Where's Kernow? It's a long story!

Matt and I have really been trying to make the most of our time here and this weekend was no exception. It was a bank holiday weekend and the perfect opportunity to travel outside of London... but not tooo far outside. We decided to try Cornwall - the Southwestern most county of England known for being a bit of a rogue.

I raced home from work, threw a few more things into our bags, and we were off to Heathrow airport. Now I know you're thinking, why fly? Well, we didn't fly, but we did rent a car to drive down rather than taking the train. We rented a manual Astra (Matt felt right at home getting to use his left hand for shifting). A quick, initial stall-out in the parking lot and we were on our way...

Friday evening, we drove from London to the Bristol area with the intention of driving thru Cheddar (for cheese) and Somerset (for cider) the next day on our way to Cornwall. We decided to take some A-roads rather than the main motorway, with it being a bank holiday weekend and all. This was a good idea, but meant that signage was even fewer and further between. The signs that were there were often obscured by some shrub or other. Once we got to some bigger roads in Bath, we thought we were in the clear. That was, until we hit a confusing one-way intersection and Matt read "no entry" upside down and backwards and bailed left for safety. While I applaud his instinctive decision-making skills, we spent the next 10 minutes turning ourselves around and figuring out how to get back through the city. We finally arrived at our Best Western Bristol, made a quick run to the KFC in the truckstop, and continued planning the next day's drive.

Drives thru the English countryside are always beautiful no matter what the weather. Lucky for us, today was mostly sunny and the fields were full of vivid yellows and vibrant greens. The green in the UK is the most saturated, yellow-green I've ever seen; it's my favourite colour (and deserving of an extra "u" or two). Our first stop was a tiny cafe selling local cheddars and cider. This cheese and cider stop was followed by more cheese and cider... all the way down to Cornwall. We stopped in the town of Cheddar; that's right, the place that cheddar cheese is named after. We enjoyed a small tour and educational video of the last cheesemakers in Cheddar. Fascinating. Of course, no tour is complete without a taster session and boy, I wasn't about to miss a cheese-tasting session! We were met with an incredible variety of cheddar: smoked cheddar, chive and cider cheddar, port cheddar, mild cheddar, medium cheddar, strong cheddar, vintage cheddar, chili cheddar, and they're speciality, cave-aged cheddar. That was something! They have continued the tradition of aging cheddar in the naturally controlled climate of the Cheddar Gorge caves. You really could taste the difference and it was good! Our food-tour continued with some stops at a few local cider farms... of course, picking up a few jugs to take home. Unfortunately, we were not as successful in finding Devonshire clotted cream.

We eventually made our way to the B&B we had reserved (Hill Park Farm). Our hostess had written some directions from the main highway to the B&B. Her directions took us down two country lanes just wide enough for the car. Every so often there would be some extra space on the side in case you had to pull over and allow oncoming cars to pass by. It’s a good thing too because just as we came around a curve, we were met with a huge tractor coming right for us. We avoided disaster and soon were bringing our bags into our lovely room complete with a private entrance (one of those doors cut in half so the top and bottom open separately). Given our initial chat with our hostess and the loveliness of the room, I was eagerly looking forward to breakfast.

Breakfast was superb! Homemade bread, farm fresh eggs (they were laid just the day before at the farm across the street), local bacon and sausage, and homegrown veg. Truly luxurious. As we were finishing breakfast, I looked up just in time to see a tiny head peering down from the top of the stairs. Once he had Mum’s approval, the little boy bounced down the steps and immediately began showing Matt and I his homemade weapons collection including his bow made from a small branch, a shield, and a saber (wooden, naturally). We felt safer.

Our big plan for the day was to get up to Tintagel. The first thing we had to do was pronounce it correctly; it’s tin-tajel, not tint-agel. Tintagel castle has been a well-trodden site... Bronze Age peoples, Romans, and it even made it into the Domesday Book. Despite all of that, it is probably most known as the suspected birthplace of King Arthur. Therefore, it seems perfectly reasonable for the town to be covered with shops such as King Arthur’s Halls and Merlin’s Crystals. Though much of the castle has long been dismantled, the area was beautiful and the views were certainly magical. Since it was low tide, we ventured down the steep steps and rocks and into the few sea caves - including the mystical, magical Merlin's cave.

We decided to try to stop at one more English Heritage site. Restormel Castle, a 13th century circular shell-keep, is in remarkably good condition. It stands on an earlier Norman mound surrounded by a deep dry ditch. It is yet another fantastic sight that our well-used membership gets us into... if we could make it there in time! We pulled up with 15 minutes til closing and managed to talk our way into grounds.

Once we made it back to the B&B, Matt and I decided to tackle a walk before dark. It was about 2 miles going thru two very small towns and two cow pastures. The first challenge was finding the trail head. We’ve found the UK, in general, to have a poor record for clearly signposting directions. We finally found the trail at the back gate of someone’s farm. We trampled through two cow fields taking on a good number of nosey, yet panicky cows. We bravely avoided both electric fences and a small stampede - luckily, running away from us. Just when we were coming down our homestretch of road, we were met by some young cows... in the road... outside their fence. We were a bit confused, especially since this sight was accompanied by some of the strangest cow moaning I've ever heard. Apparently, the young cows sneaked through the gate while the farmer was picking some flowers for his wife (awww) and the mothers across the street were either mad or worried about their children (awww again!). Unfortunately, we didn't know how to help and certainly didn't want to drive them further down the road, so we just stood and stared until the farmer's wife came up the road pushing them back onto the farm. Never a dull moment!

The next day, we headed back to London, but certainly not on the most direct route. First, we made our way to Trethevy Quoit - a well-preserved, Neolithic 'dolmen' burial chamber. Quite the sight! And even more so since it's right next to a farmhouse. Another stop we had to make before going home was Bishops Nympton. Bishops Nympton is a very, very small village in the county of Devon; it is unremarkable and unimportant except that my Great-Great Gran was born there. We found our way down more narrow country paths and into the town centre comprised of a pub and a post office and a few thatched-roof houses. We decided to have a swift half in The Snare & Gin Trap... with no one else in the pub except the barkeep who was playing the generic videogame. He relayed that someone in the village was having a barbecue which meant the whole village was at that person's house. If not, they were at the beach. Unfortunately, we couldn't wait until 7pm when they were expected back to ask questions about my Gran's family. Regretfully, we continued our journey back to Ealing.

Relaxed from the weekend's leisure and engrossing serenity, I fell onto the bed and tried not to think about going to work in the morning.

For pictures, click here.

Cornwall Record

I went off to Cornwall to help some very talented fellows record a 3 masted barque for an upcoming movie. I can't say what movie at the moment but look for it in theaters. We stayed in the little town of Charlestown which is also where the boat's home port is. I'll let the photos do the talking but it was a fantastic experience filled with lots of sailing, English terminology and custom. Good time and good people.

London Walks

Just a quick little note. This weekend we came across a site advertising free guided walks around London sponsored by London 2012. The free walks were only on for the weekend. There were a lot of free walks up for offer: Old Westminster, Old Hidden Venice, Old Chelsea pub walk, and many more. Saturday we went for the London 2000 years of history which was fun but basically turned out to be everything we've done. Not a bad thing but a nice recap on what we've been afforded the luxury of doing. The picture above is from the ending location of the walk...Millenium Bridge. For Sunday we opted to meet up for the London History from Shakespeare and Dickens walk. The guide seemed like an actor but apparently was a history teacher. He did a stupendous job taking our large group around the city center to different locations. Most of the locations were where Shakespeare or Dickens visited and some of which Dickens featured. We were taken to a skinny dark alley way and theatrically read a passage from Dombey and Son which apparently describes the alley way perfectly. The rest of the walk took us by Guildhall, Smithfields Market, NewGate, St. Pauls and various small courtyards of Center City we'll never find again. A nice little weekend.

The Festival Day 3

We woke up and it looked like Sturgis outside. Apparently there was also a biker’s mecca going on today so needless to say the area was busy. We made our way to Old Hastings and secured a spot on a highway sidewalk on the road The Stag was on. After waiting about a half hour the drums started to echo from down the street and the crowd around us was electrified. Jack rounded the corner and it was a wall of green. Jack led the parade but right behind him were all the Morris Dancers from the Saturday. Some danced while marching, some stopped and did a show and others just marched. Everyone in the parade was heavily costumed and really really into it, it was fantastic. The pictures really are the best descriptors. After the parade passed our current location we headed over to Hastings High Street to assume another spot since the head of the parade was probably already starting down it. We managed to find a spot perched on some steps and out of the quick down pour that happened. Again, the parade passed through, Jack’s Morris (guys in white) dancing along and the rest of the parade a little less organized and tiny bit tipsy. The parade took a break for a little while for lunch, which was perfect because we were starving. A pub was selling bacon sandwiches in the street and we grabbed one and damn it was good! We hurried up to a pub grabbed a drink to go and enjoyed the passing sunshine. Oh, we also asked a one of the parade goers (Jack’s Bogies) to help add a little green to our faces. Mission accomplished! We took up a spot right alongside the parade route and watched the continuation of the procession to the hill. The parade was far less organized and most of the marchers had drinks in hand but it was all the more fun. After they passed we went up to the hill, watched the parade finish their march into the castle and then we headed back down into the New Town for a little bit. The actual slaying of Jack was at 3:30 and it was only 1pm so we wanted to grab some cash for the entrance fee to the castle. We got inside the castle and of course the atmosphere was festive with lots of people and lots of beer drinking. All the Morris Dancers were on a stage doing their routines in an attempt to entice the Jack, who was standing on a hill, to come down to the stage to be slayed. Pictures.

Hastings, Battle of Day 2

In the rain we took a 15-minute train to the town of Battle, yes, where the Battle of Hastings took place. This part of the country calls itself 1066 country because obviously this is where William the Conqueror tooled around during his invasion during the above year. There is a lovely walking trail that will take a person all over the area and stops by all the important 1066 locations. I think it may be a 2-3 days walk. The battlefield is inside Battle Abbey and since it was pouring half of the footpath around the field was closed. It turned out that was a good thing since my jacket became saturated halfway through. The battle itself is quite interesting, which William assaulting an exhausted but advantageously positioned Anglo-Saxon army. In short, if it wasn’t for the tricking of the Anglo-Saxon army it may have been a different story. I say that knowing it sometimes doesn’t take much to drastically turn a battle but history at this site makes it feel like it was a very precarious victory. As recompense for the battle William was instructed by the Pope to build an Abbey on the site. Yet, like most abbeys this was dissolved as well. Inside the church borders was a marker for the spot where King Harold was felled on the field. According to records the only way he was identified by his wife was by a tattoo he had, since his body was so severely attacked. The town of Battle built up around the Abbey as it was built and flourished. There was a very rustic and very old inn (The Pilgrim’s Rest) right outside the walls of the abbey where we took a rest and had some OK French onion soup. Before that though we went and grabbed cache #100 in a field outside the battlegrounds. My boot was almost sucked off by the thick mud, could’ve been interesting. We took a moment to check out the small town but there wasn’t a whole lot to do in the rain, plus we were soaked and little chilly so we made our way back to train. Nap time at hotel…then a quick rush up to the eastern hill above Old Hastings for a sunset shot. The park above Old Hastings felt a lot like like the Dover Cliffs park. It looked a few miles long and could easily take a day of exploring to cover. So much to do. We headed back down to Old Hastings center where the party was in full swing. Which mostly meant college kids drinking heavily and hanging outside of the pubs. Not really feeling it we decided to drop some coins at the arcade halls on the boardwalk. The rigged games are great but I almost won a bathrobe wearing meerkat stuffed animal. Tomorrow is the big day. The parade and brutal dismemberment of leaves pinned to a frame. Pictures.

Jack in the Green Festival Day 1

We’ve been looking forward to this for a long time, even before we decided to come over here. We’ve seen this festival on a few travel shows and it instantly appealed to us. The Jack in the Green festival is a celebration that involves Jack (basically a bush with a man’s face in it) who represents the spring and holds the spirit of summer. After three days of festing Jack is slain, after a parade, releasing the spirit of summer. Anyway, we took the train down to Hastings, where the festival is, and got there late in the morning. Our journey was to begin at Victoria rail station around 8:47am but quickly became 9:13am since the Southern Rail Line couldn’t find a driver for our train. Inconsequentially, every fold down tray for the seats made an awful squealing sound so we made sure not to sit at one in order to avoid the temptation. After a short wait we saw two rail workers escorting a chimpanzee down the track towards the front of the train; minutes later we were told they found our driver and we’re on our way. Trains may be a little expensive but what a wonderful way to get around. Hastings is another coastal town and is separated into New Hastings and Old Hastings. Again, Old Hastings is in a valley between two hills and the western hill separates the two divisions. Hastings is very much like a Jersey shore experience. There is a boardwalk, boardwalk rides, boardwalk gambling and boardwalk food. Upon entering Old Hastings the roads narrowed and many of the shops sported green leaves with red, yellow and blue streamers hanging outside. A display of Morris Dancing was happening near Old Hastings and that is one of the main things we wanted to see. Not that Morris Dancing is hard to explain but I think the pictures and videos do the job better. We really enjoyed watching the different themed dancers come and go and see the comradery amongst them. Throughout the day there were a few events scheduled around town but we really wanted to go to The Stag pub for their food and scheduled singing. The Stag was pub was down a road on the parade route and the road itself was decorated for the festivities. Interestingly, the sidewalks in Old Hastings rise above the narrow road and provided a great view of the parade. We arrived at The Stag early and found a seat but not too long after it started to fill up. Our two-person table was kind of in the center of everything and we quickly found out that we had to move for a quick show. Some Borderland sword dancers came in and did a little thing for a few minutes. It was awesome (see video). The pub crowded up, we ate our food, and listened to some of the folk singing coming from the other room. Everyone in the room joined in. After the pub it was time to explore the town and see what else was happening. Old Hastings High Street was where it was all happening and low and behold we found a mini beer festival happening in one of the pubs. Forcibly we stopped in and got some halves. I got a cider (Thatcher’s Cheddar Valley) that looked like tang and was hard to drink and Beckie got an ale (Cairghorn Howler). It was already 5ish by this point so we walked through the town some more and made our way up to the green on the eastern hill. On this hill is another Norman Castle, originally as a motte and bailey by William the Conqueror during his invasion. During the parade Jack makes his way to the castle where he will meet his fate. The sun set on the hill and we made our way down the other side towards New Hastings for dinner. The New Hastings town centre is definitely more of a modern town square with multiple streets closed off for pedestrians. The Morris Dancing was truly amazing and I never thought I would be so captivated by it, very English. Pictures.