“I know the British people and they are not
passengers—they are drivers.” David
Cameron
Carol writes: Since we arrived in England in mid-July, we have been
heading north to Scotland, but more slowly than we had anticipated because there
have been so many interesting sites to visit along the way. Most of our campgrounds have been “Caravan
Club” sites, an organization we joined before we had even left home. It’s sort of like the Good Sam Club for
camping in our country. We have a large
book of Caravan Club campgrounds, and members get discounted rates. In addition, the campgrounds are first rate
and you can always expect high-quality facilities and lovely grounds. So, for the most part, here in England we
have camped mostly among British campers.
Many of our fellow campers have also pointed out their favorite
attractions that just “cannot be missed,” and in almost every case their advice
has turned out to be quite true.
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY: Our next stop was in Cambridge, home of the
world famous university that has produced 83 Nobel Prize winners and many
world-renowned scientists. Today,
Cambridge has 31 individual colleges, but we decided to limit our visit to two
of the most famous—King’s College and Trinity College.
King’s College dates back to the 15th
century.
It is best known for the incredible King’s College Chapel
with its marvelous wide fan-vaulted ceiling by Christopher Wren.
Ever since we watched the TV miniseries “The Tudors” last
summer, which was all about Henry VIII and his seven wives, both Al and I have
been fascinated by all things Tudor and so we were thrilled to see numerous
Tudor references (the Tudor rose) in many of the heraldic carvings.
I was particularly interested in the wooden choir screen
that had been commissioned by Henry VIII to celebrate his marriage to Anne
Boleyn. If you looked hard enough, you
could see an “R.A.” for Regina Anna
(Queen Anne) that had been incorporated into the wooden carving.
As we left King’s College, we passed by the River Cam
where we saw lots of visitors enjoying the age-old tradition of “punting on the
Cam”, which is a playful way of describing a ride in a flat-bottomed boat that is
propelled by a Cambridge student using a long pole.
The entrance to Trinity College was marked by a statue of
its founder, Henry VIII, which was the centerpiece in the design of its
impressive entrance gate.
In a grassy area just to the right of the gate stood a solitary
apple tree that no longer bears fruit but is supposedly a descendent of the one
that inspired Sir Isaac Newton to investigate gravity when an apple fell from
the tree onto his head.
I had one destination in mind at Trinity College, and
that was the 1695 Christopher Wren Library.
The library has limited access for tourists of only 2 hours a day. Only
a few dozen visitors are allowed inside at one time, during which absolute
silence must be maintained out of respect for the researchers in the alcoves. However, there was no temptation to speak at
all in such an august setting among some of the most notable manuscripts known
to history that were displayed in a dozen display cases along the center aisle.
Slowly, as each of us took turns, we were able to lift
the red fabric covering over each display case and take our few minutes to
marvel at some of the most fascinating documents we will ever see, such as letters
discussing gravity written by Sir Isaac Newton, an 8th century copy
of the epistles of St. Paul, and the original manuscript of Winnie-the-Pooh.
The wait in line
to see the Wren Library certainly was worth every minute.
BLICKLING ESTATE:
Our National Trust guidebook stated that “nobody ever forgets their
first sight of Blickling,” so we were curious and decided that would be our
next National Trust site destination. Blickling Estate was indeed a stunner!
Once again, we were fascinated by a Tudor connection when
we learned that this 400-year-old stately mansion was once home to Anne Boleyn’s
family. During the Second World War many
of Britain’s large country estates were used to support the war effort as
hospitals, schools, headquarters, etc. Blickling
was no exception and was used by the British RAF. Our guided tour started in the impressive
entry hall with its wonderfully designed wooden double staircase.
We visited a sitting room with a spotless Jacobean
plaster ceiling,
and walked through a giant cozy library with an equally
wonderful plaster ceiling.
We finished up the day with a stroll through some
wonderfully restored English gardens.
SANDRINGHAM:
Just a short ride from Blinkling was an estate called Sandringham, the
Norfolk retreat of her reigning majesty Queen Elizabeth II. I was shocked that we would not only be able
to visit Sandringham’s grounds but also to stroll through the ground floor
rooms that are very much used by the royal family today. I guess they consider the Queen’s various
residences as equivalent to our White House and so visitors are permitted. In any case, Sandringham was lovely and cozy,
very much a sumptous residence but one in which the royal family and their
visitors could relax. Traditionally, the
Queen and her family celebrate Christmas at Sandringham.
Al and I were some of the first arrivals just as the
entrance gate was opened to visitors.
We strolled in the direction of the house through a
lovely garden area where the Queen still takes walks with her dogs.
We waited a few minutes for the house to open. That’s me, the lone sentry in turquoise.
Naturally, for security reasons, we weren’t permitted to
take any pictures inside the residence, only in the spacious garage area where
there was a rather large collection of historic royal cars and coaches.
I felt we had been given a “royal treat” for the
privilege of visiting the Queen’s Norfolk retreat at Sandringham. By the coming weekend the house would be
closed to visitors, as the Queen was scheduled to arrive for her traditional summer
week at Sandringham. Hopefully, by that
time Kate and William’s baby would have made its arrival and Her Majesty would
be free to enjoy her down-time in her country home at Sandringham.
“We
wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.” Hilaire Belloc
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