Cows, crowds and countryside – a family getaway COMPLETED - Page 3 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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There are other changes as well.
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We go on to the joy and through the tears
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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
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It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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What a great weekend spot! And the bells made me think of Downton Abbey!
You'd think this was a spot picked for your birthday celebration, with all those cows! Hope beef isn't on the menu.....
Well, there is an interesting anecdote to come about that later in the trip report...
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22 September – part one: who’s that crashing around?
Neither of us slept that well in truth, which was a shame. It didn’t help that it was a double bed, as opposed to the king size bed we have at home and that’s always a shock to the system.
However, it was already getting light outside...
About 6:20am, we heard someone crashing around in the kitchen – and I mean crashing around. We weren’t sure who it was, but one thing was clear, we wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. I suggested making the best of it and getting up and going down to use the hot tub, as at least we could pretty much guarantee that we’d have it to ourselves.
As we came down the stairs, we saw who’d been crashing around – Dave. Well, as it was his actual birthday today, you could hardly say anything except and that’s what Mark said... just as he went hurtling down the last four of the steps, landing squarely on the base of his spine. It was clear he was in a lot of pain and I have no doubt of that, managing to do that. It’s usually me who does that sort of thing, so I really felt for him.
We decided that the hot tub could only do his back some good, so gingerly he headed down that way. We took the cover off and waited for it to warm up, as the owner had explained to us last night. We went to shower, as we’d been told to, but we couldn’t get the shower to work and, even better, Mark managed to pull the shower away from the wall! Again, this is usually the sort of stupid thing I’d do! We couldn’t get it working, so we gave up and eventually just got in the hot tub – naughty I know, but there was no way we were going two flights of stairs back up to our room to shower, not with Mark’s back the way it now was.
When we got in, it didn’t feel that warm, but we thought it would warm up, but sadly it didn’t. It was still 35 degrees, but at this early hour of the morning, it didn’t feel that warm. We probably stayed in there about half an hour, most of the time without anything on, as when we did put the jets on, they were a bit vicious. Eventually, Sean came in to offer us a cup of tea, an offer we gladly took up, then we hopped out of the hot tub, re-covered it and headed back upstairs to our room as quickly as we could, as it was freezing downstairs. At least our room was warm!
We both grabbed showers and I took some photos of the stunning sunrise. By now, the mist had come in which made for some really nice shots.
We headed downstairs and I had to go straight outside to say hello to the cows who were there. They were beautiful and I got some lovely shots of them.
Then I had a wander around the house and got some more photos of things I’d managed to miss last night.
The full shot of the dining room You can see the cows from this window of the living room! An aerial shot of the farm And the other living room I absolutely adored these prints in the dining room The mist was starting to lift now...
I brought the laptop downstairs and worked on the trip report to much consternation from everyone else, who thought it was “work” work. this is “fun” work! It was while doing this that I actually felt and saw a mosquito bite me - I know mosquitoes, not usual in this country, although with a pond right outside, it was hardly surprising sadly. I was about to use a very bad word when I realised there were kids present, so I managed to stop myself. A quick dose of Piriton and at least that dealt with the pain. Not what I needed though.... so I guess between the two of us, we’d now had our three bad things. Hopefully that would be it for the day....
A big fried breakfast was done for everyone, with the guys eating first, as they had to disappear off to their round of golf that was booked for 10:00am. It was cutting it a bit fine, as they only left about 9:40am. It was very ironic to see them all dressed up so smartly. As I said to Jane, I bet when it’s their vow renewal for their 25th anniversary in November, they’ll be complaining at having to dress up, but when it comes to golf, they’re quite Ok to dress up with no complaints.
After they left, I helped out with the drying up, as the dishwasher was already full. As you can imagine, there was a heck of a lot to get through with 18 of us....
Once that was done, I got ready and headed out, getting one snap of the view outside as I did – as you can see, all the earlier mist was now gone.
We probably stayed in there about half an hour, most of the time without anything on
I had to read this part a couple of times, as I thought you meant you were skinny-dipping, which I found a bit shocking given the crowd staying in the house with you! . Shouldn't have started reading without any coffee in the system!
I had to read this part a couple of times, as I thought you meant you were skinny-dipping, which I found a bit shocking given the crowd staying in the house with you! . Shouldn't have started reading without any coffee in the system!
Probably just as well you weren't drinking your coffee when you read that...
What a lovely, misty morning, but poor Mark! That's the kind of thing that can give you problems for a long time. Too bad the hot tub wasn't hot. The garden is lovely. Green grass and roses and cows looking over the wall!
I had to read this part a couple of times, as I thought you meant you were skinny-dipping, which I found a bit shocking given the crowd staying in the house with you! . Shouldn't have started reading without any coffee in the system!
Ha, ha, ha... I thought the same thing for a minute!
Cheryl, you must have been in heaven with all the cows!
Cool TR so far. It's so beautiful there. I grew up on a 1,000 acre beef farm. All the cows bring back memories. I used to love dancing to get their attention. THey would race across the field to get a good look of me prancing around. Yeah, like I said, it was a 1,000 acre beef farm. There weren't too many things to do during the summer.
Cool TR so far. It's so beautiful there. I grew up on a 1,000 acre beef farm. All the cows bring back memories. I used to love dancing to get their attention. THey would race across the field to get a good look of me prancing around. Yeah, like I said, it was a 1,000 acre beef farm. There weren't too many things to do during the summer.
I’d said that I wanted to spend some time on my own this weekend, as this is my home area, with my grandparents and my great aunt living here. I’d looked on the map and where my great aunt, Auntie Joan, lived and it was about eight miles away, but would take about 25 minutes to get there. Well, once I started out, I could see why. They were all country lanes and they ranged from wide enough to get two vehicles through to just wide enough for one. At points I really was praying not to meet another vehicle and someone must’ve heard that prayer, because at that point I didn’t! Phew!
At other points I wasn’t so lucky. I met a group of three horse riders together and they were really good about moving out. The other single guy I met on a horse wasn’t so good though. I was coming downhill, but I had to reverse back up for him, which did annoy me. At the bottom of the hill was a ford, which did have me worried, but fortunately with not much rain recently, there was no water at all across the road.
A mile or so later I was entering Okeford Fitzpaine where Auntie Joan used to live. I parked up and walked along the road, which was peppered with beautiful cottages. As I did, I thought I saw her house, but as I was on the other side of the road, I wasn’t sure.
I recognised this pub straight away
I carried on walking and saw more of the village, including this amazing place – look at all the flowers here.
My next destination was the local church...
I knew that Auntie Joan was buried somewhere in here, but where... I started along one row and discovered some graves from around the late 1980s and as she died in 1990, I figured her grave must be nearby – and sure enough it was.
I will admit I stood there in front of her grave and wept. It was such a shame to see how much the inscription had worn away over the years, whereas others from the same era still looked fine. It was so nice to see her final resting place, never having gone to her funeral, as it was in the middle of my exams.
Once I’d composed myself, I started to head back and got a newspaper at the local shop.
Then I wandered back towards the car, getting some photos of Auntie Joan’s former residence....
... and some of the other beautiful buildings here.
From here, I headed a couple of miles east to Child Okeford, which is where my grandmother moved to, to be close to Auntie Joan. There wasn’t as much to see here, although I found where my grandmother was....
Along one of the country lanes I took on the way out, I just decided to pull over and get some photos...
Next: “chocolate box” scenes and two disappointed sheep
What an absolutely charming area. The cottages and landscape are beautiful. How moving for you to pay your respects to your aunt and grandmother in that way.
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We weren’t sure who it was, but one thing was clear, we wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. I suggested making the best of it and getting up and going down to use the hot tub, as at least we could pretty much guarantee that we’d have it to ourselves. 
and that’s what Mark said... just as he went hurtling down the last four of the steps, landing squarely on the base of his spine. 
It was clear he was in a lot of pain and I have no doubt of that, managing to do that. It’s usually me who does that sort of thing, so I really felt for him. 
Again, this is usually the sort of stupid thing I’d do! We couldn’t get it working, so we gave up and eventually just got in the hot tub – naughty I know, but there was no way we were going two flights of stairs back up to our room to shower, not with Mark’s back the way it now was. 
They were beautiful and I got some lovely shots of them. 
I know mosquitoes, not usual in this country, although with a pond right outside, it was hardly surprising sadly. 
Pixies for Mark's back! 
At the bottom of the hill was a ford, which did have me worried, but fortunately with not much rain recently, there was no water at all across the road. 
I started along one row and discovered some graves from around the late 1980s and as she died in 1990, I figured her grave must be nearby – and sure enough it was. 
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