Rain in Stratford upon Avon

The English summer is upon us, so it has been raining quite a bit.  Today we passed through Stratford upon Avon, the birthplace of William Shakepeare, so we had to stop and have a look around.  The rain persisted, but we visited the birthplace of Shakespeare, and then of his wife Ann Hathaway.

On the way we stopped in Chipping Camden, another model Cotswolds village, for a cup of coffee.  There are more thatched roofs there, which we have expected to see everywhere but were not actually that common.

Ornate thatched roof detail, complete with a built-in peacock.

It rained, a lot.

Looking out at the Shakepeare family's garden

Someone who knew William might have slept here.

 We visited the MAD Museum (Mechanical Art and Design) which is full of moving things, like this elaborate "marble race" which includes little trampolines the balls bounce off on their journey throught the machine:

An exhibit in the MAD museum

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The Cotswolds

We're staying at a B&B in Bourton-on-the-Water, a couple of hours west of London.  It's one of the best known villages in the Cotswolds area, and has filled up each day with tourists and day-trippers who come to wander around, eat lunch, and take photographs.   The little River Windrush flows through the middle, about six inches deep and with tiny bridges crossing at several points.

Almost every house is made from the distinctive honey-coloured sandstone, with a slate roof, and its all very neat and tidy.  It has been very busy each day, but almost everyone leaves for home in the afternoon and it's quiet again.

Lunchtime in Bourton-on-the-Water

We did the twenty-minute walk along paths through the fields to the next village, Lower Slaughter, where there is also a little river, The Eye, and an old mill which no longer operates but is a little shop, cafe, and museum.

The mill at Lower Slaughter, on the river Eye.

Coffee beside the millpond

There is an Upper Slaughter too - they are collectively referred to as "The Slaughters".

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Ironbridge

The Ironbridge Gorge is the site of the first ever iron bridge, which seems an amazing coincidence!  I assume it must have had another name before then?  The bridge was finished in 1779 and was built as an advertisement for iron technology.  The whole area is promoted as the "Birthplace of Industry" and is one of the earliest sites of iron production, since the 1500's, because of the existence of all the essential resources in one place.  It was here that the first purpose-built coke smelting furnace was developed in the early 1700's.

The iron bridge, now just for pedestrians.

The teddy bear shop

Inside the Museum of Iron

Ironbridge

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The Uffington White Horse

We detoured on our way to the Cotswolds to see the white horse at Uffington.  When we finally located it we drove up the hill, then got out and walked up to the site.  It was windy and cold and started raining.  The horse is so big that you cannot really see it when you get there - just parts of it at a time.

The horse from the air (Wikipedia photo)

Uffington Castle

The large hill on which the horse sits is the site of "Uffington Castle" which dates from 2000 years ago, and is now only visible as various trenches and hillocks across the hill.

Here are the horses whiskers (or teeth?)

You can only see a small part at a time from up on the hill

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Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle is just one hour to the west of London, and is where the Queen often goes for her weekends.  It was originally built in the 11th century, and is the oldest continuously occupied palace in Europe.  It is surrounded by the busy town of Windsor, and is close to the Thames.  A hydroelectric station on the Thames provides it with power.  Today about 1 million tourists go through the castle each year, this year including us.

The beautiful lawn outside Windor Castle

The Queen's Standard indicates she is in residence at the castle.

 The Queen was home, but unfortunately we were busy so she will have to wait until next time to meet us.

We accidently got an invitation in St George's Chapel, which was otherwise closed to tourists because they were having a church service.  It seems a few lucky passers-by get invited in if there are spare seats!  No photographs are allowed, so here's one I found which shows the chapel.

All the helmets and flags of the Knights of the Garter are mounted around the walls above, and we had those Knights present, in their full regalia and with their ladies in fancy hats.  We were in the top row just behind the choir (left foreground in this photo).  The singing was fantastic.  The minister's sermon included prayers for Britain, following the shock "Brexit" vote!

After the 45 minute service the Knights solemnly marched out in unison, and through the tourist crowds outside back to their houses just opposite.  If you are a Knight of the Garter you get a house within Windsor Castle.  Here they are outside the chapel (again not my photo):

The modern Military Knights of the Garter

Windsor Castle is under the approach path to Heathrow Airport so a huge airliner roars overhead every three minutes or so.

This photo also shows some of the various animals which stand on top of the chapel holding lightning conductors!

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Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens is west of London, not too far from where we stayed beside Heathrow Airport.  It was late afternoon but we were still on NZ time and it was a nice evening so we went while we had the opportunity.  It's like a much bigger, grander version of our Botanic Gardens.

The climb up to the treetop walkway

The pagoda in Kew Gardens

One of the local squirrels

A wedding shoot at the Elizabeth Gates

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Kieren and Mally

On our first day in England we walked about 3 kms to pick up our rental car, then went to see (Sue's nephew) Kieren, and his partner Mally and daughter Zoe.  Zoe was not initially impressed at these strangers in her house, but relaxed when she had time to get used to the idea.  She helped Kieren assemble her new Ikea desk and chair, and was keen to help with the screwdriver.

Zoe tries out her new Ikea table and chair

Kieren and Mally are in a very nice, large rental house in a posh street, actually owned by their boss who also lives nearby.

Mally, Kieren, Zoe and Sue.

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