Uffington

After spending the day slobbing around the house, either reading the papers (me) or watching bad tv (Matt), we decided to get out and do something. I wanted to see a Norman castle, but there were none close by, so we decided to go visit the Bronze Age remains at Uffington Castle. In this photo you can just make out the kites flying in the sky. It was a beautiful evening: windy but bright and clear. Here we're half-way up the hill looking out onto Vale of White Horse in Oxfordshire.

The chalk horse at Uffington is spectacular. Unfortunately from our position on the hill, it was impossible to get clear view. Later on we stopped on the road home, hoping we'd get a clear view, but it was still difficult to see.

Here's an aerial view I pinched from the web.

A detail of the chalk horse, taken from the top of the hill.

LIke Silchester, the area is run by National Trust in conjunction with the local farmer. The hill is used for grazing. The lambs are getting so big now. Here is one with a ewe.

Another lamb with sheep. Some of the lambs looked black but others were dark brown.

Uffington Castle was on the other side of the hill. The summit is approximately 290 metres. It's a nice gentle walk to the top if you're fit. I was puffing pretty heavily all the way.

Not quite as much castle as I was expecting. All that remains are the ditch and walls. On the day we visited the castle grounds were filled with grazing sheep.

Matt in front of the remains of the castle. The weather had changed by the time we got to the top and we were surrounded by rain clouds.

And at the end of the day, we were too tired to cook, so we stopped in at the local fish and chip shop on our way home. Matt had the cod, but I had the scampi, which were very tasty.

Faculty Library

This summer, I'm working at the English Faculty Library, pictured. In theory, it should be a nice quiet place to catch up with my reading, but in reality it's been quite busy. Although most students have gone home for the holiday, there are a number of summer schools running. Blake, Shakespeare and Virginia Woolf seem to be the most popular authors; however, I did help someone find the Canadian Literature section yesterday.

Silchester

Last Sunday, Matt and I drove out to Silchester to see the old Roman town there. Here he is standing on the remains of the wall. Silchester is unique since, unlike many other Roman cities and towns, it was abandoned. It remained untouched for close to 2000 years and was only recently excavated. At the moment, it's surrounded by grazing land.

We walked along the walls, which are quite high! There were lots of other people out and about, walking their dogs, etc. It was a really nice evening.

This is the amphitheatre. I don't know if I was able to capture its essence, but if you're thinking 'parking lot' that's pretty close. Archeological aren't sure what the amphitheatre was used for. A few small bones were found in the area but little else. Interestingly, it's just outside the city walls. Either it wasn't worth protecting, or they wanted to keep the carnival and civic separate.

A designated organic farm, as per DEFRA and the EU. We thought the name might be a play on words!

The effects of the drought are pretty obvious in this picture. I'm not sure if this is a marsh or the water table, but as you can see, the cattle are pretty keen to graze on what little green grass there is.

View of pasture from the wall

Holidays in East Anglia

Orford Castle in Suffolk


Unremarkable beach, but it is near the nuclear power plant at Sizewell, which the fictional Larksoken is based on in P.D. James' Devices and Desires


Matt and Barney, the dog, on the boardwalk at Southwold


View of Norwich from Mousehold Heath


Cloisters, Cathedral, Norwich


High tide at Felixstowe