Between that and the heavy traffic, we decided on a change of plans and instead made our way to the closer town of Shaftesbury.
Shaftesbury has three "claims to fame". One is the site of an ancient cathedral where the remains of King Edward the Martyr laid for hundreds of years. And the second is a scenic spot in the town called Gold Hill. And the third, is that Gold Hill was the location for a popular British television advertisement from the 70's and 80's.
King Alfred's Kitchen Pub.
Lots of old buildings.
And a nice view of the English countryside.
Helen and Ruth looking at the flowers in the garden.
Shaftesbury used to have a big abbey, but it was demolished in the 1550's due to King Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. It was the location of the burial of King Edward the Martyr who was King of England for only three years from 975 until he was murdered by his step mother in 978. He was only 16 years old when he was killed.
His body laid to rest here at the location of the abbey until 1931 when archeological excavations came across it. Tests on the bones done in the 1970's confirmed that this was indeed the remains of the young King.
This is the site of the abbey.
Statue of King Alfred the Great.
Tony, Ruth, and Helen wandering in the garden.
The tomb of Edward the Martyr.
It turns out the above tomb does not contain any remains. After the examination of his bones in the 1970's, neither the Church of England nor the Roman Catholic Church would accept the remains. He is now buried in the Russian Orthodox Church in Bromley. He is the only King of England buried in a Russian cemetery. Apparently Shaftesbury is trying to bring him home, but he remains in Bromley near London.
Odd statue on top of someone's roof.
View of the Dorset countryside.
Bright flowers.
Walking up Gold Hill.
The houses on Gold Hill.
Me walking up Gold Hill.
Tony, taking a photo of me taking a photo.
Helen, Ruth, and me on Gold Hill.
Gold Hill Houses.
View from almost at the top.
Almost at the top.
View from the top of Gold Hill.
At the top of Gold Hill is a giant loaf of bread.
The Hovis bread company produced an advertisement in 1973 that was filmed on Gold Hill. It became a very popular and famous advertisement that ran on television for years to come.
You can watch the original advertisement here...
Today, Helen and Tony have a big lunch planned with lots of relatives coming over to visit. It will be fun to see everybody again.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good deal on this Outdoor Bug Zapper and there is also a 5% off coupon showing.
And in Canada...
I remember that Hovis commercial! Houses built on hills like that have always fascinated me. (all over the world including NFLD). What a great view down the hill.
ReplyDeleteApparently is is Britain's most favourite commercial of all time! The picture from the top of the looking down on the houses lining Gold Hill has also been used on biscuit and candy tins and on calendars. It is definitely a beautiful view and we agree views like that anywhere in the world are wonderful to see.
DeleteWow, Gold Hill is beautiful, the charming houses, cobblestone road, view...and great exercise as well.
ReplyDeleteWe agree with you and so many others too, guess that it one of the reasons that people love to come and visit Shaftsbury. Climbing up that hill didn't feel too bad at all but going up on a bicycle would have been a totally different story.
DeleteWhy is it called Gold Hill?
ReplyDeleteNo, we never found out why it was called Gold Hill and I can't find any information on the internet about why either.
DeleteWow, Gold Hill is really steep! It looks like a charming area.
ReplyDeleteOnly for a very short section. It is a really pretty town
Delete