Canals, Cottages and a Cathedral

Can you imagine that I still have not finished writing about our April trip to the UK, and we are headed there again in a week for our fall excursion?  I suppose I've been distracted with hiking, gardening, guests, the trail cam and drone, and travel to other destinations ... I lead a very blessed life.

But you can bet that I am feverish with excitement to return to my adopted country.  And what better way to add to the frenzy than a look back at more of the April photos??

This post continues our tour of the Cotswolds; on this day we started with the National Waterways Museum in Gloucester. Appropriately, the Museum is housed in one of the warehouses at the Gloucester docks, which were built in the 1800s as the docks got busier.  They had strong wooden floors supported by cast-iron columns to hold huge amounts of goods.  Cargoes, like grain, were stored in the warehouses before being transported inland.

To the right is the figurehead from the schooner Katherine Ellen, 1922.  The schooner carried coal on the Bristol Channel and across the Irish Sea.

Below is a model of the Liverpool Lighterage Yard, circa 1935.  Lighterage = the transfer of cargo by leans of a lighter. 

And the winch pictured on the left was once part of this yard.

Canals were used to move goods inland, and were plied by narrowboats.  70 feet long and only 7 feet wide, the narrowboats had a small cabin with a stove, table, cupboards and beds.  Most Gloucester boatmen and women had their own homes and only stayed on board when they were working.  The boatmen might be accompanied by another crewman or members of his family who helped.  The boat's skipper was paid per trip, so worked long hours to complete the journey quickly and return to Gloucester.

Below is a picture of the working clothes of boat people in that era.

Roses and Castles was the colorful canal folk art that was used to decorate working narrowboats in the 1800s and 1900s.  Boater's possessions and the boat itself were decorated with these bright and cheerful designs.

Given this is a waterways museum, you might expect to see some boats, and you would be correct, both inside and outside the building.

Bluebelle (above) was home-built in 1965, using a WWII bridge pontoon.  In 1969 it was bought by local couple Mike and Judy Powell.  The Powells fitted a new interior, an inboard engine and the "aircraft carrier" bow.  Moored at Gloucester Docks, the Powells used Bluebelle for many family holidays during the 1970s.

The Queen Boadicea II (above) was one of the Dunkirk Little Ships, and rescued at least 13 people on May 31st, 1940.

The SND No. 4 (above), with her bucket ladder, is representative of an early technique of dredging which was employed to reduce the build-up of silt within British harbors, facilitating their use by deep water vessels at a time of industrial productivity.

We walked from the Museum to Gloucester Cathedral, and along the way we passed this mosaic on the sidewalk.  Very ornate!

And then the Cathedral rose before us.  What words can you possibly utilize to describe such beauty???

The Cathedral stands in the north of the city near the River Severn.  It originated in 678 or 679 with the foundation of an abbey dedicated to St. Peter.  Below you have two views of the nave, looking east (left) and west (right). 

The Mason's Bracket: this curious memorial was built around 1335, and it has intrigued visitors ever since.  Does it commemorate a terrible accident or a miraculous escape?

A young apprentice appears to tumble from the ceiling with his arms outstretched.  Below, a bearded mason looks on in helpless horror.  What happened next is a mystery.

This is an unusual monument in a several ways.  Unlike many Cathedral monuments, it commemorates an ordinary working man.

The walls of the medieval Abbey were covered with colorful paintings like this.  It must have been an amazing sight.

Thomas Gambier Parry completed these paintings on the theme of discipleship between 1866 and 1868.  He was inspired by medieval frescoes he had seen in Italian churches.  He imitated their rich color and detail, although his romantic Victorian style was very different.

I couldn't stop staring at the vaulted ceiling shown in the pictures below, but my neck was hurting!   The complex web of interlaced ribs has a delicate symmetry that boggles the mind when you consider when (and how) it was constructed. And all those decorative 'medallions' at the joints.  Wow!  And then, just for fun, throw in the stained glass window, the altar and the tile floor, and it is almost more than your eyes can process!

Here's a closer shot of the altar.

This gives you a better look at the tile.

The Abbey was built in phases over about 400 years, from 1089 to the 1400s.  During that time, techniques and fashions developed, so the style of the building varies from place to place.

The Cathedral is full of carved faces called gargoyles and grotesques.  In the Middle Ages people may have believed they scared away evil spirits.  Each one is different and shows the imagination of the masons who carved them. 

The Great Cloister, with its fan vaulted roof, outside the North Wall of the Cathedral, was used as a location in the Harry Potter films.  This architecture is another fine example of Perpendicular Gothic.

My June 26, 2022 post displayed some photos of idyllic Cotswold villages, and yet I think we closed out our Cotswold tour with one of the most picturesque villages I have ever seen, Lower Slaughter.  (This was a recommendation from Clare of Walks with Hawks, and she was spot on.)

The village has been inhabited for over 1,000 years.  The name stems from the Old English name for a wet land "slough" (muddy place) upon which the village lies.

This quaint village sits beside the little Eye stream and is known for its unspoiled limestone cottages in the traditional Cotswold style.  We finished our visit to the village with a couple of beverages in the garden of the Slaughters' Country Inn.  It doesn't get much better than this!!!

On our way back to the house of my in-laws, we passed through our old stomping grounds while on an expatriate assignment in the UK.  We stopped in the Fleur dy Lys pub in Lowsonford for some coffee, all while reminiscing about the high-quality meat pies on the menu.  This white-washed, rustic, oak-beamed inn has an open fire and a peaceful canal side garden.

And last but not least, we drove through our old "neighborhood", the village of Hampton-in-Arden.  The house is still there, and looks much the same, but we were shocked to find that the cul-de-sac in which our kids rode bikes and scooters, right across from the house, is now a through road to a new development.  The cricket pitch, once a lovely green space on the edge of the neighborhood, is now rows of samey-samey brick houses.  Bummer.  We resolved to remember it as it was over 15 years ago!

Linking to Mosaic Monday

Mosaic Monday #182: Bluebells, Tulips, Wisteria - oh my!

 

Lengthy vacations deliver many blessings, including dozens of photos!  This will be my fourth post about our April trip to the UK, and I calculate three more will be required to cover the subject thoroughly!  So, let's stop dithering and get right to it!

One of the numerous aspects I enjoy about the home of my in-laws is the proximity to farm fields and woods.  I often go for a walk, and can always find something to photograph.  I believe the plant at left is a type of Lamium, and it carpeted the woods with its soft foliage and purple flowers peeking out.  Here are just a couple of the other blooming plants.

Birds twittered from the hedgerows, and I was tickled to catch this European Robin in song.  Check out the video.

On May 15, I wrote about my raptor experience.  The post on May 22 covered our visit to Broughton Castle.  Both of these excursions were made from a rented cottage in Long Compton (a village in the Cotswolds).  On the day we arrived, this cake greeted us, a delicacy home-made by the landlady.  Apparently, this is one of her specialties - every guest who made an entry in the guest book lauded her baking!!!

The same day as the raptor experience, we stopped in Stow-on-the-Wold (Holy Place on the Hill).  We popped into a few shops, including a bottle shop.  Just reading the labels of the beers was entertainment, such as the Marshmallow Porter shown below.  Seeing the Tiny Rebel beer was especially amusing since Man with Hat had dressed up as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man for the Winter Carnival Parade this year!  (No, we didn't buy it; we slaked our thirst with coffee and cake at a nearby tea shop.)

 

Wisteria bloomed everywhere we went; some of these vines must be nearing their 100th birthday (or more).

Sometimes (ok, almost always) the choice of our lodging hinges upon a pub within walking distance that sports a reputation for good beer and delicious food.  In the case of Long Compton, the Red Lion fit the bill - less than 5 minutes to walk there, and we savored the meals (and the beer!) enough that we went two nights in a row!

England is a photographer's paradise; the Cotswolds are particularly picturesque.  A profusion of spring flowers (especially coming from monochromatic Montana in April) doesn't hurt!

I have written before about church kneelers - January 19, 2018 and July 12, 2018.  It is hard to resist taking a picture of every one in a church - and we visit A LOT of churches!

Spousal Unit knows I love a good garden, and it is a favorite activity for my in-laws as well.  So, no surprise that Kiftsgate Court Gardens appeared on our itinerary.  As you can see on the brochure cover, "3 generations of women gardeners" is part of its marketing campaign.  "Our garden was created by my grandmother Heather Muir in the twenties, continued by my mother Diany Binny from 1950 and now looked after by myself and my husband.

"The gardens are a delight for all the senses and there is always something of interest to bring you back time and again.  The upper gardens around the house are planted to give harmonious colour schemes while the sheltered lower gardens recreate the atmosphere of warmer countries.

(I was surprised and delighted to see a whole field of Camas (left in collage above), since I have only rarely seen this plant in the wild in Montana.  Camas provided one of the most prized root crops, and many tribes fought for the right to collect in certain meadows.) 

"The newest addition is a contemporary water garden providing tranquility and order in contrast to the exuberance of the flower gardens."  Anne Chambers   

The Gardens had more than one reflecting pool!!!  Only the idea of keeping my family waiting tore me away from photo after photo!

It is quite common for people to visit gardens for a particular feature; on this day, the Bluebells were the main attraction.  Maybe the few pictures below can give you a taste of their motivation!  Mother Nature bestows such spectacular gifts!

**** I will be out of town for the Fourth of July weekend; Mosaic Monday will return on July 10.  If you live in the US, I wish you a classic holiday with parades, fireworks and a picnic!  

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."  Nelson Mandela

Mosaic Monday

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