After a couple weeks of quiet country living in Little Coxwell, we hit the road again. We headed for Cranleigh in Surrey to visit an old friend of Chris’, taking in Winchester and its famous cathedral along the way. Neither of us had been to Winchester Cathedral, and now I can only hope that the eponymous song will stop playing in my head! After Winchester, we drove to Cranleigh, and then immediately jumped to Portsmouth, an hour south on the coast of England. And then… the following day we took the train to London to dine with Chris’ goddaughter. This is why my posts were delayed…every day was packed to the gills!
Our first stop, Winchester, was definitely worth it. The town is transected by a stream with a path alongside, and the entire town is beautifully kept and picturesque. The cathedral is massive and beautiful. It inspires wonder and awe and has for 1,000 years! There are lots of crypt stones in the floor and walls, including the grave of Jane Austin in one wall. She died in Winchester.
Our next destination, Portsmouth, is an hours drive south from Cranleigh on the south coast of the UK. It has active shipyards and regular ferries to the Isle of Wight, which is clearly visible from Portsmouth and only a short distance away. Portsmouth has touristy beaches at Southsea, and also more authentic and picturesque streets and pubs in the area we visited.
And then the following day, we took a train to London and visited the National Gallery to see the Raphael show. The show was very nice and it allowed me to remember some things I learned when I studied and did art. We had dinner near Tower Bridge so we took the tube from near Trafalgar Square to near that famous bridge.
We had a tasty dinner in a packed and noisy tapas bar and then worked our way back to Guildford using tube and train. Nice to have such a smooth functioning public transportation system. The train was packed!
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