I need to get something off my chest

Yes, go ahead, laugh!

It's about driving in England.

First, let me say that English drivers are very courteous, more than Americans. I felt like a complete idiot most of the time, but only got honked at a couple of times when I was about to run some other car off the road.

Hanging head in shame.

Consider that I was in a right-hand-drive manual-transmission car that was upgraded to a non-compact. And the majority of the car was between me and the side of the road, which rarely had any kind of shoulder. Curbs, walls, houses, are often right next to the road and Jeff was in a constant state of panic that I was going to blow the left pair of tyres or worse. I did get better as the days went by, but my driving was never casual. 

Pair that with the ubiquitous roundabouts, which could have as many as four lanes entering at once and four or five exits all signed for several different destinations, and you can begin to appreciate my level of trauma.

However, in spite of my complaining, the angels were watching over us and we managed to end the fortnight unscathed.

I did, however, complain.

A lot.

Our lovely new friends on Hayling Island assured us that we must stop in Portsmouth.

So we did.

And got lost on those darn roundabouts several times before finding a little side street on which to park. We considered that to be a bonus, because there is no free parking in England! 

So many people, so little space. 

But this time, at least, we rocked on the parking front!

We hiked over to the historic dockyard and home of the Royal Navy and balked at the ticket price (over 20 pounds) to all the attractions, which include a couple of ships, several museums and the harbour tour. The only thing that could be paid for separately was the harbour tour, for a mere five pounds, so we did that. 

This is the HMS Warrior, the world's first iron-hulled, armour-plated, steam-and-wind-powered ship that was part of Queen Victoria's Black Battle Fleet. Launched in 1860, the Warrior was the largest, fastest, and most powerful ship of her day.  She was built in response to the first ironclad warship that was launched by the French a year earlier. Naval technology advanced so fast that the Warrior was obsolete in ten years.

You can get married on the Warrior if you've a whim and an extra thousand pounds floating around.

Portsmouth is home to three aircraft carriers, as well as a fleet of destroyers, frigates, mine warfare ships, and offshore patrol vessels. 

Kinda sounds like a game of Battleship, doesn't it?

I won't subject you to my whole flotilla of ship photos.

You can thank me later.

This beauty, of which we caught only a glimpse (see earlier reference to cheap tendencies) is the HMS Victory, the world's oldest commissioned ship and a proud memorial to Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson, Britain's greatest Naval hero. 

At least that's what the brochure says.

It was on this very ship that Lord Nelson died and the battle of Trafalgar was planned and fought. It is undergoing restoration at the moment, which is why the masts are rather short.

The port is a busy one.

We were only a hop, skip, and a jump away from the birthplace of Charles Dickens. We found another free parking spot (score!) and paid old Charlie a visit.
No photos allowed.

Then, it was off to Stonehenge.

Words are not enough.

The ticket price includes an audio tour, which was fascinating.

Sue was here.

A little trivia: the lichen covering the stones has been tested and found to contain over 90 different species, many of them rare and unusual.

Even though you can't wander among the stones any more, Stonehenge is an awesome sight and worth the visit.
Again, sparing you my plethora of photos.
We walked up the hill to the burial mounds, called barrows. There are 24 of them in the area. Between Stonehenge and the barrows, the landscape is quite surreal.

Our destination this Sunday evening was Wells, which is designated a city because of its cathedral. I had hoped to make evensong again, but it was at 3 pm and the day had been too full of other things. 

We arrived in Wells in the early evening and started looking for the address of our host. It must be very obscure, because everyone we asked gave us a different opinion. We knew it was by the cathedral, so we parked and started walking the narrow alleys next to it. I knocked on a couple of doors and a kind lady called our host for us and he drove over and led us back to his house.

Turns out that what we thought was a cathedral was just a big church.

They all start to look the same after a while!

I have been thinking about time and perspective while writing this post. The abbey at Hastings is almost a thousand years old. The first incarnation of Stonehenge was thought to be over four thousand years ago. Every where you turn in Britain, history assaults the senses. I suppose that if you live there, you become less aware of the antiquity of everything, but for us, it was formidable. To tread the ground upon which thousands of men died at the Battle of Hastings brings a reality to history that I never feel when reading about it. I think this is one of my favourite things about traveling to new places. 

Jeff, of course, revels in it.

The other aspect that thrills me is being able to visit with family and friends who have been strangers for too long. On Monday, we will finally meet up with my childhood friend, Jan.

Stay tuned.

I know, bated breath, right?