Day 7: Day trip to Wiltshire

Today we were going to spend quality time at the spa. But we rethought that plan after checking out our guide book and realizing how close we are to some extremely old, tiny towns. So we plotted out our journey and hopped in the car after yet another filling breakfast. Here's our route.

On our way to the first town, we saw this adorable flock of sheep. The coolest thing about it is that here in England, you're welcome on the majority of the land. So we could've walked through this fence following that footpath amongst the sheep and had ourselves a little stroll without trespassing.

First up, Castle Combe. Described in our book as "An idyllic English village ... claims to be the prettiest in the country and, frankly, this is hard to dispute." Eric and would completely agree with that statement. It's awesome. Walking around this teeny, tiny town felt like being in this scene from Beauty and the Beast:

 

 

 The 13th century castle.

 

 Cross-stitched cushions at the pews.

 

 Monument of Sire Walter de Dunstanville, lord of the manor.

  

The church smelled so good inside because it was completely filled with fresh white flowers everywhere.

  

 More details of the town.

 

 

 Breads made by a local man. I picked up a piece of the lemon drizzle. Delicious.

 

From there we drove about 20 minutes to the next town, Lacock. Lonely Planet says, "There are no TV aerials, no yellow lines and no overhead cables in this gorgeous medieval village where most buildings date from before 1800 - it's almost a surprise to see electric light in the windows." It was used as part of the set for BBC's Pride and Prejudice as well as scenes from Harry Potter. 

 

The entrance to a cell where the local disorderly drunks would spend the night if they got too out of hand.

 Eric trying out the cell bed.

 This is Harry Potter's house!

 We stopped in to a craft fair that was going on a bought some handmade soaps. The man selling them struck up a conversation with us. He was quite the talker and we had about a 20 minute chat about the differences between London and NYC. After, we went to a potter's studio and checked out his work. This also turned into another lengthy visit. The potter, David, told us he is a descendent of Winston Churchill, why most clocks with Roman numerals use IIII in place of 4 instead of IV, the rule of 3's, as well as a special way to get to the Avebury Circle. After leaving, I felt like I had to take a picture to remember the moment. Right when I did, he jumped in the doorway and said "I thought I'd be in your photo!". He was a special character.

 A few blocks from his shop sits the Lacock Abbey. It was built in the early 13th century as a nunnery. In the mid 16th century, it was converted in to a home by Sir William Sharington. Three centuries later, William Henry Fox Talbot conducted experiments in developing photography.

 

 

  

This hallway was used in the Harry Potter movies.

 

 As was this courtyard.

 As was this room, the Chapter House.

And this room, the Warming Room. The cauldron cooked food for Queen Anne. This room was for all things food related. There are stone troughs that would house fish, a staple food for the nuns.

 Additional rooms including the brewery (inside shots below).

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

 There was more to see in Lacock but we were starving so we drove to a neighboring town, Rowde, for some good eats that got rave reviews, George and Dragon. It definitely lived up to our expectations. Cozy inside and tasty meals.

 

About 20 minutes from there lies Avebury's Stone Circle. Stonehenge was much too far away so we visited this henge much closer by. It dates from 2500-2200 BC. It's one of the largest circles in Britain. There is an outer circle surrounded by a ditch. Inside is another circle and inside that, 2 more smaller circles. 

 

 

 Video of the area. Aside from the wind, you can hear the faint sound of church bells going off in the town.

 

 

 

 Another cool part about the henge is that goats were grazing freely in the area right along with the visitors. I wanted to pet them so badly but they weren't down for it. So I pretended to eat dinner with them.

Thatched roofs are still a big deal here.

I just don't understand. If the Brits can keep these 13th century homes kicking in great shape 800 years later, why is it that our landlord can't take care of our Victorian apartment? Mind boggling.

So needless to say, this was a long but exciting day for us. We went home, packed up for our departure tomorrow, got snacks at the nearby grocery and watched some t.v. One full week of honeymoon done. Can't believe we're only a third of the way through so far. Trip of a lifetime!