Jan 5
Canterbury to Salisbury
What better than to draw the bedroom curtains to find a pub sign flapping in the breeze immediately outside and an off licence and a fish and chip shop directly across the road. Breakfast was both good and large and we checked out with lots of good advice from the landlord on where to find the White Cliffs of Dover. He suggested that we go to St Margaret's Bay and this we did. After descending a steep road down the cliff, we arrived in a small car park just about sea level with the cliffs towering above us on both sides. |
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There were some interesting caves or man made holes cut in the cliffs, which we tried to explore by climbing a steep zig-zag set of steps. Unfortunately, they only led to a path along the top of the cliffs so we descended the way we had come, our curiosity unsatisfied.The opposite end of the beach was closed off because of a rock fall. If the lumps of chalk sitting at the foot of the cliff were a product of the fall, I was happy not to get to close. |
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We drove to Dover with the intention of visiting the Castle. This turned out to be closed on Wednesdays in the winter so we had to pass by on the other side and head for Folkestone.
Quite by chance, we found a narrow tunnel leading to Samphire Hoe. This area appears to been opened up as a visitor site as a part of the Channel Tunnel project. The area was a beach and nature reserve, offering opportunities for walking along the sea wall and lots of bird watching. We had a wander, looked at the scenery, nearly froze to death in the wind and returned to the car. |
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The motorway was busy but there were no delays and I drove reasonably quickly from Dover to Reading. Feeling in need of a rest, we stopped at the Service Area for coffee and sandwiches before heading along the motorway and then the A4 to Hungerford. We stopped there to take a few photos but it was very dull and starting to rain so we didn't walk too far. Left: Kennett & Avon Canal, Hungerford |
This was a shame as we were bound for Avebury. The National Trust has, effectively, cordoned off the area to visitors' cars and forced them all to park in the visitor's car park. If you only wish to stop for a few minutes to seek directions, this is an expensive exercise. It is particularly annoying when it forces you to walk a considerable distance - probably half a mile - in the rain. It should also be noted that the NT has managed to hide their visitor centre so well that we failed to find it.
As a result, we had to ask for assistance at one of the shops, where they couldn't have been nicer.
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They knew about the Falkner Stone Circle although admitted that no one had asked for it in the 12 or 14 years that they had been at the shop. Once we were in the general area of the circle, I started to remember it from my previous visit there a few years before. We parked in a lay by and walked across a field, following a hedge line, in increasing amounts of drizzle. Hiding in the hedge at the far end of the field, we found the stone and took an assortment of photos. Honour having been satisfied - or the honour of the Falkners - we walked back to the car and drove to the main car park. |
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From there, we joined a few other hardy souls wandering around the stones in the drizzle and semi-darkness. I took lots of photos, trying some clever things with flash. Studying them later revealed that the rain drops on the lens didn't show up on the normal images but the flash magnified them manyfold.
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With the darkness almost complete, we abandoned to the pub - car park owned by the NT so, in theory, I should have paid & displayed - for a beer and, in Valerie's case, a mulled wine.Salisbury was about an hour away, down narrow and busy A roads. It was hard driving. Not at all pleasant in the darkness and the rain.Right: The Red Lion, Avebury |
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We made it in one piece and found the hotel without too much difficulty - more by luck than judgement - on the outskirts of the city. It was quite smart and we enjoyed a quite good and reasonably expensive dinner. It was washed down with a bottle of Argentinian viognier which, I suspect, was slightly past its best. It is possible, of course, that it always tastes like that!