Travelling with Nick

Tuesday 19 September 2023

South Devon September 2023

For the past few years, at this time of year, we have tended to visit the north of England - North Yorkshire, Cumbria or Northumberland. When thinking about this year's September break we decided that we would head south for a change, or, more precisely, southwest.

To some extent, our decision as to where we actually went was determined by finding a Best Western Hotel, near Dartmouth, that we liked the look of. In terms of its location, it was a perfect choice; it gave us an ideal base from which to explore a few of South Devon's treasures. Here are some of the photos I took of the places we visited -

DARTMOUTH

Dartmouth Naval College on the Hill

Paddle Steamer on the River Dart

Herring Gull

Superyacht Tranquility

River Dart Estuary with car ferry

Kingswear on the opposite bank of the Dart to Dartmouth.

A Russian Cannon captured in the Crimean War.

Kingswear to Paignton Steam Train

Decorative panelling above a shop

Click on the image to read about the Mayflower's connection with Dartmouth

BLACKPOOL SANDS

BUCKFAST ABBEY

There has been an Abbey in Buckfast since Saxon times (1010). The original was founded by the Benedictine order, the second, under the Norman regime, was first a Savignac foundation which merged with the Cistercian Order. By the time of King Henry VIII's dissolution of Catholic Abbeys and Monasteries, Buckfast Abbey was in a poor state of repair with few monks in residence. Over ensuing decades and centuries the building was destroyed and the materials utilised in building great houses for wealthy land owners etc.

In the early part of the twentieth century, the land where the Abbey had stood and at the time occupied by a grand castellated mansion, was bought by an order of French Monks. They had left France because of the secular laws passed by the French Government towards the end of the nineteenth century.

In 1902 they set about building a new Buckfast Abbey. It is said that there were never more than six monks involved with the building at any one time. The building that exists today, completed in 1938, is a wonderful testimonial to their dedication and faith. I hope that the following photographs adequately convey that thought.

The Saint Thomas More Chapel.

The square frame below the cross with angles contains a piece of the 'Hair Shirt'

worn by Thomas as a penance.

BRIXHAM

Brixham is still an important fishing port and tourist attraction but has many other claims to fame. Before WWII it was one of England's largest fishing ports. During the Battle of the Spanish Armada, it was one of the ports that supplied boats and men to the English fleet.

On the 5th November 1688 William of Orange, later King William III of England, landed in Brixham in his quest to overthrow the unpopular James II.

During WWII Brixham was used as a base and training facility for U.S. troops planning for the 'D Day' landings in Normandy, France (see photos below).

A bronze statue to commemorate lives lost at sea and celebrate Brixham’s fishing heritage was unveiled in the port at the end of November 2016.

A replica of of Sir Francis Drake's ship the 'Golden Hind' (originally the Pelican) in which he circumnavigated the Globe (157-80). A tourist attraction in Brixham Harbour.

BERRY POMEROY CASTLE

Ralph de Pomeroy came to England as a member of Duke William of Normandy's conquering army. As a reward, William granted him land in Devon. By the 15th century, his descendants had erected a substantial castellated mansion in the place called Berry Pomeroy. By the middle of the 16th century the Pomeroy family were in financial difficulties and to raise funds they sold the mansion to Edward Seymour 1st Duke of Somerset. Edward was brother to Jane Seymour King Henry VIII's third wife and on Henry's death was appointed "Lord Protector" to his young nephew, King Edward VI. His plan was to make Pomeroy Castle one of the grandest houses in Devon, if not England. This was a plan that was pursued by his son also called Edward and subsequent Seymours. However, by the end of the 17th century, the Seymours, for one reason or another, had lost interest in Pomeroy leaving it to decay. That is the condition we see it in today, still owned by the Seymour family, it is managed by 'English Heritage'.

ST. MARY'S CHURCH BERRY POMEROY

The current Church of St Mary the Virgin was built in the 1490s by the Lord of the Manor, Sir Richard de Pomeroy. It was built on the site of a former church that had existed since the 11th century.

The Tomb of Lord Edward Seymor son of the Ist Duke of Somerset, his son Edward and his daughter-in-law Elizabeth. The figures at the bottom of the tomb represent the latter couple's seven children, four sons and three daughters.

A board honouring the landing of the future King William III in Brixham and the holding of his first Parliament in the nearby village of Longcombe.

The spectacular 'Rood Screen', one of the finest in the country.

Nick

If you are interested in Classic Cars you might want to click on this image -

Thursday 6 October 2022

A trip to the Cotswolds

Introduction

Last Christmas we were given a voucher for a two-night stay in a hotel. We had ummed and ahhed all year about how and when we would use it but eventually settled on a Double Tree hotel at Charlton Kings, Cheltenham. A very wise choice as it turns out, a great location, delicious food and courteous staff.

We hadn't given much thought as to what we would do during the time that we were there, we knew that Cheltenham itself is an interesting town to have a wander around and so it proved on our first day. The hotel had a comprehensive display of "places to visit" leaflets and I selected a number that I thought might be of interest. One of them was for an "All year round Christmas Shop". I knew that would be of interest to my wife, we have visited many of these types of establishments, mainly in the 'States'. When I showed her the leaflet, there was no doubt that we would be heading for Lechlade, where the shop was located, the next day.

St. Mary's Church Fairford

As we were passing through Fairford, along the A417, I noticed a rather imposing church tower above the rooftops. We both like looking around old churches, they tend to be depositories of England's rich history. We were in no particular hurry to get to Lechlade so we decide to stop off in Fairford (of Airshow fame) to look at the church. Like many Cotswold towns and villages, Fairford is pleasing to the eye, particularly the 'High St.' with its attractive shops and Inns.

We found the church at the top of the High Street, you could hardly miss this attractive, largely 15th/16th century, building. After taking photos of the exterior we walked to the entrance and were greeted by one of the volunteer guides. Unfortunately, I didn't ask her name, I was told afterwards that it could have been Cherillard; she made us very welcome and shared her great and justified, enthusiasm for the church. In particular, she drew our attention to its unique stained glass windows and gave us a guide sheet that described the stories that each one was telling. They are extremely detailed and are depicting several biblical stories in one window. One would have to be a dedicated researcher with hours, or even days, available in order to fully decipher the stories being told, so beautifully, in each of the 28 windows.

Surprise encounters

Halfway through our nearly two-hour visit to St. Mary's, Cherillard was replaced by Geoff Price who was equally enthusiastic and knowledgeable. He and I had an interesting conversation about William Tyndale's translation of the Bible into English using the original Greek rather than the Latin (Vulgate) text. My wife and I continued to look around the church, when we were ready to say our goodbyes to Geoff and his wife I saw that Geoff was in conversation with an elderly gentleman. We had spoken to Geoff's wife, Hope, earlier and discovered a rather bizarre coincidence - As a child, I lived in Aston, Birmingham and still have contact with the United Reformed Church there. Hope mentioned that a very good friend of hers, the Rev. Audrey Martin-Doyle had established a Lee Abbey Community house in Aston some years ago. I was aware of this community through my connection with the URC church in Aston. So, here we were in the Cotswolds discovering a connection with an inner Birmingham suburb - amazing.

I had to interrupt Geoff's conversation with the elderly gentleman in order to say goodbye. We then went on our way to have a tour of Fairford's environs. When we eventually arrived back at our car, parked in Fairford's splendid FREE car park, I was about to get into the car when I saw the elderly gentleman, who we had seen in St Mary's Church, walking, at pace, towards me. "Do you come from Birmingham?" he inquired. I answered in the affirmative and thus began an interesting conversation with a man who told me that he had been the Vicar of St. Mary the Virgin in nearby Meysey Hampton, he retired in 2004. He was full of admiration for Geoff and his wife and told me that the latter had written a book about Angels. What another incredible encounter.

Lechlade

After that, the visit to the Christmas Shop in Lechlade paled into insignificance, even more so when we discovered that it was closed! However, even there I had a chance conversation with a 'window cleaner' who owned a 1964 Ford Mustang V8 ( I run a classic car website **). Also, I took some photos of the river Thames which runs through Lechlade.

So, all in all, a very memorable day!!

Note -

If you are unable to visit St. Mary's Church, Fairford, yourself (highly recommended) then I have put a link at the bottom of the page that provides a pretty good summary.

Here are some photos from the trip -

Cheltenham -