Eton Windsor 24 November 2015

I thought I'd do another walk from Eton to Windsor without the fog this time.  The Ramblers were doing a short walk around Windsor and I wanted to to walk a bit further so I tacked this route on before I met up with them.  Boy it was cold!  The temp on my mobile read -5 and there was thick ice on my car - a very new experience for me.  I'm not minding the cold at all, except when walking - my face gets so cold - I think a balaclava might be in order.

Across the Jubilee River and along the tree lined lane heading towards Eton College.

This bridge is the start of the wall which features the famous Eton Wall Game.  Its a game similar to Rugby Union played by Eton scholars on a strip of land 5 metres wide and 110 metres long alongside a slightly curved wall built in 1717. It's all gets very complicated and (whispering) ... I don't have very much interest in games like this. It's the history that I find interesting!  I know, blasphemy.

Into Windsor.  I was a bit early so went into Starbucks for coffee - it was so cold outside that my glasses fogged up completely.

The walk was all about the curiosities of Windsor.  I'm afraid I don't remember a lot of the stories, but they make for interesting viewing.

I do remember that these crosses were carved into the stones of the castle when the sculptor had a family member incarcerated within the castle.

I love the lace carved into the back of Queen Victoria's veil.

The Christmas decorations have a royal theme - as you would expect.

Through the main part of Windsor and into the back streets.

Doris Mellor was a History graduate, served in the Navy and a social activist with a South African connection - she was headmistress at Wykham School, Pietermaritzburg for 20 years.

This marker is one of many on the walkway which commemorates the occasion of Queen Elizabeth reaching 63 years (and 210 days) and becoming the longest reigning monarch.

After a cup of coffee, it was back the way I'd come.  It really hadn't got any warmer at all during the day so I was really glad to finally get back to the car and home.

Christmas Cottage 13 to 15 November 2015

With the aid of the new SatNav I made it down to Surrey to visit Karen and Bruce who live in this wonderfully named house. Friends from South Africa, it really was like being home - admittedly without some of the key people, but it was warm and friendly and good food and lots of good wine and some interesting conversations.  It was also the weekend of the Paris attacks which we watched with shocked horror all weekend.

The rain was pelting down on Saturday but Karen gave me a guided tour of the neighborhood.  If this church looks familiar, it's because you've either watched 4 Weddings and a Funeral too many times or just seen it recently.  It's in Dorking by the way.

After that we headed out to Leith Hill, apparently the highest point in South East England.  We hauled out the umbrellas and headed into the woods. There are Sequoia Redwoods here - I've seen a few since I've been here but they still surprise me.

Leith Hill Place, at one time the home of the composer Ralph Vaughn Williams, is closed for the winter so we didn't get to look around.  Just the view from a distance.  It's beautiful though. (Ignore the earth moving equipment!)

With it getting more wet by the minute we made our way back to Dorking and to Bruce and Karen's Antique Shop called Chantecleer where Bruce was on duty for the day.  We had lunch amongst the antiques - so civilised! You can just see that the conversation was outrageous.  

I had a good look around and took a selfie - my first!

Down in the basement of the shop is some antique graffiti.

Back at the house was art of a different genre ...

On Sunday, the rain had stopped so we went for a walk in the hills.  Surrey is gorgeous though particularly muddy after the rain.

Some interesting chickens and woolly sheep.

Back for lunch. I met so many lovely people this weekend - I will be back!  Thanks to Karen and Bruce for their hospitality and fun and good food and sharing their friends and the hot tub!  By the way, I did check with them if they would mind me using their pictures and they said not.  I hope they don't regret that decision.  We will raise a glass to them at Christmas in KB.

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew 8 November 2015

I have a new toy ...

I probably should have done this a couple of months ago as extending my travel footprint has been a slow and painful process.  Actually, I'm just tired of getting lost.  Now I can go places!

So first on the list - Kew.  A cold and grey day, but no rain.  I took so many photos - more than 400 - that it's taken hours to edit them and decide what's in and what's not. You can thank me later.  There is just so much to see.  In fact I got tired just going through the pics, no wonder I was exhausted that day! I didn't even get into the main greenhouses - all I did was walk around the gardens and I was there for 6 hours.

Where to start?  I headed for the Alpine section.  This in an ingenious structure which acts like a cooling tower for the plants inside.

Despite the season, or perhaps because of, there were lots of flowers in bloom ..

The vegetable garden - called "Kew on a plate garden", was winding down for the winter but there was still lots to see including purple brussel sprouts and leftover pumpkins from Halloween.

On to the Woodland Garden.  Some of the paths had been closed because it was so muddy but you could still get up to the Temple of Aeolus.

Good views from here but also an amazing roof inside.

Too cold to hang around enjoying the view, so moving on ..

Past the peacock doing what peacocks do - preening without embarrassment.

Past the Chinese Guarding Lions ..

Past Hercules in the Palm House Pond..

It was time for tea and what a selection!  I just had a scone. I don't know how this is possible, but I'm heading for overload in the pastries department.

In the restaurant is the most wonderful mural which depicts the storm of 16 October 1987 when more than 1000 trees were uprooted at Kew.  The mural was made from the trees that fell in the storm. Strange connection, I remember the floods in Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu Natal that same week.  Kate and Dayne were born that week and there was a real concern that we would be on the wrong side of the Dusi.

Fortified, off I went and discovered a Unicorn.  He's on an outside wall, hence the need for a chain.

There are a couple of art galleries here.

No cameras allowed so these were snuck in.

Also the Marianne North Gallery.  I didn't get any photographs but what an amazing collection.   She travelled the world from 1871 for 13 years and painted everything she saw - absolutely astonishing. Even South Africa features.

Onwards - through the (deliberate) ruined arch.

Heading towards the Pagoda built in 1762.  It's almost 50 metres high but apparently real chinese pagodas should always have an odd number of floors - this has 10.  During the Second World War holes were made in each floor so that Brit bomb designers could drop models of bombs to see how they behaved. Even the Brits "maak 'n plan".

A quick detour to Queen Charlotte's cottage which is under construction, so no delay there.  Spring is the time to come back, the woodland floor which surrounds the cottage becomes a sea of bluebells.

Berries everywhere ...

And these beautiful blue berries and pink petals.  How can they be real?

I was very curious to see the next part of the gardens - the Xstrata Treetop Walkway.  Being familiar with the Boomslang at Kirstenbosch I was interested to see how this one compares.  It's impressive. 18 metres high and 200 metres long and it's a circular walkway. It's so much bigger and really hangs out in the treetops. There is even a lift.  The flooring is iron gridwork so you can see the garden floor as you walk.  I generally have no problem with heights but it is a long way down.  A young guy ahead of me had a bit of a panic attack.  If you don't like heights, you won't like this walkway.

This is the escape chute.  Considering how pernickety the authorities are about health and safety, I wouldn't rate my chances particularly well should use of this chute be necessary!

It will take a lot for a walkway to beat the Boomslang and I don't think this one actually does.  We can justifiably be proud of the walkway and most definitely of Kirstenbosch. One of my favourite places in the world!

Underneath the walkway though, is the Rhizotron - a stylized depiction of tree roots.  I really liked this exhibition.

Are you still there?  I told you there was a lot to see ...

I got a bit lost at this point trying to find the lake.  I mean, how hard can it be?  But I walked and walked and then I realised I had been pretty much walking around the lake. What an idiot.  With sore feet.

I particularly wanted to see the Sackler Crossing - the first bridge built across the lake.  It's only been around since 2006 and is built from black granite.  It's walls are a series of flat bronze posts which, seen side on, look like a solid wall, but when seen head on, are individual. Really stunning.

Ok, almost done.  And almost done in!  No wonder I could do this meal complete justice.

Very clever of Kew, you really need these benches by the end of the day.