“Oh, to be in England!”

June 19, 2014  •  Leave a Comment

In April, my husband and I honeymooned (thank you, Hollingsworth v. Perry) for two weeks in the south of England and Wales. We spent a few days in London on our own, based at St. Ermin’s Hotel just around the corner from Buckingham Palace, doing Tourist Things (theatre, the Tower, the British Museum, the British Library, Westminster Abbey, the fabulously old and author-frequented Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a gaslight tour of the neighborhood around Parliament et cetera, et cetera), but the bulk of our time was spent being ferried about by our private guide, Michael Osborne (operating as Unique British Tours).

The great thing about engaging Michael was that we saw a whole different England than we would have seen on our own. Oh sure he took us to Stonehenge and Bath and Oxford, but we also drove off-highway along winding country roads that took us through alarmingly lovely little villages, complete with thatched-roofed houses in which real people actually live. He arranged overnights for us in assorted Wolsey Lodges (unique “luxury” bed-and-breakfasts that were mostly repurposed olde manor homes–including a horse farm in the country, a village great house, and (by far the best one) a converted 12th century mill) and a modern four-star hotel overlooking Cardiff Bay. He showed us things we hadn’t expected to see, like Avebury, a World Heritage Site with aged and worn monoliths that–unlike the more popular Stonehenge–visitors can actually wander up to and touch. He hosted us for beer at local village pubs and for a fancy-pants (and delicious) afternoon tea at the stately Manor House Hotel in Castle Combe.

Hazeland Mill in Wiltshirehoneymoon-12591

Hazeland Mill, Bremhill, Calne, Wiltshire–the best of the places we stayed!

Of course pictures were taken, and since that’s what this blog is supposed to be about, let’s get to it. I hope some of these come off as something somewhat north of vacation snaps (for all our sakes). So Let the Travel Photography Begin!

For more travel and other photography, click here: www.ebutterfieldphotography.com

Tower Bridge viewed through a window13886935035_29d3f43ca4_b

Tower Bridge viewed from the Tower of London

Gaslit street in Westminster, London13887004533_dde9668d2a_b

Gaslit street at night in Westminster, London

Gears in a mill in Wiltshire13887000613_9bc1358c54_b

Mill gears in a 12th-century mill in Wiltshire

Avebury monoliths13887328934_eddb474f0b_b

Avebury monoliths

Close-up view of Lewis Chessmen in the British Museum13886987713_788c0b73e2_b

12th-century Lewis Chessmen, British Museum, London

Fan vaulting in the nave of Bath Abbey, Bath13886981823_8c4081f9e4_b

Fan vaulting in the nave of Bath Abbey, Bath

Ruins of Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire, Wales13886948153_181f5a2ddd_b

Tintern Abbey, Monmouthshire, Wales

Cardiff Bay, viewed from the St David13887306504_3570966690_b

Cardiff Bay, viewed from the St David’s Hotel

Exeter College, Oxford13886982883_7cf54d4072_b

Exeter College, Oxford

Raven in the Tower of London13886833645_f33e273767_b

Raven in the Tower of London

Interior of the clock tower at Bath Abbey13887002933_230fc65ba1_b

Interior of the clock tower at Bath Abbey

Cardiff Castle, Cardiff, Wales13886894725_b1c90af471_b

Cardiff Castle, Cardiff, Wales

Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire13887264974_596d04e14b_b

Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire

 

For more travel and other photography, click here: www.ebutterfieldphotography.com


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