Glastonbury Abbey, Gloucester and Wells Cathedrals, Cheddar Gorge....

Cute Richard usually handles all my transfers when we travel through Gatwick but today we kept him for the whole day to show us parts of southwest England.  Cute Richard, my nickname for him, lives in nearby Stow-on-the-Wold and picked us up bright and "freezing" early to take our tour.  (Snow flurries had been forecast for the area if that tells you anything!)

Our first stop was Cheddar Gorge in Cheddar, where of course cheddar cheese is made.

We stopped for lunch at the pub on the right and ordered the ploughman's lunch which is cheese, salad, bread and some horrific little pickled onions.  Cute Richard downed them without wincing but I had to pass although I gave it a go!  They served us the biggest hunks of cheese I have ever seen served for lunch!  So much so, we told Cute Richard to look the other way while we pocketed it into our purses for dinner.  (Don't want to be wasteful....we are trying to be very "green".)

We drove through Cheddar Gorge which is a natural gorge created by the river which has now been replaced by a road.

We then drove through the Mendips on our way to Wells.

Cute Richard drove us up through the town of Wells on our way to its magnificent cathedral.

Here is Wells.

Here is the cathedral.

And here is Cute Richard.

Not a great shot, he is actually cuter, so I will see what I can do!

Back to the other sites and on to Glastonbury!

Glastonbury is a funky town full of mystics, unusual shops and colorful characters.  However it is best known for Glastonbury Abbey which is in the heart of town.  It is a beautiful, serene place devastated by the dissolution of the abbeys during Henry VIII reign.

It is also known as the place where King Arthur and Guinevere were buried.  In the 12th century the graves were discovered and they were re-interred with great pomp by the current king. However, after the dissolution of the monasteries, the graves were lost.

Next stop was Gloucester Cathedral.

Gloucester Cathedral is a magnificent cathedral filled with beautiful architecture and gorgeous artifacts.  It is also well known for the Harry Potter films which were filmed there.

Here it the cross that was carried in front of Elizabeth when she was crowned queen, the one we have all seen in the old newsreels.

And here is where the monks did their laundry, we think!!

And a view of the magnificent cloisters for all you Harry Potter fans!

Okay, enough of that!

We haven't even reached the halfway point of our stay and there is loads to come!

Chatsworth, Newstead Abbey (Lord Byron's home), Winchester Cathedral, the Round Table, Jane Austen's home, Snowdonia in Wales, Anglesey, Cornwall, Kent and our river cruise down the Thames just to mention a few!!!!.

Stay tuned!!!