Has summer arrived?

 I thought I  was well attired for a  morning spent on the hop on/off bus around Bath but, as the morning progressed, I realised that I was over dressed. The temperature rose to 18C!! A quick stop at my hotel  saw me leave my jacket behind before taking a walk to a number of the places I'd seen from the bus!

I visited the Jane Austen centre, walked to the Royal Crescent, through the parks, past the Abbey and down to the canal.

Reminded me of Florence!

Another sunny, warm day and I  was on the train to Bristol for the day! On arrival I was dismayed to find no hop on/off bus available! A friendly chap at the station information centre suggested I get on the number 8 bus, which would take me through the city to the Clifton Suspension bridge, so I did!

This bridge is 101m above the water. I decided to walk across. Information tells you that you must walk across in one direction only and then cross the road at the other end to get back. I started out and then the fear of heights kicked in! I told myself all would be fine - my inner voice was not that convincing- so I started to increase my pace and on encountering others would shout out " I'm passing on the right, terrified of heights don't know why I'm doing this!" Everyone kindly got out of my way! By the time I had crossed both ways I thought my legs would buckle, my heart rate was up but after a few deep breaths I was nearly back to normal!

A very long walk, partly beside the canals, took me to the museum about Brunel's SS Great Britain - the ship that changed the world! This was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 - 1854. It was manly travelling between Bristol and New York but later did go to Australia at the time of the 'gold rush'.

It was amazing to walk around the decks and was 'dressed in the way it would have been back in 1850s. People were obviously rather short and very skinny if the size of the bunks was anything to go by!!!

The next day Jake drove to Bath and we went to the Thermae Spa together. Unfortunately the spa was not as good as expected! We both had a massage, which got rid of a few knots, and then 'wallowed' in the heated water until our bodies were more wrinkled and crinkled than before. I must admit looking over the roof tops of Bath, whilst 'lounging' in the warm water, made the experience a little better. I would suggest giving this a miss on a Bath itinerary!

Sunshine and daffodils.

 

 My knight!

Many people probably thought I was a bit crazy coming here at this time of the year. To start with it was cold but things have become better and today was 18C. It's also a great time to see all the spring flowers and to quote Wordworth

' I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze

The daffodils have been truly magnificent and have been having a great time dancing in the breeze!

Before leaving Devon I had another day of wandering around a National Trust Property this one was Killerton House at Broadclyst. It's an 18th century house with extensive grounds.

It was all rather grand but the flowers, paricularly the rhododendrons and magnolias were beautiful. There was an ice house which felt a bit spooky! Also on display, in the house, was sporting fashion through the ages - bought back memories - those horrible knit type swimmers for example!

My time in Devon was up and I was quite glad to hand the car back! So off I went on the train to Bath. Had a message later from Great Western railway to say that because one of the trains was later they were going to refund me £5! Don't get that in Sydney!!

After finding my hotel I had to find my way to the Thermae Spa to book a massage and time at the spa for my sis and I on Friday! I'm actually quite near to it and then did an in-depth exploration of where Jake could park and how she could get to the spa. I'm sure all my effort and many photos will be appreciated by her when we catch up on Friday - hopefully 😁😁

 I then found the Roman baths and went back in time. It is a fascinating history - to long to add here but we'll worth a visit. Looking at the hot water just flowing out of the channels is amazing. Hard to understand how it is happening! You can see how acid rain is affecting the carvings of the emporers.

Down more narrow lanes!

 Following the sat nav  down very, very narrow lanes is always trying but it was the only way to return to a place in my memory from 50 years ago! Castle Drogo!

We came here to a Ball - it was either the Hunt Ball or a New Year's Eve Ball - around 1970/71. I can't remember what I wore but I do have a lasting memory of this ..

Castle Drogo was actually the last castle to have been built in England! Building started around 1911 but was not completed until 1926 - WW1 had intervene! You could tell that it was a more modern castle as it seemed lighter and warmer.

There are extensive grounds with wonderful views. Castle Drogo was given to the Nation Trust in 1974.

Following my visit to the castle I went to a couple of the village's we'd visited many times as kids.

It was then time for a drive over Dartmoor being aware that the sheep would often be sitting in the road. One had to keep an eye on the Dartmoor ponies too!

Yesterday it was time to move closer to Exeter so I said one last 'Night' to the knight - luckily there were no strange happenings during the night!

I can highly recommend the Oxenham Arms!

Luckily I left narrow lanes for the drive back to Exeter!

On the move again!

 Friday saw me catching a train to Exeter, Devon! I should add that this was after a 6am and 8am charge down the garden to scare off the ducks - they like to land on the swimming pool and make a right mess.

When I booked the train, not being a horse racing fan, I did not realise that Friday was a big day for the races at Cheltenham!! Consequently the train was full of rowdy race goes! I stood for 50 mins before we reached their station! I've never seen so much alcohol being consumed on a train!

I did make it to Exeter  and after checking in went for a wander around the city. I went into a museum and then, with the sun shining brightly, found a teashop serving Devonshire cream teas. I had to have one of those!

No I didn'teat both the scones!!

From the Cathedral I found a walk to the quay so had the opportunity to walk off some of the cream!

 

Saturday morning saw me pick up a car and then head to Exmouth where my aunt and uncle live. I have not see them for about 16 years. I also met a couple of cousins who I can only remember seeing as babies just over 50 years ago!! It was a lovely catch up.

I then headed to my hotel which is full of history. It is the oldest Coaching Inn in the UK. In the snug bar stands a granite standing  stone which was carved by Neolithic man 1000 years before Stonehenge! In the late 1100's Benedictine monks built a monastery around that stone. 

The room I'm staying in is called the Lustleigh room - say no more! It was added to the front of the monastery  during Edward 111 reign about 1350. Charles Dickens stayed in this room in 1836 and wrote much of Pickwick Papers here. At that time, what is now my bathroom, was a study and library. The wardrobe has been here since 1840 - I've found no skeletons! Although I think there must be a ghost because at 3am I was woken by the TV suddenly turning on!!!!! I had not turned the TV on at all!! I have now turned it off at the socket - let's see a ghost sort that one out! This is my bed - I could do with a step to get into it😆.

 

This is the bar where I had a delicious  dinner.