August 19th - Visiting with Nana and Grandad in Devon

It's been some time since our last update, but rest assured we have been putting our time to good use. We have packed our days so full, and seen so much in the past week, that we have been left with little energy in the evening to put together a blog post. Given our frantic pace, a change of scenery in the serene countryside of North Devon is just what we needed!

Cliveden
Last Monday, we, accompanied by Opa, Oma, and cousin Beatrice, made a visit to Cliveden, a gorgeous country estate that has housed many notable owners in the past, including most recently a branch of the Astor family. The grounds of the estate, today administered by the National Trust, are home to many sights. An old fountain greets visitors to the grounds, though due to drought conditions, the water features are not currently in operation.

Though the fountain was not operational, it was home to
a mother duck and her adorable ducklings!

From there, it's a short walk up to the entrance of the grounds.

The main entrance to Cliveden house.

                                   

To the right of the main house, an
ornate clock tower that doubled as a 
water tower when running water 
was first installed.

We also took a stroll through the gardens located all around the buildings.

The next few pictures are all from the magnificent gardens
maintained by volunteers from the National Trust
on the manor's grounds.

A view of the Thames.

To Matt's surprise, there was also a cemetery on the grounds, dedicated mostly to casualties of the First World War, and in which are interred British, Australian, New Zealand, and more than a few Canadians. It turns out that during both world wars, american born Lady Astor had permitted the Royal Canadian Red Cross to establish a hospital on the grounds pending the entrance of the USA into the wars.

Windsor Castle

After taking a (literal) rain check on Thursday, we finally made our way to Windsor Castle Friday morning to make an overdue visit to the Queen's favourite not-so-humble abode. We left Oma, Opa and Beatrice to their shopping and went on a tour of Her Majesty's second home. The audio tour took us round the grounds, through the state apartments and to St. George's Chapel. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed inside, which is a shame because we saw the most BEAUTIFUL rooms, it was absolutely BREATHE-TAKING, a ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE.... shame you can't see it! Nonetheless, we managed to take pictures around the castle grounds, which are pretty enough... I guess.

Various battlements making up the
fortifications of Windsor Castle.

The castle was initially built for defensive purposes, and
only later became a royal residence.

The walls still stand, and today contain quarters for various
staff who live on the grounds.

St George's Chapel, a magnificient Gothic church and
the spiritual home of the Order of the  Garter,
is also found on the grounds.

The horseshoe cloister is home to the boy choristers who form
the Choir of St George's Chapel. The choir has sung service
in the chapel since 1348, interrupted only during the
republican era between 1649 and 1660.

A view of the front porch of the choristers' apartments.

Bath

The morning after, we drove down with Oma and Opa to Bath, the city of Holly's fondest childhood memories. Arriving over the hill we saw Bath, which lies in a valley and poses a stark contrast to the flat fields we were used to seeing in the Royal Borough. Holly was bubbly with excitement and took no time starting the tour of her favourite places in the city. First, we were dropped of at Sydney Buildings where we walked along to find famous 52! The new owners had done some changes in the past couple of years but she did her best to recreate all the nooks and crannies she had told Matt in stories of her summers. From there, we walked the well trodden route into town (down the street, left down the alley and over the bridge) and dropped in to Sydney Gardens. After waving to a couple of trains we turned around and walked back into town (down the stairs, under the railroad bridge and pass by the cricket field). We stopped in at the oldest sweet shop in Bath (bought a couple things for research purposes only!) and then went and enjoyed a plate of fish and chips in a pub, like true tourists! From there we did a whirlwind tour, walking over Pulteney Bridge, gazing Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths (the outside anyways, we weren't in the mood to enjoy the British pastime of queuing), walking up and down the streets and the oldest traditional pharmacy in the UK. 

Many buildings in Bath are
built with the characteristic
pale yellow, "Bath Stone."

Drive-by of the Royal Crescent

Rumoured home of Johnny Depp and John Cleese,
yet to be confirmed by these paparazzi.

Taken from a bridge overlooking a park. In the background
is Bath's Imperial Hotel.

                                                 

Whirlwind visit complete and vowing to return soon, we parted ways and boarded the first of several trains that would take us to Barnstaple, where we were picked up by Holly's Aunty Tracy. The last stretch of rail between Exeter and Barnstaple took us through Devon's picturesque rolling countryside, which left quite an impression on Matt. 

Nana and Grandad

We arrived at Holly's Nana and Grandad's Saturday night and were immediately pounced upon by Holly's four-legged relatives: Foxy (Pomeranian and serial cuddler), Tilly (Yorkshire Terrier, fat sausage and queen of the castle) and Willow (not sure, mostly just a hyperactive blurred streak running around the house!!). Once we had greeted all the furry friends we sat down for a wonderful dinner with Nana, Grandad and Aunty Tracy where the baby pictures came out and Holly was very thoroughly embarrassed (much to Matt's delight!).

Sunday morning we went down to Saunton Sands to take Aunty Tracy's dog Rosie for a walk along the beach and met up with Nana and Willow. Matt, the true Canadian boy, ran along the sand barefoot with the dogs and had no regard for the English rain and wind which froze Holly to death, even daring to dip his toes in the sea. To avoid the wind, we took a shortcut back to the car through the spectacular dunes which are, on occasion, used for training exercises by the Royal Marines. 

Marine camouflage training was a success, we didn't see any! 

The dunes might not look like much in these photos, but
they are truly a sight to behold.

The ocean can be glimpsed through the dunes here. 

To cap off our afternoon, we went full English and enjoyed a traditional Devon cream tea in a Garden Centre with sandwiches, scones (clotted cream UNDER the jam, you Cornish dogs), and an assortment of cakes. Stuffed to bursting, we went home and enjoyed an evening of board games with Jess (Holly's cousin) and Aunty Tracy.

That leaves us here, with the days counting down until our departure to Nepal. We have a surprise twist in store between now and then, so stay tuned for an update over the next week!