Back From Bath

This weekend I went many places without going very far.  After a two and a half hour drive from the manor, we arrived in the university town of Oxford.  Here we spent a good four hours wandering on our own.  I went along with one group to Christchurch to see the “Welcome to Hogwarts” stairs used in the first movie by McGonagall.  I also viewed the great hall that inspired the one in Hogwarts and the chapel, which was fairly interesting. 

Do you recognize these stairs?

The great hall, where the students still eat?

Look, floating candles - sort of.

The only figure of Jonah made of painted glass.

Spirit of St. Fridesworth (patron saint of Oxford) going to heaven.

The murder of Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket.  Very important event in England.

There was also a great deal of author stalking going on in Oxford.  While some stalked Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), author of Alice in Wonderland, others still stalked J. R. R. Tolkien.  It was relatively easily since both authors worked in Oxford for a time.  In fact, when Lewis Carroll was working on Alice he was teaching in Christchurch college, and the dean's daughter was named Alice.  I joined up with the Tolkien stalkers and visited one of Tolkien's favourite pubs and his house. 

Well, actually Tolkien and C.S. Lewis both frequented this post, dubbing themselves "The Inklings" and naming the pub Bird and Baby.

Certainly not where I would have expected Tolkien to live. 

After Oxford, we continued onto Bath, where we stayed in a hostel on top of a hill overlooking the city.  After all the other hotel locations being closer to the city, I had to wonder why a hostel and why so far away.  Hostels are interesting places; my room had 10 beds in it, all bunks.  The bathroom had three shower stalls and three toilet stalls, and were unisex (I guess).  That means we were sharing the bathroom with at least one guy. 

Rooms in hostels are also co-ed, but the college made sure to keep it one gender to a room.  I guess if you rent out a room completely with your friends, it will also be one gender.  While a few friends and I talked on the first night, a guy walked into the room, thought nothing of the female voices, and then realized that he was in the wrong place. 

The fog descends on our first night in Bath.

The next morning we rose and took a trip to Glastonbury Abbey, the legendary resting place of King Arthur.  Several of the students went up the Tor (Celtic for hill), the legendary location of Avalon.  I stayed at the base of the hill and discovered the healing properties of the Chalice Well, another Arthurian place of legend.  This included bathing in and drinking said water. 

The Healing Pool inside King Arthur's court.  The pool is from the 18th century.

The fountain feeding the pool.

Glasses provided so you too can drink the healing waters.

Bottom's up, it is only filled with iron.

The actual well that does not feed the rest of the spring.

Tor and the 15th Century tower of St. Michaels, that is totally not from Arthur's time. 

After returning from the well, I found Arthur’s grave and burial site, and explored the ruins of the abbey.  After seeing the other grand churches of Britain, it is not hard to imagine the splendour that would have been Glastonbury Abbey. 

"This food is a s ancient as the Abbey - please do not eat" This sign makes me giggle.

We returned to Bath, and after a bird decided to play target practice with me, I decided an early shower and a relaxing afternoon was just what I needed.  I spent the rest of the afternoon in the hostel, but I grabbed a few great shots of Bath from a bench on my hike up the hill.

This is what Bath looks like for the most part.

Bath from a bench part 1.

Bath from a bench part 2.

The next morning the coach took us down to the city centre where we wandered around the Roman baths.  It was interesting to see everything they had set up there to talk about the history of the baths.  I did not touch the water, though I know a few people who did. 

While waiting for the baths to open, I studied the abbey next door using skills gained in Lincoln.

Looks like a king over the main doors.  Church = State.

Look, angles are climbing Jacob's ladder. But is the ladder between Saints or Kings? 

Oh, but that is a demon climbing down the ladder.  

Three different family crests.  Hmm, the families that contributed most to the building of Bath Abby?

Where the romans used to bath.  

The head of Sulis Minerva, the goddess the temple was dedicated to.  

The one place you are allowed to throw money into.  I added my two pence.

We left Bath and went to Stonehenge, which I suppose needs no introduction.  The archaeology majors and minor’s I was with were extra excited, and everyone else just wanted to see the iconic stones.  Certainly, the structure was interesting, but I was a little disappointed at the size.  I imagined them to be larger. 

We made a short stop in Salisbury on our way back to Harlaxton from Stonehenge, seeing the Salisbury cathedral – Cathedral of Saint Mary – that has the largest spire in the UK, the largest cloister, the oldest working clock, and a very well preserved copy of the Magna Carta.  I did not actually visit the cathedral, but I did find this interesting building.

After lunch, we piled back onto the coach and made our return to Harlaxton without any more delays, arriving at 6:30 with 30 more minutes left of dinner.  Back to classes, schoolwork, and a quiet bedroom.

JClark

Wandering Wet In Wales

With a seven page paper and a play to read looming over me I took off for Wales this weekend to see sheep, stairs, and more sheep.  I also saw many Welsh flags flying about. 

However, before we entered Wales, or Cymru, we stopped at Chester to eat lunch, wander some medieval walls, and take a picture of the second most photographed clock in Britain.

 Another church that I analyzed using what I learned in class.

The Chester Clock

Chester has PRIDE.

 Mad as a hatter, that one.

Did someone say hats?

After that, it was straight onto Llandudno where the rain could not keep me inside for long.  A small seaside town, Llandudno made me think of a smaller version of Ocean City or Daytona Beach.  Although we were told that Llandudno had a wonderful nightlife, all I saw were cafés that shut their doors by five and late-night carryout chippies (fish and chip stands). 

Carved into the grass is the name of the town.

The next morning we took off for Caernarfon Castle, a castle from 13^th and 14^th centuries when Edward I wanted to reaffirm his sovereignty over Wales.  With each staircase being the tight spiralling wet stones (it was storming when we left Llandudno) of the previous castle that I had explored (Blarney) my legs got quite the workout.  In the two hours we had I climbed all but one of the towers, and I could have climbed the last one except I looked at it and the next tower on my path and went “they are the exact same height.”

My favorite picture of the castle.

After Caernarfon Castle, we made our way to the town of Llanberis for some lunch and exercise.  Although I wouldn’t call Pete’s Eats the best café in the world, the food was decent in large proportions for only a little money.  After lunch, I walked to Dolbadarn Castle, a stronghold of the medieval Welsh Princes.  To farther my quest in getting wet, the weather decided to throw a freak hailstorm down as I made my way to the Castle.  Although in ruins, this castle was striking, even if it is tucked out of the way.  After a sightseeing coach ride around Snowdonia National Park (and it started snowing), we returned to Llandudno, where even Subway closes at seven. 

Best cafe in the world, apparently.

One of the lakes in the area.

 Good thing there was a boardwalk.

 Approaching the castle from the back, you can see that it is falling apart.

 You can see where there might have been walls.

 The stone steps outside the gate became a waterfall because of the rain that was not absorbed into the ground,

Three sheep lost in the parking lot.

After a lazy Sunday morning, we got back on the bus and started making our way back to the manor, but not without a bit more sightseeing.  We stopped at Swallow Falls for some group and individual photos with the waterfall in the background before heading into Betws-y-Coed (Prayer House in the Wood).  There we shopped for a few parting gifts from Wales and grabbed lunch before making our way back to Harlaxton to begin another week of class.

I really wanted to take a few of the napkins from the cafe in Betws-y-Coed but I resisted.  Instead, I took a picture of one.

JClark.

P.S. I spent the last two days on the paper and the play, getting them both finished on time, which is why this is written and posted on Wednesday and not sooner.