ENGLAND 2012: A Bath Nature Walk

Bath as in Bath, England, that is.  And it happened our last full day before flying back home in early May, a month ago.  Time does fly, doesn't it.

All Chris told us was we were going on a walk and that Lisl would be joining us.  Little did we know what was in store for us!

 Let's start with the ubiquitous English narrowboats which we have grown to love!

It was a great way to start the day...

...and still have time to meet Lisl at 10 a.m.

We even had other views along the way,

including finding out Bath's Dutch sister city is Alkmaar,

approximately 55 miles north of us here in the Netherlands.

We were in for a surprise when we met up with Lisl at 10 a.m. (top right).

She and Chris are part of a nature group and we were joining them that day!

The leader of the gang that day was the gentleman in the middle-left image (above)

with his super-sized telescope for bird watching.

The birds happened to be perigrine falcons, nesting in the box of the upper church window 

of the St. John the Evangelist R.C. Church. 

What a way to start our nature walk!

 Continuing on...we wound our way around some of the Bath Locks

and actually watched a narrowboat passing through.  Lucky timing.

While we see this all the time in Holland, it was different here...much more narrow.

Astrid was in heaven!

Suddenly we were really out in nature.  Open fields.

Passing scenes that are soooo English, especially on a misty-rainy day.

Can you imagine anything more idyllic than this!  Buttercups everywhere, soaking up the mist.

At this point, we were ready to enter the first of two cemeteries:  Smallcombe Cemetery.

While others were finding all kinds of flora and fauna...

Astrid, Chris and I were off wandering.  Astrid and I LOVE old cemeteries.

Some of it was pretty treacherous, actually.  M U D D Y.

At one point, Astrid slipped and fell...after which we thought we had had enough.

 Except for the fact we were now at the entrance to the Bath Abbey cemetery.

As in FAMOUS CHURCH cemetery!  How could we say NO to that!

See what I mean?  With views overlooking the city...to die for.  HA!

We wound our way back through town...

(yup, that's Bath Abbey in the large center image above)

...and past one last, idyllic narrowboat, rounding out our little day's excursion.

Back home...it was clean-up time!
See Astrid's jeans?  She really did slip and fall.
But what a trooper, cleaning up even MY shoes.

How's that for a day in the English countryside!  See why we have fallen in love with England!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

There is still one more post to do on the 2012 England trip...of things on the farm....

AND a post to do on a trip to Amsterdam this past Friday when we met up with blogger Tor from Norway and a new blogger friend, Silvie....

AND the weekend we just spent in Laren (Gelderland) doing the photo shoot for Mart Martorell's new glassblowing shop's Grand Opening....

AND my early birthday celebration in Giethoorn the weekend after we returned from England!  Giethoorn is Holland's Venice...but more on that when I get to it.

I guess you could say I have my work cut out for me, yes?  See why I call this my job!?!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  Oh yes.  All that and it's my turn at Vision and Verb today,

on WTMI = Way Too Much Information.  :)

The England Trip: BATH

Last but not least, this is the end of our September long weekend, the day before we returned back to the Netherlands.

We started and ended the day at the top of the hill overlooking this quaint city known for so much...a World Heritage Site since 1987. What follows is basically in the order in which it happened. Latch your seatbelt and hang onto your hat!

Chris is still our host, remember, from Bath.
He celebrated his 63rd birthday while we were there.
His childhood friend, Chad, celebrates his 63rd 6 months later.
So it was appropriate for the 4 of us to spend our last day on their stomping ground.


Right off the bat, Chris took us to The Richmond pub where he grew up.
His grandfather became landlord there in 1908 until his death in 1952,
after which Chris' dad took over till his retirement in 1970.
I can just imagine what Chris was feeling as he peeked in.


A hop, skip, and a jump away was St. Stephen's Primary School
where Chris and Chad met each other early on and have been friends ever since.


And then, a stone's throw away, the St. Stephen's Church
where Chris was baptized at age 1.
(Pay attention to that steeple, which you'll see later in the day/post!)


It was special to see Chris getting back in touch with his roots...


...while I grabbed my shots.


It's quite the landmark church, isn't it! Built between 1840-45.

Did you notice the iconic red phone booth at the corner of the church?


A little Bristish humor! Chris, Astrid and Chad are all inside,
including the open umbrella.


Then Astrid and I "played around."
Chris said a lady stopped her car to look!
As Astrid would say, she almost drove off the dijk.


Then followed two sets of crescent houses, the second row of which is the famous Royal Crescent of 30 houses, built between 1767 and 1774, and among the best examples of Georgian architecture in the UK.
A moment of serendipity: see the heart and the windmill side by side, in Bath no less?


I was intrigued by the plaques outside some of the homes, giving history to the place:

Thomas Linley lived here and
from this house his daughter
Elizabeth eloped with Richard
Brinsley Sheridan on the
evening of the 18th March 1772


...And the fire insurance "medallions" that hung above several doors.
Chad said the fire engines would go to those houses first!


In between the two crescents, we happened upon this contemporary Bath sculptor, Ben Dearnley, doing his thing for the 2012Summer Olympics. This piece is being carved from Bath stone.
It became another serendipity moment for us all, because he LOVED telling us everything.


Twenty minutes later, we were standing in front of Chad's boyhood home....


...after which we all needed a potty break and decided to also stop for coffee/tea.
Chad gave me a lesson on how to stick out my pinky...not easy to do!


An hour later, as we neared Bath's city center, we ate lunch.
We needed fuel for what was to come...the part of Bath I had seen previously in 2007.
I knew exactly what I wanted Astrid to see and could hardly wait.


First, the Roman Baths...


...just a hint this time, without the tour...


...followed by the Bath Abbey next door.
See Jacob's Ladder on both sides of this west front?


Imagine seeing this in the same courtyard as the Roman Baths!


In 2007 I didn't get to see inside, so this was a treat for me...


...all the more special because of the stained-glass window
donated by one of Chad Doveton's distant relatives!
In Memory of Maria Ann Doveton: Chad's great-great aunt.


Once back outside, we crossed over the River Avon and saw the Abbey from the opposite side...


...while on the way to the Pulteney Bridge, completed in 1773.
See the steeple on the top right? That's St. Stephen's Church through my 300mm lens.


I could hardly wait to cross the bridge with Astrid, alongside all the shops,
and then walk down the embankment to show her the back side.
Talk about the "other side of the tracks!"

It was starting to get late...and we still had to meet another Shutterchancer, Mike/Blackdog, for a drink and supper.

Our eyes were still wide open....


...and just before dark, at this well, I saw the following inscription:

Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

I grew up on that John 4:13-14 passage, but without argoyle faces staring back at me!

Then we met Mike, first at The Star pub for a beer and then for supper at a nearby restaurant.
Look at how tall he is!
('A' means Astrid took the picture.)


While at the pub, I learned about a new game: Shove ha'penny.

We said Good-Bye to Mike and began our long walk back to the car on top of the hill...where I started this post (so long ago!). It was all I could do to climb back up...one tired puppy...

...but realizing again how much we had seen
and how "short of eyes" we had been yet another day.

It was the perfect day to end our 2011 trip to England, with photobloggers who have become dear to us, like brothers. Chris, remember, is the one who calls Astrid his little sister. And he's already planning what we'll do when we visit next year!

The next morning, it rained cats and dogs. We stayed put at the farmhouse till leaving for the Bristol airport to fly back home. THAT was the perfect day to end our 2011 trip to England!