I told you all yesterday that hopefully today would make for a much more interesting blog than the previous days’ and I was right! Today’s trip was to Cheddar to see the gorge and caves and then it was off to Bath. There is so much to tell; this might be a long blog but it is all worth hearing about – or at least I think so! I was much more awake today than the last few days which I think has made all the difference.
The bus ride to Cheddar was a long one. It took about 2.5 hours to get there. Certain people who shall remain nameless pretty much complained the whole way there which was REALLY annoying to those of us set on enjoying themselves. It seemed everything was too far, or the AC wasn’t cold enough, or we’re getting back too late, etc. This is typical of a large group of people I suppose but it was obvious that some people’s trip was brought down by the attitude of these few individuals. This is sad really, because it was a fantastic trip. Right. Shut up, Caitlin, and tell us about this wonderful trip of yours. On it.
The ride to Cheddar was almost as exciting as the rest of the day. About 45minutes out of London I saw a wind turbine! I snapped a few pictures as we drove past. I still think one of those would look great on Kite Hill or by the organic farm with a big orange Tiger Paw on the side or on one of the arms… As we past Bristol I saw three down by the port. It was pretty awesome. The thing that was even cooler was across the port you could see two bridges. One was the same kind as the golden gate bridge and was the old bridge across the River Avon. The other was the new bridge. I can’t think of another bridge I’ve seen that it looks like except maybe the one that goes across the Savannah River in Georgia. Both bridges were in operation because neither by itself could handle to load of cars traveling across them. And what would all these people be traveling to and from that you’d need TWO bridges? Wales, of course! Just over the river you could spot Wales. It was so close, yet so far away! One I will get there but not this trip.
Cheddar itself is a small town – smaller than Pendleton and Central – which is nestled next to this beautiful gorge. There are multiple places to get tea, though I only got a picture of one of them. Some tea houses even had small tea gardens behind them where you could enjoy your tea. If we had had more time I would have gone into one but I didn’t so I couldn’t. I did, however, stop by one of the shops which sold scones in bags. I got two bags and figure they will last for the next week and serve as breakfast. There are four in a bag and though I have already eaten one, I still have seven left. That coupled with the tea and clementines should make for a wonderful start to any day. *sigh* If only I could do this every day.
While waiting for Maria to return with tickets I was snapping pictures of the part of the gorge you can see from the entrance to the first cave when I looked to my right and spotted the strangest bug I had ever seen! It looked like a ladybug but a thousand times bigger and it had curly blonde hair. It was, of course, a little girl with a ladybug poncho and I immediately thought of Lesley’s little girl Emily. If I had seen one I probably would have bought one for her – a poncho, not a little girl. Emily asked Lesley to ask me if the bugs were the same here. I haven’t seen many except for the one in line today but I have had my eye out for them just for her. Hopefully, there will be some on display at the Natural History Museum when we go.
The caves were very impressive although a little touristy. I was thinking they would be like Stumphouse where it’s pretty dark and damp and you need to bring your own flashlight and the floor is rocky. The caves had side rails, guided tours with handheld sets that you held up to your ear – I should have gotten a picture of one because they had them at Bath, too – and the floor was paved. Despite this the rock formations were real enough. I wish I could describe them better but it’s hard to do unless you’ve seen caves formations before and even then I imagine every cave is different. Because I wasn’t able to get pictures using my flash, I’m afraid the pictures I took are a little blury so they won’t give you a good idea either of what the caves looked like. I did use the flash for one picture but it was more of a distraction/diversion tactic than anything. I don’t want to ruin the surprise so you’ll just have to look at the pictures to know what I am talking about!
After the caves we had about a half hour to roam around on our own. This is when I bought the two bags of scones. I also got some postcards so some of you will be getting Cheddar postcards soon. I did sample of the different kinds of cheddar in some of the shops and my favorites were the whiskey and bleu cheddars. I didn’t buy any because I knew I would eat them while I was here and I was pretty sure they wouldn’t be able to go on the plane with me. There was a part in the first cave where you saw cheese being cured which reminded me of Stumphouse and Clemson’s bleu cheese, not that they make it there anymore but it’s the same basic idea.
The bus ride to Bath was another hour or so. The scenery was lovely, though, and I kept expecting the bus to go around the corner and have the Shire nestled into a hill side or something. The land was quilted into farmland with trees lining each field. The soil was a funny color, too, like the soil in Iowa. It was this dark brown color. Very odd…
Bath is a beautiful city. It’s all made out of sandstone which is quarried nearby and all the buildings are made with the same sort of architecture style in mind. Very classical – like the Romans who first built there. The symbol of the city is the acorn. The story of why shows how around about this association is. There was pig raiser who was tending his pigs. These pigs had a bad skin condition and were in poor health. One day he took them to edge of a valley where they liked to frolic in the muddy waters there. He realized that when they did this their skin condition got better. Eventually he decided to try the waters himself because, you see, he had leprosy. Some might argue that his skin probably was a bit more serious and that it made no sense for the waters to work the same way as it had for the pigs but this is legend. You don’t argue with legend. Of course, the waters clear up his little minor skin problem. This is when the baths were first discovered. It was another few hundred years before the Romans came. They built pipes and baths out of – you guessed it – lead. Silly Romans. You would think they’d learn a little faster but I guess they were too busy with their Empire to notice they were all going crazy from lead poisoning. After their inevitable fall the Saxons decided baths were silly and ignored the site. Then some other people came and built on top of the Roman stuff because they didn’t realize the Roman stuff was there which I find hard to believe. I guess they noticed eventually but when that was I don’t know.
The whole I time was there I kept thinking about a picture Dad took of Mom and Aunt Debbie when they were in Bath many years ago. It made me a little homesick because I wished I could have them here with me but at the same time it was a comfort to know that they had been here too so a part of them was still here. Corny, I know, but when you’re homesick even the smallest connection helps you.
As I type this blog up on Word I am noticing I have hit the 3 page mark so I will end my blog here. Tomorrow should bring another long blog and many pictures to enjoy.
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