Going to the Chapel

Song - Angel from Montgomery by Bonnie Raitt & John Prine

St Edward's Church is a medieval-built Church of England parish church 

 and is in Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswalds.  

I wonder what came first the church or the trees?




"There's nothing wrong with having a tree for a friend."

--Bob Ross

Stop Thief

 

Yes, it's true....Mr. B was thrown in the stocks at Warwick castle on Saturday.  

 

For going to St. Edwards church on Friday and then.....

 

Smelling the flowers at Hidcoate on Friday as well as......

 

Enjoying the gardens at David Austin's Garden on Saturday.....

 

And dining on the water in Chester, near Liverpool.  Great few days.  

The military is out in force at most public places with guns at the ready. We need to stand in secondary lines for purses & backpacks to be gone through but it's all worth it to ensure safety. 

Word of the Day - pinch = steal

Ancient Standing Stones

Tuesday morning we experienced Stonehenge.  It was the perfect sultry temperature and we were able to enjoy the stones before the crowds arrived. 

 

It was begun in 2,500-3,000 bc and had many uses.  Amazing energy to be felt here even if it is somewhat touristy.  The entire time we were there we heard blasts going off near that clump of trees in the far right of the photo above. 

 

This was due to England raising its security to "critical" after the Manchester bombing just the day before. Apparently Stonehenge is near a military camp because as we left, we saw tanks, helicopters and signs like the one above warning you to watch for tanks crossing the road. 

 

Next we headed to the Avebury Stones.  Here the stone circle is so large that it encircles the entire village and there are sheep mowing the grass and people enjoying the stones & sheep.  

Mr. B was eating in front of that half-timbered, thatched roof restaurant in the background but I couldn't sit still as I wanted to take photos and see the sheep.  

 

 

 Next was the little village of Lacock.  It has been used for many TV shows & movies as it is faithful to the era.  We enjoyed coffee & blueberry ice cream here and I won't tell you who had what!!!

We spent the night in Castle Combe, a picture postcard village with a trout stream running through. 

You can See more "standing stones" in the photos above although I believe these stones are placed by masons to form houses and churches and bridges!!!

We drove over the Bristol Channel to get to Wales so we could visit Tintern Abbey.  

 

I cannot begin to describe to you how enchanting this place truly is. Maybe even more so with most of it destroyed, it truly spoke to both Mr. B & myself with its powerful presence.  I may have shed a few tears....

Heading back to the Cotswolds' we attempted to see the gardens at Highgrove but they turned us away because we  didn't have previous reservations.  

 

I didn't know it would be so diffficult to see a few flowers!  They wanted us to open our "bonnet" & trunk with guns drawn! Yikes!

 

Time for a rest at our hotel "the oldest inn in England" c947.  

 

From Lord & Lady Mac A'Bhaird!!!

Word of the day - Araf (Welsh - sounds like arr-arf ) = slow down