Sunday, December 31, 2006
Saturday in Salisbury
The day began with clear blue skies. Lovely!
We drove to Salisbury in the south of the county of Wiltshire to drop Simon off at the station.
The four of us that remained, Roger, Sue, Bill and I then went to stroll across one of the most famous views of England. It was the artist John Constable who painted views of the cathedral, across the water meadows in 1823.
The cathedral is 600 years older than that. It was begun in 1220 and was completed in just 38 years.
The spire which dominates the views for miles around is 123 metres high. It did need some repair quite recently, but I think those medieval builders produced an amazing building. The spire is so slender and graceful.
The water meadows are crossed by rivers. Salisbury has 5 in all - the Nadder, the Avon, the Wylie, the Ebble and the Bourne.
Water mills would have been powered by the fast flowing water. Some remain, but not necessarily as mills. We admired the ancient building which is now The Old Mill Hotel.
We were strolling and looking for just an hour. By the time we got back to the car the skies had clouded over again and rain was beginning to fall.
We drove to Salisbury in the south of the county of Wiltshire to drop Simon off at the station.
The four of us that remained, Roger, Sue, Bill and I then went to stroll across one of the most famous views of England. It was the artist John Constable who painted views of the cathedral, across the water meadows in 1823.
The cathedral is 600 years older than that. It was begun in 1220 and was completed in just 38 years.
The spire which dominates the views for miles around is 123 metres high. It did need some repair quite recently, but I think those medieval builders produced an amazing building. The spire is so slender and graceful.
The water meadows are crossed by rivers. Salisbury has 5 in all - the Nadder, the Avon, the Wylie, the Ebble and the Bourne.
Water mills would have been powered by the fast flowing water. Some remain, but not necessarily as mills. We admired the ancient building which is now The Old Mill Hotel.
We were strolling and looking for just an hour. By the time we got back to the car the skies had clouded over again and rain was beginning to fall.
