Joan's visit to the UK

Visit with Joan in the UK

Our good friend Joan came over for a UK winter visit.  Here's a recap of the busy week.... 

After a night at a hotel near Heathrow, we drove to Avebury, a Druid rock formation similar to Stonehenge  It's a larger circle than Stonehenge and you can get up close and personal with the rocks..

 Joan's got a phone call... it's for her.. 

On to Bath Spa.  Bath is a neat city on the Avon River in southern UK.  A little challenging to park on a Saturday, but we enjoyed a few hours walking around the city.  

 Inside Bath Abbey.. beautiful.. 

The river Avon in Bath

 The ancient Roman Bath House in Bath (with free heated water) .  It dates back to 200 AD.  There's a few statues beyond the wall looking over the bath. 

Onward to Rococo Gardens near Gloucester  UK, where we spend Saturday night.  It's the peak season for snowdrop flowers, in full bloom.!!  

 A carpet of white across the dewy forest.   

The Gloucester Cathedral was a quick stop on Sunday am.  

They filmed a part of the Harry Potter movie in these halls (cloisters) of the cathedral

20 pence to pee.... 

We took a tour through the Cotswold's (an area of the country with pretty small villages built on old wool money) on the way back to Derby.  Our favorite was Bourton upon the water.. the Venice of the Cotswold's.   

This is a mill in Lower Slaughter.  Lower slaughter (just downstream of upper slaughter), is actually named for the Sloe tree used for making Sloe Gin alcohol. :)   

This is a picture of William Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford upon Avon.  We took a walk through the city and ended up in Holy Trinity Cathedral, where he is buried. 

Back in Derby... 

The ram is the local football mascot.. 

Florence Nightingale.. of course two nurses were attracted to the statue.  She grew up  in Derbyshire, near Matlock.  

Hat and scarf are mandatory in the UK in the winter... 

A sign we'll need in 20-30 years from now.. 

Joan by the Derwent River in Derby

At home in the flat.. 

Joan's guest bedroom ... (open year round  ...)

Snow in Derby.. 

The English famous Fish and Chips, with mushy peas of course.. 

On to York for a day trip..  Afternoon Tea is being served.  (4 different sandwiches, sultana scones with clotted cream and jam, a selection of cakes, and the house blend of tea

The shambles in York where the butchers used to hang their meat for sale. The hooks are still there.  

This has to be some kind of discrimination.. really?? (I'd hope they'd say something to the girls if they tried to enter :)  )

The York Minster

St. Mary's abbey ruins

The city walls of York

City of York - the walls, the minster, cars on the wrong side of the road, .. 

Day trip to Dovedale in the Peak district

Not much room for a car and a tractor... 

Beautiful scenery in the Peak Disctirct

We followed the prescribed trail on the way the the stepping stones (and understandingly, the road on the way back).  The trails in the UK take you up front and personal with the local farmers.  As you can see, the trails can get a little muddy over winter.. this wasn't the worst part.   Joan was climbing over a wall and barbed wire to avoid this particular area.     

The gates through the farm walls for footpath visitors  (obligatory sheep shot )

Tim walking ahead (and waiting) on the girls).  The River Dove has helped cut the valley between the hills.

The stepping stones join the two banks of the River Dove at the Southern end of Dovedale, and were originally built by the Victorians due to the ever increasing popularity of the area, to find an easy way to cross the river. 

Joan felt like home...