Tuesday, June 06, 2006


Entrance Blenheim Posted by Picasa

Blenheim grounds Posted by Picasa

At Blenheim Posted by Picasa

In the grounds of Blenheim Posted by Picasa

Blenheim Posted by Picasa

Blenheim Posted by Picasa

Blenheim Posted by Picasa

Italian garden Blenheim Posted by Picasa

Formal water gardens Blenheim Posted by Picasa

A Day trip to London

Yesterday we spent the day in London. The sun shone,but there was also plenty of cloud and a cooling breeze coming off the river.
Our first stop was The London Eye. Built for the Millenium celebrations it is now a well known land mark. The wheel revolves continuously and gives magnificent views of London. it takes about 30 mins for one complete circuit and moves very slowly. I will post more photos and details after Mattie has returned home and I have more time.
We then wandered along the river and eventually arrived at St Pauls. Photography is not allowed inside this beautiful building but occasionally Matties camera accidentally clicked! Mattie and I climbed the 256 steps to the Whispering gallery, here a whisper on one side can be heard on the other. John climed all 526 steps to the top and we are waiting for his film to be developed to see the views of London.
From St Pauls we wandered down to Trafalgar Square and the Church of St Martins in the Field. Here we sat and listened to the organ being played for a while before taking a Taxi down to Tower bridge. We sat here for a while before taking the River Boat back to Waterloo.
London Eye

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Views from the London Eye


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St Pauls Cathedral
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London Town
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Trafalgar Square and St Martins in the Fields

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Early Evening in London

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Sunday, June 04, 2006

A day trip to Dorset.

Another sunny day and we went to Dorset, the next county west of Hampshire. First we stopped off to see the Fovant badges. These are the badges of the regiments stationed here in WW2 that were carved into the chalk hillside.
Next stop was the litle town of Shaftesbury. it is situated on the edge of a 700ft plateau. Its most famous street is the cobbled Gold Hill (featured in the ads for Hovis Bread). There are also some abbey gardens, but only a few stones of the abbey left and stunning views over the hills.
From here we drove to Milton Abbas. This is a little village of thatched cottages built in the 18th century.It was probably the first planned village in England and consists of a single street with wide grass verges and cottages on either side. There is also a beautiful little church.
From here we drove through the countryside to Hardy's monument. This is a brick monument to Admiral Hardy who was with Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar. High on a hill there were stunning views over Dorset all the way to the coast.
After another stop at Clouds Hill home of the late T E Lawrence (of Arabia) we continued to Corfe. This little village is dominated by the ruins of its castle.The hill was probably first fortified by Alfred the great and the castle dates from Norman times.(1100s)
After the Civil war Cromwell ordered its destruction.
Cerne Abbas Giant and the Fovant badges


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