All my grandparents grew up in England (which is explains my
many relatives over here), but both sets immigrated to Canada before
my parents were born. However, since they have ties over here, they come back
to visit every so often. It’s actually worked out for me that by the end of the
summer I’ll have got to meet up with all of them!
Anyways, my Grandpa picked me up from Rowleth End, and
started his “whirlwind tour” of England. And I mean that literally. We crossed the
country multiple times.
Castlerigg Stone Circle - a stop on the way to the lakes
From the Yorkshire Dales we raced up to the Lake District,
which is where my Grandmother grew up in a town called Bassenthwaite.
Unfortunately it was raining (though, so far this summer has mostly consisted
of rain, it’s wet even for England!), but I could still tell that it was
beautiful. We stopped at the house my Grandmother lived in, and at the church
where my grandparents got married, my dad was christened in, and my great- and
great-great grandmothers are buried. We also drove by many of the major lakes
in the district. After our tour of the lakes we spent the night at my
Grandmother’s sister’s house in Fleetwood.
An old Saxon Church in Bassenthwaite - where my grandparents almost got married
Next, we drove to the centre of England, to a town called
Ashby-de-la-zouche. Now, I’ve grown up hearing about this town because my Grandpa
grew up here, and my great-grandfather was still alive when I was little so I
remember my dad going to his 100th birthday. Also, his wife, my
step-great-grandmother still lives there, so we stayed with her – she’s
94. I always imagined it a lot smaller
than it actually is..
Anyways, it has a really great castle! Or castle ruin, to be
more specific. But know why it’s a ruin? Because it was a royalist stronghold
in the English Civil War, and when Cromwell’s forces defeated the royalists
they blew up part of the wall so it became indefensible. It’s pretty awesome
still though. You can even climb up a tower, go through some underground
tunnels, and see where there were fireplaces etc.
Ashby Castle
The tower of Ashby Castle
At the top of the tower
My grandpa and I also did a day trip out to Oxford. Our
first stop was lunch at The Eagle and Child, the legendary meeting place of The
Inklings (you know, JRR Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and their friends. For those who
still don’t know, Lord of the Rings, and Narnia authors). Then we did one of
those open top bus tour-y things. After that I went to do a closer up look at
Oxford Castle.
The original Oxford Castle was built for William the
Conqueror, and the later stone one became Charles I’s base when he made Oxford
the capitol during the English Civil War. After the civil war, until as
recently as 1996 it was used as a prison. And yes, there were improvements made
in that time, but not a whole lot. The prisoners still didn’t have toilets in
1996.. Ugh
Oxford Castle
Blenheim Palace near Oxford
Next, we made our way back up to Beverley, near York, where
I had some down time before my week of Cambridge, Stratford-upon-Avon, and
Oxford, again!
Flamborough Lighthouse, near Beverley
Yes, I am sure with Grandpa you were, in fact, "racing" around England. I'm not sure he understands the concept of, say, a Sunday drive. Glad you enjoyed your time together, though. It is a shame you did not see more of the Lakes, but perhaps another time.
ReplyDeleteDad xo