SOMERSET

AXBRIDGE

Coming from the south, visitors can see how the medieval town of Axbridge hugs the southern slope of the Mendips. Approaching from the north, the Levels spread out below the town. An important wool-producer in the Middle Ages, the town has always been at the crossroads, the centre of things, indeed it was a river port in earlier times.

Now most traffic bypasses this sleepy little town, it's a lovely spot to relax and explore, with a charming brick-paved central square, and some interesting old buildings.

This is King John's Hunting Lodge, now the town museum, situated right in the square.

And this is the church, set just off the other end of the square, and accessed via a stone stairway

BURNHAM-ON-SEA

Burnham stands on the north coast of Somerset, on the Bristol Channel, and is renowned for its' wide, 6 mile long expanse of beach. At the far end, you can just see the curious white wooden lighthouse, which you can walk out to in about 15 minutes.

CHEDDAR

Now, I haven't included any pictures of the famous Cheddar Gorge, as I covered that in my other Somerset post, but I thought it would be nice to show a little of the village of Cheddar, much loved by tourists, and renowned of course, for cheese!

There's a lovely river runs the entire length of the village, with charming gardens and little ponds and weirs.

CLEEVE ABBEY
Now don't get confused, but Cleeve Abbey isn't in Cleeve, it's in Washford. It's another of the Cistercian Abbeys that King Henry VIII had destroyed, but Cleeve is a little unusual, in that, whilst the church was razed to the ground, the rest of the monastic buildings were left intact for the use of the local Lord.
The cloister buildings including the gatehouse, 15th century refectory with its glorious angel roof and 13th century heraldic tiles have survived remarkably intact.

The gatehouse

the angel roof

Unusually, there's a rose window in the sacristy, instead of high up on the end nave wall

the cloisters

CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE

The Clifton Suspension Bridge, spanning the picturesque Avon Gorge, is the symbol of the city of Bristol. For almost 150 years this Grade I listed structure has attracted visitors from all over the world. Its story began in 1754 with the dream of a Bristol wine merchant who left a legacy to build a bridge over the Gorge.

24 year old Isambard Kingdom Brunel was eventually declared the winner and appointed project engineer – his first major commission.

The entrance to the bridge. There's a toll of 50p per vehicle to use the bridge, which takes you across the Avon Gorge and right into the heart of Bristol's docklands

the view from the bridge down the gorge

DUNSTER

The medieval village of Dunster is in Somerset within the Exmoor National Park. With it's Castle, Yarn Market, Tithe Barn and a wealth of listed buildings, Dunster is a favourite destination for many tourists.

This is the Yarn Market, right at the heart of the village

The Castle sits right at the end of the main street in the village, but is actually accessed by its' own entrance off the main road outside the village. The Castle and grounds are open to the public.

LYNMOUTH

Lynmouth is the port for the town of Lynton above the harbour, and the two are connected by a water driven lift.

This is the Rhennish Tower, the lighthouse at the mouth of the harbour.

The harbour has been formed by dividing the mouth of the river, where it flows into the sea.



MALMSMEAD

Malmsmead is not a name known by many outside of the local population, but if you have read R.D. Blackmore's book, Lorna Doone, then you will recognise it as the mouth of Doone Valley. The tiny group of buildings is accessed via a small packhorse bridge, or more usually, via a ford through the fast-flowing river. It's not an easy place to get to, being well-hidden down a tiny, very steep lane from the small hamlet of Oare, itself well off the main road.

MINEHEAD

I must say, Minehead is not one of my favourite places. The seafront is somewhat shabby and run down, and dominated by the huge Butlin's Holiday Camp at one end of the seafront.
However, what it does have, is the terminus for the wonderful West Somerset Heritage Railway.
This is the longest heritage steam and diesel railway in the country, at a little over 20 miles long. It winds its' way through beautiful countryside, stopping at several little villages, until it reached Bishops Lydeard.
It's well worth taking a trip and just relaxing and admiring the views.

Steam engine 'Norton Manor'

The locomotive turntable at Minehead

PORLOCK WEIR

The town of Porlock lies at the foot of Porlock Hill, too steep for cars towing caravans and huge lorries. If you turn off in the middle of the town and head for the sea, you reach its port of Porlock Weir. Tiny, picturesque, and well worth a visit for a cream tea!

WASHFORD

The village of Washford, some 6 miles outside of Minehead, is absolutely nothing to write home about. However, if you take Abbey Road, towards Cleeve Abbey, you find the White Horse Inn, a traditional 17th. century coaching inn. This is where I stayed, and a very delightful stay it was too. The Inn, which has very comfortable rooms, and which serves good food, lies on the bank of the Washford river.

WATCHET
Nother of those delightful little ports that the North Somerset coast seems to abound with, Watchet has a very pleasant walk along the harbour wall, with a wide promenade, and plenty of seats where you can soak up the late evening sun.

'Yankee Jack'

The Ancient Mariner - it is rumoured that Watchet is the place where Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote his epic 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner'

The gunboat 'Gay Archer'

WESTON SUPER MARE

How different to Minehead! Weston is clean, bright, well cared for, with attractive gardens along the seafront, and an impressive pier. It also has one of the best motorcycle parks I've ever come across!











No Lorries - No Quarry

There's a place in Kent called Dungeness.

It lies at the most southerly point in Kent, close to the border with Sussex. (I refuse to call it East Sussex - but that's a whole other story!)

It's just a huge bank of shingle sticking out into the sea, with two nuclear power facilities standing on it. So, what's so special, I hear you ask?


Dungeness is beautiful. In fact, it's an area of outstanding natural beauty. Despite the power plants, or maybe because of them, it's quiet, bleak and lonely. There's a pub, three lighthouses, and a handful of shacks, but not a lot else. There's plants that grow here and nowhere else in Kent. There's a couple of big lakes, and an RSPB wildfowl reserve. There's snakes, lizards, and a whole lot else.

And now they want to build a quarry and excavate the shingle for sea defences elsewhere along the coast.

This quite simply must not be allowed to happen. This place is so special and unique that nothing should be allowed to disturb its ecology. Nevermind the fact that taking away huge amounts of shingle will also render the few habitations down there liable to flooding.

If you don't want to see this happen, then please protest to your MP. There's a site been set up here with facilities to help make yourself heard.

Please join the fight....................

2012

So, here we are, the start of another touring year. I promise to not be ill this year, and to fulfill all the trips I've got planned.
So, what lies in store this year?
Well, so far, in May I'm off to Somerset and the North Devon/Exmoor area. July will see me in Northumbria and North Yorkshire, and September it will be back to the beautiful landscapes of Wales. There's still so much I haven't had time to see there yet.

That's what's planned so far. Of course, there will be other breaks, I'm sure. I'm hoping to fit in some time in Suffolk, and there will be a winter city break to decide upon later.

I also promise to show you some of my home county of Kent. I really have neglected it so far. Problem is, I know it so well, I tend to go out and forget to take my camera with me. Pretty much the same can be said for its' neighbouring counties of Sussex and Surrey. They're just day rides out for me.

New to this blog, is a page dedicated to the various hotels and pubs I stay in on my travels. And it's not just a page of praise either. I've not been ashamed to tell it like it was, and if that puts people off, then so be it. You can be very careful when searching the internet for locations, but at the end of the day, you have to rely on other people's web-sites being accurate, up-to-date, and honest.

West Midlands

.......or to be more precise, Birmingham

Just a quick trip to Birmingham, in the early run-up to Christmas, to visit the annual Classic Motorcycle Show at the NEC.

One of my favourite places in the centre of the city, is Centenary Square. Lying as it does, in the heart of the city, surrounded by such admirable buildings as Symphony Hall, the Birmingham Rep, the International Conference Centre, and the soon-to-be-new Central Library, it really is the heart of the West Midlands cultural life.

This weekend was not only Rememberance Day, with the War Memorial building and the square itself liberally sprinkled with poppies, but they were also preparing for the Christmas festivities. The Lights had been turned on............



the huts were being erected for the Frankfurt-style Christmas Market, and a huge artic was delivering the temporary skating rink.

On the edge of Centenary Square, is the Sports Hall, and outside stands a magnificent memorial to three men who made Birmingham and the West Midlands great - James Watt, Matthew Boulton and William Murdoch.
The gilded bronze statue by William Bloye and Raymond Forbes-Kings stands on a plinth of Portland stone, outside the old Register Office on Broad Street, now the Sports Hall. It is known locally as The Golden Boys after its colour, or The Carpet Salesmen after the partially-rolled-up plan of a steam engine which they are examining.
All three men were members of the Lunar Society.
Sponsored by an £8,000 bequest from Richard Wheatley in 1939, and £7,500 from the City Council, it was unveiled in 1956, from preliminary designs drawn up in 1938.
The statue was restored and re-gilded, and replaced in its old position in September 2006.



Birmingham has many fine statues, including an important work by Antony Gormley, outside City Hall, but for me the best, is also the most symbolic. This is the bull that stands in the centre of the recently redeveloped Bull Ring

So there you have it...............

2011 hasn't been a good year for travels, what with a poor summer weather-wise and ill health.

However, I have just uploaded a few pictures from Herefordshire and Shropshire, and added a whole lot more to the page on Wales.

Enjoy!

Herefordshire

I was about to put this picture into the last article, on Shropshire, when I suddenly realised this village is actually in Herefordshire.

So here it is, in a post all to itself!

Leintwardine

Villager and visitor alike know Leintwardine is an historic gem surrounded by the Shropshire hills, the rivers of North Herefordshire and the unspoilt magnificence of Wales.

On the way to North Wales, you cross over this very pretty bridge, right in the heart of the village.

Shropshire

Just had an amazing trip to North Wales, and where I stay - right on the Wales-England border, it's just a short hop over the border into Shropshire. So it seemed rude not to go and poke around one or two of the little twons in that area.

Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to take pictures, but anyway, this is what I did get......

Bishops Castle

This tiny little town, built on the side of a hill, has really only one main road, with a few side turnings. It does, however, have some interesting buildings.

Several of the houses are painted in bright colours. Apparently this was the first to be given the rainbow treatment.

House on Crutches Museum
A 16th century timber-framed house with a rich collection of exhibits depicting local history and rural life in South West Shropshire. This unusual and attractive building stands just to the left of the town hall, up a little cobbled alleyway

Oxford

Ill health caused us to cancel our projected trip to Scotland and the Lake District, but we did manage a couple of day trips. One of them was to the University town of Oxford. Known as the City Of Dreaming Spires, it is an epithet well deserved. Like most old towns, it is compact, with everything of interest within easy walking distance.
Most of the colleges you can pay an entrance fee to walk around the campus. This is well worth doing, as the architecture, and the sense of age and learning is amazing.
Outside of the colleges, the city centre itself has many spectacular buildings, and there are plenty of places to eat and drink.
There's also a fudge shop and a really old-fashioned sweet shop. I tried very hard not to buy anything, but eton mess fudge and pear and almond chocolate both got the better of me.................

The Martyrs Cross



The Oxford Martyrs were tried for heresy in 1555 and subsequently burnt at the stake in Oxford, England, for their religious beliefs and teachings.
The three martyrs were the bishops Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley and Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Some of the beautiful buildings in the City Centre









The Bridge Of Sighs

Hertford Bridge, popularly known as the Bridge of Sighs because of its resemblance to the bridge of the same name in Venice, is a skyway over New College Lane.



New College

New College is one of the largest Oxford colleges, with some 400 undergraduates and nearly 300 graduates. It is, like all Oxford colleges, an autonomous, self-governing institution.
The front quadrangle, dining hall, chapel and cloisters were built within a few years of the College's foundation in 1379; this was the first time that an entire scheme had been built in this way, and it formed a model for later colleges.