It was May of 2022, last year, when we last visited England, to be with our Shutterchance's photoblog friends, so it felt good to keep the every-year schedule, even if at a different time of the year.
Like last year, we split up our 10 days between two friends: first it was Lisl and then Bill (with wife Ange).
1. With LISL in Winsley, Wiltshire, England, from September 4-11:
As we always do with Lisl, we take walks.
This (Sept. 5) was a Winsley parish-church walk that we didn't do last year.
And, yes, we hit the wild-blackberry bushes along the way big time!
The next day (Sept. 6), after that walk, we took a 2-hour train ride, each way, to Abergavenny, Wales,
to visit the city with Lisl's childhood friend, Marie, who lives nearby. Besides walking through city
center, we visited St. Mary's Priory church from 1070 as well as the nearby castle from 1175.
Signs of the times inside churches these days, I'm afraid.
(sigh)
Obviously the pigeon doesn't know how to read!
But can you blame him/her on a hot day?
This was the day friend Chris (with friend Katy) took Astrid and me to Great Chalfield Manor.
The gardens were incredible!
Still can't find who built that but talk about scale!
Astrid and Chris enjoyed hobnobbing with the nobles.
Because of the heatwave, the next 2 days we basically stayed at home playing games!
Oh, yes, and eating good food, like from Lisl's favorite fish-n-chips place.
We called off the parish walk planned for the 9th with Chris, because of the heat.
Sometimes you just have to be sensible.
But Marie from Wales drove over to enjoy the Sunday roast on the 10th at Winsley's pub,
just like she did last year. It's now a tradition to include her!
2. With Bill and Ange in Droitwich Spa, England, from September 11-14:
But first, we had a mini-meetup of 9 of us at Chad and Norma's (where we stayed last year), for
a morning coffee/tea in their garden, followed by a meal at the nearby pub outside of Corsham.
From l-to-r (center): Astrid, Chris, Lisl, Alan, Ange, Bill, Chad and Norma.
I'm a huge fan of Norma's art studio in their garden...
as well as her accessorizing finesse.
Because it rained the next day, the 12th, we changed original plans to visit Warwick
to stay put around home, visiting the Droitwich Sacred Heart church's incredible mosaics,
a coffee stop at an incredible antique dealer's store, followed by another pub meal.
Are you noticing a theme here???
On the 13th, Wednesday, our last full day in England, we had another mini-meetup,
this time at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, with 7 of us:
Bill, Ange, Alan, Astrid and 2 new ones, Martin and Elaine.
It's not call BLACK for nothing! Fossil fuel at it's worst?
This is Astrid's photo collage of that outing.
Our meetups were cozy groupings this year, without all who sometimes come.
Those bigger groups usually happen every other year, so this was an in-between time.
Thanks to Bill and Ange's generosity, we left on the happy note of a full-English breakfast,
joined by Bill and Ange's oldest of 2 daughters, Kathryn.
And just like that, another trip to England came and went so quickly.
We call England our second home away from home, our first being Atlanta, USA, of course.
Speaking of which, that's the last big trip on the 2023 calendar, starting October 19th with my kids.
I always tell Astrid that once we hit September, I feel like we're sliding down to the New Year.
I'm saying that, of course, just 6 days before October.
See what I mean?
I lovely summary of your UK adventure. Great Chalford Manor has long been on my 'To Do' list but I have not quite made it yet.
ReplyDeleteThe pidgeon made me chuckle. We always have an Alpha pidgeon in our garden. He sits in the bird bath cooling off, sometimes displaying his wings. When he has done cooling off he sits on the edge of the bird bath and 'poops' in the water!!!
You'll love Great Chalfield Manor, Cherry, if you can ever get there. In fact, we ate lunch at the Glove Factory beforehand, which is where we saw the Sean Henry statue!
DeleteYou two always have such adventurous and fun vacations. The up-coming one with family in the U.S. will come around quickly!
ReplyDeleteLife has given us many traveling experiences, Marie, that fill us to overflowing. As we get older, however, we're understanding our limits regarding what we can and can't do...like needing elevators in hotels (or ground floors), traveling lighter, using our own car when possible, arranging our own schedule, etc. But memories do light the corners of our mind!
DeleteNu zie ik hem van 2023 en weer genoten van al die vele leuke uitjes van jullie in Engeland
ReplyDeleteHartstikke bedankt, Marjolein, for finding me here. Astrid did NOT receive notice of this post so I'm still not sure it's working correctly.
DeleteAgain we had a fabulous time in England with Lisl and Bill and all the others that made it possible for us to have a great time again. Thank you for taking time to make all those collages and a wonderful memory is added to the long list of great memories we already have. IHVJ.
ReplyDeleteWe're getting old enough to realize that we need to grab these memories as we can, fully aware that they will not go on forever. All the more reason to get them recorded like this. Thank you, as always, for being my Partner in Crime.
DeleteOh Boots, the ways the two of you celebrate life is joyous, even from afar. All the elements for you and Astrid arr delightful. (Google wouldn’t let me sign in; it’s me, sister Ruth 😊)
ReplyDeleteOh, bless you, Ruth. I could have sworn I left a reply for you earlier but obviously I didn't. You know how much I love that you follow us here. THANK YOU.
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