Old Manor House…

…a luxury Bed and Breakfast in South Warwickshire, on the edge of the Cotswolds. This 16th Century home was our favorite. This great house is seven miles from Stratford Upon Avon and just one and a half hours from London.

We had a very good experience here and if we would travel back to England we’d book more than a night at this lovely manor to explore the area.

16th Century homes have some very unique features. Josh and Laura got the duck your head room!

Loved the windows…

One of the fun highlights of our time here was meeting Geoff and Joan, an older couple who were staying at the Old Manor House while we were there. We had a lovely time talking and getting to know their interesting history.

It was so interesting to learn that Joan was one of the “Call the Midwives” that served after World War II in the London Area. I asked her if she had seen the BBC series and she said that she really has enjoyed it and how accurate the show is.

I didn’t get a photo of our hosts but did get one of their adult son who was helping out while we were there with breakfast and taking care of a new litter of pups.

Speaking of breakfast…it was a delicious version of the traditional English breakfast.

We highly recommend the Old Manor House. Tomorrow I’ll share photos from our short walk to “The Halford” where we enjoyed our Sunday Pub Dinner.

Back on the home front…

My niece Michelle shared these words from my dear old Pop on Sunday when they visited him…
“You know, it’s hard without your Baba. I have tears. But God is with me. And so I get up and go on again. God is love. And when His love is in you, you feel His comfort. I’m thanking Him for all He’s given me. He is good.”
Today when I talked to him on the phone he said, “I’m not going to lie, it’s hard.” We talked about how great it is that he has good memories. “Yes, he said, God has been good to us.” By the way today he went to “Staplers” (Staples) to buy a board so he could put together a jigsaw puzzle Ryan and Michelle bought him…
Thank you for remembering him in your prayers!!

Stratford Upon Avon…

On our way to the Old Manor House in Halford on the edge of the Cotswolds we stopped for a couple of hours in Shakespeare’s Stratford Upon Avon.

We were intrigued with a property that had both the Union Flag and the U.S. flag and walked in to tour the property. Here’s a link that gives the history of this property.

An old fashioned confectioners on High Street.

This is Shakespeare’s birthplace right in the middle of town on Henley Street right across the street from Peter Rabbit!

This town is a full vibrant town with plenty of history, shops and eateries to enjoy. This was a Sunday so some shops were closed and many were closing at five. We had our fill of being on the road and shopping on this day and headed a little south in search of our Bed and Breakfast. I’ll devote a full post to the Old Manor House in Halford as it was our favorite B & B experience this time around in England.

One of the shops that I wish was open was this shop. I really wanted that tea bag holder…

We’ve had several days of sunshine here in the Seattle area and took care of some outdoor work we needed to do. First load of leaves, mostly what we call helicopter seeds, have fallen from the huge maple in our neighbor’s yard on to our drive and lawns. Very soon we’ll have several more leaves fall that will need to be taken care of. For a day or two we are enjoying a nice neat and tidy yard. We pulled out 3 arbor vitae and took them back to Home Depot for a refund since they didn’t do well and had turned brown.

Hope you had a nice October weekend!

The Potteries

The Potteries area in Stoke on Trent isn’t a picturesque area of England and it’s not like one our factory outlet areas in the states. Each factory stands on it’s own and you have to do some driving in between the shops depending on your interests. We were not devoting a whole day to this venture as we were more interested in getting to our next destination in the Cotswolds.

I was most interested to see the Emma Bridgewater shop. We chose the second factory that was closest to E.B. which was Aynsley.

Here’s a link where you can poke around and see all the different potteries there are to visit in the area.

I’m a real bargain hunter and even the discounted prices weren’t floating my boat. I chose a few items to pack away in my suitcases to bring home. If you are serious about buying there was a shipping option at the factory stores.

I chose the hedgehog for my souvenir mug. The inscription on the bottom says “Numbers of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle’s friends and relations are seriously depleted in the twenty-first century. Falling insect populations and rising traffic levels have all taken their toll as has excessive tidiness in the garden with the loss of vital log heaps and piles of leaves.

A couple egg cups and a tea towel rounded out my purchases at Emma Bridgewater.

It was fun to poke around our second stop but we left empty handed. My buying skills were kind of like this next sign we saw…

Happy first October weekend to all of you. We got some fabulous sunshine on Friday and I hope we have more in store. We have some serious yard work that needs to get done and some dry days would really help that venture. I’ll continue with my England posts Sunday night or Monday. Enjoy your weekend!

Theatre of Dreams ~ Old Trafford

‘This is Manchester United football club, this is the theatre of dreams.’

The phrase coined by Sir Bobby Charlton in John Riley’s book simply entitled ‘Soccer’ 26 years ago has stuck in the period of unprecedented success which the Red Devils enjoyed under the tenure of Sir Alex Ferguson. From the Glaswegian’s appointment in November 1986, this cathedral of British football has undergone a dramatic transformation to become arguably the finest club ground in English football.

We searched on line to get tips about getting to the stadium and parking for the soccer game. We found the neighborhood suggested to park in and followed the crowds walking to the stadium.

We had our Seattle Sounders gear with our Sounders/Manchester United friendly match scarf. It was fun that a few people walked up to us recognizing that we were from Seattle and were welcoming.

We had enough time before kick off to take some photos and check out the Mega Store! Yikes was that huge with wall to wall people in it.

Our tickets included a club entrance separate from general entrances and a private lounge to enjoy snacks and drinks before the game and during half time. We also got a free program with our tickets.

We enjoyed our seats and the crowd. We had heard some horror stories about sitting in the stands that didn’t pan out in our experience. The seats were comfortable and the people around us were polite.

The excitement in the stadium reached an elevated pitch when Maraouane Fellaini took the field for the first time as a “Red”. Many of the fans donned wigs that tried to match Fellaini’s hair.

Marouane Fellaini has described his deadline-day move to Manchester United as a ‘dream’, and hopes to repay David Moyes’ faith in him by joining the long list of greats at Old Trafford.

There was a solid line of security between the home fans and the visiting fans. The chants from the two groups always get quite heated and aren’t flattering to their opponents for sure.

We took one last photo of all of us together enjoying experiencing a dream come true for Josh. This wouldn’t be the one and only game that Josh got to attend in England. While we were in London he took a chance at buying a last minute ticket to a sold out Arsenal game in Northern London close to the stadium where the game would be played. An older woman who was meeting someone to sell her 2 season tickets to decided that she’d like to enjoy the game with Josh after talking to him. We were happy for Josh to get his 2nd experience in an English Premier game atmosphere! We shopped while Josh enjoyed the game and then we met up at Selfridges on Oxford Street.

Where There’s A Will…

Our trips to England over the years have been planned around different interests and purposes. Dear traveled 4 summers in a row in the early seventies with a Christian music group that started at Biola College. This group soon warped into a Christian Rock Band. I joined the group in it’s Rock Band Stage for Dear’s last two summers in England with the band. These trips in the seventies had us traveling from school to school singing and sharing during the school’s religious education time slot. In the evenings we would sing in a public hall or church in the same area with many of the kids from the schools coming out to listen again. Usually we’d tack on a few days at the end of the tour to sight see in different areas of Great Britain.

“Hymns give way to Jesus Rock in morning assembly at St. George’s Church of England School, in Meadow Road, Gravesend yesterday. The concert was given by the Contemporaries, 14 musicians from the United States who are in the middle of a world tour. They have already completed a number of successful “gigs” in Liverpool. They are all professional musicians but they are giving their services free”…

Dear and I are in the center of the photo on the bottom row. 1974 was the last summer tour Dear and I participated in.

The next time we would travel to England was in February of 2003. Dear’s company was sold and before he moved on to another job we decided to take a trip to London. While based in London we took day trips out by train to Cambridge for a day and to Watford to attend a evening worship conference at Tim Hughes (Here I Am to Worship) church. We enjoyed the London Eye which opened in 2000. We also visited the National Gallery, Westminster, St. Paul’s, and other great landmarks. We enjoyed a Gilbert and Sullivan production of HMS Pinafore on Valentine’s day. On this trip we stayed in So. Kensington a short walk to the underground for our many trips around London. At our hotel in Kensington was where Dear watched the bartender make a Kensington Dream for me which became my signature celebration drink that Dear prepares for me.

In April of 2004 we planned a high school graduation gift trip for our daughter Katie centered around her favorite authors (Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Austen) and Monty Python.

Here is a tiny photo of Dear and Katie outside The Eagle and Child (Bird and Baby) of C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, Sayers (Inklings) fame. We enjoyed walks about Oxford that Tolkien and Lewis took together. We traveled to Bath to see some Jane Austen haunts. We drove around the Cotswolds where some Hobbit inspiration was gained. We traveled out to “Pemberly” (Chatsworth House) and to Bakewell of “Pride and Prejudice” fame and when in Scotland we traveled to Doune Castle and asked for coconuts to clip clop around the castle grounds where scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail were filmed.

In 2006 we joined two couples who are our very good friends on a semi walking tour of some areas of Wales, the Lake District, Oban, Edinburgh, and York. The photo above is of the Derwent in the Lake District. For this trip we just had to show up as Jody masterfully booked all our lodgings for us in advance. The highlight of this trip for me was our time on the island of Iona.

That brings us to 2013 and the trip we planned with our oldest son Josh and our daughter in law, Laura. This trip needed to have something for both of them in mind. The main thing in our son Josh’s mind was to attend Premier League soccer matches so that’s where the title of this post comes to be. The first choice team to see was Manchester United in the famed Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England. We would try to get tickets for Saturday September 14th the day after we arrived in England. Josh went online at the Manchester United official site and was shocked to see the tickets released and sold out within seconds. Oh boy…now what? We found a secondary resale sight for tickets and were pleased to find 4 tickets available. They were pricey but we hit the buy button knowing this was something that was important for our “England Experience” this time around. Now we had to contact our B&B and see if it was OK to have the tickets delivered there. We got the correct address and then started the “wondering game” in our heads. I wonder if the tickets will arrive in time? I wonder if the tickets are official?” I wonder, I wonder….

We arrived at the Bed and Breakfast Friday night and our host immediately said to us, “I have a parcel I think you’ll be pleased to see” Josh ripped it open and there were 4 official looking tickets for the game on Saturday. We sighed in relief and thanked the Lord.

My next post will be about our experience at “Old Trafford”.

This is one of those posts to document history for me and my family. So many things are forgotten as time goes on.

The Malthouse B & B

Oh the Hedgerows on the way to our first nights stop in England. If we weren’t anxious to arrive at our destination after being up for over 20 hours I would have yelled stop a few times to try to capture the narrow lanes lined in green.

We were so happy to finally turn the right corner and see our B & B in front of us.

The Malthouse B & B is located in the small village of Alton in the Staffordshire county of England.

We had rooms 8 & 9 in the Stables. Our room had the Hobbit window.

Josh and Laura experienced their first traditional fried English breakfast.

View of the village from the front door of the Malthouse.

Village Views

For our dinner in Alton we chose The Bullshead Inn. It was a great improvement over the first pub meal we had.

Our hosts at The Malthouse were very helpful and gracious. We would recommend this as a fine spot to rest your heads as you investigate the area.

We are still in a rainy pattern here in the Northwest. How has October begun for you?

Landing on the Other Side…

It’s time for me to document our trip across the pond before my brain forgets the details. We landed at Heathrow picked up our bags, spoke to the customs agents about our intentions, and found a shuttle to the Hertz car rental office. Thankfully we listened to the agent behind the desk and went with a larger car and a Satellite Navigation system that would become our best friend. We lovingly named the SatNav, Jeeves. He told us to “bear right” and “bear left” and “at the roundabout take the third exit”. All these instructions were with a fabulous British accent.

Both Josh and Dear did a fabulous job of driving on the other side of the road and making it through the narrow roads lined with hedgerows. After a few hours on the road and before our final destination we chose a random road to turn on to try to find something to eat. We stumbled upon Stoke Bruerne in Northhamptonshire. A lovely little village on the Grand Union Canal.

Our choice for a meal wasn’t the best in this town but it sufficed and being jet lagged it would have to do. We had a nice walk about the village after our meal. It was good to stretch our legs. We were even able to help open up one of the gates of the locks along the canal.

We saw our first thatched roof cottages in this little town.

It was fun to see all the colorful Canal Boats.

We said our goodbyes to our first village in England and headed farther North for our first Bed and Breakfast stop.

Happy October to all of you. I’m happy to report my body seems to have adjusted to being on the West Coast of the U.S.A. again. Looking forward to a nice long stretch at home. What does October hold for you?

Our Finale was London…

And our favorite phrase while in London for our last 3 days was, “Oh the humanity”. Such a sea of people and an amazing ethnic diversity. Never ever go to England and miss out on the countryside. London is fabulous but it is a completely different experience from the quiet of the countryside.

This is Tower Bridge in London over the river Thames with the HMS Belfast permanently docked since 1971.

On Tuesday I was able to get some laundry done and organize some thoughts which is always good. I enjoyed visiting some of your blogs and seeing what’s new in your corner of the world. Talking to my sister voice to voice this morning and getting all the details of my mom’s last minutes was good for my soul. I talked to my pop for the first time since my mom died and that was good for both of us. What a sweet man my pop is. Looking forward to hugging him on Thursday afternoon…

Left in Summer…

…returned in Autumn!

We arrived home from England yesterday evening at 6:00 pm after a flight delay in London. I was tucked into my own bed by 8:30 and wide awake at 3:00 am. My body and mind will adjust soon. We left with windows open and returned with windows shut. We left with the heater pilot lights off and they are back on this morning along with a wee bit of heat to warm up our chilly home. Fall has definitely arrived!

The rest of this week will be busy with our preparations for my mom’s memorial service and our travel to Southern California. Time will tell when I will start posting my full travelogue from England.

Here’s another snapshot of our days in England. After Wells we traveled on to Cornwall where we spent 3 nights. What a wonderful area to explore! Cheers!

Josh, Laura, Dear and I are so thankful to God for watching over us and for His favor on us during this trip. There were so many moments that we felt His touch on us and our experiences. Thank you Lord!

Just One…

It’s hard to just show one photo from this amazing cathedral. I’ll be showing lots more in the coming weeks when we get back Stateside.

We leave England today (Monday) at 3:00 and arrive in Seattle at 4:30…so weird. Later this week we board a plane again to go to Southern California for my mom’s funeral. We’ve had a marvelous time in England and I’m so happy that this time around I have a digital camera and a blog so I can document the trip. I already am making plans in my head to improve our next trip here…whenever that may be.

Happy Autumn everyone! I so looking forward to catching up with you all.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Travel