England

We both flew back to Gatwick airport on 17 Sept via Dubai. We had breakfast at 0300, then stopped for 2 hours at Dubai, taking the opportunity to buy another Canon camera [at 0500!] in the tempting duty free hall We love it! It is much lighter and slimmer than our weighty, but faithful, old PowerShot, and the shutter speed is also much faster. We then had another breakfast at 0700 on the plane, arriving in London at midday. Fortunately we had only 15 minutes to wait for a coach to Heathrow, where we had an hour before our coach to Exeter. While in the bus terminus, a man arrived with a beautiful falcon, which proceeded to fly around the terminus, from point to point, for 45 minutes. The resident pigeons disappeared within seconds! We chatted to the handler who says that their pest-control presence there once a week is enough to prevent the pigeons nesting in the eaves, and also keeps other pests at bay. Very effective and ecological pest control.


It was lovely to see Judy and Rob again, and to marvel at the bounty in their garden.

A bowl of raspberries and blackberries from the garden

Grapes ripening in the front porch

Crab-apples

Elderberries

Red sunflowers

A lush geranium specimen

While David was busy at the garage, Sandi found lovely llamas, in an opposite field, to photograph.

Sandi was booked to do a 3-day course in Huddersfield, but unfortunately the tutor was admitted to hospital, and had to cancel at short notice. Although disappointing, this was fortuitous, as the van took longer in the garage than the time we had allocated for the service, so we used the extra time to explore Devon.

Judy took us for a lovely amble on Dartmoor, near Widdecombe-on-the-Moor.






We came across this ancient sheep enclosure with the ruins of the shepherd's hut. Someone had left evidence of some harvest ritual in the hut.


Wild ponies abound, and are actually fairly tame, seeming not to be fussed by walkers.




We enjoyed wonderful views of Dartmoor, with several hills capped by torrs, and the trees a tapestry of green hues .



On the way back we stopped in Bovey Tracey at the House of Marbles, where we could watch glass-blowing, play with the intricate marble cascades in the museum section, and marvel at the displays of the history of marbles [while reminiscing about schooldays]. We were fascinated by the moving marble artwork on the wall.

Janet had given Sandi a tenner, to spend on herself, so she bought a beautiful perfume bottle with a stunning marble stopper, as a memento, from the enticing House of Marbles tourist shop in the complex.

On Tuesday we spent the day in Exeter city, and happened to pass this ornate door to the Guildhall, so out came the camera!


David was highly amused to find the answer to swine flu in a pharmacy, and insisted on being photographed with the evidence!

Apart from needing to do some shopping we wanted to visit the house that David's uncle, David, was renowned for moving. It is of historical value and unfortunately was sited where the new ring road was planned to go. David, the architect, had to devise a way of trussing up the house so that it did not collapse, then hoisting it onto rollers, and trundle it 300m up the hill to its current position. He did it successfully, and the house has been occupied by many differing tenants to date. In spite of achieving this incredible feat, his name is unfortunately not mentioned in the official records!


There's a lovely little watercolour of the house in the posting [Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Yorkshire], from the 2009 Topsham Art Exhibition. If it wasn't already sold when we saw it it would have been very tempted to buy it.

The house is adjacent to the old city wall, into which many other structures have been built.

The old clock tower opposite the House

We spent 2 nights with our friends the Bracchis, Sue, Kev,

and their lads, Michael and Matthew, in Newcastle, before moving down through the Yorkshire moors towards the coast.

The Bracchi clan - Sue, Michael, Matthew and Kev

Beloved friends

We stopped off in the pretty little port of Whitby, which would have been far more appealing if it were not raining. We spent the next 2 nights at the Scarborough campsite, also mostly in the rain. Campervans come in all shapes and sizes!

The big ..........

and the small of campervan life!

Sandi had an interesting experience in the shower next morning. There were only 2 shower cubicles and several people queuing. A foreign woman went into the one cubicle then proceeded to have a long conversation on her cellphone, before even turning the shower on. Sandi eventually got into the other cubicle and showered while the woman continued to chat. The woman, eventually finishing her call, started singing tunelessly, and turned on the shower taps. Sandi had just finished drying herself in the adjacent cubicle, when her feet got spattered in warm, smelly urine from the woman next door! Speechless, she washed and dried her feet again, while the woman continued singing and showering. This was all a bit too ethno-bungo for Sandi who fled the shower, only to find that it was raining cats and dogs outside. Undaunted she put her towel over her head, and headed out in the torrential rain – in the wrong direction! After 10 minutes of running around in circles, with all the caravans looking the same to her unspectacled eyes, she found herself at the reception office, where they offered her an umbrella. “Too late” she cried, but was quickly shown where the van was - in site #13! She arrived at the van and warned David not to utter a word, but he couldn't control himself, and was in hysterics of mirth. According to him he was very sympathetic. " Bah humbug" she declares!! Drenched to her underwear, she dried off after her “second shower”, and by this time laughing herself, dressed in whatever dry clothes could be found, ready for a walk into town via the cliffs.

The cliffs were only a short walk away, so we set out during a brief spell of sunshine, skidding our way in the mud towards Scarborough town.

View northwards from the slippery cliff top

View across Scarborough beach, towards the town

As we descended to the beach and the town itself the heavens opened, yet again, and the hail came down. Once again we were trapped by the elements! We discovered that Sandi’s jacket was not waterproof, and umbrellas do not function inside out! Remembering our Bulgarian hail-fest during the Rose festival, we just stood there in fits of laughter. After the worst had passed we squelched past all the beach-goers crammed into their colourful beach huts, drinking coffee and revelling in their dryness. With a touch of “sense of humour failure” we shopped for a more waterproof jacket - a tough, yachting, garment - and vowed to take the next bus home [to the campsite] as we were not going to squelch in our soggy shoes for 2 miles to get back. The next bus was in an hour and by then we were in a better mood, as the sun came out and dried up all the rain. We ended up walking back and stopped at the pub for an excellent carvery for £3.50. We [especially Sandi] felt we really deserved it!

Had a long drive next day to Kidderminster [near Manchester] where we met up with Jonathan Mills [Judy’s son, the Druid, who invited us to the wonderful Stonehenge experience]. We took him for supper in the pub nearby, before turning in for the night in his driveway.

Lovely rain-dappled lillies in Jonathan's driveway

Another long drive next day down to Ebford where we spent 3 days sorting out the van and packing for Cape Town. Sandi had fun capturing the summer flowers and fruit in Judy and Rob's garden.

Sunflower and Bee

Crab apples ripening

Judy's beautiful dahlia

Judy invited us to an art exhibition in Topsham, which she had organised and in which some of her paintings were exhibited. We were charmed by some watercolours of "The house that moved", since David's uncle, David, was the architect responsible for this historical feat.

The house that moved

A painting of a typical English countryside that took our fancy

David took the van to get 2 cracks in the windscreen repaired and, £40 later, got back just in time to catch the bus to Heathrow. We were each taking different flights home, with Sandi flying direct and David flying via JHB. David tried to charm the air steward into bumping him up to Business class as it was his birthday while in the air, but she would have none of it [his charm must be wearing off!] The birthday boy was however welcomed home with open arms!!

Janet welcoming David and Sandi home on 5/8/09

On Monday we met up with Francesca [Jeremy's neice] for coffee, and then explored Bath for the rest of the day on our own. The Georgian architecture, exemplified in the magnificent Royal Crescent, is quite stunning. Two renowned architects of the 18th century, John Woods Elder and Younger, designed all the Palladian-style fronts of most of the buildings in Bath, so there is a grand uniformity. Each house owner was then left to design the rear of their house, so these vary enormously.


Bath Abbey is the focal point of the town and is right next to the Roman Baths.



The Pulteney Bridge crossing the river Avon, is lined with shops.

We were camping 30 minutes from Bath near Lacock Abbey, which we explored the next day.


We discovered that one of the Harry Potter movies used one of these rooms in the film.

The ceilings of the cloisters

are covered in a fascinating variety of bosses, like this one showing a fish swallowing a goat!

The Abbey also has extensive gardens

and grounds in which we found this tree: could it be an "arthritis tree"?

Lacock is a very pretty village


and has a museum displaying the earliest cameras and the first negative-positive photographs, developed by William Talbot, a resident of Lacock.

In the afternoon we went off to nearby Avebury, which is a much larger circle, of smaller stones, than Stonehenge, 27 km away.





Even part of the village is within the stone circle.

The whole circle is surrounded by a deep ditch and an embankment

We went back into Bath for an evening street comedy tour called BizarreBath, which was supposed to be the highlight of any visit to Bath, but was expensive and disappointing.

Next day we explored Bradford-on-Avon and enjoyed a 2-hour trip on the Kennet-and-Avon canal in a canal boat.

Many people live permanently on the river in houseboats

and carry everything on the roof, including firewood and the kitchen sink!

Someone made creative use of old teapots in which to plant their garden!

On the way back we stopped for ice-cream cones at an Ice cream boat.

Going through a manual lock is a leisurely activity.

Then it was time to head into Wales for a week.

On Sunday 5th July David's cousin, Chris Nye, at the request of Pierre, had arranged a gathering of the Nye clan at his new home in Colerne, a tiny village near Bath. Molly, our GPS, in her wisdom took us up a long, steep and very narrow road,which was hair-raising especially when faced with oncoming cars. It was great to see all David's English cousins [Michael, Mary, Chris, Ebu and Judy] with their kids and partners. Michael [senior] drove all the way up from Devon, where his yacht is anchored. Pierre and Michele and Jonty were in the UK on a 3 week holiday to visit Michael [junior].
Chris and his new partner, Eileen

Here they are with Tamar [Michael's daughter]

Chris' 4 kids with 2 of their partners, Jenny [Sam's wife] and Rachel [engaged to Jake]: Jenny, Seb, Miriam, Sam, Jake and Rachel

Mary, now married to Bill

Ebu, Bill, Michael and Mary

Judy, Michael and Mary

Pierre having a discourse with Jeremy

Jonty and Michael [who is doing his gap-year at an English school in the Midlands]

Sam with his sister, Miriam, and his wife Jenny in front

Chatting on the lawn [unfortunately Anna and Michele have their backs to the camera]

Mary's daughter, Anna, with her husband, Dominique

Us with Judy

We were blessed with sunny weather until 5pm when the rain came down and we went in to watch Federer take the Wimbledon title in a gripping match.

After recouping our energies with a good night's sleep after the Solstice, we headed down south, stopping at Winchester on the way. David was convinced the cathedral tour was only £2, having visited before, but on discovering that it was over £6 each we decided to browse the quaint city centre instead.


We found a nice camp-site on the river Arun, between Arundel and the sea, although we were annoyed at having to pay for showers again. We met another camper who was taking his three ferrets on holiday.


Chichester Cathedral was interesting, especially these ornate water spouts to drain water off the roof.


While on a tour [a free one!] of the inside of the cathedral, David felt as if the plug had been pulled and his legs wanted to give way. Worried that this was a rapid onset of old age, we sat on the grass outside for a while. On the way to Forest Row to see Jonathan and Andrea Shopley, the fever started and he realised that he had caught another bug! Jonathan made a delicious barbeque, but sitting outside just accentuated the rigors. Here is their gorgeous dog, Griff.

The next day the long anticipated weekend with the Lilleys arrived at last! We met Paddy and David Lilley in Tunbridge Wells, but instead of touring the Helios homeopathic pharmacy as planned, Dave swallowed Disprins [in the midst of all the homeopathic meds] to stop the teeth chattering and to enable him to drive down to Hastings. The homeopathic remedies that David L had prescribed started to work, but it was a week before he fully recovered.

We rented a static caravan for the weekend with the Lilleys. It was situated in a lovely wooded holiday park called Beauport, near Hastings.

The wooden deck was covered in potted fuschias and vegetables, and although the caravan had cardboard walls [there was no escaping David's diarrhoea!] and the bedrooms were hardly bigger than the beds, it was comfortable and clean. The next day we wandered about the very quaint, old village of Rye with its cobbled streets



and stopped for a pint at the Mermaid's Inn [built in 1420 and notorious for its smuggling history].



The beachfront at Hastings was very busy, full of people from "the other side of the railway line", and rather tacky. These wooden net shops, where the fishermen hang their nets to dry, are unique to Hastings.

Back at the caravan, Sandi made one of her now famous seafood chowders for dinner. Here is David Lilley expressing delight at the chowder!

Breakfast next morning was enjoyed out in the sun...

The weather was lovely and hot and thus ideal for walking along the seafronts of Bexhill and Eastbourne, which were both far quieter and nicer than Hastings.


We met a delightful old lady on Bexhill promenade, who after extolling the virtues of living in Bexhill, offered to take this photo of the four of us.

Eastbourne has a long seaside promenade along its extensive beach,


and like Brighton, has a wonderful old Victorian Pier, which sadly has seen grander days.

We met another homeopath, Moira, for lunch at the Golden Galleon near Seaford, after which we enjoyed the walk to the shingle "beach", marvelled at the white chalky cliffs of the Seven Sisters,

then walked back through fields full of bunnies, dandelions, thistles and blackberries [abuzz with bumblebees].




Sadly, it was soon time to bid the Lilleys farewell, but not before we had each had an osteopathic adjustment to our desperate spines.

Our next stop was a camp-site near West Wittering beach. The beach was a 20 minute walk away, but at low tide it took another 5 minutes to reach the water as the beach was so wide! It is a Blue flag beach with lovely fine sand, just like at home. The water was warm and only lacked waves - at last a proper beach in the UK! We now found ourselves in the middle of a "heatwave" - temperatures of 28-30 deg and the BBC full of warnings about what not to do!

These Hypericum blossoms seem to thrive in the heat.

After 3 days at W Wittering we moved to South Lytchett Manor near Poole, which was a very full campsite. We were given a voucher for a free bottle of wine at a nearby pub, of which we took full advantage. We browsed the Saturday street market in Poole, and drove along Sandbanks, a peninsula of supposedly the most expensive real estate in England.

When we arrived at Ebu, it was early evening with still a few hours of light ahead, so we decided to try to find the lane of cherries again that David and Ebu had happened upon 2 years previously. We found the lane, and the black cherries were ripe for the picking! We munched and picked happily for the next hour, taking bagsful home.

We spent Saturday night at cousin Judy and Rob's, in Ebford, eagerly anticipating the Stonehenge adventure ahead the next day with Judy, Ebu, and the Druids. Unfortunately Judy developed gastro with severe leg cramps, so was unable to come with us. So, after a late supper with cousin Ebu and Jeremy, the excited trio, Ebu, Sandi and David set off for Stonehenge in the van, in the advancing dusk. At registration, we discovered that Jonathan, Judy’s son who had invited us, had arranged for David and Sandi to be banner bearers - an exciting honour to be so close to the "action". This meant wearing white robes and receiving instruction [“don’t stab anyone in the backside with the banner point when going through the tunnel”, etc].

At 11.45 pm we all gathered in the car park, before setting off in solemn procession for the Midnight ceremony; the Druids in single file led by the sword bearer, followed by the invited guests. There were about 50 Druids and 30 guests, which made the whole celebration intimate, since there were 34,000 people at the public gathering the night before! We marched along a path in silence for about 30 minutes to a special mound.

We were supposed to be meditating as we walked, but this proved impossible as we tried to avoid stones and holes in the dark! The sky was overcast, windless and there was no moon. At the mound the Druids formed an inner circle and the guests formed the outer circle. The Chief Druid spoke about various issues, as well as a short guided meditation. This ceremony was meant to reflect the autumn and winter of our lives, but the solemnity of the occasion was interrupted by someone farting loudly, followed by another fainting! The skies cleared, the stars came out, and we walked back to base, where we had 90 minutes to rest before gathering for banner instruction. We decided that the best way to spend the time was by drinking No Caf and playing Scrabble in the van.

At 3.45 am we donned several layers of warm clothes, then our robes, raised the banner and walked in procession through the tunnel to the stone circles of Stonehenge for the Dawn ceremony. The sky was already light and with mist swirling all around us and the stones, it truly was a mystical experience [no pun intended].

We processed to the 4 points of the compass where items that represent the 4 elements - fire, water, earth and air - were collected.

The procession then entered the inner circle of stones, from the east, with everyone forming a circle. The Dawn ceremony which is meant to reflect spring, symbolising new beginnings, ended a few moments before the sunrise. It was incredible to feel the energy and warmth radiating from the stones themselves, even though the air was cold [and we expected the stones to be cold too].

Then the sun, a glowing red orb, rose up through the mist exactly over the Hele or Sunstone in the NE. As it got brighter and cleared the mist, its rays shone through the gap between the stones in the circle, falling on the Stone of Measurement. It was quite mesmerizing and very beautiful to watch. Unfortunately we could not take any photos as our hands were firmly attached to the banner throughout!

We proceeded back to the base park, arriving at 6.00 am, feeling incredibly energized and not sleepy at all! Ebu needed to get back home, but we banner bearers were expected back to participate in the High Noon ceremony. We drove back to Holton, had breakfast with Ebu, then headed back to Stonehenge. Jonathan, who was in charge of equipment, asked Sandi to decorate a fresh floral crown for one of the 2 maids, which was great fun.

A procession again formed at 12.00 noon, but with the inclusion of a Lady [one of 4 French visiting Druids from Brittany] bearing a horn of wine, accompanied by two Maids.

The procession was similar in its route around the periphery of Stonehenge to collect the 4 elements, but the difference here was that we were observed by hundreds of curious tourists, who were kept behind the usual barriers to the stones, by security guards. As we were carrying the banner immediately behind the Lady and her Maids, we had hundreds of cameras pointed at us. Our photographs have probably made it to the far corners of the Earth by now!

We then entered the inner circle of stones from the south for what was to be a 2 hour summer celebration.

By now it was really hot with the sun baking down on us. Amazingly, this time the stones felt cool! A long ceremony commenced, interspersed with a wreath of oak leaves being passed around from head to head, to show that all are equal in honour. The ceremony continued with a ritual sharing of the fruits of the summer harvest.

Then it was all over,

and we disbanded, disrobed and headed for a nearby campsite to shower and collapse in the van, the exhaustion finally catching up with us.

We learnt that the Druid Order is a revival of an ancient order founded in Oxford in 1245. It was reconstituted in 1717 from Druid groups existing in various parts of Brittany and the UK. It recognizes its origins in all systems, which express the 3 great traditions of Power, Wisdom and Love. It embodies 3 fundamental principles of wisdom: Obedience to the laws of Nature, effort for the welfare of humankind, and heroically enduring the unavoidable ills of life. It is concerned with the evolution of humanity in harmony with the Universe, using the techniques of meditation and ritual, following the path of the sun.

A few days later, while visiting Winchester Cathedral, we found a beautiful window decal depicting the sunrise through the stones at Stonehenge.

It now resides on the back window of our van, as a wonderful memory of that enchanting experience. In the mornings, on waking at dawn, looking out of the back window, there is the sun, rising through the oak trees, twinning with the Stonehenge sunrise decal. Stunning!

Finally, one Tuesday morning, the intrepid adventurers set forth in the van [which has eventually been named Mr Stubby] from Ebford. The curtains were hung, the cupboards were stocked and everything possible was battened down.

We spent a pleasant couple of hours in Newton Abbot, shopping and watching some Morris dancing in the town square

before continuing on to our selected campsite, Lemonford, in the nearby village of Bickington. It was a lovely spot, in a leafy valley, on the edge of Dartmoor, with good ablution blocks, and a peaceful air with a resident camp-kitty.

What could possibly go wrong? First, the electric hook-up cable that came with the van had the wrong fitting, but the kind owner lent us his. Then the owner decided to cut the grass all of the next day, which was irritating as David had decided to give Sandi's troublesome shoulder and neck a good massage every hour, to try to break the spasm ['twas beneficial, but didn't end up as hourly ministrations!]. The following day it poured, and started leaking copiously through the 2 back windows; all we could do was put down plastic shopping bags and soak the water up with our towels until they were all wet. We realised that we were paying £3/day for electricity, yet we were using our own gas to cook on! How silly is that? So we decided an electric hotplate was on the shopping list, as a matter of priority. The weather then improved and we could relax for the next couple of days.

After buying some silicone, we moved through Dartmoor to our next site near Tavistock, called Langstone Manor. Fortunately, we had really sunny weather so the leaky windows could be fixed, and the awning taken down and re-sealed. David, ever the intrepid handyman, did a stunning job on repairs. Sandi always seems to be packing and repacking.

Several bits and bobs that seem to need doing to the van crop up at regular intervals, allowing David to don his Heath Robinson hat and come up with creative, budget-conscious solutions. These inevitably provide Sandi with mirth-fuel. For example - a GREY shelf that needed reinforcing is now proudly held up by a LAVENDER lady's belt! Said belt was found in a thrift shop, with David insisting it was grey, and would be a good match. At least it only set us back 49 pence, and since it provides daily amusement - cheap at the price!

Don't mess with the cook!

The van trundles along the highways at a top speed of 60-65mph [even up to 70 on a good day!], but being diesel, is very noisy. Conversation above the decibels gets shorter and shorter! The radio works well, as long as the volume is turned up high enough above the noise. We enjoy tuning into the various BBC programmes - some are really funny, while others provide good general listening. Climbing hills can be a problem, proportionate to the gradient of the hill ahead; the steeper the hill, the slower we go [often down to 25mph]. As many of the country roads are narrow, the queues of cars pile up in the rearview mirror. It used to make David agitate, but as time goes on we have learned to laugh about it: C'est la vie! [or "tough"!]. As the van is 8' 6" wide, driving along these beautiful, dappled, leafy lanes is not as relaxing as one might expect. Trying to squeeze between an embankment or hedgerow on the left, and a large van, bus, or tractor careering around a blind corner on the right, is no fun for either of us. Sandi leans away from the hedgerow and shuts her eyes in case we collect a branch or hit the curb, and David leans away from the oncoming traffic, trying not to close his eyes, while still gripping the steering wheel! Somehow we've made it through everytime, but our necks are completely out. When we drive over bumps [of which there are many], invariably one of the large, super heavy, speakers at the back will bounce off its mounting and land on the bed, or one of the cupboards will pop open. If we brake sharply, all the food crates and gas barbeque slide ominously out of their storage tunnel towards us in the front. Try as we might, to batten down all known hatches, we never know what will come flying at us! Just like us, it's a work in progress.

We are realising that being in a campervan can also restrict one's mobility. Many car-parks have a 6' height restriction specifically to keep the likes of us out. As we are longer than most parking bays, we have to be careful where we park so as not to obstruct the traffic, or attract a double parking fee for using 2 bays. Also, if one is settled in a camp-site, one thinks twice before engaging in the "packing up and battening down" routine, so that one can go sightseeing or shopping. We envy those who also have a little Smartcar or scooter with which to runabout. We do intend to acquire a pair of bicycles later.

Our next camp-site, called Mena, is on a hill near Bodmin, in the very centre of Cornwall. During the 4 days camped there, we visited St Austell, and the pretty port of Fowey [pronounced Foy, as in joy, for those illiterati among you!].

We also shopped in Truro, and happened upon the Cathedral during a lunch-time organ recital, which at full blast gave David goosebumps, as an organ played at full blast is wont to do. Further down the peninsula we wandered around the Trellissic Gardens, just before closing time.

Foxgloves [Digitalis] seem to be in bloom everywhere

A fine specimen of an ancient tree in Trellissic gardens

We became comfortable with just "being", while letting go of the pressure to always be "doing" something. There is such a lot to see and do in Cornwall, of which we merely got a taste for now. The pace of life is slowing down, and it has become rather appealing to us. We sleep very comfortably in the 8' wide bed, and are often asleep by the time it gets dark at 10pm. In the mornings, by the time we have read our books, emailed, skyped and breakfasted it is often 11 or 12 noon. Now that we have bought an electric hotplate, we often cook outside under the van awning, or just under the sky. Ablution blocks vary considerably from rudimentary and mouldy, to very nice. Twice we have had to pay an extra 20 or 50p for a shower, but usually they are included in the site fee, which varies from £14-20/night, but can climb to £30/night in high season. Electrical hook up is an extra £3-4/night.

Here is a beautiful peony, of which Sandi is particularly fond, growing in cousin Judy's garden

Observing the behaviour of other campers can be a pastime in itself. Often we catch someone peering out of a caravan window at us, but they quickly pretend they weren't when we see them! We've seen only a few visitors from the EU; most campers seem to be British, either young couples in small tents or retired folk in large caravans or campervans. No-one has yet been seen in as unique a converted campervan as ours! David's favourite spectacle so far is that of an elderly woman with a cig hanging from the corner of her mouth, wearing bright orange bedsocks, ambling across the grass! [Wish we had a photo!]

We visited Lanhydrock near Bodmin, which was a really enjoyable and worthwhile excursion.

It is an enormous, 400 year old manor house, with over 50 rooms beautifully decorated with original period furniture, books and copious Victorian ornaments [including fresh fruit in the dining hall!] The contrast between the "above" and "below" stairs was striking, as was the enormous kitchen with its huge open range and leading into a warren of associated rooms: scullery, bakehouse, dry larder, fish larder, meat larder, dairy scullery, and finally the dairy, where elaborate puddings were chilled by spring water piped along grooves in the marble slabs. The Long Gallery is the great room of the house and is 35m long. The remarkable plaster ceiling, which displays 24 panels of Biblical stories, was created in 1642. The gardens were beautiful with views over the 400-acre estate.

We came across a tree that we thought was covered in thousands of white butterflies, only to find on closer inspection that it was a Cornus kousa tree.


On our return trip to Ebford, we stopped at Looe [pronunced Loo, as in poo] - merely because the name fascinated us. This is another enchanting little seaside village on the Cornish coast.


We bought a few different Cornish bottled beers and flat cider to take home, and some Cornish pasties to eat on the quay-side. Needing to wash the pasties down, we opened the cider, which tasted like a cross between fermented rubbing alcohol and poisonous herbal muti! Probably the first time we've not been able to finish a tipple!! Nearby we found Trago Mills, an enormous warren of old-fashioned-type departments in one store, complete with elderly shop assistants! It reminded us of how shops were in our childhoods, and we stocked up with odds and ends, as the prices were really good!

We spent days surfing the net and Gumtree London, letting several slip through our fingers. We were trying to decide whether to buy from a business, which would mean a guaranteed buy-back and some security with regard to reliability, but usually more expensive; or to buy privately through Gumtree. One business was in Derby and 2 others in Kent, which would have mean 6 hours of driving just to have a look. What finally put us off the buy-back scheme was learning that it is only applicable up to one year. We then spent a day setting up appointments to view vans around London the next day. We set off from Wincanton at 1300 for Berkhamsted, NW of London to view the first one. 2 hours later we were grimacing at each other, while the seller was demonstrating the complex intricacies of how to fold-out, flap-down and stretch out the bed for sleeping. All-in-all too compact, and we would have gotten "cabin fever" within the first week.

Next into London itself under the guidance of Molly [our garmin satnav], who steered us through the traffic to Tottenham. This time it was a shady dealer down an alley who had a Bedford for £3900, which was so mouldy and tatty we got out of there quickly! Then through Clacton, where we spotted loads of Hassidic Jews in the streets [we felt like we were on safari!], down through the Blackwall tunnel under the Thames to Lewisham where we had an appointment for 1800. Very nice guy but the van was similar to the first one we saw, just neater. By now it was evening and we were getting despondent; are all the adverts so much better looking than the real thing?

Our last option was a van in Clapham, for which we had not set up an appointment. We left a voice message for Marty the Aussie guy selling the van and set off for Clapham. We parked in Clapham, eating our supper of roast chicken and Coke, waiting for him to return our calls. Eventually we decided to set off for home, still 2 hours away. Marty phoned before we had driven 5 minutes...he had fallen asleep! We turned around and within minutes of seeing it, we knew we had found our van!

It is a LDV 7-seater van previously used by the army cadets, which Marty had converted and fitted out himself. Being an electrician, he has installed several innovative devices, with an overall sensible design; a big triple bed in the back with the kitchen in the front, with a minimum of folding-down and flapping-out! It is in good repair, 1997 model diesel and only £3700 with MOT and taxes for 12 months!

We decided to leave it in London while we travel up North and will collect it on 25th May. We felt very relieved as we drove back to Wincanton in the dark; 10 hours on the road had produced a good result.

It was wonderful staying with David's cousin Ebu and Jeremy in Holton, Somerset; a soft place to land after a stressful time.

A visit to Wells Cathedral to examine the detail of the stone carvings under the spotlight of a friend of Ebu's was enthralling.

Each seasonal altar cloth is a work of art

The unique arch supporting the roof of the nave

The side nave

Detail on one of the pillars

A beautifully carved crucifix

The oldest working clock in England

and the little man who strikes the bell every hour

The steps to the vestry are age-worn

and the roof is spectacular.

We enjoyed browsing the many stalls on Saturday at the street market in Bridgport, and walking through the pastures scattered with buttercups, along lush lanes lined with nettles and delicate Queen Anne's Lace flowers.

Hawthorn bushes everywhere are bedecked with blossom like crisp, white snow. Village gardens are brimming with opulent peonies and tulips, and whiffs of lilac blossom tickle the senses. I did not know that lilac comes in white, purple and lilac colours!

We lunched with cousin Judy and Rob down in Ebford, feasting on Damson berry [Ebu's]

and English gooseberry desserts. We visited Dominic, Helen and Beatrice for scones [they worked the 2nd time around....well done Dominic!], strawberry jam and Rodda's clotted cream with English tea in their cute, rose-covered cottage in the forest near Cranborne. Their garden was filled with the sounds of the woods and the heavy scent of Damascena roses. Several days were spent catching up with ourselves, repacking and planning for the travels ahead.

For those who may be avid Terry Pratchett fans, we discovered that the hub of his following is based in a shop in the town of Wincanton, near us in Holton.

The town is the only one in all England which is twinned with a fictitious city, Ankh-Morpork,

and some new streets are being given names such as Peach Pie Street and Treacle Pie Road [BBC 9 April 2009].

Arriving in the UK on Sunday I travelled past many fields still covered in a gentle blanket of snow. The sky was crystal blue and the air fresh; so different to the 34 deg heat that I left behind in Cape Town!
The adventure has begun...but it does not yet feel like adventure. Thoughts are full of trepidation about how the next few weeks will unfold. So far the Universe has given us faultless direction in the turmoil of the last few months of sorting out the Practice and packing up our home. We must trust that everything will fall into place [but it seems, alas, that it always happens at the last minute!] This is a real challenge for those of us who like to have everything under control.