WEEK 1

DAY 6

Our stay at the Passage House, Kingsteignton had ended, so we departed and headed north towards Cheddar Gorge and Bath - or that was the plan, but we had not counted on this being Saturday and a wonderful fine sunny one at that. We travelled north on the A30 and A303 to Glastonbury and decided to stop and look at the ruined Abbey, not knowing much in advance about it. It was still early morning and we were among the first of today's visitors. The air was calm, had lost its early morning coolness but was still crisp and clear. The shadows were still long on the ground, emphasising the height and depth and the buildings. As the air warmed and the clouds gathered, the light became more muted and the ruins lost their sharpness and detail.

On many occasions I noted that the British tourist has lost their connection with Nature, preferring to venture out in the late morning and return indoors by mid-afternoon and thereby failing to see the sights in optimal conditions.

Glastonbury

On a whim we decided to stop and visit Glastonbury Abbey, having already seen Exeter Cathedral and numerous small village churches (there being a limit to the number of churches, cathedrals and castles one can appreciate). To our surprise Glastonbury filled in a large gap in our historical knowledge of England, covering the power and importance of the Abbot (the Abbot ay Glastonbury was landowner of all land in the SW of England and this is how he financed such a large Abbey) through the actions of Henry VIII in destroying both the power of the Church and the Abbey itself (many abbeys were spared as the Abbot rightly accepted "early retirement" from the position and both his life and his abbey were spared). At Glastonbury the Abbot refused to cede to Henry's men, so he was captured, hung for theft, and the Abbey destroyed. The Abbot's Kitchen remained intact as Henry's men lived there and dined on the food store. The Kitchen is now a remarkable example of architecture and kitchen design with its square base, octagonal roof and clever ventilation to extract the smoke and fumes of cooking.  (More info....)

Looking from King Edgar's Chapel along the length of Glastonbury Abbey with the Lady Chapel in the distance. The small sign in the foreground marks King Arthur's Tomb.

The sign on the site of King Arthur's Tomb

The Abbot's Kitchen

Cheddar Gorge

On northwards up the A371 to that most famous of English tourist traps - Cheddar Gorge. It was the geology, in particular the early geologists that attracted me to the gorge, and to the Mendip Hills that the gorge has been incised into. We arrived mid morning, ahead of the tour coaches and the hordes of tourists, but already the gorge was bustling with people. We found a car park just past the main caves/shops and walked back to the caves, paid our ransom for entrance tickets and entered Gough's Cave.  (More info....)

I have to admit that the cave was well laid out and designed for the typical tourist. To a New Zealander who has seen all of our major caves from Waitomo (More info....) to Takaka Hill, these caves at Cheddar were little more than cleverly lit tunnels, but to us it was the history and experience that was important.

The upper end of the tourist traps (shops & caves)	From the top of Jacob's Ladder looking across Cheddar to the Reservoir	Cheddar Gorge cutting sharply into the Mendip Hills
The Mendip Hills from Jacobs Ladder	Inside Gough's Cave	Part of the carpark and cliffs in Cheddar Gorge

To provide further entertainment for the visitors, a set of 274 stairs has been built from the floor of the gorge to the top, where a lookout tower stands. Of all the attractions on the tourist ticket, this was the best, rewarding you with both some invigorating exercise and a magnificent view of the area.

Then it was back to road level and a quick look in the shops. We decided to treat ourselves on a small block of REAL "cheddar". I also invested in a bottle of Somerset cider, having heard all about the cider apple trees, but this expenditure might be regarded as a mistake as the rest of the family were so taken by it, drinking large glasses of cider whilst sitting in the hot sun in the car park, that they insisted on drinking it in quantity throughout the rest of the tour.

Tucking Mill

After a picnic lunch in the sun we continued on through the Gorge and out onto the Mendip Hills, turning west on the B3134 and descending past Aveline's Hole and the Rock of Ages (More info....) that inspired the hymn of that name. Then east on the A368 past Blagdon and Bishop Sutton towards Bath. We made a detour down a narrow lane to a location of 3 houses and small lake known as Tucking Mill. The house here is famous as the one-time home of William Smith, regarded as the Father of modern Geology, as it was Smith who drew the first geological map of England.

The house at Tucking Mill, bearing the plaque pictured here.

The plaque to William Smith

Bath

!!!!!!!!%&*(^%$#@%********@#$%^&^*))))) !!!!!!!!!!!!

We had some problems in Bath - navigation, one way roads, crowded streets on a fine Saturday afternoon, lack of car parks (and car park signs), so we have pencilled Bath in for our next visit.......

Terrace houses in Bath.....

Hinton Blewett

Accommodation was full in Bath and surroundings, so we headed back west towards Bishop Sutton where we had seen several B&B signs earlier in the day. These too proved full, but one owner kindly offered to ring a local farm stay, who had a vacancy. He then gave us complicated instructions "... turn left at the pub, head uphill for quite a while, past the village green, and turn right just past the pub, go to the end of the road, turn left and look for the sign of West End Farm on the gate." (See the aerial photo of Hinton Blewett - the farm is just NW of the village).

We followed these instructions and much to the owners surprise we found it, a lovely farm house on top of the Mendip hills with a view to the west in rural Somerset. The owner was a part-time game warden with broad Somerset accent and had lived locally all his life. He inquired if we had any plans for dinner, and offered to book us a table at the local pub. Given the rural nature of the village and the total absence of traffic as we approached, we decided to humour him and readily agreed to a booking.

Well, that was our best decision of the day. Not only is the pub at Hinton Blewett a nice rural pub, it has an extensive menu and about 50 tables inside and out. Much to our surprise all tables were full by 8pm - we still don't know where all the people came from, but the pub appears to have a reputation in these parts...... 

The farm stay was a wonderful place and we fully recommend it. Not easy to find and not advertised.