Oct 12 -16 Abbingdon and Oxford

The last phase of our trip was spent with cousins Alan and Hillary at their home in Abingdon a village close to Oxford.

On our first day we took side trip to Kings Langley, about one hour away by car, to visit childhood friends of my parents. Lu and John Smith have known both my parents and us for many many years and it was lovely to see them and to spend an afternoon with them.

We topped the day off with a lovely dinner at the Boar's Head a pub with a lovely atmosphere and even better food!

We spent the next very rainy day wandering through Oxford. Alan and Hilary came with us as we wound our way through the streets past old buildings and the colleges of Oxford University.

We visited the Oxford Museum where we saw incredible Roman artifacts.

Then we moved on to the Natural History Museum. The collection is amazing, topped only by the building it is in. The building was built to be a museum and houses two collections, one artifacts of the natural world...

...And the second housing the Pitt Rivers collection. This collection was started in the eighteen hundreds by a colonel in the army who, having been charged with developng a new gun, started collecting guns from around the world. He eventually gave uis collector to this museum in Oxford and through others' donations it has grown. It was so interesting because it includes an eclectic collection of artifacts, grouped together based on their use or type rather than by epoch or geographical region. It would take many days to thoroughly explore the entire collection.

We spent a quiet day Monday. Paul and Alan went out to play pool while the ladies relaxed. We finished the day with a tour of the Oxford Plant where the MINI is produced. This was an incredible tour which all four of us found incredibly interesting and informative. I came way wanting an Emeragle Green Cooper S, until I saw the price that is!

Before we knew it our last day was upon us and we spent it wandering around the village of Abbingdon, the oldest city in England.

 This included a visit to the local museum, from the roof of which we could see the city around us. We learned about 'bun throwing' a tradition of throwing buns fro the city hall into crowds below when there are celebrations, especially of a royal nature.

We saw the oldest street in the village and the two churches which are their centre. The Thames runs through the village and we watched a narrow boat make it's way down the waterway.

After these days spent with family we prepared to leave and bid Britain adieu.

Stats: 40 days in Wales, Britian, and Scotland, drove 3,394 miles (5,500 km); walked 90 miles 144 kilometers.

October 12 - Winchester Cathedral

Our wandering time coming to a close, we made our way towards Oxford where we were going to spend a few days with my cousin Allan and his wife Hillary.

The day was overcast but not rainy so we took our time driving.

On the way, we stopped in Winchester to see the famous Winchester Cathedral, home of the Illuminated Bible.  When we arrived we discovered that the entire bible was not available to be viewed as the church was undergoing renovations.  One volume was on display and one page was posted so we could see it up close.

Nevertheless the Cathedral is beautiful, with the longest nave in England

and the burial site of Jane Austen and St. Swithin.

Its choir stalls are beautiful and have impressive carvings, notably the "green men", a symbol of fertility that was adopted from pagan iconography.

The Cathedral has sections which are very old, as the original church was started in Norman times and the art work is so lovely.

The stained glass is just beautiful...

...and the ceiling and exquisite stone Altar has been cleaned (a process taking 3 years).

October 11 -Lyme Regis and Fossils

We had decided to go to the coast and sighed when another overcast and rainy day faced us. As it was our last touring day we jumped into the car and went to Lyme Regis. This is a village which is famous for the discovery of fossils. I wanted to go because I had read a fictionalized account of a woman (Mary Anning) in the early 1800's who found many fossils and, in particular, the first Icthyasaurus. 

We started with a visit to the museum which highlighted aspects of the village's history. There was a lot of space devoted to Mary Anning and others who were notable in the discovery of fossils in the area. We learned that unique geographic conditions result in the exposure of fossils right on the beach.

We went to the beach and joined the other fossil hunters looking for fossils. It wasn't long before Paul found an ammonite and I found small pieces of another.

After exploring the village and having a short break we went on to Chartmouth, another fossil beach and walked along it looking for fossils.