A Visit to Glastonbury

This weekend, a friend of mine came to visit, which was fun.

My friend was keen to visit Glastonbury, soon Saturday, that is exactly what we did.

We started by visiting Glastonbury Abbey, which is, of course, a ruin, having made the mistake of being far too rich and having an Abbot who tried, allegedly,  to hide some of the Abbey treasures when the time came for the Abbey to be dissolved. The abbot ended up being Hung, Drawn and Quartered on Glastonbury Tor, in 1541, and the Abbey was duly dissolved.

(An earlier connection: Jocelin, Bishop of Wells and Glastonbury, was one of those named in Magna Carta as having been among those present at the negotiations)

The abbey was very quiet - probably in part to do with how cold and grey the day was, so we had each part of it more or less to ourselves.

As well as the ruins,there were flowers, lots of snowdrops, and some early crocuses, and also birds and squirrel.

Things have been updated since I last visited - the Abbot's Kitchen now has reproductions of tools and furnishings to give a sense of how it may have appeared while in use, which was interesting.

After walking around the Abbey, we spent some time walking around the town and visiting various shops, before getting lunch, and then moved on to visit the Chalice Well, which is a natural, iron rich spring.

The spring is a very reliable one, with archaeological finds of Mesolithic flints, and a few Roman potsherds, and the spring was channelled in the medieval period. (Archaeology has shown that the current well is probably a hole in the original, medieval well-house)

The Well  is currently advertised as a holy spring, with healing properties,and the water is channelled through various pools and waterfalls, including some pools in  which one may paddle / bathe if so inclined. Which was not tempting, given the freezing temperatures we encountered!  (There is a modern myth that the Chalice is the Holy Grail, hidden near the spring by Joseph of Arimathea - the more prosaic explanation is that the spring was known as 'chalk well' or 'chilk well' for most of it's history, and there is no evidence of it having any significant Christian or Pre-Christian spiritual or religious significance ) 

Whatever the origins and background, the garden is very quiet and tranquil, and there were lots of birds, including a very friendly Robin. The flowers are not at their best, but the pools are pretty. 

We tasted the water (rusty, but slightly more palatable than the spa waters at Bath), before moving on to climb the Tor.

We set off a little before four, and made our way up to St Michael's Tower. The Tor wasn't as busy as it often is, (probably due to the cold!) and despite it being a little hazy, the views were fairly good.

As always, it was breezy at the summit, so we didn't stay too long, before heading back down to the town, and back home for tea and cakes and a convivial evening. (calling in briefly on the 'Hot Fuzz' swan at Wells Police Station, on the way home)

Sunday, by contrast, was a much less energetic day; we had a lie in, then spent the morning snuggling the cats and catching up. 

Which was nice.

It turned out to be a very bright, sunny day, which the kittens made the most of. 

Cats are good at making the most of sunny days.

It was lovely to get to spend time with my friend, I enjoyed the weekend, and hope she did too (although I am rather tired, now - late nights sitting up and talking will do that!)

In Which There is a Cathedral, An Abbey, and a Bogus Monk

I was able to take (last) Monday off work in order to spend a bit more time with Wendy, and we decided to visit Wells and Glastonbury, both of which are within fairly easy reach of here.

It was another bitterly cold day, and kept trying to snow on us.

Vicar's Close, Wells

We started with Wells, which happens to be my old home town, and which is a lovely little city. We started by looking at Vicar's Close, which lays claim to being the oldest planned, residential street in Europe. The houses were originally built in the 14th Century. Originally there were 44 houses, with a chapel and library at the end of the street (and a gate and walkway to the cathedral at the other) After the reformation, once priests were permitted to marry, many of the houses were combined to provide bigger living accommodation, so there are now 27. One of them is now a holiday home, so you can stay in the close if you wish.

It was pretty much deserted (except for a friendly Border Collie)

Wendy at Wells Cathedral

After the Close, we went to look around the cathedral itself. I always enjoy visiting it  regardless of whether you are religious, it is a stunning building, both inside and out. (incidentally, it doubled as the interior of Southwark Catherdral, in the Doctor Who episode 'The Lazarus Experiment')

Astronomical Clock

We went to see the clock perform - It is an astronomical clock, and has 4 horsemen who joust every quarter of an hour, above the clockface.

It was made in around 1392, making it the 2nd oldest clock in England, after the one at Salisbury.  (although the original mechanism is now in the Science Museum, having been replaced in the 17th Century. 

There's a second clock on the outside, but that is less impressive. (It has no jousting knights, for a start)

Lady Chapel ceiling

We then went up to the Chapter House, which is a gorgeous octagonal building. 

Chapter House

It's all white marble and arching roof (it was built in the early 14th Century, so I assume that originally some of this may have been painted or otherwise decorated), although if it was, there's now sign of it now. 

It also has (as we found to our relief!) fairly effective, (presumably Victorian), heating. The Bishop and chapter don't meet there regularly there any longer, although it is still used on special occasions.

After all this uplifting architecture we had a spot of lunch at the City Arms, (which used to be the city gaol) before heading to Glastonbury, where we started by calling in on Liz Williams and Trevor Jones at their shop,  Cat and Cauldron, before visiting the Abbey.

Glastonbury Abbey

Glastonbury Abbey was the richest monastery in England when Domesday Book was written. In 1184, they had a fire, and then a few years later, they miraculously found the bones of King Arthur and Queen Guenevere were found there, which made them even more popular as a place of pilgrimage.. Which must have come in handy, for funding all the rebuilding.

Bogus monk at Glastonbury Abbey

There is also a legend that Joseph of Arimathea visited Glastonbury with the boy Jesus, and building the first church on England on the site.  Joseph apparently returned later, and buried the Holy Grail near the Tor.

The Abbey has a number of guides who dress up as different characters (real and otherwise) from the Abbey's history, and we joined a self-proclaimed 'bogus monk' for a walk around the abbey - I don't normally go for guided tours, but I did find this one entertaining, as he was so delightfully cynical, and tongue-in-cheek  about the abbey's history.

view down from the Tor

The Abbey was thoroughly dissolved under Henry VIII - it was at that time hugely wealthy (it owned a great deal of land, quite apart from the income from pilgrims) and the last Abbot was hung, drawn and quartered on Glastonbury Tor in 1539.

Ninja Wendy at Glastonbury Tor

After leaving the Abbey, we decided to go up the Tor. It was bitterly cold, and very windy, but (I think) worth it!

There were not many people on the Tor, (perhaps most had more sense than to expose themselves to the icy winds!) but it meant that we had the tower to ourselves for a little while.

It was a pretty long day, but enjoyable, despite my car misbehaving a little on the way home! And despite the weather's best efforts, it didn't manage to snow properly on us.

Monday was Wendy's last day with me - Tuesday morning saw me back at work, and Wendy on a train to Bath, and then London, but it was lovely to have a chance to hang out together. And maybe one day I shall make it to New Orleans!