Buscot

You can often forget just how important a river like the Thames has been throughout history. The area by the Thames that we are staying at is a long way from the wide bustling river you see in London but nevertheless it was vital to the old community around Buscot. The clearing where we staying is known as the Old Cheese Wharf - a location where the Thames winds its way through a large agricultural area with mellow stone villages dotted along the river. From here cheese was one of the important trading products of the area, and this was collected by the barges plying along the waterway.

Cheese Wharf - Buscot

Thames at Buscot

Opposite us is an old WWII pill-box, one of many along the northern bank of the Thames, built in 1940 as a defensive line against an invasion by the Germans. Keeping an enemy on the southern side of the Thames was thought to be a very effective defensive strategy back then! The pillbox is heavily marked because of the artillery practice target it became in 1944!

Overnights!

We took ourselves along the road this afternoon to Buscot Park and house. We were quite surprised at the extent of the art work in the house - the Faringdon Collection.

Burn-Jones' 'The Rose Bower'

 The grounds were extensive with an Italianate water garden and many other features to keep a visitor interested 

Buscot  Park

We returned to the Cheese Wharf Area via a visit to the Buscot village and weir. A pleasant and relaxing day.

Highclere

Left Upper Clatford for our van's MOT in Andover this morning. We had no issues with any problems with the van but MOTs can be a little tricky for the mechanics go through a thorough check list for legal requirements. No further follow ups were needed.

MOT in Andover

From Andover we ventured north to Highclere Castle - the castle used for the Downton Abbey production. An interesting place - not quiet as glamorous as it looks on TV. It was interesting to note that when we asked how much of the castle was open for visiting, the reply was only the first two floors because the third floor was still derelict.  Nevertheless, interesting.

Highclere Castle of Downton Abbey fame!

Is Earl Grantham at home?

We then headed for the upper reaches of the Thames at Buscot where we parked up on the banks of the Thames for the remainder of the afternoon and evening. 

Upper Clatford 3

A other great night sleep - very quiet and peaceful. Breakfasted and away on a morning walk around the village walking tracks. Some of the tracks run along the back perimeter of the village and have been walked for over a thousand years.

Ancient pathway along the back of the village.

View from pathway.

Visited the 11th Century church before returning for a coffee.

12th Century Church - Upper Clatford

Some beautiful blackberries were crying out to be picked - so I obliged with a lovely bucket full to enjoy later in the day. 

Beautiful blackberries

Helene off to help Fran deliver the village monthly news.

We were invited to lunch at Liz and Peter's home in Andover  - friends of Fran. What a lovely way to spend bank holiday Monday! Fantastic people, very welcoming and fun to spend time with.  Left late and spent our last night with Fran.

Charles, Fran, Nicki, Jim, Peter, Helene and Lizzie.

Upper Clatford 2

Must be getting close to the end of our trip - the disciplined approach to the blog is slipping a little! This is a day late!

Had a sleep-in and listen to the rain on the roof - how lovely. So a late breakfast followed before we joined Fran late in the morning to spend the day with her. 

Later in the afternoon I did some repairs on the van before the MOT on Tuesday. A tail light needed fixing and the electrical connector for a trailer needed replacing. All completed successfully - now just hope the MOT is successful too! 

Another lovely meal with Fran before retiring for a good night sleep.

The classic English pub in Upper Clatford!

Upper Clatford

Raining again this morning but still a delightful view down across the valley.

Near Winchester

We were in the area of the world motorcross championship so traffic was starting to build up. We made our way to Winchester and then to Andover. 

Later in the day we arrived at Upper Clatford to visit Fran for the long-weekend. Great to catch up again. 

Quaint and beautiful Upper Clatford

Had a lovely evening with Fran and other friends. Home after midnight.

... and good company

South Coast

Off for an early morning walk along the beach. A very pleasant part of the country.

Goring by Sea

£25000.00 for this beach shed!

Nothing much of a day except for a number of traffic jams on the motorways! This is a continual way of life for a lot of Brits - the radio is full of reports of hour long traffic jams on motorways and other roads. Too many people  with too many cars trying to get to too many places too quick - and yes we can be accused of the same!

Spent most of the morning trying to organise our storage depot for the winter. We think we have located a suitable venue in Harrow. 

Later in the day we located our overnight at Cheesefoot Head viewing area in Temple Valley. We watched a farmer late into the night trying to get his wheat harvest finished before the forecast rain came - which it did during the night.

Passed Arundel Castle on the way.

Bodiam

Rained most of the night and again this morning. Still, a great view across the English Channel whilst enjoying breakfast and a slow morning.

An old Victorian water tower - now converted into a home!

Left for Rye mid-morning and then onto Bodiam and the famous castle.

Bodiam Castle

Old portcullis at Bodiam

Weather had cleared by the time we arrived at Bodiam Castle. A large number of visitors already there but we were surprised by the numbers arriving after us. We could see how quickly the car park filled. 

Bodiam

Later in the afternoon we moved on to the south coast to Goring-by- Sea for our evening and overnight stay.