2022 Trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland (Day 8-9 Battle, E Sussex/Gosford, Hampshire England)

Coat of Arms, Battle Abbey & School in distance

We returned to Battle the next morning, misty and moisty, for the 10am opening after stopping by Mrs Burtons Tea House opposite the Abbey for breakfast. As members of English Heritage we got in free (plus free parking) and spent two hours wandering about the quiet battlefield site, accompanied by the songbirds and burrowing rabbits. The Battle of Hastings, the most important in English history, took place on the grounds where we walked and I tried to imagine the ferocity of those two battling armies that chilly October day over 1000 years ago. It was the last successful military invasion of England and transformed the country forever. 

Undercrofts and tower, Battle Abbey

William the Conqueror founded Battle Abbey a few years later out of gratitude for his victory and as a monument to the thousands who died here. It is a partially ruined Benedictine abbey built by Bill after the order of the Pope in 1070 for the Normans to do penance for killing so many people. The high altar was supposed to be placed on the spot where King Harold fell in that battle. I remember seeing this accurately portrayed on the beautiful Bayeux Tapestry when we visited Bayeux in France a few years ago. Most of the church was destroyed in 1538 under Henry VIII, the monks pensioned off and eventually the abbey and its land were sold to various barons until purchased by the British Government in 1976. There you have it - a 1000 years of history in 100 words.

Archer, carved in wood

the Dorter  and remains of the cloisters

inside the Cloisters

the Battle field, overgrown now with daffodils

Mrs Burtons Tea House, Battle (thank you for the scones and jam to go)

It was time to get in the car and head towards Gosport, (God's Port in the very old days) our stop for the next two days, a 2 hour and thirty minute drive on the crowded M25 towards Heathrow and A3 to Portsmouth. We gassed up for the first time on route, planning to keep the tank topped off to avoid any unnecessary surprises the further north we got. The Hampshire sun was trying to come out when we arrived at the Bridgemary Manor Pub and Hotel around 3 PM and, after going for a walk to stretch our legs, spent the evening there bending the elbow and enjoying some typical pub fare.

Bridgemary Manor Pub and Hotel

 Next day was considerably cooler with the occasional burst of hail and a cold wind coming down from the north. Marie is the family historian and we had planned while in this area to visit the Hampshire Genealogical Society located at the Archive building in beautiful Winchester, 40 minutes on the motorway northwest of here. The purpose of the visit was to extend our knowledge of my great-great-grandfather William Steward, a carpenter by trade, whose name we have continued to this day. Looking through microfiche records and talking to some friendly ladies from HGS we corrected some dates of christenings and burials for his family but came up blank when it came to his death. We thought it might be in the old Rowner church not far from our hotel, Saint Mary the Virgin. But before leaving affluent Winchester we walked through the High St to gaze in wonder at the magnificent Winchester Cathedral ( irreverently immortalized in history by the song of the same name by the one-hit-wonder the New Vaudeville Band in 1966). It is over 1000 years old and one of the best preserved medieval cathedrals in Europe, with a long and wide nave in the Perpendicular Gothic style, an Early English retrochoir and Norman transepts and tower, a jewel we had not originally planned to visit. Returning to Gosport we drove over to Saint Mary and wandered among the ancient grave stones, some dating back to the 14th century! It was a typical English cemetery, dark and forlorn for enduring yet another uncountable winter, tree branches reaching down to rest against the old lichen covered stone, the occasional spray of yellow primrose poking through the tangled grass. Many of the stones were ineligible from the mid 1800s, the time we thought would be the most rewarding and we may have missed an important clue in our search and not seen it. We had left our contact email with the Society thinking perhaps they can solve this 150 year old family mystery. Nonetheless, this is the Church where great grampa Isaac Steward was Christened; he is noted in the 1851 Census that he lived at Bridgemary Farm Cottage on Fareham Road. Then it was back to the hotel and dinner in the pub and plans for our drive to Crockernwell, West Devon on the morrow.  GWS

the Buttercross, Winchester, 15th century

Winchester Cathedral

Saint Mary the Virgin, Church of England, Rowner, Hampshire

a new grave among the old, a young hero from WW2

 

2022 Trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland (Day 7 Hastings, E Sussex England)

 

Marie and I left Folkestone at 9am, taking the M20 to Sevington then the winding, narrow A2070 and A259 through the old villages of Rye, Winchelsea and Guestling Thorn. Not a route for the faint-hearted with no room for error dodging oncoming vehicles and passing with bare inches to spare. Thankfully we arrived in the town of Battle with all side mirrors still intact. We intended to stop and visit the partly ruined Benedictine Abbey, built on the site of the Battle of Hastings where the armies of King Harold and William the Conqueror clashed to decide England's future, but our booking was for the next day. So we drove on to Hastings and parked near the ruins of the Castle built by the same William of Normandy in 1070. The site was closed until April but we had a close up view of what was left as well as the medieval town below the sandstone cliffs, Beachy Head lost in the haze to the west. We could see the Stade, the shingle beach that has been used for more than a thousand years, home to Europes largest fleet of beach-launched fishing boats. Most seemed to be ashore, perhaps the reduced quota for cod keeping the fisherman at home. We explored the old town and walked down to the rocky beach, the cold and damp fog now blowing in from the Channel. Old Hastings looked rather old, tired and worn, years of Covid having their effect on this seaside town and what it needed I thought was some good clean up and fresh paint. We returned up to the West Hill, site of the Castle ruins, eager to get out of the chilly weather. Instead of walking up the steep stairs we rode the old Hill Lift for 2 pounds each, senior rate. This particular funicular railroad was completed in 1891, working by cable using a variety of power sources as a counter-balance and still runs up and down every few minutes through a 350 foot brick-lined tunnel cut through a natural cave in the hill. Then we drove through more narrow winding streets to meet up with Nathen and Glen, our hosts at our AirBnb in Hastings. We had a light supper that night with a very old dog and cat for company, ready to return to Battle, 20 minutes away, the next morning.  GWS

AirBnB 13a Emmanuel, Hastings

Hastings Castle and view of the Stade and fishing boats

West Hill funicular

the shingle beach, Hastings

2022 Trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland (Day 3-6 Canterbury/Folkestone/Dover, Kent England)

 We took a National Express bus from London to Folkestone, our next stop, arriving weary and hungry at our AirBnb late but were welcomed warmly by our host Ian in his home. He led us into the French-themed room, full of welcoming treats and a large comfortable bed which we took advantage of after a very long day. The next morning, before meeting up with my cousin Dean, we walked down to the Leas, admiring the Edwardian architecture of the Hotel Grand and Metropole. It was another warm, sunny day and people and their dogs were enjoying the balmy weather. The Leas is a mile long clifftop promenade from the mid 1800s where you see magnificent buildings and gardens along the way, the water of the English Channel running up against the stony beach below. 

72 Shorncliffe, Folkestone, England

Grand Hotel, Folkestone

Django's Cafe

It has been a few years now since Dean and I first contacted each other through the magic of DNA matching and we had planned to meet in 2020 but after cancelling our trip then we vowed to meet up after the Pandemic. He arrived the next morning at our AirBnB with a cabbie friend who drove us the short distance to Dover where we were to pick up our rental car for the next 30 days. We all drove back to Folkestone in our little Nissan Juke to meet his wife Angie who helps him run his café bar, Django's, where he treated us to a wonderful lunch as we chatted for a few hours and caught up on family and our lives. After we left, promising to get together again before continuing our trip, we drove over to Kingston, a small village near Canterbury where we were to meet up with Marilyn and Pauline and their husbands. It had been five years since we had seen them and we were all looking forward to getting together again. We had a nice pub dinner (thanks Pauline!) at the Black Robin and relived the past few years since we had seen one another. Going back to Folkestone in the dark, driving on the left and shifting and trying to avoid 'overhanging houses' through the tiny village of Denton, rabbits and partridges, was rather a challenge. Roundabouts were my biggest headache as they came fast and furious and a few times we missed the exit but we finally made it home safely.

Marie and Dean looking at his menu

Marie in our Juke at the Black Robin, Kingston

Marie and I with Rob, Pauline, Marilyn and Simon

The next, Sunday, was a bit cooler but just as nice really for March in England. We drove over to our friend Jean Cutting's home not far from where we were staying and, after a nice cup of tea, went over to a nearby pub for lunch. The owner of the Master Brewer, a Ukranian, served us a plate of delicious roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and piles of oven baked potatoes. It was nice to see how well Jean was doing in her new house in Folkestone and we felt a bit jealous of her cozy spot under Sugarloaf Hill. Then it was off to Canterbury to visit with Auntie Betty and family - you never knew who would show up while there - who we hadn't seen since our last visit. She is doing well, now 95, but still able to appreciate a good joke and remember the names of all of her 13 great grandchildren. Marilyn is staying to look after her while she awaits knee surgery before returning with Simon to New Zealand. Nothing seems to have changed since my very first visit in 1973 though the beautiful wisteria draping the front of the house was not flowering yet. I remembered to bring Betty another one of my hand painted rocks to join the other I had done of their house in 2000  - with the purple wisteria in full bloom.

me and Jean, Folkestone

outside the Master Brewer pub

me and Auntie Betty, Canterbury

Our last full day in Folkestone was again warm and sunny and too nice not to return to the Leas and enjoy the day.  We stopped for lunch along the promenade and watched the seagulls over the Channel, disappointed to see the old Victorian water and gravity driven cliff lift no longer in use that used to lead to the shoreline below. Originally installed in 1885 it had carried over 36 million people during its life. So instead we walked down the stairs to the beach and, one last time, gazed out towards France, hidden by the fog in the distance. We returned to the Promenade up along the Zig-Zag pathway. This meandering route was started shortly after the end of WW1 and was constructed with pieces of broken pottery, bricks, glass and clinker from burnt coal - this mélange called Pulhamite after the name of the company that built the caves, grottos and rock cliffs we encountered on our way up. We met with Dean and Angie for drinks later in the afternoon at the Clifton Hotel, another Victorian-style building that literally oozes nostalgia from a better time. We sadly had to say our goodbyes after a few pleasant hours and hoped to see each other again one day soon. Then it was back to our AirBnb to pack for our short drive the next day to Hastings and the town of Battle and to go back in time to 1066.  GWS

Christ church, Folkestone, destroyed by enemy action 1942

the old cliff lift, Folkstone

going up the Zig-Zag path

drinks with Dean and Angie, Clifton Hotel, Folkestone

2022 Trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland (Day 1-2 London, England)

 Welcome back! It has been almost two years since I last posted but after COVID befell the world and less life threatening set backs I have decided to try and maintain a minimal narrative of our life through this blog, starting with our much anticipated travels through the United Kingdom and Ireland in March, April and May of this year. This planned trip was cancelled in 2020 because of the pandemic but early in January we decided we had to take advantage of the lifting travel restrictions and once again set in motion the journey we had so long looked forward to. We did manage to grab 10 days in Cuba at Christmas which I will document at a later date with my son Phil's family and my daughter Christina and her two boys. So, equipped with all our vaccines and a new awareness of how to stay safe, we began planning our 50 day itinerary, arranging all lodgings, visits and ferry travel over the next seven weeks. Confident we had not overlooked any small detail we said goodbye to Canada and set out on the 22nd March. We had been scheduled to fly Air Transat on the 21st but after they had cancelled our tickets earlier that month we flew WestJet, a day later. Hoping that wasn't an ill omen we set out for Montreal, leaving behind the winter from hell that had given us more snow than we could ever remember.

somewhere under that blanket of white the car and snowmobiles!

from Montreal airport, our journey begins

After a short hop to Toronto on a cramped puddle jumper we embarked that evening on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner to London, a six hour flight that I found uncomfortable and with less leg room than I had anticipated. But we landed safely at Gatwick on schedule at 0915 to bright sunshine and temperatures in the high teens. Summer had arrived early in England it seemed. After a quick scoot through customs we took the next available National Express  bus to London Victoria Coach Station and from there a taxi to our first AirBnB.

our jam packed flight to London

Our first AirBnb, 197 Battersea Bridge Road, London

Our first taste of spring in Battersea Park

Chelsea Bridge

British Museum

Our AirBnB (thank you Pedro for your friendly welcome and lovely home- we wish we could have stayed longer) in London was a short walk to Battersea Park, a large 200 acre Victorian park built between 1854 and 1870 on the south bank of the river Thames. The cherry trees were already in blossom and carpets of flowers were already attracting butterflies. We walked about here a few times, enjoying the very warm weather and even catching a glimpse of  some bright green ring-necked parakeets in the large ash and oak trees. The next day we headed out to the British Museum and, to get my art fix, the Tate Britain to view the works of William Turner, my favourite British artist. The British Museum was crowded but we wore our masks and tried to keep our distance from the throngs of yelling school children with their sketch books that were everywhere. We did a quick visit to see the highlights - the Holy Thorn Reliquary, the Lewis Chessman, Tang Dynasty figures, the Shiva Nataraja, a remarkable bronze sculpture from south India, the famous Rosetta Stone and beautiful sculptures from ancient Greece. We had plans to visit other sites but because of the unexpected change in airlines we lost a full day in London. The city was nice to see again but the traffic was horrendous and one is lucky to escape with ones life crossing the busy streets! Look right first is the mantra we kept saying and because we survived we lived another day and were ready to head to our next destination, Folkestone!  GWS

The Rosetta Stone

Assyrian Lion Reliefs

Parthenon Sculptures

Trafalgar Square

Westminster Abbey

William Turner