Last day in Dorset. Sigh.
I went to Abbotsville to the Swannery. I'm sure we came here as children, although I'm also sure I never appreciated the wonderful little village of Abbotsville. I found a parking space on Rosemary Lane, and ducked behind one of the high walls to put on an extra shirt under my tee shirt. There was a courtyard with about five horse stalls, and a couple of the horses put their heads over the half-doors to check out what I was doing!
It just goes to show - I parked about 2 miles from the Swannery as it turns out, and I walked the two miles rather than drive closer to the place where the swans were nesting!
About 100 nesting pairs, and at least 400 bachelors and bachelorettes hanging about. There was a grand feeding twice a day, and they all flapped in close to get their share of cracked corn. The eggs are supposed to start hatching Wednesday - I am just two days too early. The guide told the story about one of the first pairs to settle in - the male was killed by another male during some territorial battle and the keepers were concerned because a female can rarely survive on her own. The male guards and protects her, and may even sit on the nest to give her a break once in a while. Coincidentally there was a male whose mate was unsuccessful in hatching her single egg last year, and he came back by himself to these breeding grounds. Well happy ending - they got together and are acting as a pair. When the keeper told the story you could hear the affection and excitement in his voice so I guess this is a big deal in the world of swans.
This has been a nesting area for over 600 years, and these are one of the few groups of swans that don't belong to the Queen. Anna Pavlova came here in the late 1920's and danced some of Swan Lake in her tutu - there are pictures!
Back safe and sound to Dorchester. I saw the statue of Thomas Hardy and went by the house commonly acknowledged to be the home of the Mayor of Casterbridge in his story. I tried to go in the old courthouse and see the cells and underground tunnels that were used to go back and forth to court in the old days, but they were not open yet for the summer.
My last adventure in Dorset was to walk in the rain along one of the paths that parallels the road and then wanders off into the woods. Really pleasant gentle rain and a nice way to end my stay here.
Back to the hotel for dinner, early bed, and a drive to the airport to turn in the car and fly out Wednesday morning. I hope to drive across the Salisbury Plain and see Stonehenge but don't plan to get out the car.
One of the reasons my typos can be counted in the thousands is because of the midget keyboard for this IPAD> Don't get me wrong - I love the IPAD and love the keyboard and wouldn't be writing all this if I didn't have them, but it will be nice to get back to a grown-up keyboard again.
That's all for tonight. I am very weary and ready to get back home.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Sunday - Portsmouth
Left about 9:00 for Portsmouth. My current favorite old time author ('scuse me - old tyme author), is C S Forster. I loved the Horatio Hornblower series on TV and read all thirteen books once in the wrong order. Ron downloaded them onto my Kindle, so I have been reading them in the correct order during this trip. The Victory is Nelson's flagship during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, and is exactly the type of ship Horatio used to sail. So far in my reading he has progressed to being the post captain of a ship of about 20 guns or so and the Victory was over 100 guns, but the time period is the same and things like a midshipman's sea chest and the 12 pound cannons and a million other details really came to life for me. I also toured the Warrior (1860), took the Harbour Tour and went through the Maritime Museum. Portsmouth is a booming port, and there were modern battleships, fishing vessels and transport ships as well as the historic Warrior and Victory. There is also the Mary Rose, a ship that went down with all hands in the 1600's, but they are rebuilding that museum and I didn't get to visit it.
Nelson died on board ship during the battle, and his body was packed in a brandy barrel for the 3-month trip back home to England. The ship is manned by the Royal Navy and they all look so tidy and neat in their uniforms.
There was a man - retired bosun - tying knots. I bought something called a man rope knot - it took him about three hours to tie it, and is can be used as a paperweight. Just a ball of unraveled rope with a fringe on top. Very cute!
The Maritime Museum was very hands on - I got to wear and tack a toy sailboat across a fake pond with a huge wind generated by a fan. Yet another advantage of coming this time of year - no competition from the kids that would normally be fighting over this exhibit. I also chose the correct type of shot and loaded and fired a 12 pound cannon (virtually, anyway) and blew alternately the rigging down and I hulled the side of an enemy ship. Very bloodthirsty and fun.
It started to rain while I was in Portsmouth. I can't complain (well, I can but shouldn't - there has been a lot of wind but very little rain during my whole trip).
Oh I forgot - I finally got to see "oakum" - shredded rope. Hornblower used it to bulk out his silk stockings so his skinny legs would look more presentable, and apparently it was also used as toilet paper!. The guide mentioned that last little tidbit as some young boys were handling the sample - perfect timing on his part and the oakum was dropped to the deck accompanied by loud moans and groans by the boys.
Came back to the room and sat with the window cranked open. The 11-slot car park is directly under my window and I finally went over to watch as I heard a car going back and forth at least 20 times trying to park in the middle one of the three parallel spots in the lot. I have been fortunate every time I've come in and out and been able to get a good space. I have already cleared it with the front desk that someone will come park my car if I don't get one of the good spaces - I am not comfortable with tricky parking at home with my automatic car and a left hand drive. I can see crumpled fenders everywhere if I were to try it here.
Found out the crop with the yellow flowers I see everywhere is rape seed - used to make canola oil(?) A lot of local feeling about planting so much instead of food crops, so there must be a lot of money in it somewhere.
The "Cat Eyes Removed" signs are to warn drivers that the little reflective lights down the middle of the road have been removed. Apparently some study somewhere said that drivers pay more attention if there are less highway signs to distract them, and this was interpreted to mean that these little lights should be removed. It is hard to believe that will result in safer driving on country lanes where both directions of traffic share the same lane and there are no street lights!
Great supper tonight - scallops (with the little pink 'corals' still attached) at the Old Tea Shop across the street.
Nelson died on board ship during the battle, and his body was packed in a brandy barrel for the 3-month trip back home to England. The ship is manned by the Royal Navy and they all look so tidy and neat in their uniforms.
There was a man - retired bosun - tying knots. I bought something called a man rope knot - it took him about three hours to tie it, and is can be used as a paperweight. Just a ball of unraveled rope with a fringe on top. Very cute!
The Maritime Museum was very hands on - I got to wear and tack a toy sailboat across a fake pond with a huge wind generated by a fan. Yet another advantage of coming this time of year - no competition from the kids that would normally be fighting over this exhibit. I also chose the correct type of shot and loaded and fired a 12 pound cannon (virtually, anyway) and blew alternately the rigging down and I hulled the side of an enemy ship. Very bloodthirsty and fun.
It started to rain while I was in Portsmouth. I can't complain (well, I can but shouldn't - there has been a lot of wind but very little rain during my whole trip).
Oh I forgot - I finally got to see "oakum" - shredded rope. Hornblower used it to bulk out his silk stockings so his skinny legs would look more presentable, and apparently it was also used as toilet paper!. The guide mentioned that last little tidbit as some young boys were handling the sample - perfect timing on his part and the oakum was dropped to the deck accompanied by loud moans and groans by the boys.
Came back to the room and sat with the window cranked open. The 11-slot car park is directly under my window and I finally went over to watch as I heard a car going back and forth at least 20 times trying to park in the middle one of the three parallel spots in the lot. I have been fortunate every time I've come in and out and been able to get a good space. I have already cleared it with the front desk that someone will come park my car if I don't get one of the good spaces - I am not comfortable with tricky parking at home with my automatic car and a left hand drive. I can see crumpled fenders everywhere if I were to try it here.
Found out the crop with the yellow flowers I see everywhere is rape seed - used to make canola oil(?) A lot of local feeling about planting so much instead of food crops, so there must be a lot of money in it somewhere.
The "Cat Eyes Removed" signs are to warn drivers that the little reflective lights down the middle of the road have been removed. Apparently some study somewhere said that drivers pay more attention if there are less highway signs to distract them, and this was interpreted to mean that these little lights should be removed. It is hard to believe that will result in safer driving on country lanes where both directions of traffic share the same lane and there are no street lights!
Great supper tonight - scallops (with the little pink 'corals' still attached) at the Old Tea Shop across the street.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Saturday
Up and at 'em early today.
I stubbed my toe getting into the shower last night - the wall of the tub is about two inches higher than my knee! It is a long and narrow tub with a shower curtain and one of those hand held shower positioned way up high - the shower head is probably located at about seven feet up! Good water pressure though and plenty of hot water, so who cares?
There are heated towel bars. I have never understood the whole idea of a heated bar. Terry cloth is not conductive at all, so you only get two or three one inch strips of heated towel. What's the point?
I remember hearing the expression "tickety boo" sometime in the past, and I know Foyle's driver Sam used it in one episode to mean that everything is just as it ought to be, so tickety boo!
I went to Weymouth today. My father was in the civil service and was posted to Portland for about 18 months when I was about 10, and we lived in Weymouth. I recognized our house right away. It has been divided into flats sometime during the last 50 years and the front and back gardens have changed tremendously, but the house still looks the same. I recognize the balcony looking across the street over the bowling green to the pebble beach and the English Channel. There used to be a soft coal cellar and a hard coal cellar (both little rooms under the house) and one of them was given over to my sister and me as a playhouse. That section of the house was rebuilt to provide a passageway for parking in the rear for the tenants of the flats, but one little door was still intact. The garden where mymother planted vegetables (I remember rhubard plants and my brother teasing me with worms) Is not longer there, but there are still a couple of fruit trees in the back. Same ones? Maybe not, but I can pretend.
The gardens between the road and the beach have been changed, but the old bathing huts are still there and the mechanical clock is still functioning, although unfortunately it hasn't been set up for the season yet and just looks like a dirt circle - much smaller than it used to be! This is the only mechanical clock still working in England! It is about 10 feet in diameter, and the face was planted with different flowers during the year. One of my strongest memories. How nice that it is still there and I got to see the dirt circle but what a shame they didn't plant it and put the hands back on two weeks ago. I'm sure they would have if they's known I was coming.
I drove around Weymouth and went across the land bridge to Portland, but didn't recognize anything else. I couldn't find my old school. I used to walk instead of take the bus to save a farthing to buy furniture for my doll house. We wore uniforms with drtaw hats during the summer months and had rice pudding with strawberry jam in the middle every day for lunch. Most of the students were boarders but my brother and I were day students. I drove around for awhile, but didn't ask anybody about any schools because I don't really remember anything but the hats and the rice pudding.
On leaving Weymouth I went to Osmington and then to Sutton Poyntz so I could see the White Horse. This is a huge horse carved into the hill in homor of King Edward (don't check my facts - they are just hearsay - no brochures to be tound). It is several hundred feet tall, and the chalk makes it look very white against the green fields. I couldn't walk close enought to get a good picture, but maybe somebody who knows how to do all the photoshop tricks can make my snapshot clearer. I really enjoyed thinking all day that I was redriving the same roads my father must have driven over fifty years ago, looking for the best access. I wonder if he was holding his breath the whole time like I am?
I ate lunch at the Springhead Arms at Sutton Poyntz. I just gotta say it "Quaint, quaint quaint, picturesque over and over again." Little stream running through the village, thatched cottages, lots of marked Public Footpaths and the whole works. I walked along one of the public footpaths to get as close as possible to the White Horse, and I had to open gates and shut them again so the sheeps wouldn't get out! I have several souvenirs of the field with the sheep in it - I hope I can scrape those souvenirs off before I get in the car again!
I came back to Dorchester and spent the rest of the afternoon in the Museum. Thomas Hardy was born in Dorset and all of his novels are set here. He was my favorite author for a while, and I am inspired to go back and reread some of his books now.
Oh no, the computer is sending me funky messages. I hope I don't lose this post.
I stubbed my toe getting into the shower last night - the wall of the tub is about two inches higher than my knee! It is a long and narrow tub with a shower curtain and one of those hand held shower positioned way up high - the shower head is probably located at about seven feet up! Good water pressure though and plenty of hot water, so who cares?
There are heated towel bars. I have never understood the whole idea of a heated bar. Terry cloth is not conductive at all, so you only get two or three one inch strips of heated towel. What's the point?
I remember hearing the expression "tickety boo" sometime in the past, and I know Foyle's driver Sam used it in one episode to mean that everything is just as it ought to be, so tickety boo!
I went to Weymouth today. My father was in the civil service and was posted to Portland for about 18 months when I was about 10, and we lived in Weymouth. I recognized our house right away. It has been divided into flats sometime during the last 50 years and the front and back gardens have changed tremendously, but the house still looks the same. I recognize the balcony looking across the street over the bowling green to the pebble beach and the English Channel. There used to be a soft coal cellar and a hard coal cellar (both little rooms under the house) and one of them was given over to my sister and me as a playhouse. That section of the house was rebuilt to provide a passageway for parking in the rear for the tenants of the flats, but one little door was still intact. The garden where mymother planted vegetables (I remember rhubard plants and my brother teasing me with worms) Is not longer there, but there are still a couple of fruit trees in the back. Same ones? Maybe not, but I can pretend.
The gardens between the road and the beach have been changed, but the old bathing huts are still there and the mechanical clock is still functioning, although unfortunately it hasn't been set up for the season yet and just looks like a dirt circle - much smaller than it used to be! This is the only mechanical clock still working in England! It is about 10 feet in diameter, and the face was planted with different flowers during the year. One of my strongest memories. How nice that it is still there and I got to see the dirt circle but what a shame they didn't plant it and put the hands back on two weeks ago. I'm sure they would have if they's known I was coming.
I drove around Weymouth and went across the land bridge to Portland, but didn't recognize anything else. I couldn't find my old school. I used to walk instead of take the bus to save a farthing to buy furniture for my doll house. We wore uniforms with drtaw hats during the summer months and had rice pudding with strawberry jam in the middle every day for lunch. Most of the students were boarders but my brother and I were day students. I drove around for awhile, but didn't ask anybody about any schools because I don't really remember anything but the hats and the rice pudding.
On leaving Weymouth I went to Osmington and then to Sutton Poyntz so I could see the White Horse. This is a huge horse carved into the hill in homor of King Edward (don't check my facts - they are just hearsay - no brochures to be tound). It is several hundred feet tall, and the chalk makes it look very white against the green fields. I couldn't walk close enought to get a good picture, but maybe somebody who knows how to do all the photoshop tricks can make my snapshot clearer. I really enjoyed thinking all day that I was redriving the same roads my father must have driven over fifty years ago, looking for the best access. I wonder if he was holding his breath the whole time like I am?
I ate lunch at the Springhead Arms at Sutton Poyntz. I just gotta say it "Quaint, quaint quaint, picturesque over and over again." Little stream running through the village, thatched cottages, lots of marked Public Footpaths and the whole works. I walked along one of the public footpaths to get as close as possible to the White Horse, and I had to open gates and shut them again so the sheeps wouldn't get out! I have several souvenirs of the field with the sheep in it - I hope I can scrape those souvenirs off before I get in the car again!
I came back to Dorchester and spent the rest of the afternoon in the Museum. Thomas Hardy was born in Dorset and all of his novels are set here. He was my favorite author for a while, and I am inspired to go back and reread some of his books now.
Oh no, the computer is sending me funky messages. I hope I don't lose this post.
Friday - Dorchester
I sadly checked out of the Merchant Hotel today. IT was a wonderful hotel, with great food and great staff. I hope I am as lucky tonight.
I have driven 43 miles so farmuch more confident about driving. I would choose not to go on the little roads that are two narrow for two cars to pass, but I don't panic when I get off on one by mistake.
I went to Tavistock from Truro - this is the "jumping off" spot to drive right through Dartmoor. Tavistock is beautiful. I have hesitated to use the word "quaint", but I could say it over and over again and not come close to describing the town. I could stop every two seconds and take pictures in all four directions and still o
I have driven 43 miles so farmuch more confident about driving. I would choose not to go on the little roads that are two narrow for two cars to pass, but I don't panic when I get off on one by mistake.
I went to Tavistock from Truro - this is the "jumping off" spot to drive right through Dartmoor. Tavistock is beautiful. I have hesitated to use the word "quaint", but I could say it over and over again and not come close to describing the town. I could stop every two seconds and take pictures in all four directions and still o
Friday #2
as Fish Friday! (I just hit one key accidentally and the *&^&^( screen freezes up on me)
I came back to the room last night and had problems with the computer. I couldn't get access to the wi-fi provided by the hotel, so I just abandoned all efforts.
I came back to the room last night and had problems with the computer. I couldn't get access to the wi-fi provided by the hotel, so I just abandoned all efforts.
Friday
Checked out of the hotel and hit the road. I stopped at a grocery store (Marks and Spencers) and bought an instant package of Yorkshire Pudding and some Bird's Eye Custard. Hope it is as delicious as I remember.
Onto the moor. I never did see the prison and have no idea where it is, but I spent about an hour driving across Dartmoore. Saw several hikers, lots of wild ponies, and several big black ruffled birds that I think might be moor hens. Sweeping vistas of something that looks a lot like sedge grass around the beaches at home.
I had no ambition to go for long walks on the moor. It seems like the silly heroines in books (the same ones who go down into the dark celler when the electricity is out to investigate strange noises) always decide to go walking on the moor and get caught in sudden mists that don't allow them to see more than a couple of inches in front of them. I was even warned by the hotel staff before I left, but I never went more than 500 yards from the car, and even then it was only when the way was clear and I wasn't going over the crest of a hill and might lose my way. Very tame. I did get out several times to try and get close to ponies or cows, but was able to sneak up on only two apparently deaf ponies close enough for pictures. I did see a lot of mist in the distance so at least I can pretend that I was at risk of being lost. There was a fearsome wind blowing all the time, so that may have dispersed any possible mists anyway. Oh well, the handsome stranger will have to find another heroine lost on the moors because it wasn't me.
I have left Cornwall now that I have gone past the moor. There is an old rhyme that I remember from one of those 'lost on the moor' books. It may have even been one of Daphne Dumaurier's books - it went "When you hear Tre, Pol and Pen, you know you are speaking of Cornishmen".
Dorset is beautiful. The names are very different - I passed a village called Piddletrenthide on the road! Again those rolling hills and cows and sheep and some fields of bright bright yellow flower that I will try and remember to ask about. I also want to ask about a sign I have seen twice now "Cats Eyes Removed". I hope I will find that means some idiosyncratic and harmless thing like wart removal.
Checked into the Wessex Royale Hotel on High West Street in Dorchester. Good room with good water pressure and another lovely duvet on the bed. There are crumpets on the menu. I have a lowering feeling these are very much like croissants, which I don't care for because they are too airy, but we shall see.
Walked around the town yesterday. Very hilly, with medieval churches right next to little shops advertising sales on children's clothes. I had a cream tea at the Horse with the Red Umbrella tearoom. They had a sign apologizing for the name of the tea room and explained it by saying this was the site of a playhouse, and the last play had that name. The Dorset and the Cornish clotted cream are historic rivals. I couldn't tell much difference myself, but the scones I had at the Horse .... tearoom were certainly superior to the scones I had back at Charlotte's Tea House in Truro. Yum!
Terrible supper - they were out of fish and chips by 6:00 on Friday (advertised as Fish
Onto the moor. I never did see the prison and have no idea where it is, but I spent about an hour driving across Dartmoore. Saw several hikers, lots of wild ponies, and several big black ruffled birds that I think might be moor hens. Sweeping vistas of something that looks a lot like sedge grass around the beaches at home.
I had no ambition to go for long walks on the moor. It seems like the silly heroines in books (the same ones who go down into the dark celler when the electricity is out to investigate strange noises) always decide to go walking on the moor and get caught in sudden mists that don't allow them to see more than a couple of inches in front of them. I was even warned by the hotel staff before I left, but I never went more than 500 yards from the car, and even then it was only when the way was clear and I wasn't going over the crest of a hill and might lose my way. Very tame. I did get out several times to try and get close to ponies or cows, but was able to sneak up on only two apparently deaf ponies close enough for pictures. I did see a lot of mist in the distance so at least I can pretend that I was at risk of being lost. There was a fearsome wind blowing all the time, so that may have dispersed any possible mists anyway. Oh well, the handsome stranger will have to find another heroine lost on the moors because it wasn't me.
I have left Cornwall now that I have gone past the moor. There is an old rhyme that I remember from one of those 'lost on the moor' books. It may have even been one of Daphne Dumaurier's books - it went "When you hear Tre, Pol and Pen, you know you are speaking of Cornishmen".
Dorset is beautiful. The names are very different - I passed a village called Piddletrenthide on the road! Again those rolling hills and cows and sheep and some fields of bright bright yellow flower that I will try and remember to ask about. I also want to ask about a sign I have seen twice now "Cats Eyes Removed". I hope I will find that means some idiosyncratic and harmless thing like wart removal.
Checked into the Wessex Royale Hotel on High West Street in Dorchester. Good room with good water pressure and another lovely duvet on the bed. There are crumpets on the menu. I have a lowering feeling these are very much like croissants, which I don't care for because they are too airy, but we shall see.
Walked around the town yesterday. Very hilly, with medieval churches right next to little shops advertising sales on children's clothes. I had a cream tea at the Horse with the Red Umbrella tearoom. They had a sign apologizing for the name of the tea room and explained it by saying this was the site of a playhouse, and the last play had that name. The Dorset and the Cornish clotted cream are historic rivals. I couldn't tell much difference myself, but the scones I had at the Horse .... tearoom were certainly superior to the scones I had back at Charlotte's Tea House in Truro. Yum!
Terrible supper - they were out of fish and chips by 6:00 on Friday (advertised as Fish
Friday, May 10, 2013
dorchester #2
Too may problems trying to type. It keeps seizing up on me. I'll try and find a better connection tomorrow.
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