ENGLAND 2012: Glastonbury and Cheddar Gorge

It's gonna take time to make it through all my England images, as you'd guess, but by hook or by crook, I plan to get them to you by way of the day trips we took while visiting Chris and Jackie on the farm in Bath (like last September!)

Because it's my turn at Vision and Verb today and my post there is a jump-off from something at Glastonbury, I'll start there.

Sex is dirty!

And if that gets your attention, check out my post here.

The closest similarity to Glastonbury I can think of is Sedona, Arizona.
If you've been there, you know it's a hefty mix of everything New Age and/or Ancient Art.

It's the people, the art, the way of life and thinking....

...the architecture, the nuance, the dichotomies...

...the fun, the window shopping...

...and the stuff considered "dirty" by so many of Western mind!

Chris knew exactly what we'd want to see and where, like this lovely Magdelene Chapel from 1444.

Located in England's southwest corner is the legendary village of Glastonbury. 
Rich in both myth and history, Glastonbury is one of the most spellbinding places in the world. Recognized as a spiritual center since the megalithic era, it is the site of the first Christian church in the British Isles and claimed to be the Avalon of King Arthur. 

You begin to understand why this city became a spiritual mecca

all the way back to the Druids from 2500 BC, and complete with it's vortex sites (like Sedona).

The ruins of the Glastonbury Abbey from the 7th century...

...and the dark water caverns of the goddess temple (where photos were not allowed).

All of this was on our walk from the city center to the Glastonbury Tor (hill), featuring St. Michael's Tower,
associated with Avalon and identified with King Arthur.

Can you imagine what it felt like to be around this kind of history!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Actually, Glastonbury was the second half of that day trip, after a couple hours in Cheddar Gorge where we stopped and took a walk into the little town of Cheddar.  And yes, THIS is where the REAL cheddar cheese originated.  Were we surprised or what!  A town named Cheddar for cheddar (England) and a city named Gouda for gouda (Holland)!

 All of a sudden, before you could say Jack Sprat, there we were.

After the rolling hills of Bath, we didn't expect this surprise from Chris, our host.

I didn't even know there was a place like this in England's terrain!

 After parking the car, we walked part of the gorge into town,

viewing the sights along the way.

Think of any town you know that caters to tourists and you'll have nailed this beauty.

In fact, we stopped at the first ice-cream shop and treated ourselves.

We were delighted to have Jackie join us this one day of our trip.

And then we continued our walk...

...ending up with all these teddy bears, before getting back in the car to Glastonbury.

One day in the life of our recent England trip.  In fact, now that I'm getting my bearings, it was our first full day there, a Sunday.  So, how's that for knowing exactly where to start!

To be continued....