You may be pleased to know that university is finally giving me something to do (my first hand in is this Sunday).  Nevertheless I still found time last week to visit both Bristol and Lacock.

Of course, the justification is that Bristol was for uni research, and it was.  We spent a bit of time visiting our old friend the Clifton Suspension Bridge.  We were fortunate to visit on a windy day, as it was very exciting to see just how much the bridge moves in the wind (it was recently shut because of this during a bad spell of weather).  The visitor centre was also very helpful and we had the additional good fortune to be passing by when some workers were going underground to inspect the abutments.  Enough about my bridge, but here is one more picture.

While in Bristol I also got to wander through a cave with very small tunnels and a brilliant view at the end, visit the library (very nice!) and see one of Brunel's other great achievements, the SS Great Britain.

This is Bristol Cathedral (sadly no time to investigate)

This is the library, it is directly beside the cathedral and a book-lovers dream.

On board the SS Great Britain

The SS Great Britain was a pioneering ship of its time.  It made the crossing from Bristol to New York in a record 14 days.  It wasn't in use as a passenger ship for long though, and nowadays rests in a dry dock as the hull has become too fragile for use.

On Saturday we visited the small medieval village of Lacock.  I was enchanted.  The whole village is very quaint, and I was very excited to see how the buildings have moved in hundreds of years of use.

 

The focal point of the village is Lacock Abbey. This was founded in 1232 as a nunnery, but after Henry VIII split from Rome and the monasteries were dissolved, it was sold to William Sharington to use as a private home.  Sharington was a real rogue, he counterfeited money and even avoided a death sentence.  Despite this, he had good taste for architecture and his legacy remains today.

The abbey has also been home to William Henry Fox Talbot, inventor of photography.  There is a museum devoted to him on the grounds.  They were also showing a gallery of celestial images, which I enjoyed immensely.

 

Part of the grounds around Lacock Abbey

The abbey itself.  Sharington had the church demolished and built the tower to the left to store his treasures

Lacock Abbey was also used for filming parts of the first and second Harry Potter films

More of the abbey...

And some more

This was the church in Lacock village, also very lovely

I feel I have been very cultured this past week.  Last Tuesday I saw the Moscow Ballet perform Romeo and Juliet in the historic Theatre Royal, on Saturday I traveled to see Stonehenge, and today I have just got back from having high tea at the Pump Rooms.

The ballet was delightful.  The theatre itself was opulent, and the show a traditionally beautiful ballet.

The south continued to put on good weather for our trip to Stonehenge.  This started in Salisbury, probably the most quintessentially British town I have yet visited, with its mismatch of old store fronts and narrow streets.  I loved it!!

Stonehenge itself was initially a little underwhelming, but once you got closer and started to really ponder how long it has been standing there, it became very enchanting.  I didn't want to leave.

That's the Slaughter Stone in the foreground.  Contrary to popular belief, they do not think it was used to make sacrificial offerings by Druids.  Rather the stone can turn a reddish colour when it gets wet, sorry to disappoint those who like a little drama (in case you were wondering, it used to be upright).

The large Sarsen stones are used around the outside and to form a horseshoe shape in the centre.  These remain as they were originally placed.  The smaller 'bluestones' were moved a lot in the centuries after first construction.  There is one theory that the bluestones where thought to have healing powers.

What amazed me was that the Sarsen stones are 7m tall but extend 2m below ground, and to think it was built ~5000 years ago!  There are also a lot of mounds in the surrounding fields, this is because people liked to bury their dead close to Stonehenge.

On the way back to Salisbury we stopped of at Old Sarum.  This used to be the castle and cathedral, and Salisbury was initially established as an auxiliary market town from here.  However, it had been in use as a hill fort since it was established sometime during the Iron Age.  Today there are only remnants of what it used to be, as King Henry VIII gave the order that the stone be stripped from the castle and used elsewhere.

The cathedral, personally I like my churches with a little more... wall 

Some beautiful views to Salisbury

We made it back in time to have a look around Salisbury cathedral.  Salisbury is particularly spectacular from the outside - having the tallest spire in the country.

The west front.

Being a cathedral it was of course very impressive on the inside as well.

Salisbury's other claim to fame is that it houses one of the four remaining copies of the Magna Carta.  It was on display if you were inclined to read it, which I wan't.  It was written on one piece of vellum, but they used medieval abbreviations so the translation is a lot longer.

Then my first high tea.  Very delightful and stunning setting.  The pianist playing 'All I ask of you' from Phantom of the Opera sealed the deal.  Here are some pretty pictures of my meal and surrounds to finish.

Hello dear readers, I have been a little remiss as of late so I apologise in advance for the extra long post.

Last week I made it to the Building of Bath Museum which was located in the Countess of Huntingdon's Chapel.

The chapel itself had a fair bit of history behind it.  It is one of the many Methodist churches built in the 1700s by the Countess of Huntingdon.  As a member of the aristocracy, she took advantage of the leniency granted her to host some controversial speakers at her chapels.  But what really enthralled me was the museum content.  It comprehensively covered many aspects of Georgian construction, from the architecture through to how the woodwork was carved.  I found it immensely interesting, and the models of some Georgian house fronts along with one of Bath city made for very good viewing.

The weather held on the weekend, so we made it to the Royal Victoria Park (to look at more than just the obelisk). It was very lovely to see some spring flowers but what was most exciting was the squirrels.  They were very inquisitive and had no issue getting close to people.

Jump ahead seven days and I'm heading to London.  Almost continuous sunshine this weekend made for perfect conditions for exploring the big city.  After managing the tube relatively successfully (thanks to some more experienced travel companions) we started the day at Westminster Abbey.  Walking amongst the tombstones of past monarchs, as well as the likes of Charles Darwin, Lord Byron and memorials to Shakespeare and Jane Austen, was absolutely incredible.  Not to mention that the Abbey is a spectacular building in its own right.  I could have happily spent many more hours there.  Oh and did I mention, I saw the coronation chair.

This is the north entrance to Westminster Abbey

Later in the day we spent some time meandering the streets around Piccadilly Circus and encountered Hamleys toy store.  This shop had five floors dedicated to all manner of toys. There was even a life size Lego model of the queen.

We also managed to find Trafalgar Square...

...Buckingham Palace...

Apparently this was a gift from the people of NZ.

...The Houses of Parliament...

...And people absolutely everywhere!

It was a day well spent.  But honestly, one day is London is nowhere near enough to even scratch the surface of this great city.  When can I go back?

Looking out from the Westminster Bridge.

We had another stunning day on Sunday, so this is back at Prior Park looking down on Bath.