Saturday, September 22, 2012

Glastonbury and Avebury.............

I could not go home without a visit to Avebury, my special place. First we went to Glastonbury in search of King Arthur. Well I do believe we found him. I was so thrilled. 105_0094 There is something magical about ruins, they spark the imagination more to me than a complete house. This place was Holy. It reeked of history, it had the atmosphere of a pleasantly haunted place. 105_0107 Here is the Glastonbury Thorn tree, said to have taken root when Joseph of Arimathea took the boy Jesus there. Joseph left his staff in the ground and it grew into the thorn tree. (And did those feet in ancient times, walk upon Englands mountains green.....) 105_0083 Right close by was a marked place............. 105_0093 The ruins speak for themselves........they are magnficent Then we found him. The grave of Arthur. 105_0114 There were people there praying, I waited to take the picture and I have to say I felt like kneeling too. 105_0115 From Glastonbury we made our way to Avebury passing Glastonbury Tor......no time to climb. 105_0122 Then we were there. Avebury. The stone circle with the great ditch surrounding it. Its my most favourite place. I would love to stay in the village so that I could visit when there was no one else there. Maybe some day. 105_0135 People left flowers on some of the stones but others climbed upon them. Do parents have no respect? Do they not understand the significance of these great stones, how old they are? 105_0133 I had to go and see if my trees were still there and they were........waiting for me. I went under to see the roots that look like fingers, a branch caught my clothes and held me there for a moment for all the world as though it were greeting me again. 105_0145 People left prayer ribbons on them. I did notice an absence of Crows, before it seemed the air would be full of their cries. 105_0142 A lot of the stones were out in the cow pastures, happy cows. 105_0139 There are lovely houses in the village. 105_0148 The circle from the air......not my picture needless to say. avebury4_zps24c5be30 Silbury Hill a man made hill that no one has yet fathomed. Prehistoric and made from Chalk 131 feet high. Why? and what is it? will we ever know? 105_0151 Then on a short distance to Kennett Long Barrow.A nice trek up through farm lands 105_0155 Underground buriel chambers.........people still honour the dead here especially at the solstices. The occupants may no longer be there in body but are in spirit 105_0156 This is a picture Jason took of the inside........thats me in the back, and who/what is the misty shadow in the front? KennettLongBarrowJS_zps185c72ff Who are they, or who were they.......... 5West_Kennet_SignGaia1_zpsa444c031 Wikipedia has this to say The West Kennet Long Barrow is a Neolithic tomb or barrow, situated on a prominent chalk ridge, near Silbury Hill, one-and-a-half miles south of Avebury in Wiltshire, England. The site was recorded by John Aubrey in the 17th century and by William Stukeley in the 18th century. Archaeologists classify it as a chambered long barrow and one of the Severn-Cotswold tombs. It has two pairs of opposing transept chambers and a single terminal chamber used for burial. The stone burial chambers are located at one end of one of the longest barrows in Britain at 100 m: in total it is estimated that 15,700 manhours were expended in its construction. The entrance consists of a concave forecourt with a facade made from large slabs of sarsen stones which were placed to seal entry. The construction of the West Kennet Long Barrow commenced about 3600 BC, which is some 400 years before the first stage of Stonehenge, and it was in use until around 2500 BC. The mound has been damaged by indiscriminate digging, but archaeological excavations in 1859 and 1955-56 found at least 46 burials, ranging from babies to elderly persons. The bones were disarticulated with some of the skulls and long bones missing. It has been suggested that the bones were removed periodically for display or transported elsewhere with the blocking facade being removed and replaced each time. The latest excavations also revealed that the side chambers occur inside an exact isosceles triangle, whose height is twice the length of its base. Artefacts associated with the burials include Neolithic Grooved ware similar to that found at nearby Windmill Hill. It is thought that this tomb was in use for as long as 1,000 years and at the end of this period the passage and chamber were filled to the roof by the Beaker people with earth and stones, among which were found pieces of Grooved ware, Peterborough ware and Beaker pottery,[1] charcoal, bone tools, and beads. Stuart Piggott, who excavated this mixture of secondary material, suggested that it had been collected from a nearby 'mortuary enclosure' showing that the site had been used for ritual activity long after it was used for burial. The finds from the site are displayed at the Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes. Michael Dames (see References) put forward a composite theory of seasonal rituals, in an attempt to explain the Long Barrow and its associated sites (the Avebury henge, Silbury Hill, The Sanctuary and Windmill Hill).

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Anonymous......

I do so love to hear from people who read my posts on all my blogs. I must apologize to those who sign as Anonymous, I can not bring myself to answer your posts simply because I am trying to avoid "spam" and virus's............If you are legit, please sign a name of some kind because I do truly appreciate your comments. Janice violets_zpsfd291447

Clovelly......

Our next stop Clovelly.......what a beautiful place it is. The whole village is private. One actually pays a fee to go in, can you imagine. Well, if it keeps it the way it is then thats what has to happen. We did not know what we were in for as we started the trek down ....... 105_0031 Looking at roof tops at eye level should have been a clue. 105_0032 The pathway was cobble stones. If you were Jason that would not bother you but those of us with ailments are a different matter. I have to watch my step having only one working eye and Liz had an issue with her ankle. 105_0036 The road itself was steep and uneven. There are no cars here, but donkey's are sometimes used to drag sleds up and down with loads. We were almost all the way down when a man with a fully loaded sled of garbage bags came hurtling down. We thought we were dead for sure. Well before that we stopped in a small museum. Come to find out Charles Kingsley was a native son. The creepy looking man is him. 105_0044 105_0045 Continue on down 105_0038 When a person lives there, they must be held to certain standards because all the tiny gardens were perfect and ther were a lot of cats. 105_0049 The windows and the window boxes, walls ETC were all pretty. The flags still out for the Jubilee celebrations. 105_0052 The first view of the harbor......... 105_0060 .........and Jason was already down there. We were still hobbling along. 105_0063 At this point Liz and I were still struggling. There were some young fishermen leaning on the wall as we came to a difficult bend. They joked with Rodney saying "I bet there was a day that you could chase her down there mate" to the delight of the rest of them. I was having a hard time seeing where to step next because on the bend the going was very rough and the light was not good. One of them offered me his hand and helped me the rest of the way to the rousing cheers of the rest of them. Nice to know there are still some gentlemen around. Meanwhile, Jason was watching dolphins over on the wall of the harbour. We got down just as a shower hit. 105_0065 More harbor views 105_0066 105_0067 We decided to take the jeep back up on the outside road...........good choice. My blisters were growing blisters. 105_0070 What a beautiful day it was.............on to Avebury.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Boscastle.............

We stopped for a short visit to Boscastle. The village, with its picturesque harbour, is a popular tourist destination. Among the attractions are the Museum of Witchcraft, the Boscastle pottery shop, and access to the South West Coast Path. Much of the land in and around Boscastle is owned by the National Trust, including both sides of the harbour. we saw a lot of lobster pots sitting around. The Boscastle area is known for its connections to Thomas Hardy. The former harbour stables are now a youth hostel run by YHA, very popular with walkers. The National Trust runs a shop at the harbour, and a visitor centre in the Old Smithy. Its not that far from Tintagel it was a must stop and see for us. Outside the visitor center there were a few of these "logs" with carvings in Cornish and English. Yes there is a Cornish language. 100_1325 The village is built mainly from local stone as are quite a few of the villages in the area. Some are whitewashed and give it that quaint fishing village quality. 100_1338 The river coming in from the Harbour makes a wonderful place for kids and dogs to play. Several dogs were having a great time chasing stones being thrown for them from the bank. This one was sticking his head under to find the right one. 100_1336 100_1334 This little toddler in his wellies is sooooo cute and having a fun time. 100_1333 The shops all over England put out the water bowls for the local dogs. As I have said before the way the dogs were welcome all over was just sooooo refreshing.Something I greatly miss where I live. 100_1315 The houses are just so pretty and the shrubs and flowers seem to be larger than life. 100_1316 100_1350 100_1347 Just another lovely place we saw on our way to Avebury. We stopped the night at a farm house for bed and breakfast. It was rather nice. 100_1367 Our room above and the hallway outside the room 100_1366 The lady who ran the bed and breakfast was the sister of another one that we stopped at. Liz and Rodney had stayed with them before and they stopped to say hello. 100_1361 100_1362 Back to where we stayed, more sheep. I love sheep. 100_1359 I will do more on the place we stayed in my garden blog because I want to show more of the flowers.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Tintagel part two...................

I didn't think I should make my Tintagel post any longer, although I must add two more pictures that I found today. I wanted to show The Old Post Office in Tintagel here on another post. Tintagel Old Post Office is a 14th-century stone house, built to the plan of a medieval manor house, situated in Tintagel, Cornwall. The house, and its surrounding cottage garden, are now in the ownership of the National Trust. For 50 years in the 19th century the house was used as the district letter-receiving office and the Trust has restored it to this condition. There are some really nice needlework samplers in the bedrooms. The house is full of antiques of what looks to be good quality. Here are a few of the pictures I took. 100_1239 100_1247 The inside is well worth the looking and the back garden is amazing with little places to wander through the shrubs in back. Little pathways.......I would love it. 100_1250 100_1251 100_1259 Low beams and ceiling so beware if you are tall. The steps are narrow and steep. 100_1291 The beds look very uncomfortable............look at the beautiful windows though. 100_1288 100_1289 The back garden with its well and shrubs, quiet places to sit and read. 100_1265 100_1271 Look at the Fuchsia bushes 100_1276 Well I could go on about that place but there's more in the village than that. Nothing to compare to the castle of cause but some nice watering holes with pets welcome. 100_1301 As its close to Port Isaac I am sure this is why I found this shop. I was not able to go inside but now I wish I had. Must go back. 100_1237 Well I do believe the next stop was Boscastle.