England: Dover

Just wanted to pop in and say hello. I wish I could say I have been away to some tropical island, sipping Pina Colada's on the beach, but unfortunate I have not.

Winter is starting to kick in here in Australia, with cooler mornings and windy cold days. We live in one of the coldest regions, close to the Snowy Mountains but not too far from the beach either. We are planing a trip to the snow this year, so I will takes lots of photos.

I pulled a few photos of Dover beach, to share with you, and add a little warmth to our chilly days. Driving into Dover was one of the most spectacular views, and I am sorry that I was unable to capture it in a photo. 

Enjoying some chips (eaten with a little wooden fork) at the beach under the white cliffs of Dover. The little forks were genius, we have to use our fingers..haha.

India looking out to sea, on the pebbly beach.

Here is a view of the Castle from the town below. While walking around the grounds of Dover Castle I was asking when we were going to see the castle, apparently we were in it. Dumb I know, but you have got to laugh.

The King was not amused that I did not know which king he was, and he said that I obviously didn't learn my history, oops.

 
















A view from the grounds of the Castle. The fog had set in.

Kade and my parents on the way into the Tower, which I might add nearly killed us climbing up all the steps to the top!

After the castle we visited the Dover Museum and saw the Bronze Age Boat. The museum was incredible. Below is a photo of a French prisoner of War ship, build from bone, c1802. The Roman Painted House was also worth a visit, and the volunteers were lovely.

Before leaving for England, we purchased a 2 week Overseas Visitors Pass from English Heritage. It was well worth it for value and convenience. We picked up the pass from Dover Castle, and used it to see many Heritage listed sites along the way.

I'll leave you with this photo I found of India, of our first night in England....cute!

Our UK parcel has arrived!

Firstly, thank you for the positive feedback for my cards. I have listed them now, so only time will tell how they go.

We sent a parcel home from England, the first week of our travels by surface mail as it was quite heavy and expensive to post. It arrived mid December and I had forgotten some of the items that were inside.



The mohair bulldog/boxer? (£16) puppet and fabric box (£6) came from the Station Antiques, Appledore, Kent. His smaller companion was picked up at the Ardingly Antique Fair (£4). The weeny french powder box was £3 from the fair also.



We found our first (and only) car boot sale near to our first stay at Kenardington, near Ashford, Kent. The car boot sale was pretty inexpensive and a lot of fun. The smaller black opera glasses with original leather pouch were £10, the prettier engraved silver glasses were from Ardingly at only £3.

The Mr bought the Georgian door knocker (£35) and iron latch (£15) from Ardingly.



A few more smalls from the car boot, gifts for others...



Bits and bobs from Ardingly....



And finally a French agricultural award plaque, another of the Mr's buys, at the Station Antique for £30.

All in all we bought very little, but we are happy with what did make it home and didn't have too much to put away. It feels like a lifetime ago that we were there, that it was all some sort of crazy dream...but a good one!

If you missed my earlier post of our other English finds, you can find it here.

I hope you all have an enjoyable week, Tam x

What did I buy in England??

Hi treasure hunters near and far, hope this posts find you all well.

We didn't buy a lot during our travels to the UK, it was all too much trouble in the end. We did send a box home with a Georgian door knocker, a french plaque, a tiny dog and heaps of other things, but it is travelling by sea so I can't show you these yet.

Here are the little things that I carried back:



Bought at the Ardingly Antique Fair:
Bevelled glass French jewellery box with faded blue silk insert (I have wanted one for ages),
Ceramic Bulldog,
Victorian pink lustre teacup and saucer.

Found at the antique shop at Crewkerne:
doll head and pipe (in the bargain 1 pound box out the front of the shop),
2 small Victorian figurines,
wooden swallow.

Queen Victoria plaque was in a small antique shop at Avebury,
The Dresden girl (minus her finger tips) was bought at the Cheltenham Carboot,
and small three girl figurine was a birthday present from the kids :)



Victorian cherub plate (originally marked at 18 pounds) another item from the pound box at Crewkerne,
The sailing patch and postcard from Cheltenham Carboot,
Vintage character card set from Lyme Regis,
And the only Union Jack item that I bought was the egg cover at Dover Castle.



This guy was posted back and arrived safely after an inspection from Customs. We found him in a vintage shop at Chipping Norton, for only 10 pounds. We left the shop owner the frame, way too expensive and heavy to post.



On the way to Battle we passed an Antique store on the side of the road. I bought this Staffordshire flatback the first week and it travelled with us everywhere. It was quite inexpensive as the sheep at the front is repaired. I quite like the colours and the unusual scene.



After a trip to Blenheim castle we stopped in Woodstock to pick up some money. We wandered around the antique stores and I was admiring the chandeliers, although they were quite expensive. I popped into the charity shop next door and the lady had just put out 2 crystal dropped light shades/chandeliers. They had only come in that morning and were as black as pitch she said. The were prices at 12 pounds each. I was very happy.



Another purchase at the Lyme Regis antique shop. On the more expensive side, but I wanted to find a textile to bring home.

Below are the two things that we wanted to buy but had to leave behind.



The most fantastic cement gnome at Rye, way to heavy to sent.



I have wanted a French Wedding/Bridal stand (Globe de Mariée) for ages, but it was far too fragile to ship home. I am still on the lookout for one without the dome. This beauty was found at the Station Antiques, Appledore, Kent.

Thanks for the birthday wishes, yep, there's no turning back now! Here is my birthday present from the Micheal Kors Store in London. It is lightweight because of the clear acrylic band, and has crystal markers for the number, so pretty. I found a link which is offering them at a far cheaper price than we paid, here.



More to come whenever the postie arrives, hopefully before xmas. Talking about Christmas, can you believe it is soooo close?? Crikey!

England; Castles and Places of Grandeur

We were very lucky to visit some wonderful castles and beautiful places during our visit to England. Australia, being only a young country, has very few old buildings, so this was a real treat for us.

Warning! Its a long one!



Dover Castle


Battle Abbey and the Battle of Hastings



Nunney Castle (my favourite)



Wells Cathedral. When we came into town I saw a little spire, I thought it was the cathedral until we drove a little further and found the real thing. It was massive!



Farleigh Hungerford Castle (right on our doorstep from here)



Roman Baths at Bath


Bath Abbey. Can you see the angels climbing the ladders on the outside..amazing!




Corfe Castle. The view was stunning.




Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill. The First State Room was beautiful!


Warwick Castle, where Kade faced his fears and entered The Castle Dungeon...




Stokesay Castle, an amazing fortified medieval manor house. I turned 40 on this day. Not a bad way to spend a birthday hey?

Phew...did you make it to the end???

Back with another post of our English travels soon.

p.s. I might see the Queen next week, she is coming to town!