Bidding Farewell to Biddestone and All Adjacent Points

Thatched Elm Cottage, Biddestone, Wiltshire England 

It's taking me a lot (lot) longer to get back to any "normal" routine than I expected. A lot! Usually a week after getting back from vacation inside of a week I'm totally back on track, but as you can see by the lack of posts, this is not the case this time. I've gone grocery shopping, done laundry and paid bills, but a lot else is a work in progress, including blogging. 

There are at least a dozen posts I could do from my visit to England and France, and I hope to do a few of them, but I'm starting my recap with the beautiful village of Biddestone. It was only a quick visit, but one that has stayed with me. No, I haven't started packing to move there, but I did look at real estate availability. Nothing in my price range!

  

"Main Street" Biddestone

The Manor House, which dates from the Seventeenth Century

The first settlement of what would become Biddestone was listed in the Domesday Book in 1086, just after the Norman conquest of England in 1066.  If I envisioned the picture perfect English village, Biddestone would be the personification. There's a pub, a duck pond and several churches, the latter of which we didn't get to see. 

If Biddestone hadn't melted my heart with Thatched Elm Cottage, the duck crossing sign would have done it. 

My visit to Wiltshire was spent with a dear blog friend. We had a wonderful time and I'm so grateful to Sybil, Mary and Peter for all they did to make my visit so lovely and memorable. 

My goal for today is to walk, enjoy a second cup of coffee, continue post-vacation organization and do some reading. What's on your schedule?

As ever, thanks for visiting and have a great day. 
 

W Is for Wiltshire

A quick trip down the coast from Ullapool to Wiltshire, England

I discovered one of the most beautiful places I've been, the English county of Wiltshire, via one of my blog friends, and I will always be grateful. I've written many times about blog friends becoming friends. As the years have gone by I've had the great fortune to meet my blog buddies, both when they've visited New York and when I've traveled across the globe. I "met" Sybil, who lives in Wiltshire, early in my blog career and we've kept in touch ever since. She graciously extended an offer to visit and even though we'd never met I accepted her invitation and flew to England in the summer of 2018. Yes, it was iffy, but a dear mutual friend, who I had met several times, had visited Wiltshire and I was assured it was a good idea.   

   The gardens at Avebury Manor

My visit was more than a good idea, it was an opportunity to make lifelong friends and see a beautiful corner of England from a local perspective. I had heard of Salisbury and Stonehenge (and even been to Stonehenge), but I wouldn't have been able to tell you what county they were in. I wasn't familiar with the extraordinary Avebury Manor or Lacock Abbey  -- featured in Harry Potter -or a dozen other sites I visited with Sybil and friends. 

St. James Church Avebury

One of my favorite places when I visited Wiltshire was Avebury Manor. Avebury was an extraordinary combination of fascinating sights to see. It combined a beautiful manor house built on (or very near) to the site of a Benedictine priory founded in 1114. It also included St. James Church, which dates from the Saxon period before the Norman Conquest. Avebury also includes an ancient stone circle, that dates from 3,000 BCE. 

Exploring the Avebury Stone Circle

My visit to Stonehenge in 2014 and my visit to Avebury in 2018 was completely different. The circle at Stonehenge was surrounded by a barrier and there were perhaps, several hundred people visiting. At Avebury,  the stones are arranged in an extended circle and spread over a large area. The other major difference at Avebury is that my new friend, Val, who is Sybil's neighbor, and I shared this site with one other person.    

 At Stonehenge in 2014

I've been doing a lot of reflecting while I've been writing these travel reflections. I'd planned to visit England again this summer, a quick visit to London and then a cruise to both English and Scottish ports. That's been cancelled and there's no telling when or even if that trip might be possible. When things open up again -- whenever that may be -- I'd love a return to Wiltshire. 

I'm glad to report that my cut finger is healing well and I'm typing and blogging again, and coming to the completion of the Blogging from A to Z challenge. I'd hoped to finish in April, but now I'm looking to completion on May 1. My friend, B, asked me yesterday what I was going to blog about in May. I've been keeping a list of ideas and I have some topics to catch up on. I'm planning to do weekly travel posts, at least until I can start traveling again.    

Tomorrow for "X" we return to North America. I'm revisiting one of the earliest trips I took once I started working and began to travel. Back to 1977.

As ever, thanks for visiting and take good care. Much love, wash your hands and watch your fingers.