Oct 15: Remains to be seen.....
Cherrio, all. Typing this from Glastonbury Library, on a timer which seems to be decreasing much more rapidly than it should. On time restriction then, so this might not be a particularly 'polished' posting.
Woke to the predicted weather: very overcast with off and on rain: very typical for England. It's supposed to get clearer later in the day. In keeping with the gloominess I'm afraid the physical strain of getting here yesterday is taking its toll. Very tired, legs sore and just don't feel that great. Right now I'm controling my disappointment and will see how the day plays out. I'm in the town itself now, will stop by the visitor's center after leaving the library.
The trip here was made much more pleasant and easier by having my new English friend April accompany me. The bus system is rather confusing, there doesn't seem to be any way to tell which direction the buses are headed. Since April grew up in Wells, which is between Bath and Glastonbury, she didn't have to think twice about getting from there to here. We took the bus to Wells, which is England's smallest city. A 'city' is qualified by if it has a cathedral or not, and Wells has one. It is just the cutest town, not quite as quaint as the ones seen in the Cotswolds, but more realistic. The cathedral is breathtaking, I preferred it to the more celebrated one in Bath. We shared a 'pasty', which is not that different from our steak sandwich, although more pastry and not as much meat. Wandered around for several hours before getting the bus to Glastonbury. After finding my B&B, April returned to Bath. I don't know how I would have handled the luggage without her!
On the way to Wells got my first glimpse of the Tor, and it was just as I'd imagined. Many more glimpses as we got closer, and I'm delighted to report that I'm very close to Chalice Well and the Tor from my B&B--it's right there. My host assures me that it's only about a 10 minute walk and then a 15 minute climb, but he's younger and healthier looking than I am! The town itself is much smaller than I'd thought. I'd like to take a bus to Salisbury and see the cathedral there, and they also have frequent buses to Stone Henge, where I would like to spend more time. Salisbury also has a wonderful museum that is supposed to be quite good about Stone Henge and the ancient things in the area, and may be do-able tomorrow, whilst needed at least one bus change to and from. I called one taxi service, and it was just too expensive.
I'm hoping to mail some things that are heavy (and in hindsight were stupid to bring) from the post office here, although the prices are quite high so won't be able to afford a whole lot. But even getting rid of 5-6 pounds seems like a good idea, especially after collecting water from Chalice Well, which several people have requested.
So my current plan is to take it very easy right now, rest up, maybe walk to Chalice Well, contemplate and read while my body recovers. If Mervyn (my host's name!) is correct, and April agrees, the climb might not be as arduous as I was afraid of since the B&B is so much closer to the hill than I thought, so may be able to get up there in 30-45 mins, even taking it very slowly. The views at the top will probably not be that good today because of the weather, but it is, of course, the journey that's important. The weather is predicted to be better on Saturday, so I might go up then for the view.
So that's the revevised plan as of this moment. It's just after 6 am at home right now, just to give you a reference point. It's just after 11:00 am here, and the English weather is known for incredible changes in just a few hours. We'll see, and I'll post when I can in the next couple of days to update.
Keep sending positive and energetic thoughts! Laurie
Woke to the predicted weather: very overcast with off and on rain: very typical for England. It's supposed to get clearer later in the day. In keeping with the gloominess I'm afraid the physical strain of getting here yesterday is taking its toll. Very tired, legs sore and just don't feel that great. Right now I'm controling my disappointment and will see how the day plays out. I'm in the town itself now, will stop by the visitor's center after leaving the library.
The trip here was made much more pleasant and easier by having my new English friend April accompany me. The bus system is rather confusing, there doesn't seem to be any way to tell which direction the buses are headed. Since April grew up in Wells, which is between Bath and Glastonbury, she didn't have to think twice about getting from there to here. We took the bus to Wells, which is England's smallest city. A 'city' is qualified by if it has a cathedral or not, and Wells has one. It is just the cutest town, not quite as quaint as the ones seen in the Cotswolds, but more realistic. The cathedral is breathtaking, I preferred it to the more celebrated one in Bath. We shared a 'pasty', which is not that different from our steak sandwich, although more pastry and not as much meat. Wandered around for several hours before getting the bus to Glastonbury. After finding my B&B, April returned to Bath. I don't know how I would have handled the luggage without her!
On the way to Wells got my first glimpse of the Tor, and it was just as I'd imagined. Many more glimpses as we got closer, and I'm delighted to report that I'm very close to Chalice Well and the Tor from my B&B--it's right there. My host assures me that it's only about a 10 minute walk and then a 15 minute climb, but he's younger and healthier looking than I am! The town itself is much smaller than I'd thought. I'd like to take a bus to Salisbury and see the cathedral there, and they also have frequent buses to Stone Henge, where I would like to spend more time. Salisbury also has a wonderful museum that is supposed to be quite good about Stone Henge and the ancient things in the area, and may be do-able tomorrow, whilst needed at least one bus change to and from. I called one taxi service, and it was just too expensive.
I'm hoping to mail some things that are heavy (and in hindsight were stupid to bring) from the post office here, although the prices are quite high so won't be able to afford a whole lot. But even getting rid of 5-6 pounds seems like a good idea, especially after collecting water from Chalice Well, which several people have requested.
So my current plan is to take it very easy right now, rest up, maybe walk to Chalice Well, contemplate and read while my body recovers. If Mervyn (my host's name!) is correct, and April agrees, the climb might not be as arduous as I was afraid of since the B&B is so much closer to the hill than I thought, so may be able to get up there in 30-45 mins, even taking it very slowly. The views at the top will probably not be that good today because of the weather, but it is, of course, the journey that's important. The weather is predicted to be better on Saturday, so I might go up then for the view.
So that's the revevised plan as of this moment. It's just after 6 am at home right now, just to give you a reference point. It's just after 11:00 am here, and the English weather is known for incredible changes in just a few hours. We'll see, and I'll post when I can in the next couple of days to update.
Keep sending positive and energetic thoughts! Laurie
posted by Laurie @ 5:56 AM
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