WoodWalkAbout

WOOD WALKABOUT- AUGUST (Part 2)



Cambridge - 2 Days

Edinburgh - 2 Weeks

Cambridge (UK)

Temp.s - 15- 24 deg. C, Dusk – 8.45pm

We had all looked forward to seeing (Uncle) Nick and (Aunty) Kirsten so our trip to Edinburgh, whilst it wasn’t exactly local to France by car, was a trip we were all pleased to make. So as to break up the enormous journey up from Normandy, we decided to stay a couple of nights in Cambridge after a short stop at Hever Castle, the home of Queen Anne Boelyn, 2nd unfortunate wife of King Henry VIII. The castle was the scene of a knights tournament the day we drove past, hosted by stand-ins for King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boelyn herself. Julie, pursuing her interest in British royals linked to her family tree, also did a tour of the castle, to make full use of the visit. She discovered that some of the internals had been based on those inside her very own, Sizergh castle, (see July blog.)

Topiary at Hever Castle

Jousting tournament in full swing

Kids at the tournament

Lady Anne Boelyn and a rather slim King Henry VIII

The girls and I had a pretty good look at Cambridge, and loved it on the way from Oxford to Cumbria. The boys though, choosing to see the Duxford Airbase, hadn’t seen it at all.
We stayed at an excellent hotel/motel about 10km out of town, and enjoyed the luxury of having a prepared breakfast each morning. Self catering for pretty much the whole trip so far, meant that this was a welcomed treat. Having dinner in the in-house restaurant also meant that we met Adam, (our friendly, French speaking waiter, and a lovely Lithuanian waitress.) Mitchell had been doing a project throughout the trip, where hed been learning how to ask for “The Bill Please” in as many languages as he could, which he’s put onto Power Point. He now had the opportunity to add Lithuanian.
We spent our day in Cambridge reintroducing Steve and Mitch to some of the things we enjoyed on our last visit, like the Kings College Chapel, punting on the River Cam and exploring the pedestrian presinct of town. We also did the obligatory stop in to Build-A-Bear, another one of our pilgrimages on the trip. Unfortunately, it was the day that Australia lost the Ashes. Being in England at the time, we met some pretty happy Englishmen, and even heard the Kings College Chapel bells ringing in celebration. It was almost painful to watch all the interviews on TV later that night back at the hotel.

Kids whilst punting on the River Cam

Kids with Build-A-Bear in Cambridge

The sights on the road through England - have van, will travel...

Steve attempting the impossible...

Edinburgh (Scotland)

Temps. 9 deg. C – 20 deg. C, Dusk- 9pm

Edinburgh's unique architecture

Mitch having crossed the Scottish border

We arrived in around 5pm, having abandoned the search for Hadrian’s Wall about an hour and a half south of Edinburgh. Despite following the SAT NAV, road signs and even directions from Hadrian Wall walkers, it evaded us. Once in Edinburgh, we met Nick and Kirsten at our flat, before heading up the road to the local Thai. Not sure whether it was our lack of Asian food in the past months, but it was the best tasting Thai, we’d ever had. “Justit’s” in Thimble Street was fantastic!
Our Brandon Street apartment, despite the 800 m eter uphill walk, was right in the heart of the city. Initially we thought, it would be a taxi ride up the hill, but as we settled in, it was far easier to walk, and besides, we needed all the exercise we could get at this point.

Kirsten and the girls

Steve outside our unit on Brandon Street

U. Nick, Mitch and Steve

The Edinburgh Festival had brought a lot of tourists to Edinburgh. Thanks to Kirsten, we’d pre-booked a no. of shows, some for us and some for the kids. For the kids, we saw “Tap Kids” a wonderful upbeat, and contemporary tap show by six young, teens from New York, “Alice Through The Looking Glass,” which was an interesting, take on an old classic, Sheri and I also went to “Emma” by Jane Austen which was a lovely treat, and finally, a Roald Dahl show, where two guys from the Roald Dahl Museum in the UK, re-enacted some of his stories, with great enthusiasm. We also got to the Book Festival which as it happened, coincided with Book Week at home so the kids received a hands-on literary education this month.
Steve and Nick went to a comedy night which they both enjoyed, and Kirsten and I, went to an amazingly, contemporary dance production by Michael Clarke, the apparent, bad boy of British ballet. Bare buttocks, and unisex costumes, were all the rage, coupled with some fantastic choreography!
Both Cassi and I celebrated birthdays in Edinburgh, and thanks to our hosts, Nick and Kirten, they were made very special. For Cassidy’s big day, we met up with them and paid a visit to Build A Bear where, Cassi adopted a Scottish owl she named “Bonnie,” and Mitch got his bear Hermann, a unique kilt and bagpipes.

Cassidy's Birthday:

Birthday Girl at Uncle Nick and Aunty Kirsten's

On her special, day off to the theatre

Mitch with Hermann sporting his new Scottish garb
A. Kirsten & U. Nick with the birthday girl

We then had lunch at the Book Festival where , the jazz band played her Happy Birthday, went to an Alice In Wonderland Play and then it was back to Nick and Kirsten’s place for a party, complete with party food, decorations, cake and party games. As you can imagine, she had an absolute ball, and it was so nice to spend time with Nick and Kirsten, on their turf for a change.

Kids showing off their "Elmo" T-shirts at the party, compliments of Nanna

Sheri playing The Chocolate Game at the party

My birthday was also really special, despite feeling every one of my ...years this year. We had a lovely surprise lunch at a great restaurant called “The Boat Shed,” overlooking the “Firth of Forth” Bridge on the Scottish coast, and went to the infamous, Edinburgh Military Tattoo later that evening. It was an amazing experience, one which will stay with us for a long time to come! We couldn't believe Nick and Kirsten hadn't been to it before, but were glad our visit had finally got them there. I had a wonderful time snapping away with my new camera in order to capture the moment. We finished the night with supper at the “Elephant House Cafe,” where J.K. Rowling had written Harry Potter.

Julie's Birthday:

Opposite the Firth of Forth Bridge on the Scottish Coast

Lunch at The Boat Shed

Edinburgh Military Tatoo:

Traditional Swiss Band, Swiss Top Secret-Flaming Drummers

Scottish Pipers

Finale

The kids really enjoyed having time with their Aunty and Uncle, who both went to so much trouble to ensure we had the most wonderful time. Mitch and godfather, (Uncle) Nick had a trip to Edinburgh Castle, seeing the crown jewels and Oliver Cromwell’s soldier’s armour. Whilst Sheri and Kirsten, had a late night shopping excursion, and dinner together in a place where we’d all been with Sheri in a pram 10 years ago. This time she had a fruit cocktail!
Whilst not always blessed in the weather department, Edinburgh was indeed a lovely city. It boasted excellent eateries, beautiful shops, wonderful park areas and Georgian Architecture. Although it was probably lesser known for it’s architecture, we felt it was similiar to Bath with its beautiful buildings.

Streetscape inner city
Rooftops with the Firth of Fourth beyond

Seaside homes at Queensferry

Heading up the hill at Brandon Street

Steve and I got out together on a date one night, thanks to some babysitting by Nick and Kirsten and enjoyed Tiger Lilly (Bar and Restaurant, ) and the four of us had a wonderful dinner out on our second last night, at The Dome thanks to Nick and Kirsten, whilst Kirsten’s very talented friend, Nicola, minded the children. Having just had the second “Art Gallery Auction,” (similar to the one in Tuscany, where the kids all produced their own artworks, and had the gaul to sell them to their Aunt, Uncle and Parents,) they were all excited and didn’t miss us at all. Nicola, good friend and work colleague of Kirstens, (also a Brownie’s Fund Raiser and Leader,) had them well organised with all sorts of craft.

Sheri's clay horse from the Art Auction which found a lovely home at Nick and Kirsten's

Besides all the fun things, we also had to do a lot of boring maintenance things during our time in Edinburgh whilst we were in an English speaking country - the usual stuff like, car tyres and registration, haircuts and clothing alterations & repairs. Our clothing was taking a beating, with some of our jeans being worn quite literally to threads. Thank goodness, we didn't know anyone apart from Nick & Kirsten. Even though Edinburgh was a busy city, it was very close to the hills of its rural surrounds. Accordingly, it didn’t take Sheri long to seek out the location of the nearest riding school. All three kids did a couple of lessons at Tower Hill Riding Centre, the last of which, we saw Mitch get back in the saddle, (after the nose incident in Kinsale,) & have a go at trotting on Furbie, whilst we saw Cassi have a go at cantering on Saxo, and Sheri, much to her excitement, learn to gallop in the mud during a hack, (trail ride) with Misty. They were all at different levels, but somehow the two instructors managed to get the best from each of them, despite the cold and the noise of the rain beating down on the roof of the shed above during their last lesson.

The Lippanzana Woods! (Cassi on Saxo, Sheri on Misty)

Mitchell on Furbie

Sheri with "Cassi" the horse, U.Nick and our Cassi at Tower Hill Riding School

We had a rather large “pack-up” to do in Edinburgh, before we were due to pass by Melanie’s (Guildford,) again, on our way southward. We needed to store additional baggage, (that seemed to have this habit of accumulating-funny that,) and collect some warmer clothing for the autumn months back on The Continent. Whilst we got ourselves sorted, the kids spent their last day in Edinburgh, making the most of it with Nick & Kirsten. They had a wonderful time, seeing a movie, being taken out for lunch and a stroll. In the early evening we all met back up to have our last supper together at Mamma’s Pizzeria which was right next door to the Bee Hive, (the pub, where Nick & Kirsten first met, so many years ago.)
Before moving on, we popped all the completed schoolwork in the post, and finally completed the last two blog updates. We’d had a lovely time thanks to Nick and Kirsten, who had gone to so much trouble to ensure we enjoyed our visit. We’d planned to meet up with them again, when we returned to Lake Como, to see our new friends, later in the year. We were all set then to head off to Guildford, this time with a little more success in finding Hadrian’s Wall on the way. Sadly, the wild goose-chase, had probably not been worth the effort. We did find it in the end, only to see it as a long pile of rubble behind a hedge.

Hadrian's Wall at long last - Not really worth the wait

Next stop – dinner with the Simcocks, and overnight at Guildford, then onto The Continent....

WoodWalkAbout

Wood WalkAbout

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.)

Steve and Bryan at Burton-On-The-Water Model Village

Julie,Tracy, Cassi at Buscot Village Tea House & Corner Store

Kids at Bibury

The Cotswald Show:

Animal Nursery

Goat judging

Rides & Amusements

Kids with a ferret at the Ferret Racing

Falconry Displays

Lego Land - Windsor:

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.

Bryan, Tracy & the kids a day after touching down in the UK - at Bryan's birthday

Traditional cricket pitch down our drive at Buscot Park

The Festival Of Speed Boy's Weekend:

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:

Mother & Daughter Afternoon Tea in Burford with Melanie, Tracy & Julie

Melanie, Ellie, Sheri & Cassi at Sudeley Castle - Queen's Gardens

Julie, Sheri & Cassi at Catherine Parrs Tomb in the chapel at Sudeley

Burford High Street (1 & 2)

The Cotswald Arms - Tracy & Bryan's Local Pub

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.

Horses All Round:

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

The Royal Crescent

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 on the River Cam - View of The Kings College Chapel
Punting up stream

After a wonderful day for us all, we climbed back in the car at the "Trumpington Park & Ride" just outside Cambridge, where we all met up and continued the day's journey heading for Centre Parcs (Whinfell Forest) in Cumbria. Four hours or so and we'd be at our final destination in the north of England Lakes District.