Hills, vales, woods, netted in a silver mist,
Farm, granges, doubled up among the hills,
And cattle grazing in the watered vales
And cottage-chimneys smoking from the woods,
And cottage-gardens smelling everywhere,
Confused with smell of orchards.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s description of rural England is certainly idyllic, and I will soon be traipsing across it. Yes, I’m off to Great Britain once again. Adopting my own little austerity plan and fitting into a busy Fall schedule at work, my annual European travels this year will be limited to England. My own personal Brexit, I guess.
I’ll be starting and finishing up in good old London, with a big lap around the Southwest, courtesy of the Great Western Railroad. Along the way, I’ll stop in to visit some fun places, such as Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey was filmed.
I’ll also visit the beautiful Cornish coast and the tiny beach town where the Doc Martin TV series is filmed. My hotel is visible in the picture above, facing right onto the ramp into the water.
A few other other famous and historic towns are on the itinerary as well. And, as always, there will be theater, art, extreme people-watching, and lots of consideration and consumption of splendid English ales.
I hope you’ll join me for the next few weeks right here, and tag along. Cheers!
The Occasionally-Examined Life 