All UK posts

Have been publishing posts in drafts, in bits and pieces; been lazy at times to process, rename and choose from the thousand plus JPEGs. An easy access to all of those here.

i] Eastleigh
ii] Winchester
iii] Hursley
iv] Stonehenge and Woodhenge
v] Avebury
vi] Bath
vii] Salisbury
viii] Beaulieu
ix] Hurst Castle
x] Portsmouth
xi] Hursley Day
xii] Buckler's Hard
xiii] Calshot Castle and Beach
xiv] Oxford I
xv] Oxford II
xvi] Stratford-upon-Avon
xvii] Warwick
xviii] NewForest
xix] London - Walk I
xx] London - Walk II
xxi] London - Walk III

New Forest

Sunday 13 June 2008
NewForest

Oxford and Stratford was the busiest circuit of all. The English Sun was up at 3:30AM, while I had a blissful sleep till 9:00, as I neither a Temple or Veggie Vendor on street to wake me up at 5:30 in the morning; nor my neighbors alarm piece - which is loud enough to wake up the entire street, and he who takes 15mins to switch it off!

A one hour peaceful English breakfast.

Apart from the undoable Scotland, Paris, Milan, Venice, Rome and Deutschland, I just had Cambridge, London and Isle of Wight in my list. London and Cambridge had an allocation, and IOW was risky.

So, walked down to the High Street....

I see the peaceful park which lent me a circuit for walking and reading all these days being fully occupied by colorful Tents. I continue walking, only to hear some music being played.

‘ Jhilmil Sitaron Ka, Aangan Hoga, Rimjhim Barasta…….’

How nice to hear this in a English town. I happily occupied a bench and hummed…..

It was followed by, ‘Rim jim ghire saawan….’

It turned out to be Eastleigh Mela that day, and was sponsored by ‘The Asian Community of UnitedKingdom’. Got to see lot many brown skinned and black haired people.

Although I drove through NewForest, had never experienced a walk, and were yearning for one. A New Forest walk sounded a splendid idea. Thinking the other regions of New Forest being busy, I decided upon NOMANSLAND!! Yeah, No-Man’s-Land :-)

And the photo essay says it all…

Bliss!! Can’t ask for anything more…..

Beaulieu

29 June 2008, Sunday

Beaulieu

The much cherishable day's outing was to the New Forest area; Driving through the towns and villages.

Drive route - From Winchester area taking A33 south and the M27 west, heading south on A337 towards Lyndhurst……….

The idea of 'New Forest' dates back to the 11th century when King William I decreed that game and preserved forest. All one can spot in these forest are Deer, Cattle and Horse, and we did :-D

The New Forest are is dotted with car parks and picnic areas, to pull off the road and enjoy the countryside. A few pit-stops in the NewForest, and sticking to B3056 we were at Beaulieu.

Beaulieu - The National Motor Museum

A collection of over 300 vehicles, which introduces one to story of motoring on the roads of Britain from the dawn of motoring to the present day.

The Giant Rhubarb, a native of South America.

The Art of Custom : Extraordinarily designed one-off cars and bikes. DG20 Pro-Street, Mentley Insanne, The Coffee Grinder, Techno Bobber, Rainbow Chaser et al..

From the museum walls

‘In Great-Britain there was a general mistrust on motorized methods. The 1865 ‘Red Flag Act’, required all non horse-drawn vehicles to be attended be a crew of three; Two on the vehicle and one walking in front with a RED flag as a warning to the other road users.’

“All that is needed for motor-car riding is a hand for steering and a head to restrain one’s natural inclination for racing on the public road.” - Anonymous

"Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is a idiot and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?" - George Carlin

“A man who drives at a rapid pace in crowded traffic over a greasy surface, is to my mind, either a criminal or a lunatic, or an unhappy combination of both.” – Alfred.C.Harmsworth

Recreating the sights, sounds and smells of a typical country garage from the 1930s.

First Grand Prize Patent Steam Fire Engine.

The Sunbeam, Golden Arrow and Blue Bird : Sir Malcolm Campbell's 1924 Blue-Bird; Donald Campbell's 1964 Bluebird CN7; 1927 Sunbeam 1000HP (the first motor car to reach 200 miles per hour) and the 1929 Irving-Napier Special 'Golden Arrow'.

With Harrods, Knightsbridge in the background.

The Wheels pod ride – taking us through a fascinating journey of, 100 years of motoring.

Aptly designed sound, light and music show- A fascinating history of evolution it presents. Although its not mentioned explicitly, I am happy I didn't spot it on return. :-)

James Bond Experience

Another surprise awaited us, ‘The James Bond Experience’.

The Wet-bike and the Lotus Submarine car from ‘The Spy who loved me’, hatchback from ‘The Man with The Golden Gun’, Motor bike from ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’, Roadster and Skidoo from ‘Die Another Day’, Astron Martin V8 from ‘The Living Daylights’ and lastly the Ford Mondeo from ‘Casino Royale’, only to name a few. Here they were all in original!!!

It also had Jaw’s shirt from ‘The Spy who Loved Me’. :-)

On returning home, I shared this with my Brother and a friend, which resulted in a disaster. They started collecting Bond movies, and in a week were done with the movie marathon of all 21!! And now eagerly awaiting ‘The Quantum of Solace’. An example of how weird men are!!

Victorian Flower Garden –with colorful Laburnum and Wisteria arch, and plentiful of garden roses.

The Vine House build by Henry 1^st Lord Montagu of Beaulieu in 1870.

The Secret Army Exhibition tells the story of wartime Beaulieu and the training school established for Special Operations Executive during WWII.

Beaulieu Palace

The ancestral home for Montagu family since 1538, the Palace House over looks Beaulieu River. The Palace is well preserved and furnished with many old and interesting pieces. This is Victorian in contrast to the Portuguese palace, I had visited few months ago in Goa. Its interesting to listen tales from Butler, Cook and Housemaids to get an insight into structure and functioning of household. A number of things caught my interest here.

Beaulieu Mill and Mill Pond

The Mill Pond Walk

Beaulieu Abbey

Beaulieu Abbey was founded in 1204 by Cistercian monks on land given to them by King John. Although much was destroyed at the time of the dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII, remains have been restored.

Our next destination was Lymington.