Somerset

This week we are travelling around the County of Somerset, starting with Bristol, and then heading to Bath, Cheddar Gorge (with a small 100 mile diversion to Avebury), and then west to Minehead near Exmoor national park, so we are looking forward to a little bit of city time, but then some nice walks outdoors.  And it's Guy Fawkes Night on Saturday night so hopefully some fireworks too!

Thursday 03 November

Although we tried to aim our arrival at our next site, Baltic Wharf CaravanClub Site at Bristol, for 12pm we are still 15 minutes early so have to hover outside before being allowed entry. This hopefully won't result in a parking fine as with CCTV everywhere in the UK, they are very good at posting out fines if you do the wrong thing.

This caravan site is totally full over the week-end and we were lucky to find a spot here for one night, so we quickly head off into the city after setting up. There is some rain hanging around but only intermittent.

We are quite close to the city and beside a waterway which reminds us of the River Walk along the Brisbane River. Many colourful apartments line the opposite riverbank.

The Bristol Cathedral was described as “fun” in our guide book, and it certainly has that element but definitely has a great feel to it. It would be easy to spend half the day wandering around or sitting in the different chapels admiring the ornate decorations. The oldest chapel, Elder Lady Chapel, has carvings of animals including monkeys playing bagpipes and rams on violins (where the fun aspect comes in). In two corners, the original material of the building (13^th century) has been left visible.

At the very front of the building is the Eastern Lady Chapel (14^th century) containing many colourful tombs, something we've not seen before in a church but totally love.

The Chapter House, leading off the cloister, dates from the Normans and was where the monks conducted meetings and other business. This room totally blows Sylvi's mind with the richly carved lattice and other intricate work on the ceiling and walls, so well preserved.

There is an interactive side to the Gothic choir stalls here, again something we've not seen before, and certainly have never been invited to discover before. If you lift up each seat in the choir stall, you discover an intricate pattern underneath and small ledge used to rest upon during long services where standing is required. These are called misericords.

All the way around the top of the cathedral can be seen small walkways, used to service lights or maybe spy on the congregation. And a favourite spooky aspect for Sylvi, the steps used by the monks in the 12^th century to access the upper levels are still visible, though terribly worn (and roped off).

Across the way from the cathedral is the Council House and parked out the front on the College Green are protesters in tents, similar to those still protesting outside St Paul's Cathedral in London.  We are seeing "Occupy [insert town name here]" protesters everywhere, but this is a small group.

A steep climb to Brandon Hill reveals a beautiful park with lush trees and right at the summit is our goal of Cabot Tower (1897). This reminds Bill of the William Wallace monument in Sterling. And like that one, it was built to honour a national hero – John Cabot who discovered North America. 

We drove the Cabot Trail when we were in Nova Scotia last year. It certainly is quite an ornate tower and at 105 feet, the climb to the top was a good workout. And the 360 degree view of the city below was well worth it.

The park is full of cheeky and fearless squirrels and pigeons who come right up to you for food.

Another thing the guide book suggested was the Georgian House, a restored former home of a local sugar merchant, but it is now closed until Easter 2012. It didn't look very impressive from the outside and there were much nicer examples of the Georgian style across the street.  We then headed into the main shopping area and through the student precinct.  You can probably tell which is which in the photos that follow.

We also found a Currys department store selling the latest Kindle which Bill has had his eye on for awhile. The sales person gave us a good run down on the product and we went away to think about it.

On the way home we walked through the Old City and admired the many beautiful old buildings. By the time we arrived back at camp it was on dusk and lovely to see the buildings lining the river with their lights on.

We were lucky to have a pub located right next door which has been rare during our travels, so we took advantage and had a nice dinner out to finish off a really enjoyable day. We didn't know what to expect of Bristol, but totally loved it.


More Bristol photos here.

Friday 04 November

Can you believe there was another church with it's bells going all night?! Luckily it was way in the distance as Bill only heard it at 3am and Sylvi at 5am, and it was only on the hour. And of course being located right beside a pub, the garbage collection also told us to get up, but at a very reasonable hour.

After lengthy consideration, we raced back into the city to buy at least one Kindle so we can be sure all is well with that particular product before buying a second one. We are both avid readers so it is a worthwhile investment.

As we hurry to be back for the 12pm departure time we receive a phone call at 11:30am from the caravan park warden making sure we weren't trying to sneak an extra day in at their site.

We drive out the gates with 6 minutes to spare and head towards Bath, only about 30 minutes away. Our camp site, Newton Mill Holiday Park, is large and leafy and alongside a waterway so there are plenty of ducks wandering about. We learnt our lesson in Deinze, Belgium, so won't be feeding them too close to our site as their thank you parcels aren't welcome.

The day has turned very grey and rainy so we decide to stay in. Hopefully tomorrow will be nice weather as there is a big fireworks display for Guy Fawkes.

In local events, there was a 35 car pile-up on the M5 in Sommerset, very close to where we are. At least 7 people have died and 50 odd injured. The entire motorway was blocked for hours as emergency services attended. 

Saturday 05 November

Tonight is Guy Fawkes night and Bath is holding a huge fireworks display so we've decided to stay in town rather then try to catch a taxi home afterwards.

Firstly though we have to find the bus stop to get us into town as the directions given weren't clear. After running into an older couple who had followed us up a steep hill also looking for it, we finally found it in the totally other direction.

The mall area of Bath was teaming with people. Once again the city has a combination of old and new and our first stop was the Abbey. 

After seeing so many beautiful churches, we were quite disappointed that this one seemed less so. It was certainly well decorated but had a very commercial feel with an attendant in the nave touting for the 2 pound 50 “donation” upon entry.

We couldn't come to Bath without visiting the Roman Baths but with the 12 pound pp entry fee they certainly don't miss you. Luckily it included the audio-guide which was voiced by Dr Alice Roberts, who we love watching present medical and archaeological documentaries. 

This is a totally incredible place which began with the building of a Temple in 60-70AD and the baths were developed after that. Once the Romans left Britain the complex went into disrepair and were basically destroyed in the 6^th century. Many developments were built on top of the ruins to where the street level is today and it was in 1880 that the baths were rediscovered along with a large number of artefacts.

It really is a very big complex with lots of different rooms and chambers as well as the very large Great Bath in the middle. The Romans were engineering champions and we were totally amazed to be walking amongst all this history.

Tonight's fireworks display is to be held in the Bath Rugby Club grounds very close to the centre of the city, and there are several matches on before night's event. This contributes to the crowd numbers and every now and then we can hear cheers as goals are scored.

When we checked into the Windsor Guest-house we were delighted to find that our room directly faces the rugby grounds, so we don't even have to go out into the cold tonight to see the fireworks. Yippee.

We found a Tesco not far and got some supplies for dinner and once the fireworks started we sat in front of the window to enjoy. We love fireworks and we've seen many displays both at home and aboard. This one has to be up there as one of the best we've seen with heaps of new “explosions” we've not seen before. The accompanying music was also very good.

After about 20 minutes it was all over and the crowds started leaving. We were so glad to be snug and warm in our room. But the show wasn't totally over as lots of private firework displays were being set off from the nearby hills.

Sunday 06 November

In world news, the Greek prime minister George Papandreou narrowly won a vote of no confidence yesterday after he crazily wanted to hold a referendum following the latest bail-out offer from the EU. But victory was bitter sweet as he was then forced to resign so that a coalition government could be formed before elections could be called for early next year.

After a lovely breakfast we set off quickly to check out a few sights before having to dash back to the camp site and check out by 11:30am. It's a glorious day with not a cloud in the sky.

“TheCircus” is a circular set of Georgian apartment buildings constructed between 1754-68 to resemble the Colosseum. Architect John Wood the Elder.

A little further away is the “Royal Crescent” which is a similar construction from 1767-74 by architect John Wood the Younger. Both are very elegant buildings decorated with detailed plaster work.

That's all we had time for so caught a taxi back to camp, packed up and headed for Avebury, now a National Trust site.


There are more Bath photos here.

Like most people we had only heard of Stonehenge, but the stone circles (2600BC) at Avebury cover a wider area and some of the stones themselves are much larger. As with Stonehenge, the reason for their existence is a mystery but unlike Stonehenge these stones were discovered buried and then “set back in place” by archaeologist Alexander Keiller once excavated (from 1937). Regardless, it is an impressive sight.

Keiller used his wealth (Dundee marmalades) to purchase 950 acres of land for preservation, excavation and the construction of interpretive museums. The site contains a 17^th century barn (now a museum), a Dovecote (once housed pigeons), some stables (also a museum) and a Manor house currently closed due to the filming of new episodes of “To the Manor Born” starring Penelope Keith.

It was too late in the day to also visit Stonehenge so we headed to our camp site, Cheddar Caravan Club Site at Cheddar Gorge in Somerset. Along the way we heard that the M5 won't be open until Monday morning at the earliest as police conclude investigations into the massive road crash.

The temperature here is much cooler being in a gorge plus it's a clear night. Predictions are for 3 degrees.

Monday 07 November

We saw that a church was just next door to our camp site, and hoped beyond hope that their bells would be silent. But not only did they ring on the quarter all night, it was also windy so they were like a giant windchime a lot of the time too. One saving grace is we think the ringer was muffled so it wasn't too loud. We suppose the locals don't even hear it anymore.

It's 7 degrees but feels more like 3 plus the day is grey but we're determined to do the Cheddar Gorge walk regardless.

The first part of the walk is quite steep and there are lots of slippery rocks along the path, but thankfully not too much mud. Once we reach the peak we can make out the town of Cheddar below but it's quite foggy so not as clear as it would have been yesterday in the brilliant sunshine. It's also very cold as the temp hasn't risen much over 7 and may even be cooler up here.

Once you're up you have to come down and luckily there are steps most of the way. There is a section of road to cross before starting up again on the other side to complete the second half of the walk. This time it's not as steep but the ascent takes us to a higher point at 260 meters. We get a better look at Cheddar on this side. There are no barriers along the edge so Bill gingerly approaches to take photos of the gorge below.

It probably took us 2 hours to complete and we were very proud of our efforts. The temperature at the peak was very cold and misty and once we reach the bottom we race for a Costas coffee to warm up.

There is one company who still makes cheddar in Cheddar and we stop in for a look on the way back to camp.


More photos from Cheddar are here.

Tuesday 08 November

We loved the Cheddar Gorge walk and we loved the town of Cheddar but we didn't love the church bell so packed up and headed for Minehead beside Exmoor National Park, about 2 hours away.

Many of the National Trust sites are fully or partially closed at this time of year but we stop in at Dunster Castle and Gardens anyway.

There has been a castle on this site since the 11^th century with obvious modifications and additions over the years. It was almost destroyed by Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarians in 1650. In the 14^th century the Luttrell family bought the castle and owned it (apart from a brief period) until it was sold to the National Trust in 1976.

There is even an Aussie touch with one of the Luttrell wives (Alys) being an Australian who loved to garden and planted many Australian natives within the estate around the 1920s.

The water reservoir installed in 1870 not only serviced the castle but also the neighbouring village until 1960.

A pet cemetery is also on the grounds commemorating much loved pets including a budgie, and of course there is the usual dungeon and crypt with many stories of ghosts.  In the Stables, which were open, they also had a Bat Cam set up that was monitoring the bats roosting in the attic of the stables.  Cool.  

We were happy to have paid a visit even though the castle itself was closed. It certainly is an imposing building and the gardens are magnificent.

After lunch in the village we walked around Dunster, which owed its wealth to the Castle and its role as a trading centre for fleece brought in off Exmoor.  The old fleece market still stands in the main street.

We headed to our camp site, Minehead CaravanClub Site, and were glad to see no church within sight (but there is a fire station right beside).

Once set up we headed for a look in town which is only a short walk away. Minehead is a coastal town and we came to an esplanade which reminded us a little of the Redcliffe as there were several restaurants and games arcades overlooking the beach. We are certainly glad to see footpaths so you can walk safely, as this area is the start of 600 miles of walking routes.

Back at camp, the warden told us we might see some wildlife on the site and sure enough we saw a badger foraging. Apparently deer were sighted yesterday as there is a nature reserve behind the park.

In world news, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi resigns following a no confidence vote. Like Greece, Italy is suffering huge international debts. He is Italy’s longest serving post-war PM and has held the position on 3 separate occasions. And Dr Conrad Murray is found guilty of the involuntary manslaughter of Michael Jackson.

Wednesday 09 November

Happy birthday to our nephew Craig who has recently become engaged to the lovely Kate.

A grey drizzly day but not too cold at 12 degrees as we drive back to Dunster Castle to park and set off to do a walk on Crown Estate land. There are several walks you can do and we pick the Bat Castle Circuit which is 6.5km long.

First we walk through the Dunster Castle gardens which are totally charming with flowing streams and many varied trees and plants. There are 3 small bridges on the grounds and a water mill which is apparently still used to ground flour but it looks very dilapidated to us and not open.

Once we're on the circuit we are walking on a golden carpet of autumn leaves. Unfortuntely this beautiful carpet hides rocks of differing sizes making it a bit of a challenge.

Soon we're amongst the Tall Tree Trail containing the tallest tree in the UK, a Douglas Fir. This was recorded in 2009 at just over 60 meters.

We also come upon some great modern wood carvings – a bear and a fir cone. There are more of these carvings along the other circuits.

This walk contains a more gentle rise then the one we did at Cheddar Gorge, but it's still a bit of a workout and at the highest point we are at 213 meters. This is the location of Bat's Castle which is an Iron Age Hill Fort identified in 1983 when school boys found 8 coins here dating from between 102BC and 350AD. The stone ramparts are still visible but there is also a lot of scrub covered mounds. There is a 360 degree panoramic view and on a clear day you can apparently see the Brecon Becons across the way in Wales.

It was a very enjoyable (yet rocky) 2 hour walk though it drizzled most of the time and by the end we were starving so had lunch at the Dunster Castle Hotel. TV series such as Poirot, Maid Marian and Darling Buds of May were filmed here.

The weather prediction for the next few days is rain so we'll move on, but there is a lot more to see in this area and if the weather had been better we would have stayed longer.  Minehead and Dunster are both great places to visit, and we hardly scratched the surface of the walking opportunities around Exmoor National Park.


More photos from Exmoor here.