This England -- A Church, a Pub and Theatre!

After our last post, visiting by the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, we decided to head back across the river and check out some of the buildings of the City, the square mile where much business takes place. We first stopped into All Hallow's by the Tower Church, the oldest church in the City of London and founded before the Tower itself, in 675AD. The altarpiece in the sanctuary, dates to 1957 and depicts The Last Supper, as seen by artist Brian Thomas.

 

An interesting fact is that the Great Fire of London started several hundred yards from the church, but the church itself survived. Admiral Penn, the father of William Penn (for whom Pennsylvania was named) and Samuel Pepys watched the city burn from the church's tower. Young William Penn was baptized there and American president John Quincy Adams was married there. It took World War II to damage the church, which was largely rebuilt after the war. (Only the walls and tower remained.)

England: Welcome to Bath and Morgan's Forge

Back to England! I'll have updates on Rick when we know more but right now we're just waiting for blood clots to dissipate before he can have surgery; then lengthy recuperation. Maybe remembering England will brighten up his days; it does mine! A visit from the Baby Grands sure helped -- even if Rick and Little Little Guy slept through part of it!

Our time in England was nearing its end and so was my foot! After our last morning in Oxford, Rick (of the newly trimmed haircut) and I made our way to the Oxford station and took the train to Bath. It was a most pleasant ride with green fields, cows and sheep, patiently grazing in the late afternoon sun.

Our first and only stop in town was at the grocery store for breakfast food. Then we hailed a cab and headed to our destination, Morgan's Forge. This charming house was located in Midford, a bit over three miles from Bath.

This is what we saw when we arrived!

Heaven. That's all I can say.



Morgan's Forge is owned by a former colleague of mine and his wife and had been her father's before that. It's located high atop a hill, a five minute walk down the hill to the pub and bus stop; a ten minute (or so...) walk back up!

Yes, it's steep.

But the views! Check out the sheep!

This was the view out of the upstairs front bedroom window. It's like something from an English novel.

From our bedroom window, a view of the terrace -- lovely purple flowers still in bloom!

Of course Rick settled in to check email as I settled. He was, after all, still working!

I poked around, checking out the garden and patio.

What a haven. If only it was warm enough to settle out there with a good book!

Soon it was time to hit the Hope and Anchor pub for dinner. It was located at the foot of the hill. That's not us in the pic walking down the hill -- but it might as well be! We did it a lot!

The Hope and Anchor was charming as all get out!

I had a delicious goat cheese/feta/roasted veggie pie with the salad and chips.

After being fully satiated, we walked back up the hill. It was pitch dark and so still. The only sounds were our footsteps. And then, we settled in the comfy living room, lit a fire, checked out British mysteries on the telly and planned next day.

For Rick, a bicycle rental and a road trip.

For me, a bus trip into the Cotswolds.

If, that is, we could leave our cozy space! (And we do! Next time!)

(If you are planning a trip to the Bath area and interested in learning more about Morgan's Forge, let me know!)

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England: Oxford -- On the River

I love the water. Being able to look out the window first thing in the morning from our Oxford hotel and see the River Thames was such a treat. Especially given the fact that in a few months we knew all we would see in the outdoor water line would be ice!

So on this beautiful late-October day in Oxford, Rick and I just had to take a short boat cruise!

We walked across the bridge to Salter's Steamers, bought an eight pound ticket for a 40 minute cruise and there we were!

One of the first differences I noted was the large amount of rowers on the river. Certainly these were groups from the university practicing.

Some were small groups of two; others, much bigger.

And they had loads and loads of boat storage areas.

All of these buildings were packed with boats with viewing decks above. If I hadn't already known that this was a popular sport in Britain (you learn a lot from reading mysteries and watching Midsomer Murders), I would know it now!

Our guide told us that if we went down under the bridge (below), we'd be on the part of the river where where Lewis Carroll was said to have first told Alice Liddell the story of Alice in Wonderland. I'm not sure if that's right or not -- he may say that to all the tourists -- but I know it was somewhere around here. Jenny Woolf, if you're reading this and can illuminate in the comments, please do! (Jenny wrote a wonderful biography of Carroll. It's fascinating.)

Whether it's right or not, it certainly is a pretty bridge!

We past lovely houseboats at barges. I've been trying to paint this one but I think it will be an epic fail! So far, not great.

One family had bird treats -- and the birds loved it!

The scenery was beautiful. I really recommend short boat trips if you are visiting a river town!

Especially if the day is as lovely as our day was.

As we turned around and were returning to the boat launch, we could eventually see the beautiful Christ College Meadow...

...and some of the handsome buildings in the distance.

Alas. We had to disembark. (This wasn't God's gift to easy exiting. But I made it off without a dip in the river! At least I was the camera so there are no photos of that!)

Then it was time to eat. It wasn't a far walk to The Bear Inn.

This is Oxford's oldest and longest operated pub, having first started out in 1242 as The Tabard.

According to their menu info, the name changed because the Earls of Warwick patronized the hostelry and it was named after their ancient emblem. Occasional short intervals found different names but it returned to the Bear long ago.

 This just had the real feel of what I imagined an English pub to be. A spot for darts (no one playing, though!) and fun things on the wall. See those cases behind Rick?

Those are bits of neckties cut off of guests who came to the pub. There are more than 4,500, "donated voluntarily, or sometimes less so, for a measure of beer."

Speaking of which, the beer was very good. We don't have Fuller's beer over here, or I haven't found it if we do. We had it several times and I liked it. It tasted like beer. Not like grapefruit juice with beer, which is what a lot of them tend to be these days!

It was a lovely way to wrap a great day. We knew the next one would be pretty darned busy, as we had an afternoon train to catch. So, we'll see more Oxford next time! (So, are most of these pix "soft" focus because we were in a moving boat or I was shooting too fast? Or camera issues? Still trying to decide.)

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