Visiting the Coopers, Ewelme, and Bath

Hi! Well, the next stage of our spring holiday took us to beautiful southern England. Helen's parents had been nice enough to invite us to visit with them in the little village of Ewelme, in Oxfordshire. We took them up on this offer and stayed 3 very enjoyable nights with them. Here is a picture of Kim and I, and David and Sue. I actually think that they are the nicest people in all of England. And I'm serious! They went out of their way to make us comfortable, keep us well fed, and offered suggestions to our daily excursions. I was most impressed with their fun and caring nature as they played croquet, table tennis, and numerous board and card games with us and the kids. David also had a nice selection of fine English ales that he broke out to aid the storytelling in the evenings. What a great time!

Here is one view of their 18th century home. Very nice!

Another home a little way down the street. I like how the stream runs across their driveway.

Another home in the cool little village. Nice thatched roofs!

This is the King's Pond, where Henry VIII was pushed in by one of his wives when she found out about his latest "interest". Apparently Ewelme was one of Henry VIII's favourite little villages, and he spent time here from his earliest years.

This has to be the coolest front door to a primary school that I've ever seen. Reason for this medieval looking door is that it is the oldest school in England that is still functioning as a school! This school was founded in 1437!

Here is a photo of the outside of this school.

Here is the local parish church that is right behind the school.

The interior of this beautiful little church. Small church with beautiful wood and stone and glass work.

This church has the tomb of Sir Thomas Chaucer and his wife (Lady Something-or-other). His more-famous father Geoffrey wrote The Canterbury Tales. Looking at the cover of the tomb, I think that this silly fellow obviously couldn't find a dragon, so he killed a unicorn! He must have been really bitter when his father still got the attention!

Next on our agenda, was a visit to the beautiful city of Bath, about an hour and a half away. Bath was a Roman town that became famous, even in Roman times, for its hot, bubbling mineral springs - which still bubble away! The Romans view this as a holy place, building a large temple at the site in conjunction with the baths. After the Romans deserted this town, it became the favourite baths of a series of English monarchs, becoming the site of the below Royal Mineral Water Hospital in 1737. It became a must-go location for many of Britain's wealthy upper crust for a couple of hundred years after this.

Here are Kim and the kids on a beautiful Bath street. Believe it or not, this was a very crowded day on the streets, particularly in this area. A nice quiet moment.

The relaxing grassy area in front of the sweeping Royal Crescent.

The Bath cathedral. Everything in this town was beautiful!

A back view of the cathedral.

My favourite street in Bath...

... okay, THIS one was my favourite. After looking around I wasn't sure how it got it's name though...

A view looking down at the Roman baths. The water and the foundations are the original Roman ones, while the rest of the building was built by the English monarchs in a classical style.

The beautiful Kim, poolside.

The rest of us!

A Roman gravestone in the museum. Looks like the poor guy got trampled.

Bath's most important archaeological find in the 1800s. The golden head of the statue from the main temple in the Roman era.

Well, this was a LONG entry. We really enjoyed southern England. Our next day was in Oxford, which I'll write a much smaller entry for tomorrow. See you then!

Jimy MacJohnson