Castles and Kings

After Pete and Charm’s wedding we stay in Polzeath a few more days to take in some walks and fresh Cornish air.

We day trip to St. Michael's Mount. Rising about 75m from the sea, St. Michael’s Mount is topped by a part medieval, part 17th century castle. It’s 5km east of Penzance and is reached at low tide by a causeway. At high tide, the mount becomes an island.

View of the gardens from the top of the castle walls.

This 15th-century Lantern Cross in the chapel is carved from a single piece of stone, probably from Padstow.

One of the mantels displays a mummified Egyptian cat, circa 2000 BC.

This Samurai suit of armour dates from c1800, although it is a 13th or 14th century design. The horseback warrior’s main weapon was the bow and arrow. His armour plates are vertical to protect him from arrows raining down from above.

This tame, old bird (c1890) was the last Cornish Chough remaining on the Mount.

Everything they say about English weather is true.

Mousehole (pronounced “Mowzel”) is one of Cornwall’s most picturesque hamlets; a pretty collection of yellow-lichened houses built from local finely grained granite, huddled together around the inner edge of the harbour.

The above and following photos are some of the sights we see as we stroll the cliffs of Cornwall.

“The Rumps” look like the spiny back of a dinosaur.

Picturesque Clovelly commands glorious views over the coast of North Devon. It combines stories of cannibals and unsolved murders, an ancient Iron Age fort, Norman church, a village tumbling down the cliff with cobbled streets and donkeys, and links to the Armada and Charles Dickens to name a few.

Clovelly harbour and the Red Lion Hotel (left) on the 14th century quay.

We stop in the tiny village of Rowberrow where Tim and his family lived for many years to visit the old church which bordered their property, Rowberrow Manor.

Bookish, conservative, closeted and elite, Oxford is a privileged place, highly aware of it’s international standing as one of the world’s most famous university towns and yet remarkably restrained for a city driven by it's student population. It’s the kind of place where the pursuit of excellence, the weight of academic achievement and the whiff of intellectual ideals is palpable as soon as one arrives.

The Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

Thirty-nine colleges make up the university, their elegant honey-coloured buildings wrapping around winding cobbled streets.

The gate to the Bodleian Library.

The infamous “Turf Tavern”, a 13th century ale house, is still going strong with a sought after clientele of students, ‘dons’ and international tourists like Tim.

The oldest colleges date back almost 750 years and little has changed inside the hallowed walls since then. The archaic traditions, customs and dress codes live on and the architecture remains largely untouched.

Blackwells Book Shop has been supplying Oxford with books since 1879.

All over Oxford’s buildings are gargoyles—some in the shape of faces, some animals, some entire people.

The picture perfect inner courtyard of one of the colleges. The university is only part of Oxford’s story; long before Mensa was ever born the Morris motor car was rolling off the production lines in Cowley, and today the university’s academic elite are still far outnumbered by the real-world majority. Butting up against all that fine architecture, the celebrated libraries, world-class museums and historic pubs is an increasingly urbane city flush with chic restaurants, trendy bars and exclusive shops.

Tim’s dad studied history here at Oriel College.

Hertford Bridge, popularly known as the Bridge of Sighs, is a distinctive city landmark supposedly similar to the Bridge of Sighs in Venice.

Hey Brittany and Brayden, do you recognize where Aunti Sandi is? It’s the richly-vaulted Divinity School of the Bodleian Libary which was ‘Hogwarts infirmary’ in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”

The Radcliffe Camera (Camera meaning “room” in Italian), designed by James Gibbs in the English Palladian style, was built in 1737 to the house the Radcliffe Science Library.

We stay at the historic Old Bank Hotel on High Street.

We can’t be in England and not go to one of Jamie Oliver’s restaurants. Sandi is a big fan and of his has almost every cookbook he ever published which basically means a lot.

Yum!

Tim is becoming a fan too. Before he met Sandi he didn’t know who Jamie Oliver was. Can you imagine?!

Blenheim Palace was a gift from Queen Anne and a grateful nation to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough following his famous victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704.

A palace fit for a princess.

It is the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill who was also an accomplished painter. Many of his paintings are displayed here.

The strange eyes on the ceiling of the north portico were originally painted in 1928 for Gladys Deacon, the American-born second wife of the 9th Duke of Marlborough. The reason for the unusual eyes being painted remains a mystery but they are believed to be the eyes of the Duke and Duchess watching over the palace.

Now we’re off to Mallorca in search of some warmth.