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It was a bit of an ordeal on the plane for mother but we all arrived in England on July 10th, 2008.
We are staying in a tiny Hamlet called Etchilhampton, near Devizes in Wiltshire.
Left to right, top row is Julia, Robert, my sister Jude and her son Greg.
Bottom row is Jude’s husband Peter, Diana, my son Sam and Louise.
We are staying in a converted horse barn. It’s a wonderful place with each suite having 2 rooms, a kitchen and common area. There’s a washer and dryer too.
Here's their Web site.
Our first day we went to the Devizes canal. Those are barges on the canal in the background.
The barges on the canal are all private now. Some are just for weekends and outings. Some people live aboard. This one is headed for one of the many locks on the canal.
The old tow path has been maintained and is great to walk along. You can also cross the canal on one of the Locks.
Day 2 we search for the famous local Crop Circles. Greg is great at gathering info from the locales who are sometimes wary of ‘crop circle tourists’.
We spotted our first Crop Circle!
This is off the Crop Circle Connector web site. This is the crop circle we saw above.
Here's their Web site.
Sam and Julia walked through one of the crop circles. Julia brought mom a sheaf of wheat from the site.
This is the crop circle the kids walked through.
This is the second crop circle we saw.
And here it is from the air off the crop circle connector web site.
Day 3 brought us to Avebury, an ancient stone circle and sacred site to the Celtic tribes that lived here.
Some of these stones are very large although many have been removed in the middle ages when they were thought to be the work of the ‘Devil’. Some were replaced when the site was restored but the experts aren’t sure if they are all right side up.
Back in Devizes we checked out the local church. Unfortunately, it’s under renovation and no one is allowed in.
What would a trip to England be without a spot of 'Cream Tea' with Clotted Cream and scones?
Day 4 and we are off to Salisbury. Just outside town there is a lovely garden on an old Estate. Too bad the exchange rate is bad or we could buy a little place?
Doesn’t Diana look like she could be the owner strolling the grounds?
Mother enjoyed the little stroll through the garden. England does not have the Handicap access that the US has, but the locals are very helpful and there always seems to be some way to get by.
We all agreed these were the oldest trees trained like this we’d ever seen.
The weather threatened, as it’s done most the time we’ve been here, but held off. We’ve had some rain but overall it’s been great. The locals say there are 2 kinds of weather here, ‘damp and wet’. Sounds like Washington!
On to downtown Salisbury and the tallest Cathedral spire in England. Peter had located on the Web a music program that was wonderful, and covered by the BBC!
Also at the cathedral is one of the 4 original copies of the Magna Carta, but no pictures allowed! The locals like to boast it’s the best preserved of the 4!
Day 5 already and we went to Lacock, a preserved Middle Ages town with some buildings going back to 1200. Although people live there and drive through town, others are required to park outside town and walk in.
We were joined for the day by a friend of Jude and Peter’s, Madeline, (on the right) who drove down from Cambridge. We had a delightful time and Madeline was happy to act as our ‘interpreter’.
The architecture is incredible. This barn was built with naturally curved oak logs and wood pegs.
Another main attraction is the nearby Abby which is today a privately owned home but open to the public. It was here that several scenes from the first Harry Potter were filmed.
This was the highlight of the trip for Julia so far. Recognize this hallway?
A Harry Potter fan will recognize this corner.
The details of this place are amazing. This is one of hundreds of images looking down on Earthly visitors.
Harry Potter fans will recognize this Courtyard, but somethings missing? For the movie, they placed a fountain just in the middle.
Robert, Diana, Sam and Julia drove into London on Tuesday and met up with Greg who had taken the train in on Sunday. No picture can really show how impressive Big Ben is.
The workmanship on the Parliament building is amazing.
It was crowded in downtown London. I had to wait several minutes to take a clear shot of Diana on the Westminster Bridge.
At the British Museum the Rosetta Stone is the very first thing you see as you walk in the Egypt wing. Incredible.
The highlight for Julia was a trip to Kings Crossing, scene of Harry Potter going through the portal into the land of Wizards.
Back in Wilshire, Mom, Jude and Peter took a tour of an Estate grounds.
And of course, take some tea.
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