Europe 2018

We woke to a clear but cold day in Winchester. After a juice to get us going in the morning we took off for a walk out through the water meadows to the St John's Cross Hospital about a mile away. A nice walk.
The hospital is an alms house for old men and has been in use for 600 years. On the way there we left Winchester via an old city gate and above the gate they had built a chapel called St Swithuns (patron saint of Winchester and tutor to King Alfred) It was amazing, so peaceful,tiny and ancient. Lovely memorial plaque written about a local doctor attached. It made us laugh.
On the way back to Town we had a look at the ruins of Wolvesly Castle. Walked back home to get ready to go to Evensong at Winchester Cathedral. Arrived about 4:45 which meant we got free entry. Enjoyed evensong and it was nice to revisit the cathedral again since our 2012 visit. It is still a fascinating and beautiful place. Had forgotten that the huge west windows had been smashed by Cromwells men around 1650 and the people of Winchester had collected all the stained glass and reassembled the pieces in an abstract way which looks like a contemporary window that could have been done this century not in 1660! Back into town for dinner at the William Walker pub. William Walker was the diver who saved the cathedral by renewing the crumbling foundations around the turn of the century. He had to work in deep water to access the foundations and it took two years. The town is a very easy place to be and it's history spans 1000 years.En savoir plus

Slow start again but finally headed off into the countryside in the car for some exploring. First visited a cider museum where we learnt all about the local cider history and industry. Moderately interesting; the best part was when they serve you a cider from the barrel. The lady explained that when the new cider is ready everybody gathers and the barrel spout is opened releasing a jet of cider into the recipients glass 6 feet across the room. Well Pat was the first recipient in our group and he did quite well catching the cider, except for the bit on his sleeve!!! We then tried some from another barrel and discussed the merits of each. Then we tried 3 more apple based apperitifs and by then I needed some breakfast....
Then off to find a place recommended by the tourist office which was a greenway up along a valley. Again we managed with the help of poor instructions and misreading of maps to go in entirely the wrong direction. Two hours later we found the place and went for a nice walk along the river. Lovely scenery in which Pat managed to get into almost every photo. We also saw many wild strawberries again. They are unbelievably pretty and apparently quite common. Very new and delightful for us though.
For dinner went down to an area closer to the hotel where we managed to find some pretty ordinary food but enjoyed our little walk around.En savoir plus