Ohhh Ayyeeeee, I bin heeree for Seventai Yeeeeersss

So sayeth the yokel, who seems to be the principal inhabit of where we've been travelling.

Apologies for not blogging sooner, but for the last few days we've been driving through the SouthWest of England, from London to Land's End, and now, currently, stopped in Camborne, on our way up to Worcester via the Cottswolds. This is a fairly rural, and dare I say backwards, part of England, hence, a wireless connection has been somewhat hard to find. However, I have managed to weasel my way into network connection "vyvyan" and hence thanks to vyv, this blog is coming to you this evening.

While the majority of what we've seen has been sheep, fields, moors, more sheep, still more sheep, there has been some interesting stuff along the way. First point of interest was one of the world's most fascinating and mysterious human artifacts in the world. Is it the world's largest calendar, a monument to power, an altar to human sacrifice? No-one knows. But it was incredible to see, nonetheless. Shame it started pouring with rain when we arrived, but that didn't deter us.

I give you - Stonehenge.


God knows how they ever built it. Some of the rocks came from over 100 miles away. Some of them weigh over 45 tons. The lintels, crowning the pillars of rock are over 3 tons in weight. It is a triumph to human achievement and ingenuity - given that it is over 5000 years old.

From Stonehenge, onto another triumph of human achievement. Salisbury Cathedral is somewhat younger - it was built over 20 years from 1313, but even given that it is over 700 years old, it remains the cathedral with the highest spire in the United Kingdom, standing at 123 metres in height. Inside is stunning. Unfortunately due to the dark atmosphere, photos didn't really come out, but I have some fantastic photos of the outside. Suffice to say there are stained glass windows that stagger the mind at their complexity, enormous altars, intricate wood carved pews and choir rosters, an enormous church organ, tombs galore and an original copy of the Magna Carta, which was signed by King John in 1215. Absolutely phenomenal, even to an infidel like me. No wonder the parishioners were giving me the evil eye.


A view of the Cathedral from to the left of the entrance. The size is astonishing - you have to see it to believe it. The scaffolding is part of the ongoing maintenance work, as a building this old and this huge needs a mammoth amount of work to keep it going.


The spire of the Cathedral. The craftmanship on the upper part of the spire is magnificent.


Another shot of the Cathedral, this time from the side. Again, you can see the scaffolding.

After the Cathedral, we made our way towards Land's End, across Dartmouth Moor, via the town of Looe ( a seaside fishing village) and then to Land's End itself.


Dartmouth Moor. This is actually a national park - evidently there isn't enough windswept, desolate landscape in this country, they need to preserve it. To sum it up - no trees, stone walls everywhere and loads of sheep. There you have it.


One of the typical roads you encounter once you get off the highways. The hedges on either side actually have soil and earth built up, so the road is actually a couple of metres below the surrounding countryside. In some places it's virtually dark, due to the sheer amount of trees and foliage surrounding the roads.


The town of Looe. You can see what passes for a beach on the south coast of England. The tide was out when we arrived - at high tide the ocean is several metres higher, as seen by the marks on the stone wall that delineates the slipway into town.


How the people of Looe leave their boats when the tide is out. Just let them sink into the mud, and they refloat when the tide comes roaring back in. You can also see one of the many hills that this town seems to be built on, and the houses that everyone lives in. They're all universally the size of a garden shed.


A view up the inlet, showing the only road bridge linking each side of the town.

After departing from Looe, we made our way to Land's End. For those unaware, Land's End (in Cornwall) and John O'Groat's (in Scotland) mark the two furthrest apart points on the British mainland. It is somewhat of a mecca for various crazies, who travel between the two by a number of means, such as cycling, walking backwards, nude, pushing wheelbarrows etc.

We travelled in a Renault Megane. I'm not sure if that counts, but we shall see.


First of all though, a lovely stone bridge, dating from the 1500's that we saw on the way.


The view from Land's End, showing the Longship rocks, and the lighthouse. Apparently the lighthouse out there is a new one, as the old one kept getting swamped by winter waves during storms, and couldn't be seen. Gives you an idea of what this seemingly placid ocean is capable of.


The view north along the coastline from Land's End. There are fantastic views to be had, but even in summer it's bloody cold.


A close-up of the cave and surf you can see in the previous photo.


Land's End itself. Don't think we'll get to John O' Groats, but we'll see.

Suffice to say, the first 2 days of this little jaunt with the folks in the hire car have been fantastic - the countryside offers so much to see. We've got another nine days left - I don't know how often I'll be able to update, since by and large it depends on how often I can find an internet connection to leech off. But, rest assured, I am still alive and well, and will continue to blog as often as I am able. The plan is to continue north into Wales and Worcester. Then, the parentals are going to spend the weekend catching up with friends they made last time they were in England (about 30 years ago). After that, we have about 6 days to spend winding our way up into Scotland and back to London.

With this trip complete it will work out well, since I'll be able to spend the remainder of my time in England just looking around London and nearby areas - although I do want to get to Ireland for an excursion. My former housemate assures me it provides good entertainment. If it doesn't, I can always provide my own going to the Orange zone and loudly proclaiming my support of the papacy.

Cheers all.