American War Cemetery, Cambridge

So we decided another trip to Cambridge was in order, to give us a bit more time to explore. First on our list, and a rather sombre start to the day, was the American War Cemetery. Commemorating a large number of Americans killed in the Second World War alone [almost 4,000 people are buried here, and many more whose bodies were never found are memorialised on the Great Wall], it was exceptionally peaceful, beautiful and immaculately-kept – a fitting tribute to the surprisingly (for me, at least) huge sacrifice that country made.

Leaves amongst crosses at American War Cemetery

It was also a wonderful time of year to visit, with the brightly-coloured autumn leaves adorning the gravestones. Inside the Chapel, there was a concept map of the various air and naval attacks the Allies undertook. Although interesting in content, it was the execution and craftsmanship of this enormous map that really stood out.

Air Operations model in American War Cemetery chapel

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A rea-Ely pretty cathedral

As we’ve mentioned before, we’re musical types. This is great, because it takes us to some of the country’s most gorgeous cities and cathedrals. Last weekend, we were in Ely – not somewhere I’d ever been to before [I’d sung there once before when at university, although I’d forgotten just how stunning the cathedral is]. It’s one of those places that isn’t much of a city beside its cathedral; nonetheless there were some great pubs and places to while away our (limited) free time.

More noteworthy, though, was the cathedral. Oh wow. I have a book on the world’s cathedrals (yup, I’m cool like that) and this place makes the cover. We went on a tour of the roof and up into the Octagon tower, so were lucky enough to see the views from above as well as below. To anyone visiting Ely, we’d definitely recommend the tour – £8 well spent, with a fascinating and lovely guide, and access to some breathtaking parts of the building.

The main quire, with rood screen and altar behind:

View into Ely cathedral quire

Quite a colourful cathedral, apparently the Victorians restored the original colours – amazing to think all cathedrals were this vibrant when newly completed!

Ceiling of Ely cathedral nave

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Not long enough at Longleat

Be prepared for a bit of a bumper post today. We have no self-control when it comes to animals [I’ve been waiting ages for a chance to try my hand at some nature shots], especially with a zoom this good…

We spent the day at Longleat as part of our Bath/South West weekend. I’d been there a few times before, but couldn’t wait to see the variety of exotic wildlife at this world-famous safari park. [I’d never been before, but it had certainly had its praises sung.] And it didn’t disappoint.

First on the trail – the giraffes, of varying ages and sizes…

Giraffes

They were being kept company by some zebras, sporting their fashionable monochrome.

Zebra

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Bekonscot – a model day out

We headed to Bekonscot Model Village with some family last weekend. Ever been? It’s well worth a visit if you’re into small-scale, intricate and seriously detailed…

Dating back to the 1930s, Bekonscot feels like a wonderfully traditional day out that hasn’t changed much since it was originally conceived. Apparently a much more widely-spread and popular pasttime, the idea of the model village was brought to Beaconsfield, Hertfordshire by a wealthy accountant with a very large back garden, who intended it merely to amuse him and his guests. He opened it to the public a number of years later.

Bunting

There are six model villages within the miniature landscape, all built to 1:12 scale. They include wonderful details, some great punning names and a very English approach to life.

Cricket

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Scandal at Cliveden

For the bank holiday weekend, we headed to Cliveden to see for ourselves the luxurious yet scandalous home of the Astors and the Profumo affair. A beautiful house that is now a rather grand hotel, the grounds are managed by the National Trust. (Unfortunately there’s a lot of scaffolding at the moment!)

Cliveden

There was a new rose garden, which gave ample opportunity for some close-up shots…

Rose

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A journey to the Transport Museum

Having been meaning to go for ages, we meandered our way to the Transport Museum for an afternoon amongst London’s rich and varied transport history. We were glad of the half-price entry we received from attending ‘Tubespotting’, Geoff Marshall’s hilarious Edinburgh Fringe preview show. We’d come across him via his videos on Londonist’s website (about the Tube, funnily enough) but it turns out he’s also the world record holder for visiting all the tube stations. Speedily. Videos, comedy shows and his twitter feed (@geofftech) come highly recommended for any other transport geeks.

Anyway, back to this afternoon out. We first encountered an intricate model of the ‘cut and cover’ construction technique used to make the earliest tube network:

Cut and cover construction

And got slightly freaked out by this historical wooden tube carriage, where you could sit amongst disapproving Victorian commuters…

Wooden tube carriage

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Quick visit to Richmond

[Just the iPhone 5s today, DSLR stayed at home]

On another beautifully sunny Sunday (we’ve been very lucky this summer) the Month of Sundays pair headed out to Richmond to see what we could find. We stumbled upon a particularly retro Tesco Express:

Posh Tesco

If you don’t mind a bit of a walk, there’s a free car park near the National Trust’s Ham House, from where we walked along the river to the centre. There were some extremely photogenic cows:

View over Richmond park

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The Vyne, Hampshire

[Due to an unfortunate incident the DSLR was out of action for this trip, so the iPhone 5s had to step in]

Recently, we decided to spend a day away from London and headed to The Vyne, a beautiful Tudor house in Hampshire.

The Vyne

Coincidentally, they were having a Tudor weekend so we got involved – with a hog roast and traditional pastimes, such as archery. There was a bit of girly success here, which was extremely exciting (please note the arrow directly in the centre…) [Please also note that it was an unsporting extra arrow that gifted this victory]

Golden arrow

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Cambridge – the alma mater

For one of us, Cambridge holds a very special place in his heart after spending three years there. I didn’t know it very well so loved having an insider’s tour.

Bridge of Sighs

Although the sky was rather ominous, the view from the tower of Great St. Mary’s church in the city centre was made even more spectacular by the multicoloured market stalls.

Cambridge market

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Horniman Museum

In the spirit of exploring some more quirky areas of London, we headed to the Horniman Museum to see what they had to offer. Although of course the wonderful Horniman walrus welcomed us with open flippers, it was the aquatic section in the basement which ended up being the most photo-worthy, with many little frogs…

Frog

And although we couldn’t track down Nemo, Dory made an appearance!

Dora

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