U.K. Trip Anniversary Posts - Day 6

Roses, Castle and Cottage!

[Photo taken near the ladie's loo entrance at David Austin Roses]

We're beginning to hit our stride by day 6. The jet lag is wearing off and we're ready to hit the road running. It's a good thing, too. Day 6 was packed with places to see with a fair amount of driving in between. We started off the day in York and ended in Cheltenham... on the other "side" of the England...184 miles away.

Anyone who loves roses and has been gardening for any length of time, has probably heard of David Austin roses. They are crosses between some of the old fragrant shrub types (and species) and the newer styles of hybrid tea. The goal was to produce bushes that were robust, hardy, disease free, fragrant and at home in a garden setting (unlike some of the hybrid teas that are grown more for their flowers but don't always have a nice growth habit.. and can stick out like a sore thumb in a mixed landscape). Going to the place where it all started (Albrighton) was almost like Mecca for gardeners... what a thrill! They had beautiful display gardens, a tea room, gift shop and plants for sale. Our English guide was so impressed with what she saw on our tour that she ordered a dozen roses for her mother... some particularily fragrant ones. If you want to see some of their own photos of the nursery, go here.

We have arrived! (Five of the David Austin Roses photos were taken by Joe Binetti.)

This was taken by Chris Gregory. I took a photo of these roses from the other side and was fixated on finding the loo before we boarded the bus. When I saw her beautiful shot of the business through this arbor I wanted to kick myself for not walking through to the other side and looking back! =:o Glad she was paying attention and caught this... it's beautiful (which was just what they were striving for!). :-)

Oooh... the gift shop! I bought a small tray which I have given to a gardening friend... and several garden hand tools that I treasure. Packing those for the trip home was a bit of a challenge.

While many of us browsed the shelves at the gift shop, some went to the tea room. Chris G. took this beautiful photo before digging in. :-) Marianne Binetti had an interview with David Austin, Jr. in said tea room and told us later how she managed to spill tea all over the table and him. =:o She was quite embarrassed at the time but it makes for a funny story later. ;-) He is kind of a reserved person but I think he must have enjoyed the interview. He wanted a copy of the article she would later write.

Our guide, Amanda. I wasn't sure what she thought of our "odd" gardening group, but I think overall we weren't too bad for her... except for our need for frequent stops. ;-) She really enjoyed the rose gardens here and I've wondered since what her mother thought of her gift of roses. They were to be shipped in the dormant season and should have bloomed for her in 2010. Maybe she remembered her week with us and David Austin when her mother's roses opened. It was not a regular stop for the tour buses.

We've driven for a bit and are now making a hurried stop at Warwick Castle (pronounced "War' - ick"). Since we had to eat lunch here, there wasn't a lot of time for touring the grounds. The photos were snapped hurriedly as we went to and from the Undercroft Restaurant (thank goodness for photos... I'd never have remembered that name). This was like the Disneyland of castles... with all sorts of activities for children. It's a beautiful castle and well maintained.

Look out! Castle dead ahead...

What a place! :-) We ate here.

I loved the school uniforms on the children... all with their own color theme.

Joe Binetti did a castle tour while we were eating and managed to get this gorgeous photo from the other side of the castle. Breathtaking!

I've only used a few photos from each of our stops... trying to keep this down to size. There are a lot more posted on Facebook. The next couple are from Anne Hathaway's cottage near Stratford-upon-Avon. We walked through the inside but you are not allowed to take photos in there. I also bought some gift items at their gift shop before we departed.

It's been a long, hard summer for the hostas... but the sign is still cute. :-) There's something still beautiful about the changing colors of the riddled leaves.

Tired but impressed. :-)

The next few are taken in Stratford-upon-Avon... near the river and as we walked about. We saw some actors do a small excerpt from a Shakespeare play just outside the Shakespeare Centre. They had a pretty garden there as well with a couple of ancient trees. Angie and I walked down to the riverside while some stayed in town and relaxed a bit at a pub. We saw them through the window as we made our way back to the coach.

This first photo was a lucky shot from the coach window. They gave us a drive-through of the city (or village?) before stopping at the coach park.

One of the first things we saw after departing the coach. Ray Nielsen was the perfect guy to pose for this. :-)

The actors are good enough to pose with us. :-)

A nice little "book worm" in the center of the roundabout.

The Shakespeare monument near the river. The teenage school children were congregating here around 4:00. They dropped their backpacks in a line near the walk and were seated nearby. Notice the one young man who was sitting near William S.

This was the first piece of "litter" I'd noticed since we started the trip. It was so CLEAN there! Not until London did I notice trash where it didn't belong. So... I felt I had to take a photo before picking it up. ;-)

There's a beautiful "swan" fountain at the end of this walk.

We're walking up the hill now... back to the coach. We weren't quite sure of which direction at one point and Angie asked a nice policeman for clarification.

There they are! Relaxing in the pub. And we were worried about being late to the coach. ;-)

Sherri and I had a camera "shoot-out." Her picture is below this one.

We've left Stratford and have arrived at our dinner destination in the Gloucester area. The young people who worked here were delightful. Great service and such young, fresh faces. We were impressed with them. This was my first time to eat corn chowder and it was sure tasty. :-)