Travelling to places off the beaten path is an exhilarating experience. And yes, there are still such places in England too. Everyone clamours to go to Stonehenge. Which is understandable. It’s pretty fantastic. But there is a site even older and bigger, spread over the rolling meadows that Thomas Hardy repeatedly invoked in his timeless novels set in eastern England. It’s called Avebury. Continue reading
I am finally visiting the sight people commonly see in their first week in London—I am going to Stonehenge. I wasn’t too sure as to what I ought to be feeling as I made the 90-minute train journey to Salisbury. I had seen too many pictures; heard and read endless reviews, some ecstatic, others disappointed. I could even close my eyes and picture the prehistoric ring of stone slabs, complete with blue or grey skies. It is after all the most popular wallpaper on Windows as well.
Before I took the coach on to Stonehenge, I spent some time at Salisbury also known as New Sarum though nobody ever calls it by this name. I wish I’d had more time in the town whose chief claim to fame is its cathedral which has got to be the most beautiful in the country.
It is also an architectural marvel. Where do I begin? Because of the high water table in the area, the 123 metre high church stands over foundations merely 1 metre deep. The 60 metre hollow spire weighs 6,500 tonnes and is the tallest spire in the United Kingdom and the tallest pre-1400s surviving spire in the world. Designed by Bishop Richard Poore, the cathedral was built over just 38 years (1220-1258) and is a masterpiece of Early English Gothic architecture. The world’s oldest working clock (1386) with no face and which only struck the hours was used in the bell tower till 1789; it now stands in the north aisle. One more fact. The Chapter House contains one of the finest versions of the only four surviving original copies of the 1215 Magna Carta—the very cornerstone of Human Rights. Whew!
Hampstead Village in Inner London is the London address of the who’s who in the world of arts and showbiz. It has more millionaires within its boundaries than any other area in the UK. Past residents include Keats, John Constable, Henry Moore, Robert Louis Stevenson, Agatha Christie, T.S. Eliot … Some of its current residents are Boy George, Brad Pitt, Emma Thompson and Bollywood’s very own Katrina Kaif. However, don’t expect to bump into them as you walk around, because it won’t happen. 🙂 Continue reading
One cannot visit Oxford and not go to Cambridge. That would be sacrilege. Cambridge’s history is irrevocably entangled with that of the former. The story goes back to 1209 when a group of scholars left Oxford because of a dispute with the townsfolk and set up a separate University in Cambridge. The two “ancient universities” have many features in common and are often referred to jointly as Oxbridge. There is also a long history of rivalry between the two.
It was a beautiful day—the type where the skies couldn’t be bluer. Before I went into the University town I took a slight detour and visited the Cambridge American Cemetery. It is quite a treasure. Peaceful and lovely. The cemetery and memorial, run by the American government, commemorate the 3,812 American servicemen who died during the Second World War.
A couple of months ago I had done a photo essay on the Jubilee Line, London Underground. This time I chose the stations that have left a mark on me, even as I run through the platforms to catch the tube. Some are a riot of colour. In another, dear Mr. Sherlock Holmes lives on in every single wall tile! The tube is absolutely amazing, each station unique. Continue reading
I completed my research paper and submitted it this week. I’m not too sure about the logic behind it but I always seem to forget to eat and sleep. So the first thing I did after submissions was refuel, in no specific order, and then I took my camera and wandered off, this time to Winchester.
Winchester is one of those towns which resonates with English history and lots of Williams, Alfred the Great (849-99) and Saint Swithin. The most famous William is William Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester (1366-1404) who remodelled much of the cathedral and founded Winchester College. Built on the banks of the river Itchen in Hampshire over the Roman town of Venta Belgarum, Winchester used to be the capital of Wessex and the Kingdom of England. Continue reading
Warwick is the story of the Old Town with its Tudor houses and medieval church, and Warwick castle, a fantasy land owned by Madame Tussauds. It is also the story of the Earls of Warwick and the Earl of Leicester who were responsible for much of the shape the town took, both architecturally and historically. Continue reading
Richmond and Hampton with a cruise down the river Thames. That’s the plan for the day.
The nice thing about travelling when you are older is you appreciate the finer nuances better. 😀 For one, I learnt that Richmond used to be called Shene and was highly popular with the royal family who lived in the manor house until Henry VII built Richmond Palace in 1501. It’s a little startling to take a turn and actually step back 500 years. Though much of the palace has been lost to time, the Maids of Honours Row, Wardrobe, Trumpeter’s House and Gate House still stand intact, now converted into rented apartments behind the historical facades.
Walking past the Victorian Richmond theatre, boutique shops and the Green which has held cricket matches since 1666, I reached the edge of the Thames to catch my boat to Hampton, as I was told Henry VIII would have done! The cruise is hypnotic with its serene landscapes intertwined with picturesque houses hugging the edge of the river. One feels one is somewhere far away in the country. But it is still London or to be technically correct, Greater London.
Bath has to be the most beautiful city in England. It is like a sliver of Europe with all its Baroque and Palladian splendour, but imbued with the elegance of the Georgian period—the reigns of the kings George I, George II, George III and George IV (1714-1830).
The weather was lovely. When you live in London, half your conversations end up revolving around the weather! But having blue skies and clear breezes is seen as something of a good sign. 😀
What do I say about Bath? I won’t go into the histories or the architects. There’s loads of it on the net. What rather came across, at least for me, was the lifestyle it represented. It echoes a period that Jane Austen revelled in writing about. The mornings spent drinking the spring waters which were believed to cure all kinds of illnesses, the corridors one went shopping in where musicians entertained, and come evenings, everyone’s flocking to the Assembly Rooms to play cards, drink coffee and do some ball room dancing. And exactly at 11 pm everyone left for their apartments to start the cycle again the next day. Funnily enough, they never ever got bored of it. It was the centre of fashionable life in England during the 18th Century or until Brighton took over. Continue reading
When you live in London, it is only right that you do at least some of the absolutely touristy things the city is famous for, which includes going to the Tower of London, packed with swarms of holiday-makers. Most famous for the beheadings of Henry VIII’s (1491–1547) wives when they failed to provide blessed little boys, the Tower has to be on the top things-to-do list in every guide-book on this country. And does it live up to its name. Millions of tourists cannot be wrong. 🙂 Continue reading
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