Part 1

We began our trip at Royal Ascot.  For the uninitiated, this is at least one of the most prestigious horse races in the world.  The Brits, of course, say it is Number One.  It certainly is old, having been run since 1711 when it was founded by Queen Anne (of furniture fame).  The track is, after all, just nine miles from Windsor Castle. ASCOT is an hour west of central London.

While it was clear that some were betting on the races, it was just as clear that most were here to be seen.

 

And drink.

The Queen was there, as promised.  The day before her horse won the race.  The first time a sitting royal has done so.

There was even some Art:

Energy by NIC Fiddlian-Green

Uniting Two Societies

 A few more shots from the day:

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE WHOLE SLIDESHOW.

On the advice of the chap who parked our car on his brother's manor house lawn (brother was away), we left the races a little early and went to find the oldest alehouse in England.  The Royal Standard of England in BEACONSFIELD.  Well, not exactly in Beaconsfield, but a place called Forty Green.  After consulting a few of the locals, we found it.

Dating from the 11th century, they say that while Charles I was battling Oliver Cromwell, he hid his son Charles II there and rewarded the pub with it's regal name.

It was fun.  After spending the night in Gloucester, we drove back south, but not to Stonehenge as we had planned and bought tickets. But to AVEBURY, home of the largest Neolithic stone circle in Europe.  Actually, three stone circles, an earthwork henge, and a few natives.

 

In the center of all this is the Red Lion Pub where one gets refreshed after a long, long walk to get there.

The next morning we went exploring the Cottswolds. Again by way of an explanation, The Cottswolds is a range of hills in west-central England.  It has been designated as an "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty."  Where I once fantasized about riding a bike, I was glad to get out alive in the car. The roads, or shall I say lanes, were narrow, even on Sunday morning with little-to-no traffic. We found a horse show just getting started.

But raindrops were intermittent and we continued our adventure. I cannot really tell you all the towns we were passed through, as we just chose names on a sign that sounded like fun and followed the most unlikely routes. But we found cute town after cute town. Stow-on-the-Wold, Temple Guiting, Guiting Power, and Naunton. Then there was Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter.

We were aiming for the southwestern corner of England, so spent that night in APPLEDORE.

 

The Bradford House was right across from the parade facing the River Torridge, just before it joins the River Taw and they both immediately empty into the Atlantic Ocean.

 

The treasure of Appledore is an artist named Sandy Brown.  Our hostess does Pilates with Sandy in her studio, so she asked her to stop by and meet us.  And Sandy - even though in the midst of preparing a show of her work in Germany - was gracious to invite us into her space, an old factory building.

In addition to being the artistic director for the biennial Arts festival, Sandy is in demand as a lecturer, as well as doing exhibitions.  Last year she was in Australia doing workshops, residencies, and presentations.  Sandy is also represented by the LaCoste Gallery in Concord, MA.

We thought her work was wonderful.  And she's very nice as well.  Next stop St. Ives.