A Joy Filled Journey: Onward to the English Countryside

Yesterday, we left the throngs of London and began our adventure of exploration through the English countryside...

We first made a quick trip to the Queen's country house, Windsor Castle. It was a really cute medieval town... filled with shopping and swarming with more people! We snapped a photo and headed to Winchester.

On our way, we drove by a famous landmark, Highclere Castle, the well known manor home used in the popular TV series Downton Abbey. It is actually the home of Lord Carnavon, who is descendant of the Lord Carnavon who unearthed the tomb of King Tut.

Highclere in the Distance

To our disappointment, the grounds and home were closed. The kind gate keeper encouraged us to take a look at the property from the top of Beacon Hill. So we parked our car and made the momentous, strenuous, glad we ate our big breakfast... hike up the steep hill. The view was amazing... and although it was not what we had intended, it was a pleasant surprise to find the grave of Lord Carnavon.

A stud farm belonging to Highclere

The view of the Hampshire countryside from atop Beacon Hill

Almost to the top!

Winchester is a very old town with lots of history... located in Hampshire...it was once the capitol city of Wessex, the Anglo Saxon kingdom of the early middle ages. All of this is quite interesting, but I was drawn to this place because one of my favorite authors is resting and memorialized in the Cathedral...Jane Austen.

Winchester Cathedral

As we entered the church, the Sunday services were underway and I was thrilled to participate in singing with the congregation... one of my favorite hymns "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and ended the service with another anthem of "God Save the Queen". (It was her birthday this week and everyone has been honoring her in the services). A simply wonderful experience... As it happened, we sat down basically right next to Jane Austen's grave stone.

After the service we headed into the square and found a lovely little restaurant and ate a memorable lunch listening to the bells of the cathedral peal... calling the next service of worshipers to enter.

Winchester Cathedral from the Center Square

Our lunch of Steak and Ale Pie with a cheesy potato topping

and a chicken salad with avocado and salad...yum!

Having our fill, we headed back on the road and made our way to the ancient prehistoric site of Stonehenge. Although, it appears to be a curious bunch of rocks in a field of green pasture, it is actually a treasure of archaeological and historical significance. Throughout these fields lie hidden secrets of the past which have aided historians in understanding what life was like during the neolithic and bronze ages...

These stones were not from this area but moved here by hand from over hundreds of miles away...

Our next stop on our way was a castle ruin, in the Cranborne Chase countryside, west of Salisbury. Old Wardour Castle was built for John, 5th Lord Lovel during the rein of King Richard II in 1392. And was destroyed during the English civil war in 1644. We had the castle all to ourselves and enjoyed the romantic setting and imagining what life was like to live in such a place.