King's College at night.
This is one of our favorite pubs, The Anchor.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Ride in the Country
Hopped on the bikes (luckily our friends let us borrow a couple bikes for the guys) and rode over the bumpy footpaths to some neighboring villages. Stopped to watch the ducks and soak up some sunshine at this lovely village pond.
I posted this boar before but this time I got a close up of it. I didn't realize it's made out of thatch too.
The boys enjoying a brew in Barrington.
All the lighting fixtures in these old churches are different and I find them all very interesting.
Another beautiful old church that we peeked into.
This massive satellite area is just outside of Cambridge. There must be about 20 of these.
Sights around Cambridge
The gardens are just amazing right now. There are many flowers that we have back home but they are bigger, more vibrant and definitely better tended than mine.
Garrett and Forrest, two of our three sons, are here visiting. Garrett has been taking quite a few pictures so a lot of these pics are his.
I've become a huge fan of the local charity shops (thrift stores). I bought about a dozen various sized frames, painted them all black and put art cards of my own art in them to spice up our flat. I took most of my cool weather clothes home in April so when it turned cold here (45 and rainy) I had to get a nice big fleecy pullover (ahhh!).
Thought this would be a good ad for Abbott Ale. Forrest is a happy camper! The legal age for drinking is 18, and he tried many kinds of ale.
Visiting the market on a rainy day with my boys.
We get fresh fruit daily from the nearby market in 'Market Square'.
This gallery has a vast amount of glass pieces.
Biking in the Countryside
Our hosts, David and Diane, lead us on a great bike ride over hills and dales, valleys and through the quaint villages of Elsenham, Henham, Thaxted, Duton Hill, Widdington, Debden, Howlett End. It was a beautiful, clear day, and we all smiles on our faces as we sped down the twisty lanes of the pastoral countryside.
Our bike group: Garrett, Forrest, Houston, David, Diane
They also invited us for dinner. Diane made a traditional English delight, a pastie. In the olden days, the miners took them for their lunch. One side was meat and the other side was sweet, like jam. They'd eat one half then, have their dessert. What a great idea! Ours were vegetarian and very delicious.
Just in case we needed to make a phone call!
Beautiful rural area, fields and fields of rapeseed, rolling hills, and of course, cows.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Thaxted Windmill
We were fortunate enough to be able to go inside this wonderful windmill. Built in 1804, it was used for grinding flour.
Looking down over the quaint village of Thaxted.
Forrest taking in the view.
My first time in a windmill. This one had many vantage points, all worth a look-see.
My bird's eye view of the patterns in the field caught my attention. I could just see the farmer in the tractor, looking up at the windmill as she/he was making the turn.
Beautiful old print of the windmill.
Wheel works of the windmill.
Churches
Stopped at this wonderful old church for a wee break.
I loved the simple star pattern of this candle-ier.
Sunlight on a warm spring day.
Inside the Taxted Parish Church, started in 1340, taking 170 years to finish.
Thaxted Guildhall Museum and Town
An old painting of the village of Thaxted.
We stopped in Thaxted for cream teas. The boys piled their scones up with nearly an inch (!) of whipped butter and smothering that with fresh strawberry jam.
Dickie, this one is for you!
Hand dyed yarn with natural dyes.
Spool holder with hand dyed yarn on the spools. I'm not sure what the rake to the left was used for.
This old loom is now housed in the lower floor of the museum. The warp and weft on the loom is natural dyed wool.
The Thaxted Guildhall, built in 1390. Cutlery was made in this village in the 1400 until the mid-1500's. The Cutler's Guild met in this building. It's now a museum.
Waiting for the Train
After a full day of biking, drinking and eating, we waited for the late train to take our tired bodies back to Cambridge.
Train coming
Our trusty rides.
This looked a crime scene. Someone partied just a bit too hard!
Flowers Make Me Smile
Had to smile when I saw these peonies. My mom told me years ago that she nearly named me Peony because the flowers were in full bloom when she was on her way to the hospital to have me.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Yummy Ciabatti
Everyone that's visited me, I've taken to The Orchard in Grantchester. It's my favorite place. Just a 3-mile bike ride along the River Cam, with meadows filled with cow parsley in full bloom now, it's as much a pleasure to get there as it is to sit down to a lunch like this.
Forrest, Garrett and I were just there yesterday and we saw Stephen Hawking! Forrest was thrilled, he's a huge fan.
Chapel in Grantchester
These are pieces of tiles that were found in the chapel when renovating 200 years ago. This chapel dates back to 1300.
New Village
Mom and I hopped on a bus and took a tour of some of the local rural villages. This is Cambourne, a brand new, self-contained eco-village 9 miles west of Cambridge. I was impressed with the design of this place. Eventually there will be 3 villages in close proximity. It's only a 6 years old, but looks much older, due to the mixed architecture. It has its own schools, pubs, restaurants, fire department, businesses, all with walking paths. The countryside around it has footpaths connecting all the towns. For gardeners there's an allotment field (individual gardens in a large, fenced area). There's even windmills for power.http://www.cambourne-uk.com/what_is_cambourne.html
Monday, May 21, 2007
Stamford
While my mom was visiting, we took a train about an hour north to the old wool market town of Stamford. Begun in the 9th century, it became one of the largest cities in England. By the 16th century, the wool trade moved to a different area of England and the town went into decay. It is now mainly an agricultural and tourism area. We felt like we had hit jackpot with this place. It had great shopping, boutiquey places, but not expensive. The people were so nice and helpful. This town of 18,000 has 30 pubs, but we only went into one of them. Guess we would need an extra few days to sample all of them.
Zipping along in the Rain
Our hostess at the B&B, June, insisted on picking and gave us a driving tour of her beautiful village. Many programs and movies have been filmed here. This is from the car as we were zipping down the narrow streets.
Yummy Dinner
Mom and I ate at this fab Italtian restaurant. It was so nice to spend time with my mom in such a beautiful setting. No distractions, just good wine, great food and the company of someone so dear to me.
Fantastic Wall
Upon entering the restaurant, we saw this amazing red wall. This building is over 500 years old, with exposed brick and wood beams. I loved the contemporary look of the wall against the old brick and wood.
Spires View
My mom and I stayed in a darling B&B near the village center. It was named 'Spires View'. We saw 3 church spires from our bedroom window.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Stamford Scenes
These are two establishments that no longer practice in Stamford. Too bad. I'd love a brew and a bath!
Abbey Ruins
The first weekend my mom was here, we rented a car and drove out to some villages nearby. This was Bury St. Edmonds. These are ancient ruins of the abbey, built around 1016. One description we read of the ruins reminded this person of 'petrified porridge'.