During the second half of our week back in the UK we set out on a couple of day trips to visit family and take in some sights in Wales and Salisbury!
Salisbury Cathedral
On Wednesday we went to Wales to visit more of Luke’s family, stopping at St. Fagans along the way. The St. Fagans National History Museum is home to a wide collection of historical buildings that have been moved and resettled from rural areas all across Wales. Farmhouses, shops, churches and tanneries from as far back as the 1500s have been painstakingly taken apart and rebuilt at the site, and decorated with furniture of the time. It was fascinating to explore and learn a bit about Welsh history, and to see how people lived.
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On Thursday we took another day trip, driving a couple of hours from Bath to Salisbury to visit the Cathedral and see one of the original copies of the Magna Carta from 1215. Salisbury is a beautiful town, and the Cathedral was stunning.
Afterwards we headed north out of town to visit Old Sarum, a hill fort that was used from the Iron Age all the way up to the Middle Ages. Standing up on the top of the hill amongst the Medieval ruins and staring out over the peaceful, rolling hills, it was hard to believe that this place saw much conflict in its lifespan, including a Viking invasion. The day trip was particularly great for Luke, who has recently been reading Sarum, an epic novel about the history of the area.
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Our final day trip was on Friday, as we drove out for a stroll around Westonbirt Arboretum to see the Autumn colors. Westonbirt is a 45 minute drive from Bath, and the journey takes you right out into the countryside amongst all of the fancy estates. The arboretum began as the tree collection of the wealthy Holford family, back in the plant hunting frenzy of the early 1800s. Today it covers a huge area, and in the Autumn attracts large crowds (including us) who come to see the turning leaves. We had a very pleasant stroll around the place, through the trees, stopping for a quick lunch at the restaurant. It was a perfect, relaxing end to a busy week of sightseeing.
Our last couple of days in the UK were spent relaxing at home with Luke's family and brand new nephew, watching the occasional (stressful) rugby match, and eating a lot of tasty food. All in all, it was an awesome trip, and makes up for the fact we won't be making it back to the UK for Christmas this year. Luke will be very sad, but he does at least feel like he had a mini-Christmas already.
Here are some more photos from our last few days in the UK:
Here are some more photos from our last few days in the UK:
(SLIDESHOW)
If you're interested, you can also check out some of our previous adventures in the UK!
