Part 9 Back to England

Tuesday the 8th November saw us heading back to Cheltenham again, to the Briarfields Camp Ground. Our route took us through what is called the Welsh Borders, Shropshire, Herefordshire etc. It is beautiful rural countryside just like New Zealand but it is zigzagged with roads about as busy as state highway one but as skinny as the Whananaki road. Then periodically you come across a motorway or expressway with massive junctions and roundabouts, Paul calls them spaghetti junctions. All of this in a placid rural setting with the odd tractor and sheep on the road. We made it unscathed through the countryside and arrived in Cheltenham quite pleased to be in somewhere familiar. We had showers did washing and watched TV, all very luxurious. Wednesday saw us busing to Gloucester to explore its Cathedral and historic dock area. I must admit the public transport in the cities in England is fantastic, easy to use, reasonably priced, comfortable, and on time. The tube in London can get packed with people, but if you are able to pick your times you can miss the busy period.

We arrived in Gloucester with no idea where anything was, but we have a App called Mapme on our phone and IPad, using GPS it pinpoints your location on the map and shows you where to go, thanks Xavier for downloading it for us. We call the lady who gives you direction Helga, as she can get quite firm at times if we go the wrong way. Anyway Helga pointed us in the right direction for the Cathedral, mind you it can't really be missed because it is quite tall. At present the Cathedral is undergoing some renovation on the exterior, so some of our photos have scaffolding in them unfortunately. We entered and were greeted by a lovely lady who explained the procedure. We had to purchase a photography permit, and the walking tour guide but there is no entry fee. It was gobsmackingly stunning, stone, wood and gilt combined to create a place of worship that would strike awe into the heart of the common man. Everywhere you looked were memorials to the long dead, headstones inset into the floor and walls, caskets with effigies on top, glorious stained glass windows.

 

The Nave looking toward the Quire.

 

King Edward II Tomb, the effigy is of Alabaster.

 

The Great East Window, installed in 1350. 

The craftsmanship was superb, Masons and Carpenters of old toiled away for years on this stupendous structure, some lost their lives in the process. And yes this structure, as with others we have seen, has evolved over the nearly 1000 years it has been a church. Each succeeding generation or conqueror adding on or destroying as may be. The history and emotion that is entangled in the very bones of this Cathedral leached out into the sublime atmosphere as you walked around. 

 

St. Andrews Chapel one of the 6 side chapels.

 

The vaulted ceiling of Quire.

 

The Quire or Choir, the carvings under the seats were incredible.

 

Memorials to loved ones.

The photos do not seem to do the Cathedral justice, they do not clearly show the grandeur of it all. After viewing the main Cathedral we ventured into the Cloisters which was the living area for the monastic community. This area had recently been used in the filming of Harry Potter, so I was keen to see it. 

 

The Cloisters with its stunning fan vaulting.

 

The Cloisters showing the windows, on a sunny summers day this would be magical.

 

The Cloisters are set around the Garth, a garden and recreation area for the Monks.

 

Excuse the fencing.

After our amazing wander through this place we set off for the historic docks of Gloucester, again relying on Helga to show the way. The Historic Docks are pretty cool, they have taken the old grain warehouses used in the 1800's and refurbished them into offices, museums and accommodation. The area was bubbling with young people from the neighbouring College, and the few tourists mad enough to be here in Autumn. Canal boats and tall ships, dredgers and barges all nestled in the well protected dock area. The dock had been created on the River Severn and is the starting point of the Gloucester and Sharpness canal. In years gone by ships from Australia and elsewhere would bring in cargoes of grain etc, which would be stored in the warehouses dockside, this would then be loaded into the Canal boats and distributed throughout the regions. As time and technology progressed this area became redundant, so it is great to see new life and purpose injected into the area. There are local businesses dotted around, an Antiques Shop, chandlery and the T Neilson and Company wooden boat yard and dry dock, but also big business with a large shopping complex including all the branded shops you could want.

 

Some of the warehouses at Gloucester.

 

Canal boats nestled in for winter.

 

T.Neilson and Companies dry dock.

 

The Gloucester and Sharpness canal.

 

The Main Street in Gloucester.

 

Watch and clock shop in Gloucester.

We walked back through the city to the bus stop, the Main Street was busy with people shopping or eating or smoking. In all the places we visit there are empty shops just like at home, small business is struggling here as well. It will be interesting to see the outcome of England leaving the EU, me thinks it was a bad decision.

We made it back to the campsite and rested up for the evening, ready for our big trip down to Devon tomorrow. So it is goodbye to the midlands for now, we are off to the Southwest and Cornwall.