender.  It's a working monastry and the monks sell honey, liqueurs and lavender oil that they have made.

 

The pretty, steeply cobbled village of Lacoste has the dubious pleasure of being the home town of the Marquis de Sade.  He lived in a castle overlooking the village.  During the German occupation this area of the Luberon was a stronghold of the French Resistance.

 

Visiting Lacoste feels like going back in time.  You don't see too many cars traversing these windy streets!  The oldest building dates back to the ninth century.

Tour of France Part IV: The Alps

      After staying in Alsace we traveled through Switzerland and into the French Alps.  This is skiing country, but in the summer some people stay for hiking and mountain biking.         We were able to use the ski lifts that were still working to travel some distance and then walk back (mostly downhill).     Some of the more interesting sights we saw included this natural fountain, some fearless cyclists bouncing down the mountains, occasionally screaming, and a line of small children on tiny ponies chanting something in French (I wish I got a photo of that one).       "I shall lift up mine eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help." Psalm 121         A popular lake for bathing and other water sports.       We stayed just outside the town of Morzine.  You can tell you're in the Alps all right!       An excellent place to sit and watch the hang gliders landing.       As we drove away from the Alps we got this glimpse of Mont Blanc.  You may be able to make out snow on the summit.

Images of France Part III: Around Alsace

    Petite Venice in lovely Colmar.  Americans may be interested to know that the creator of the Statue of Liberty came from Colmar.     The cloister of the Musee d'Unterlinden ("under the linden trees"), home of stunning Renaissance religious art, including the Isenheim altarpiece.       Colmar has a varied history, it's been part of the Holy Roman Empire, captured by Swedon, and then by France.  It went on to become part of the German Empire, was returned to France, annexed by Nazi Germany and then finally became part of France again.  Its cosmopolitan history is reflected in its culture.  It is as common to hear German as French spoken here.       Many of the buildings in Alsace are not only colourful, but show artistic inclinations.       Riquewihr, prettiest and most popular town in Aslace.  It's changed little in 500 years.  This is the perfect place to enjoy a tarte flambee (Alsace pizza) with a glass of pinot gris, sitting in the sunshine and watching the world go by.       Our bed and breakfast!  

Back in Blighty

  Well, we are back again, our tour of France completed.  We've enjoyed walks in the French Alps, long Provencal dinners, and champagne tastings and have visited more pretty towns and villages than you can shake a stick at.  We couldn't squeeze anymore confit de canard or French wine in the car and luckily customs at the Eurotunnel didn't pick on our car for a thorough search, as it would have taken hours to get everything out and then put it back in again!  The weather was patchy in northern France but positively Mediterranean in the south, even down to a couple of very dramatic thunder storms.  What luxury it was to be able to read outside!    And what do I find has been happening in Britain in my absence?  It's rained so much there are floods everywhere.  York looks like Venice.  People's furniture has been floating down the high street in Norfolk and Northumberland.  For the first time in two and a half weeks I'm actually cold.  On the plus side, the cat is pleased to see us.

Images of France Part II: Haut-Koenigsbourg

The chateau at Haut-Koenigsbourg is a medieval castle which was restored to its former glory at the beginning of the twentieth century.  It's the closest thing I've seen, outside of a film, to a what a proper working castle would have looked like.  Although I've seen my share of castle ruins, it's easy to forget when you're looking at the stone walls, that you're only seeing about one third of the original building.  Built on vertiginous and nearly inaccessible rock in the Vosges mountains, like most of the rest of Alsace it's heritage is a mixture of Franco-Germanic influences.  It's renovation was a pet project of the last Prussian Emperor, but following the First World War it became the property of France.

 

 

Images of France Part I: Nancy

Some images from our holiday so far.  Isn't wireless access a wonderful invention?

 

 

 

Travelling Again

Provencal Village III

We are off on the second leg of our summer holidays.  This time we are going south so hopefully we shall see some sunshine!  We are going through the Eurotunnel this evening and will be in Calais tonight.  Then it's a leisurely drive to the French Alps via Nancy, Alsace and then Morzine, descending then into Provence, and returning through Lyon and Epernay (champagne country). 

I am not sure whether I will be able to access the Internet whilst I am away, which will be two and a half weeks. 

I hope you all enjoy the late summer, it feels like autumn is just round the corner!