The Fourth Walsh

We awoke in England and went to sleep in Wales.  Here’s what happened in between…

We left London circa 8am.  And headed to Hampton Court Palace.  Hampton Court Palace was Henry VIII’s favorite castle.  He acquired it in the divorce settlement from his first wife Katherine.  It formerly was Cardinal Wolsey’s place.  When Wolsey was unsuccessful in getting the Catholic Church to accept H8’s divorce, he fell out of favor.  He was charged with treason and his properties were seized.  So, Henry took his Hampton place.    

The palace has two distinct styles.  The original construction was Tudor and the add-on was Baroque.  We didn’t tour the insides.  We walked the extensive gardens.  The landscape has been restored to its original grandeur of the 17th century.  Fountains, flowers and the oldest grape vine in the world.  Boasting a Guinness Book of World Records, a grape vine dating back to the 17th century continues to produce grapes for wine.  

We left Hampton Court Palace.  And headed to Stonehenge.  The rocks date back  3,000 years.  There are plenty of theories surrounding the pile of rocks.  The mystical part is that the rocks are located in the middle of grasslands.  They had to be brought in and positioned. Each rock has a third of it submerged under ground.  They didn’t just happen.  The circle is deliberate.  The theory I buy into is the rocks were used as a funeral rite.  Dead people of distinction were brought into the circle for their wake.  Stonehenge is/was a doorway to the next life.  There are 150 people known to be buried  at Stonehenge.  The barrows (the word for burials) are these noticeable but subtle mounds along the countryside.  Stonehenge is in the middle of nowhere.  The preservationists are doing a great job of keeping the oddity of its locale.  They moved the tourism center a mile and half away to give it the rural and solemn ambiance.

We left Stonehenge and headed to Bath.  It’s a quaint village built around a Roman bathhouse.  The bathhouse dates back to 1 BC.  The ancient spa served as a fitness and beauty center.  There is the main pool that no longer is covered by a ceiling.  And inside the building is a maze of chambers with other pools.  The Romans chose the locale because of the hot springs.  The water in the pool is now considered contaminated but the bathhouse still gives out water samples from the hot springs at the end of the tour.  I got lost in the bathhouse and never found the sample area.  I heard it smelled and tasted nasty still it has health benefits.  

Bath was a lovely town.  Most of the buildings are constructed from Bath stone including the Abbey.  After I made my way out of the bathhouse, I also got lost in Bath.  The streets are all circular.  I wandered around slightly disoriented.  And it was raining.  I eventually muddled my way back to the bus drop off spot.  

The weather has been lovely except chilly.  And as I understand, it’s going to continue that way as we make our way north.  Chilly and rainy!  I didn’t quite pack correctly for this excursion.  I’ve already bought a Stonehenge sweatshirt.  

We arrived in Newport, Wales circa 6:30pm.  We stayed at a remote Hilton.  There wasn’t anywhere to wander around in this locale so we just hung out at the Hilton.  And here’s how you know it doesn’t get too hot in Wales, this Hilton didn’t have air conditioning.