Daytrippin'

I got out of Cheltenham a bit over the past couple of days, and I managed to find myself in two places - Gloucester and Glastonbury.

Sarah and I went to Gloucester on Sunday to see the antique mall in one of the old mills on the docks, as well as the local cathedral. The antique mall was fun - I didn't buy anything (I'm trying to be minimalist on this trip!) but there were four floors of everything from vintage Guinness paraphernelia (very cool) to old mink stoles (ewww) and antique furniture.

After lunch (when it had gotten very very chilly and started to rain/snow - the weather here has been rather strange!) we headed over to the Gloucester Cathedral. It has apparently been there for 900 years, which seems really amazing - our concept of "history" in Canada really is different, just because our country is so much younger. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see the whole building because there was a choir performing in the main section, so I will have to go back sometime. On the way back to the bus there was a statue in the downtown area of town, though, that caught my interest: "The Spirit of Aviation". I'm not sure in what context it was commissioned, but it depicts a man standing on a rocket, and someone had the ambition to put an orange pylon on his head as a makeshift hat. It was too funny.

Yesterday I went to Glastonbury in Somerset, and I have to say that it was quite beautiful. I was a bit worried I wouldn't be able to go because it snowed in Cheltenham the night before, but by the time I got up in the morning, I was relieved to see that most of it had completely melted. I took the train to Bristol and the bus from there, eventually arriving in the quaint and magical town of Glastonbury. It's reputed to lie on the intersection of ley lines (lines of energy that cross the earth) and has been a pilgrimage site (mainly Pagan and Christian pilgrims) for many many years. I ate lunch when I got off the bus and then strolled through some of the more "magickal" stores on the High Street - nowhere have I seen a place with as much commercialised witchery since I was in Salem, MA. It was fun to look around for a bit, although I was more interested in seeing Glastonbury Tor and The Chalice Well and Gardens before I ran out of time, so I headed off to the outskirts of the town.

The Tor was a good hike - I ended up climbing the rear of the hill, from a back lane - and the view once I reached the top was well worth it. The wind was fierce, but the sun came out and it proved to be gorgeous. I headed back down on the opposite side of the hill, and then found myself near the entrance to The Chalice Well. It was cold and chilly again when I entered the gardens, but the sun came up partway through and I spent a lot of time there in reflection. It was so peaceful and beautiful - I took a walk through the healing pool and got some water from the fountain (which tasted very metallic from all of the iron in it - you can see how red the water is in the photos!). The well itself was the part I felt the most connected to, and I was really glad the garden was relatively empty of other people so I had time alone there.

On my way out I stopped to ask for directions to the two ancient oak trees, Gog and Magog, and I had a little map drawn for me. While I didn't find the oak trees, sadly, I did find many other things - including a lot of mud! (I do, however, enjoy getting mucky from time to time, so that part was kind of fun.) By the time I got back to Glastonbury, most of the shops on the High Street were closed, and I missed seeing Glastonbury Abbey as well, so this is yet another place I will have to return to at some point to see everything that I'd like to.

Off to start my adventure in London!