U.K.
6th April, On board B.A. City of Canterbury on approach to London Heathrow
9th April, Shoreham-on-Sea 11th April, Oxford We have just returned from a guided tour of St Edward's School where Mike teaches. I dare say there are some universities which are not as well equipped!
13th April, Chippenham We then started searching for a B&B to spend the night. There was a place in Lacock, but they were asking £10 each per night, which was way outside
our budget. We carried on looking for about two hours for a place reasonably near to Chippenham, as I had left a message for David that I'd come and see him at 5.30
that evening. Eventually we found something in Chippenham itself - what a relief! The problem, we discovered later, was the Badminton Horse Trials, when
accommodation is apparently always tight. We went to Lackham and had a chat with David and then back to Chippenham where we went for a walk and bumped into
David! We couldn't see Julie Murray as they were out when we were in Chippenham, which I had discovered when I had phoned them when we were with Margaret. After crossing the Severn we stopped at Chepstow to look over the castle.
Then it was along the Wye Valley to
the small village of Tintern Parva and on to Tintern Abbey.
We then took tiny by roads to Raglan and Raglan Castle.
By then we had had enough of Ancient Monuments and so we followed small
roads to cross mid-Wales and at about 5.30 p.m. we arrived at Rhayader where we booked into a farmhouse B&B. We do find the lambs enchanting,
but it's a pity they grow up so stupid! That's if they grow up at all: the farmer here tells us that he sells to an abattoir in Dover as he
gets a much better price than if he sold locally. The Dover people export to France. The daffodils leading up the farm drive are absolutely
beautiful.
After settling in we went for a drive round the neighbouring man-made reservoirs. We are having a lovely time, despite us both
still having foul colds which we picked up at Falcon, not here!
16th April, Thirlmere in the Lake District We got to the Hodgeses in Wrexham in the afternoon and were very pleased to see them again, as they were us. We spent two nights with them and yesterday
Frank, Ray and I went and had a look at Flint Castle and Basingwerk Abbey, both very dilapidated. After that we went on to Denbigh Castle only to find that it had closed
already. We left Wrexham around mid-morning and headed up the motorway, arriving here about 1.30 p.m.. We booked into a farm B&B which we stayed at last time we were
here. We drove into Coniston to do some shopping, but driving is not pleasant as there are already hundreds of cars. I shudder to think what it's like in the summer.
So we came back to our B&B and then set off on a walk. I didn't get very far so came back to do various things, including getting the diary up to date!
20th April, Campbeltown We then had another feast of ancient monuments, mostly in moderately overcast and sometimes wet weather:
we visited Brougham Castle, Lanercost Priory, Caerlaverock Castle (where we were
told that our National Trust passes were not valid in Scotland, but we continued
to use them after that with no trouble) and finally Sweetheart Abbey, where the
custodian told us, quite correctly, that we were very brave to go exploring the
ruins in the weather we were experiencing!
After that we started looking in earnest for somewhere to spend the night. Finally we found a place near Dumfries.
I went in and was quoted £12 each for the night and turned it down as it was far too expensive for us. The lady recognised
my accent as "Rhodesian" and offered me £8, which I accepted and we got chatting. It turned out that she is Tassie Gwyther's
sister!! Naturally we had a good time exchanging news, but (sadly) we still paid £16 before we left the next morning. We then
headed deeper into Scotland, admiring Loch Ken and the Grey Mare's Tail waterfall.
We then headed up the east coast through Girvan and navigated our way through Glasgow
and spent the night in Helensburgh. All the little rivers are in full flood with much of the
snow still melting and we passed some spectacular waterfalls in the mountains.
We passed Loch Awe, looking beautiful, and stopped briefly at Duncraigaig Cairn, a Bronze Age burial mound about 4000 years old.
While in Helesburgh we phoned Tim Middleton's parents (Tim arrived at Falcon from Scotland at the start of last term) and they have kindly offered to put us up for the next two nights. They live
near Campbeltown in Kintyre, which is a lovely area.
We drove to the Mull of Kintyre this morning and walked over it in the mist
and driving rain - that sounds most unpleasant, but it wasn't. Most invigorating. We are not sure where we will head tomorrow.
Today is Good Friday, so we are missing most of the Easter traffic. On the east coast the weather is better than it is here.
22nd April, Easter Sunday morning, Inverness We passed Glenshee where there were hundreds of skiers. There is still a lot of snow about, but I expect it will melt in the next few days as temperatures have gone up considerably.
We found a delightful B&B on Loch Tay not far from Killin. Our room is vast and very comfortable and the couple who run
the B&B are delightful.
They are a retired Headmistress and Bursar, and he wears a kilt. A lot of Chariots of Fire was filmed in Crieff and Comrie and our
host was one of the extras! Apparently watching the film in Crieff was a rather amusing experience with much whispering, nudging and pointing.
As it is so lovely here we decided to spend two nights. Just up the road from us is Bolfracks House, a big early eighteenth century mansion with beautiful gardens.
Yesterday morning we set off to St Andrews and made our way
through very scenic country via Killin, Loch Earn, Loch Lubnaig, Glen Ogle and Crieff,
as seen in the next four photos.
Then we left St Andrews and headed for Lochs Tummel and Rannoch, during which we were on the A9 heading north
for a short while. The south-bound carriageway was solid nose-to-tail and I am glad we decided not to head out of Scotland on
Easter Monday! We did see several school children in uniform, however, so it is obviously not a public holiday for all. The drive
along Tummel and Rannoch was beautiful as was our homeward drive through the Breadalbane Mountains along Glen Lyon and the bottom of Ben Lawers on a very narrow
road with only the sheep for company. I'll leave Ray to tell you how we got from Tayside to Warwick in one day!
25th April, Warwick 29th April, London
Well here we are on board our B.A. Boeing 747, in the upstairs section of Club Class, all thanks to Gerald. And very comfortable
it is too, although not as roomy as First Class was for me as far as leg stretching goes, but Ray has nothing in front of
him. We were taken to Bulawayo Airport by one of the Falcon drivers on one of our buses and the flight to Harare on the
Air Zimbabwe Boeing was uneventful. We spent our time at Harare Airport waiting in Gerald's office, which was far more
congenial than the milling concourse downstairs! The First Officer has just given us the London weather report - cold
and wet and the temperature is 4oC!
Well, they were not all that wrong about the temperature, but it hasn't been too bad. We arrived at Heathrow at 8.00 a.m.
local time and we had to contend with the complete and utter chaos of Heathrow Terminal 3, where I had no problems with
immigration, but Ray queued so long that the flight number signs in the baggage collection area had disappeared by the time
he was through. Fortunately he had seen which stairs I had gone down, and I, meanwhile, had collected our luggage and was
waiting patiently! We took the tube to South Ealing where Frances picked us up from the station. We unpacked and had a
chat and then headed into town to see the bank and get concert tickets.
The next day we went to Kew. Spring seems late this year and it was terribly cold at times, made more so because Owen
(aged three) doesn't move very fast! But it was a very pleasant visit.
Kew Gardens.
I was not in the least impressed with Shoreham College either, as it was a very small school and badly equipped. I think, though, that they may offer
me a post, and I was given a figure of around £9000 p.a. as an approximate guide to my salary, but no assistance with accommodation. I will probably
turn them down if they do offer me a job, as we're not that desperate.
After our visit to Shoreham we made our way to the Charnocks who are thriving. We certainly felt more welcome there than last time, but at the same time
it was a peculiar reception. I was put to labour in the garden, which I did not enjoy, particularly as I wasn't feeling very well anyway. Mark was his
usual gushing self, and it was quite a relief to arrive at the Paynes where we had a genuine welcome.
This morning Mike took us to Blenheim Palace which was lovely. The grounds were laid out by Capability Brown and were most impressive.
Above and below,
at Blenheim Palace.
Capability Brown's beautiful gardens at Blenheim Palace.
Yesterday we left the Paynes around mid-morning and went via the Vale of the White Horse to Chippenham, stopping in Uppingham to admire the White Horse. We then went to
Lackham only to find that David's course were in Chippenham for the day. I had phoned the previous evening and was told if I did not know his house they could not help me.
So we went and admired Lacock, a most attractive village.
Above and below, in Lacock village.
Yesterday was a glorious day, the first real spring day since we arrived. The others had more than a hint of winter about them, but today is again lovely. We left
Chippenham at about 9.00 a.m. and headed west to the Severn Bridge, stopping at Castle Coombe on the way.
At Castle Coombe.
Castle Coombe church steeple.
By Brook in Castle Coombe.
Above and below, Chepstow Castle.
Wye Valley.
Tintern Parva.
The Presbytery exterior, Tintern Abbey.
Gothic arches in The Crossing, Tintern Abbey.
Great West Window in the West Front of Tintern Abbey.
Raglan Castle Gate House.
Raglan Castle interior.
Sheep farm in Wales.
Reservoir in Powys near Rhayader.
Victorian influence at a reservoir in
Powys.
Another reservoir in Powys.
This diary is certainly not being written daily! As we were in no hurry we continued along the smallest possible roads. From Rhayader
we headed north through the Cambrian Mountains and through Snowdonia to Llangollen, where we visited Valle Crucis Abbey, a Cistercian Abbey, much of which is still standing.
Cambrian Mountains.
In Snowdonia.
Above and below, Valle Crucis Abbey.
Thirlmere.
We left the Lake District via Ullswater, which was really lovely. The sun was shining intermittently and there was snow on the mountains behind the waster,
which was absolutely calm and mirror-like.
Above and the next four photos, scenes around Ullswater.
Above and below, Brougham Castle.
Lanercost Priory.
Window in Lanercost Priory.
Thomas, the Second Baron Dacre, and his wife, Elizabeth Greystoke
(died 1516), rest in this tomb in Lanercost Priory, erected by Thomas in about 1518.
Above and below, Caerlaverock Castle.
Above and below, Sweetheart Abbey.
Loch Ken.
Grey Mare's Tail Waterfall.
Girvan Harbour.
Loch Awe.
Duncraigaig Cairn.
A view of Southend from Hill Cottage (at the Middletons).
Above and below, Mull of Kintyre.
Yesterday we first headed north through Oban, where the day proved to be not without its little excitements. Just outside Oban we hit a hole
in the road and punctured a front tyre. We were not the only ones: as we ground to a halt we passed one
car busy changing a wheel and we could see another just ahead of us. The police, who materialised immediately
because we were on a blind corner, were most helpful. They
told us while they helped change our wheel that there was another car just around the corner. We then went to the place recommended by
the police to get our tyre repaired, but they were just closing, so we continued on our way and eventually got a new tyre as the old one
needed replacing. This necessitated a phone call to the company in London as the repair was more than £20. We are assuming we will
get our £28 back! Our journey eventually took us east along Glen Mor heading for Inverness through Glen Mor and along Loch Lochy.
We also took in Loch Tarff, one of the smallest of the natural lochs but still featuring several small islets, one of
which you can see to the left in the photograph below.
Loch Lochy.
Loch Tarff.
Loch Ness.
Loch Ness.
24th April, on the shores of Loch Tay
We decided to head towards Aberdeen when we left Inverness and after some rather boring country past Elgin on a route recommended by our A.A. guide, we decided to head for Perth.
Of note in this rather uninteresting stretch was Huntly Castle, which we dropped in on. This was Clan Gordon's ancestral home dating back to the twelfth century.
A hillside walk from a layby on a road near Elgin.
Huntly Castle.
Breagach Hill.
Above and below, in the Grampians.
Above and below, Glenshee ski slopes.
Daffodils line the driveway of Bolfracks House.
Above and below, Loch Tay, as seen
from the road just below our B&B.
Loch Tay.
River Dochart at Killin.
Loch Earn.
Loch Lubnaig.
Heilan coos at Glen Ogle.
Slow wet school children crossing at Crieff.
Golf at St Andrews.
St Andrews Cathedral and St Rule's Tower.
Loch Tummel from Queen's View.
Loch Rannoch.
Breadalbane Mountains near Loch Tay.
Briefly, along the motorway. It was once again a cloudless day, although a bit of haze. The various lochs we passed were
quite beautiful: still, with perfect reflections of the trees and mountains. Once on the motorway it was quite a different story.
We did about 65mph most of the time, although for some stretches it was 70mph in order to keep out of the juggernauts' ways! The traffic
was incredible, the M6 being one of the biggest industrial motorways in Britain. We stopped at several service along the way. These
are VAST lay bys with about 500 cars at any one time and they include garages, shops and restaurants. We arrived at Rugby exhausted and
trundled along to Warwick, taking the first B&B we found. Today we head to Ascot where I have an interview at Heathfield School for girls.
28th April, Culford in Suffolk
The most frightening thing about the motorwasy was the vehicle transporters, enormous double deckers carrying nine cars stacked at what
appear to be all odd angles, five on top and four down below, hurtling down the motorway at 70+mph!
The interview at Ascot was a complete waste of time, and suffice it to say that I terminated the interview myself. From Ascot we headed for Kent
which was pretty countryside, but the apple orchards were not yet in bloom.
Oast houses in Kent.
Lavenham in Suffolk.
We left Renate quite early yesterday and found our way around London to get to Heathrow where we returned our car. They did refund us the
money we forked out on the replacement tyre, which was very satisfactory. We then caught the tube to St James's Park and the Salvation
Army Hotel where we left our things and then went our separate ways. I just window shopped while Ray bought some records. We had supper
back at the hotel and then off to the Barbican to see the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Measure for Measure which we
both thoroughly enjoyed.
30th April, Our wedding anniversary
Yesterday morning we (and half the rest of the world) set off for Kew. Another beautiful day, but we have not yet shed our jerseys,
although there are many Poms sporting shorts and very white legs! One thing about Kew is that it is so vast you don't realise that there are thousands of other people there too. The blossom trees were quite beautiful!
Above and the next three photos below, cherry blossom in Kew Gardens.
Copper beech, silver birch and wild
cherry blossom, Kew Gardens.
Above and below, rhododendrons, Kew Gardens.
Lake in Kew Gardens.
Maple tree, Kew Gardens.
Kensington Gardens.
Kensington Palace Gardens.
Hyde Park Speakers' Corner.
Hyde Park Speakers' Corner.
The concert was most enjoyable, but I must say that both the Barbican Hall and the Theatre are TOO BIG. We, of course, were sitting
up in the gods, and paid £4 each for our seats. For that price in the Elizabeth
Hall or even the Festival Hall you would be much closer to what's
going on! We spent most of yesterday shopping and went to feed the ducks at St James's Park in the evening. Today a little more
shopping in the morning and then in the afternoon we went to the British Museum, not to do anything other than to look at the Manuscript
Saloon (their name for it). We both had great delight in looking at all that was on display which included so many of the great names in
literature, science and music, and also the wonderful illuminated manuscripts. Quite the best exhibits for me were Vaughan Williams'
Sea Symphony and Britten's War Requiem. We fed the birds again this evening and started preparing for our departure to Madrid tomorrow.