It's been a week since we arrived here on the other side of the world. We've finally gotten over the jet-lag and have pretty much gotten used to the time-zone change. The weather has been quite typically English - cold, foggy and drizzly. It was a lovely surprise to wake up to a beautiful sunrise which turned into a quite stunning spring day.
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| Sunrise over Looe, Cornwall |
We started our holiday in the South East - we visited Dover Castle but sadly, the white cliffs (or France) weren't visible in the fog.
It was a lovely castle and we enjoyed exploring and imagining life back all of those 100's of years. It turns out Queen Victoria was a crocheter and a scarf was on display which she sent to her grandson Prince Christian Victor in South Africa in 1900 to award to British servicemen.
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| Dover Castle |
It was a lovely castle and we enjoyed exploring and imagining life back all of those 100's of years. It turns out Queen Victoria was a crocheter and a scarf was on display which she sent to her grandson Prince Christian Victor in South Africa in 1900 to award to British servicemen.
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| Crochet Scarf by Queen Victoria, 1900 |
The next day we explored the 1066 Battlefield and the Abbey Ruins - this is the place where the Normans defeated the Anglo's back in the year 1066. We enjoyed exploring the town of Battle and stopping in at the little stores along the main road. I even managed to find a yarn store!
Hastings is a seaside town with a lovely long pier. In the warmer months, it's filled with lights, music and people. It's a gorgeous walk along the seafront and we had a lovely time clocking up our steps.
After our stay in Hastings, we drove westwards to Cornwall. The landscape is completely different with lush green farmland and pastures.
We stayed in a fishing port town called Looe. It's the sort of place that fulfilled my obsession with watching British TV Dramas. Our AirBnB was truly amazing. We walked in to a warm apartment with soft music playing. We walked in towards the kitchen and found scones, jam & cream ready for afternoon tea. Every room had fresh flowers and the best thing - the view! We spent so much time looking out of the front window. Its a breathtaking vista and I can't imagine getting much done if I lived there fulltime.
We visited another English Heritage site - this time it was the Restormel Castle. I really enjoyed this castle as found it easy to sit and imagine life back in the olden days. The view from up top are magnificent and the countryside looks like a lovely green patchwork.
After visiting the castle, we explored the little town called Lostwithiel. Oh gosh it was a lovely place to visit. After a morning of exploring the castle ruins, we thought it was high time we tried a local meal - a Cornish Pasty. Meat and vegetables wrapped in delicious pastry. So good!
One final day in Cornwall and we fulfilled one of Sam's wishes - a ride on a steam train. We boarded an old fashioned steam train in Bodmin and enjoyed a steamy trip complete with an old fashioned tooting train horn.
This morning, we left our beautiful accommodation in Looe and began working our way north.
But, before we could get too far, we found time to visit one more castle. Launceston Castle. This one is more 'ruins' than the previous castles but we ticked another English heritage site off our list.
I absolutely loved visiting Cornwall. There is something magical about this part of the world.
After visiting the castle, we drove through beautiful moors which were a completely different landscape to the surrounding farmland and pastures. We stopped in town called Cheddar (yes, they make cheese here) and finally made it to Bristol late this afternoon. We're here for 4 days and look forward to exploring the surrounding area.
If anyone is looking to visit and do some sight-seeing around England, we purchased a family English Heritage pass which allows us access to a lot of ancient sites.
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| Battle Abbey |
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| Battle Abbey |
Hastings is a seaside town with a lovely long pier. In the warmer months, it's filled with lights, music and people. It's a gorgeous walk along the seafront and we had a lovely time clocking up our steps.
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| Hastings, Sussex |
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| Hastings Pier Huts, Sussex |
After our stay in Hastings, we drove westwards to Cornwall. The landscape is completely different with lush green farmland and pastures.
We stayed in a fishing port town called Looe. It's the sort of place that fulfilled my obsession with watching British TV Dramas. Our AirBnB was truly amazing. We walked in to a warm apartment with soft music playing. We walked in towards the kitchen and found scones, jam & cream ready for afternoon tea. Every room had fresh flowers and the best thing - the view! We spent so much time looking out of the front window. Its a breathtaking vista and I can't imagine getting much done if I lived there fulltime.
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| View from Clipper House - Looe, Cornwall |
We visited another English Heritage site - this time it was the Restormel Castle. I really enjoyed this castle as found it easy to sit and imagine life back in the olden days. The view from up top are magnificent and the countryside looks like a lovely green patchwork.
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| Restormel Castle, Cornwall |
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| Restormel, Cornwall |
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| Restormel Castle, Cornwall |
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| Cornish Pasty |
The town is alive with spring colour and we loved finding a place in the park to sit and eat a picnic lunch.
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| Spring flowers are blooming |
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| A pretty little stone house in the centre of town |
One final day in Cornwall and we fulfilled one of Sam's wishes - a ride on a steam train. We boarded an old fashioned steam train in Bodmin and enjoyed a steamy trip complete with an old fashioned tooting train horn.
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| Bodmin Steam Train |
This morning, we left our beautiful accommodation in Looe and began working our way north.
But, before we could get too far, we found time to visit one more castle. Launceston Castle. This one is more 'ruins' than the previous castles but we ticked another English heritage site off our list.
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| Launceston Castle, Cornwall |
I absolutely loved visiting Cornwall. There is something magical about this part of the world.
After visiting the castle, we drove through beautiful moors which were a completely different landscape to the surrounding farmland and pastures. We stopped in town called Cheddar (yes, they make cheese here) and finally made it to Bristol late this afternoon. We're here for 4 days and look forward to exploring the surrounding area.
If anyone is looking to visit and do some sight-seeing around England, we purchased a family English Heritage pass which allows us access to a lot of ancient sites.
#SameliasmumDoesEurope
Lovely photo's of your travels, Thank You for sharing, I too am a BBC program viewer and would love to see the lands of the United Kingdom.
ReplyDeleteYay! I love BBC shows. We've discovered the catch-up channels so have been watching "new to us" shows in the evenings.
DeleteLooks like you're having a fabulous time, Anorina. It's making me jealous. It's 30 years ago this week I headed off on my 12 month adventure travelling the world. I loved all the history in the UK. One day I hope we'll get to go again.
ReplyDeleteWoah, 12 months is a huge trip! Bet you have lots of great memories.
DeleteI'm sure you'll get to go again and revisit all of those places... along with some new ones too xx
Your photos bring back memories of when we were in Looe in 1978 and we met these lovely dear senior ladies selling their book they had written "We bought an Island". In their retirement years they bought Looe Island off the coast of Cornwall. It is a great read especially for a young person who has visited Looe. Best wishes as you continue to enjoy your trip and enjoy this wonderful experience.
ReplyDeleteOh how wonderful! There are people living out on the island along with a colony of seals. We didn't get out there as the weather was a little rough for the pleasure boats.
DeleteThank you for these gorgeous photos. Glad you're enjoying your trip. I'm English (now living in the U.S.) and love seeing that Cornwall and Hastings haven't changed a bit since I was last there about 25 yrs ago.... Spring in England is beautiful
ReplyDeleteYour homeland is beautiful and I'm really enjoying the trip. My husband is English too and is enjoying showing us all of the places he visited as a child. We'll end up staying in his hometown next week so will get to see where he grew up, went to school etc.
DeleteThank you for taking us along on your holiday! Love the pics!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I'm glad you're enjoying them (and not too bored with all of the castles).
DeleteThank you for sharing your fabulous photos with the interesting explanations. Your sharing makes me feel like I've been there too.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much. You're comment has made me smile. I'm glad you're enjoying them xx
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