Dad, Amelia, Ben and Lillie took a trip South on Saturday. Mother, Elizabeth, and Faith stayed in Oxford to go to the Covered Market and the Library. It was 49 degrees and very clear, a good day to be out. We started at 10:15, and at 11:30 stopped at Beacon Hill in Hampshire, a hill fort. Ben was getting carsick and Lillie was hungry, so seeing the sign at the side of the A34, Dad decided a break was appropriate.
In just half an hour, we went up and down again. Lillie walked the whole way, a first for her. She enjoyed running a lot of the way down. The views were spectacular.
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| A View from Beacon Hill, Hampshire |
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| Looking Down Beacon Hill |
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| A View from Beacon Hill, Hampshire |
We stopped a hawthorn tree partway up, for a rest and to have water and malt bread.
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| The Beacon Hill Ramparts |
Our intention was to go to Portsmouth and see HMS Victory and the naval museum and go on a boat ride in the harbor. Lunchtime was coming on, though, so we stopped in Winchester, parking in the mall at the city center. We passed by King Canute’s Holy Trinity Church on the way in, and a Nepalese restaurant. Winchester seems to a big army center, and has a Gurkha museum.
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| A Vending Machine for Business Cards |
We ate at the Eclipse Inn, in a 16th century building– a bean-ham-and mashed potatoes hotpot, and sausages and mashed potatoes, with some good Best Bitter. We spent two hours there, due to slow service and to Benjamin’s eating very slowly. The children were very good. Amelia and Lillie played Concentration cards. The food was good, too.
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| Playing Concentration at The Eclipse Inn, Winchester |
We stopped at a religious book store. Ben bought a postcard to send to his friend Jack, and Lillie bought one too, in imitation. Dad bought a car fish symbol, and decided not to buy a 26 pound interlinear Bible.
On the way to the Cathedral, we stopped in for five minutes at the City Museum, seeing just a little of it. Eve Hitchens says that upstairs they have old real armor one can try on, so we’ll have to go back. Benjamin was very impatient to go on, as it was.
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| Winchester Museum Dress-Up |
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| Sancta Joanna? |
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| Winchester Cathedral |
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| Winchester Cathedral |
At Portchester Castle, the first thing we did was to go to the harbor, since Lillie was keen to see the ocean. There was a lot of flint and seaweed there, and some shells. We could see Portsmouth’s cranes across the bay. And there were two friendly robins.
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| A Portchester Robin |
Who would have thought to see swans swimming in the sea?
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| Swans in the Sea, Portchester |
Portchester Castle is a good one. The walls have all kinds of different stones and bricks in them. It was closing just as we arrived, though.
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| Portchester Castle: The Norman Keep |
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| Portchester Castle: The Roman Walls and the Church Inside Them |
Benjamin was very disappointed that the Royal Armouries had closed at 4 too, before we arrived. We did get to see the massive mortar and the 14 inch naval gun that were kept outside, though.
