UK (Oxford/The Cotswalds) – 19th June – 10th July.
Temps. 14 deg.C –28 deg.C. - Dusk at 10.30–11pm
Cutting the field outside our cottage
Hay Bales, typical of what we've seen all over UK & France,
Our resident cows, ("FM" is the black one second from left)
After another late arrival into Oxfordshire, we enjoyed a day of nothing, apart from the usual setting up house and the unrelenting search for the nearest food & service suppliers. Once we consulted a map, we realised, we were actually nearer to the Cotswalds than Oxford itself, which would have its advantages we were later to find out. Rowleaze Cottages were run by the National Trust, given their 1800’s heritage. They were surrounded by fields, one of which bordered our neat, green, hedged backyard. It was quiet and fairly remote, with no one there but the cows. The quiet hum of the surrounding rural scene, was only interrupted by the steady chomping of the cows feeding on the other side of the hedge. Much to the kid’s embarrassment, I often found myself talking to them. This caught on though with time. The most social of the herd, a black and white cow branded, “FM” was everyone’s favourite, was often there peering back through the hedge. The only other interruption to this rural bliss was the occasional overhead aircraft on route to the Faringdon airbase up the road. One afternoon, much to Mitchell’s delight, two big Chinook’s passed us close enough to wave back.
Mitch doing his Maths out back
Three Monkey's at the park - Buscot
At the cow paddock
Sheri outback
Having dangled our cord out the window of the highest bedroom, we found that internet connection was going to evade us again. Having teed up a surprise skype call with Sheri’s friends back home for her birthday the following day, we were at a loss as to how to deliver it. With the hope of finding a signal strong enough for an actual live-video call, Steve set off late in the evening with the computer perched on the front seat of the car. Returning after midnight, he had apparently achieved success with the help of his mum, back in New Zealand who tested it out. So as arranged, at 8am the following morning, we dragged all three kids out of the house and into the car, on what was a cold, and windy morning. We followed the SAT NAV to an open field covered in mist in the middle of nowhere, got into the boot, only to see Sheri’s friends on the computer screen, holding up a cake and singing Happy Birthday! It was an incredible feat of technology, and the best birthday present she could have had. We later took her out to the “The Horse and Jockey Pub” for lunch, and a horse ride at a local riding school, with a new pair of jodhpurs. It wasn’t Euro Disney, but her day did include her two great loves, her friends and horses, so all in all, a great day, on the back of an amazing week!
Mitch and Sheri sharing a birthday flan at home
Sheri having lunch at the Horse & Jockey Pub
Sheri all set to go...
Fairford - Bullshead Pub
Fairford showin Cotswalds Architecture
We spent the next few days, discovering the local villages of Faringdon, Lechlade, Wantage, and Fairford, in between some good stretches of school work. Not long after, our friends, The Van Eck’s, (Bryan, Tracy, Zane and Carli,) arrived from Sydney to the pretty, Cotswald town of Burford. As luck would have it, they were only 15 mins away which was great for catching up. It was so nice to see friends from home. Mitch and Cassi really enjoyed having their friends there to play with.
Carli and Cassi and friends in Buscot
Mitch and Zane at Burton-On-The Water
Picturesque village of Bibury
Together, we went to a number of local attractions, namely; Burton-On-The-Water,(a pretty, touristy town, with streams running through the town,) The Cotswald Show, (complete with falconry displays, farm equipment, and ferret racing,) Lego Land at Windsor,(where everyone enjoyed a few rides,) Burford, (Tracy and Bryan’s quaint, little town which resembled a larger Berrima, back home,) the picturesque little village of Bibury, not to mention the boys, two day trip to the “The Festival Of Speed” at Goodwood, (where they saw every type of motorised car imaginable.)
Lego Land - Windsor
We also enjoyed a simple, but memorable celebration for Bryan’s birthday in our backyard over a picnic, and a walk down the drive at dusk to the local cricket pitch, complete with thatched clubhouse.
Zane & Mitch infront of Mark Webber's Car
Mitch in Sebastian Vettel's car
The Festival Of Speed Classic Cars
Whilst the boys were away & staying with Jonny and David in Guildford, we had Melanie and her daughter, Ellie, come for an overnight stay with us. Together we visited Sudeley Castle, the last home of Catherine Parr who was the sixth wife of King Henry The Eighth, (from Julie’s family tree.) Sudeley was an hour’s drive away on the other side of The Cotswalds, near the quaint village of Winchcombe. The castle itself was somewhat restricted to the visitor, although I did have a lengthy chat with the guide about the likelihood Catherine Parr’s daughter, Mary, surviving infanthood, contrary to documented records. The gardens, “The Queen’s Garden” in particular, were beautiful, and the church with Catherine’s tomb, and stained glass windows depicting her, King Henry and Thomas Seymour were amazing. Whilst we were there, we experienced the English summer at its peak, with a heat wave that lasted the best part of a week. It was hot even for Australian standards, and was very uncomfortable in the countryside, in a house, not really equipt to deal with it. At night, we had to strip the quilt, (douve) out of its cover, and sleep with nothing but the cover itself. It was so hot that we even got to see an ENGLISH SNAKE, across our drive, much to my astonishment! Sitting there in the car with Melanie who had spent years in Australia dreading all its creepy crawlies, it was definitely a case of role reversals, which we had a huge laugh about.
Burford & Sudeley Castle:
Like Devon, our rural location in Oxford presented the girls with lots of opportunity for more horse riding. After a not so fun experience at Oakville Riding School on Sheri’s birthday, (worse luck,) we quickly sort out what was on offer at Anstee Equestrian. It was a great facility, with lovely instructors and great horses. Sheri learnt to canter on Ollie, a highly spirited young horse, and Cassidy learnt to trot by herself on Denis, (her first white pony.) Despite the heat of their first lesson, the girls were hooked, so this was a highlight for them both during our stay. Mitch, on the other hand, preferred to do “the horse thing” differently, choosing instead to visit “The White Horse Of Uffington” with Steve. This was a massive, chalk encrusted engraving on the side of the hill.
Cassi with Denis
Mitch on the eye of The White Horse of Uffington
Sheri on Ollie
Being set out in the rural pastures on the fringe of the Cotswalds meant that we really relied on Madge to get around. We bit the bullet for a day or two and gave Madge a makeover including fixing the air conditioning and the incessant rattle and a new windscreen to boot!
Other day trips during our three week stay in Oxfordshire included, Oxford, Bath and a visit to our neighbours in the “big house” at Buscot Park. Unfortunately, we chose to visit Oxford during the 30 degree heatwave, and worse still, on one of the two days, all the prospective students visited to check out the various colleges. The roads were clogged, and parking as you can imagine was almost impossible. If ever one needed convincing that the “Park and Ride” concept was necessary, this was it. Steve was just about to turn back after an hour and twenty minutes for what should have taken forty, when we spotted a new car park on the outskirts of town. This late rescue allowed us to visit the very impressive Christchurch College, (the dining room scene of the Harry Potter movies.) We also got a private account from the rector in the church about the real-life inspirations for Alice In Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. He showed us the green door in the wall where The White Rabbit went through and the tree the Cheshire Cat sat in. He also told us that the Dean of the College had a daughter called Alice, and it was here that her and her siblings would often be entertained by the author whilst he was a student at the college. The children were all intrigued enough, with this exclusive piece of information, that a visit to the Alice Shop was a must! The day was uncomfortably hot, making more pottering about town an unpopular decision. Instead, we chose to head to the cool waters of the Thames and try our hand at Punting. Punting, is where you push a narrow boat along with a pole, much as they do in Venice. Temperaments being what they were in the heat, paddle boating seemed like a much less tiring option. Upon seeing the trouble and effort fellow-river goers were having punting, our decision had been well founded.
Oxford:
Christchurch College Dining Hall (Scene of Harry Potter) - Oxford
Cricket Pitch outside Christchurch College
Christchurch College & grounds
Punting on the Thames - Oxford
The day before leaving Oxfordshire, we visited Bath. Having got there late in the afternoon, after a full morning of schoolwork, (which had been on hold during the Van Eck’s visit,) we were very glad we’d made the effort to fit this day trip in before our departure. It was a gorgeous city, full of Georgian charm. Whilst we were there we visited the Royal Mile, (which despite its rich history, is often a scene in many current day English TV series,) the Circus, (a circular street set full of beautiful Georgian houses,) The Jane Austen Centre, (where we learnt about her life and times through her books,) and most impressively, the Roman Baths themselves which were wonderfully presented and preserved for the tourist. A lovely high tea at the famous, Pump Room next door later, and we were right for a stroll to Trim St & Sydney Place. To end off our stay in Bath, we had a wonderful Italian meal in a restaurant under the Pulteney Bridge, which was modelled of both the Ponte de Vecchio of Florence and the Rialto Bridge in Venice.
Bath:
Georgian Streetscape (1 & 2)
The Jane Austen Centre
Sydney Namesake we couldn't resist
The Roman Baths
On our way to Cumbria, we made a stop off at Cambridge where we did the big divide and conquer. The girls spent the day discovering this wonderfully eclectic, university-city whilst Steve and Mitch went to Duxford Airbase for the practise day of the Flying Legends Air Show. They saw both the fastest passenger plane, (The Concorde) and the fastest plane ever, (The SR71 Blackbird.)
Duxford Airbase:
SR71 Blackbird (The fastest jet ever built)
Mitch with a Spitfire
Mitch entering the Concorde (Fastest passenger plane ever built)
We saw the Kings College Chapel, (which I personally thought to be just as beautiful as any of the other more famous cathedrals we’d visited,) Trinity College where notable alumni include Prince Charles, his grandfather, King George V1 and Sir Issac Newton. Punting on the River Cam, was a memorable experience, as we bumped and nudged our way down stream avoiding on coming, and inexperienced punters, noting landmarks like the Wren Library. We also learnt that Cambridge University was started by the migration of some students from Oxford, (although they hate to admit it,) after fleeing Oxford over a dispute with the townspeople back in the 12th century.
Cambridge:
Outside Trinity College (1 & 2)
Mathematical Bridge
Punting up stream
