British Out-Takes #1

We are at Newbury, near Oxford, having back-tracked a bit, going seriously native at the annual Southern (England) Motorhome Show, camped (parked) in a huge grass field with perhaps a thousand other RVs. Seriously. We are very likely the only Americans. So far, we have the only non-GB license plate, too. But everyone is welcoming, interested, curious, as always. It is not our first UK of GB motorhome show. We attended the same show in 2013, when it was in Exeter. The show appears to have grown considerably since then. But more of that later. It's time for the out-takes.

At the Route 1066 Cafe, near Hastings, Battle, etc.

Very popular with bikers (someone else's pix)

Worth another look, and contemplation

Very deep, in Midhurst

Our original pattern, Franciscan Madeira, at a charity shop in
Midhurst

Not the first "Do not follow SAT NAV" sign we've seen

How welcoming...

Even on a quick drive-by on the A303, it never fails to impress;
the plan now, of course, is to dig a tunnel beneath Stonehenge...

Among the better-dressed garden visitors, at Sissinghurst

Especially on weekends, there is never a lack of vintage
aircraft in the skies above

Exhibit #2

On grass or at the beach

The owner lived on at Scotney well into her 80s
or beyond, and left not a few 70's items, many
still on display among the Victorian and older
pieces; note especially the bird clock, Carole

Among the older pieces, Tudor era plumbing...dropped right into
the moat, one surmises

The Chevy Chase sign (Christmas Vacation)

We're seeing English wine all over the south, some of it quite
pricey; perhaps global warming isn't all bad

Not written by a lawyer...

18 hours of daylight, coming our way

"Waiter, what's this in my salad?"

Do your chickens need a holiday?

How yellow was my valley...

Exmoor Ponies

Exmoor ponies are Britain's original breed of horses, they go back thousands of years, and the present instances are thought to be little changed from their ancestors. At Danebury and similar sites, they are used to keep coarse grasses and scrub brush--on which they can survive indefinitely-- under control. They are, however, semi-wild, and not to be messed with...

Click to enlarge...

In this amazing sequence, an Exmoor pony attempts to grab a
young couple's bag of crisps (coarse grasses and scrub brush
must get tiresome...)

But the young lad rescues the crisps

Foiled again! But for a quick selfie, the pony will get a few
crisps

More Exmoor ponies

Thus

And thus

Danebury Hillfort

From Winchester we headed toward Stoarhead, our next home and garden, but missed a turn and found ourselves on single-lane roads way out in the fields. Readjusting Garmina, our crack satnav, we made for Sarum, hoping to find larger roads. Eventually, I saw a sign for Danbury Hillfort, and we decided to call it a night, way out in the boonies, at a quiet lay-by just short of the ancient site. In 2009 and in 2013, we always had good wild-camping luck with archaeological sites. They and their carparks are generally deserted, except for the really big ones, and certainly so after dark.

Next morning we drove up to the site; which turned out to be
anything but deserted on a fine Sunday morning

Thus; cleverly camoflouged as a forested hill

Just east of The Wallops, Over Wallop, Middle Wallop,
and Nether Wallop; Wallop itself was destroyed by
bombardment in the Civil War; hence the origin of the
expression "walloped"

The view from atop Danebury Hillfort

The site is amply explained in a variety of signs, provided by
the Hampshire County Council; Danebury was excavated
extensively by Oxford archaeologists in the 70s and 80s; the
gist is that it is Iron Age, built about 500 BC, occupied
continuously by some 300-400 people for 400-500 years, then
abandoned; Britain has more than a thousand such hillforts;
seven other hillforts can be seen (by the experienced eye) from
Danebury 

Good view of the ditch and rampart that surround the site; even
after a couple thousand years' erosion, in a very wet and windy
climate, the rampart is often 20-30 feet above the ditch

Walking the rampart, which encloses about 5 hectares

Thus

A bit of the double gate entrance scheme; if invaders get through
the initial gate, they enter a killing field; among the artifacts
found were a hoard of 11,000 sling stones; also 180,000 pottery
shards...we always wonder who got to count the pottery shards
and how accurate the count actually was...

One of the Wallops

Round enclosure marking the site of

One of the round houses, used for human habitation; the
inhabitants farmed and raised sheep and cattle; and traded
"Keep Calm..." merchandise

No word as to whether they enjoyed escargots, which are found
all over the area; personally, I believe the escargots came over
only after 1066 AD; WRONG! I later remembered that the Romans
(no doubt Gallic Romans) brought the snails over with them; see
http://roadeveron.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/chedworth-roman-
villa.html

They are nevertheless part of the Hampshire County Council
seal

Another view of the formidable ditch and rampart system

A path leading into the enclosure...note the tiny
white daisy-like flowers...they grow only on the
established paths

Thus

The upper carpark, space for 30 or so cars, was full throughout
the day, many of the visitors dog-walkers

But also many family outings, picnics, kite-flyings, and other

activities

One wonders how much thought is given to the place and to
one's ancestors, however distant

Winchester Cathedral, 2016

We visited Winchester, the Saxon capital, and its cathedral, in 2009, and I was sufficiently impressed to do three posts on the great old church. It's a fun place, with way more going on than just religion and architecture. The three posts are: http://roadeveron.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/winchester-cathedral.html, http://roadeveron.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/winchester-cathedral-ii.html, and
http://roadeveron.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/cultural-treasures-of-winchester.html. I took a hundred or so pix this time, but wanting not to duplicate the 2009 posts and pix, I'll just post the new bits here.

Near the cathedral, the site of Nunnaminster, the monastery
founded by Ealswith, wife of Alfred the Great, in 903; interesting
stone caskets...one size fits all

You have to love a cathedral that has its own bouncy house!
Custom-built, too

I assume most visitors, Americans certainly,
enter the cathedral thinking of the song--how
many cathedrals have their rock song?--perhaps
quietly singing "Oh-bo-de-o-do, Oh-bo-de-o-do" 

But this time, and most of the two hours we were there, the
strains of "Oh-bo-de-o-do" were beautifully drowned out by a
full rehearsal of Elgars' majestically soaring Dream of
Gerontius; heavenly sights and sounds!

Last time I did manage to find Jane Austen's
burial site

But missed the shrine

And the window

And we completely missed the Epiphany
Chapel, with its William Morris windows;
here, the Annunciation

Visitation

Adoration

Epiphany

Probably 12th century fresco recently discovered
in a cleaning

Another shot of Romanesque meets Gothic
(Perpendicular) (north transept)

Not pictured: William Walker, the diver who
single-handedly saved the cathedral, replacing
its wooden foundations; the Isaac Walton
"Fishermans" Chapel, the oldest carved choir
in Britain, assorted relics, sculptures, the great
screen, the effects of the Parliamentarians'
visit, the crypt, etc. See the previous posts.

Glorious place, great day