DAY 285

Saturday 21 April 2012

With a big hug and Ina’s Polish chocolate horseshoes for good luck, we left the Glastonbury family and headed for nearby Wells. As quick as you could say “Jack Robinson” the weather changed from sunny to rainy. We had encountered the market at the base of Wells Cathedral and were enjoying the antics of the town crier – Len Sweales. He explained that his verse was written that morning highlighting all that the merchants were selling and that being a town crier was a position appointed by the Queen. There was a terrific juggler/magician as well as musicians and all kinds of stalls with everything imaginable. We particularly liked the booth selling “old body parts” (for the dog). We picked up some postcard stamps and then ventured onto the grounds of the Wells Cathedral. When the rain came down in earnest we decided to move on to Cheddar Gorge.

Creative titles for doggy treat bones

 

The narrow walls of the gorge were not covered in cheddar cheese for the taking as Dian had fantasized but was wonderful in its sheer cliffs and steep slopes where only a sturdy sheep could graze. In the town of Cheddar we bought ... you guessed it! Charles returned to the van laden with a nice assortment of local cheddar cheeses. He had met the butcher who had been drafted from a rugby team to go to the States to learn to play football. “It didn’t work out though” said he but he had a nice chat with Charles about the U.S.

We drove to Bath on the back roads and soon we were asking Nicole if it looked familiar (her choir had performed at the Abbey the year before). We saw where the Santa Monica Choir led by Mr. Hulls had stayed and where they stopped for buns at Sally Lunn’s. We peeked in at the Roman Baths for which the town is famous and actually found a small vintage store Nicole had discovered but had not had time to peruse the year before. With a short set of organ music at the free concert in the Abbey to feed our musical side and a street musician outside playing the Hang – a steel drum like instrument - we headed out of town for Wales.

Skirting Bristol we took the Wye Valley and entered Wales at about 7PM. The owner, Mrs. Mary Murray showed us where we could camp very near the Monnow Bridge leading into old town Monmouth in her clean campsite. As the rain gently fell, Charles read Mark Twain aloud after a curry and couscous dinner in our cozy van.

Bath

Sally Lunn's famous bun and tea shop that Nicole visited with her school.