So we decided to go do some touring. Nearby is a famous landmark.
Glastonbury Tor is a hill beside the town of Glastonbury. The word "Tor" is a Celtic word meaning "hill". And on this tor, there is a tower. The tower is actually all that remains of a church that was built in the 1360's.
Chester made himself quite comfortable during the drive over to the tor.
View of the tower from where we parked.
Oddly enough, there is a handicapped parking spot at the base of the tor.
The hike up is fairly steep.
But the view is worth it!
The tower is all that is left of a church that was built here in the 1360's.
A little bit of history from the sign at the top of the tor.
Hiking down towards the town of Glastonbury.
The town of Glastonbury is a bit touristy, but in an interesting sort of way. Probably because of the tor, Glastonbury has become a bit of a hippie hangout with organic food places and the Holy Chalice Well where the water supposedly has special healing properties. Worthwhile to wander around for an afternoon. Also has the free Somerset Rural Life Museum if you're into that sort of thing. And the very expensive Glastonbury Abbey Ruins for £6.00 ($10.00). But considering we did the Kirkstall Abbey in Leeds for free, it's hard to justify the charge at this one. I guess they charge because they can!
Lots of interesting old buildings in Glastonbury. This was a townhome on the main street was built in the late 1400's! Now home to the tourist office and museum.
The George and Pilgrim's Hotel. Built in 1492!
We did wander into the free Rural Museum, but they don't accept dogs. So Helen and Tony and Chester stayed outside and Ruth and I went in for the quick five minute tour. Not really my thing, and we've been in a lot of old farming museums over the years.
There is an interesting old barn at the museum. "A Barn?" you say. Yep. Kind of looks like a church though, doesn't it?
Total cost of the day? Free. Well, a little gas in the car to get there, but everything we did was free, and we had packed a picnic type of lunch. We hardly saw the sun, but at least it was warm enough, and it didn't rain. We had a good day. Ah, we did stop at a local cider outlet where we ended up buying a 2L jug of Perry for £5.30 ($8.69) . That's cider, made with pears! Ruth doesn't like pears, but she did like the pear cider!
Surprising what a person will consider drinking, once the ingredients have been allowed to ferment.
ReplyDeleteAnother fun day sightseeing, rounded off with 2 litres of pear cider sounds perfect
ReplyDeleteJust hard for me to comprehend buildings from the 1400's. That is really old. That barn would make a wonderful church. Guess the animals were really special. Pear cider doesn't really appeal to me but you never know.
ReplyDeleteLike Sandie, viewing buildings from the 1400's is strange. I wonder how people felt when they first arrived in America. All they had was forest and plains. Now that would create a case of homesickness for some!
ReplyDeleteNo wonder so many old barns are converted to houses in the U.K. They have style unlike most of our barns here in Canada. When we were in England, my cousin took us to their church. The old part was built in the 900s and the new part in the 1100s. My cousin's wife calls us 'a disposable society' over here.
ReplyDeleteI so like you photos of the old buildings. Makes me wonder what I would have doing if I lived back then.
ReplyDeleteFabulous header shot! Galstonbury and the Tor were among my very favorite places in England. Wish I could have been there for the Summer Solstice. I also loved Avebury. Will you be going there??
ReplyDeleteTypical of Mum with regards to the cider haha. Glad you had a fun and cheap day!
ReplyDeleteGuys, I have enjoyed reading your posts these past several months. Yesterday, Ruth said that you had been doing a lot of reasearch on your next destination. If you ever have a slow day with not too much to blog about, I wonder if you could outline how you go about doing your research. Maybe you could use the Czech planning as an example. Do you have favorite sites to use to get things-to-do ideas? Other sites for low cost airfare? How do you find hotels if you don't couch surf? I image that there are others that would find your methods interesting
ReplyDeleteall that green looks like Oregon :)
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful countryside you find yourselves in! We will definitely have to break the mold and jump the pond someday.
ReplyDeleteOh what a great day! (and cheap too!) Love the idea of pear cider... yummmmmm
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Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com
What a beautiful view from the top of the tor, looks like it was quite a hike.
ReplyDeleteSure like the old buildings, they always interest me and the pear cider sounds like something to try alright.