Driving around Southwest England

Sad to leave our friends in Ipswich but excited to see more of England, we bravely set off to see what adventures Southwest England could offer. As we had travelled Northeast to Ipswich, we had to head back towards London and somehow navigate through its busy road network to get through to the other side.

The problem with driving in the UK is that speed limits are hardly ever displayed. Half the time I (Nat) didn't know if I was driving too fast or too slow. Finally we managed to figure out (with the help of some rather confused Englishmen) that a particular sign on the motorway meant that the National Speed Limit applied - which is 60mph for single carriageway roads and 70mph for dual carriageway roads. Despite the fact that there were speed cameras everywhere, it felt like everyone else was speeding!



As I drive on the motorway

We finally got past London and traffic seemed to thin out as we approached less-populated areas, all the while driving towards the town of Amesbury. Our first stop, Stonehenge.

Yes, yes we know it's touristy but it's something that every visitor to England should see. Once. Stonehenge, the legendary ring of stones atop ancient earthworks is one of the world's most famous pre-historic sites.


Stonehenge, estimated to be at least 4,500 years old.

Stonehenge literally jumped out of nowhere. One minute your driving, the next you can see a paddock to your right with Stonehenge in it and you slam on the brakes to turn off the road. Despite the mystical eeriness about the stones, how they got there and who built them, the site of a fenced-off Stonehenge and a whopping 12 pound entry fee slightly spoils it. We took the cheap option and just looked at the stones from the road (where they are perfectly visible, if you pay you get to stand about 3 metres closer. Big deal.)

Despite the fact that modern day loonies who call themselves "neo-druids" like to think that they have some link with the pagan Druids of old, archeological research shows that Stonehenge was almost certainly not built by the Druids, pre-dating them by a couple of millenia. Apparently it was used as a burial ground.


One of the self-tilted Arthurian Druids protesting something at Stonehenge


The crowds of tourists who visit



You can see Stonehenge from the highway. Just another sheep paddock.


Nearby, was Woodhenge. If you haven't heard of Woodhenge, don't worry - there are a lot of "henges" about, none of them as exciting as Stonehenge. Woodhenge was apparently similar to Stonehenge except made out of Wood. Of course the wood isn't there anymore so concrete posts have replaced the beams of wood which rotted away thousands of years ago.




Woodhenge


The beautiful paddocks


Jetstar jumps at Stonehenge


We continued on towards Exeter, in Devon.


The sky started to grow dark


A graveyard in Exeter of long forgotten people.



St Stephens, the oldest church in Exeter - over 1000 years old!



A street in Exeter


The beautiful Exeter Cathedral, completed in about 1400

True to our cost-saving backpacker travel style, rather than pay for accomodation we slept in the car that night. It was to become the first of many nights we spent in our trusty little Fiesta, and to be honest it was such an exciting way to travel, without the need for planning where and when we had to book accomodation on the road. We did however spend a couple of hours trying to find the best place to park - we tossed up choices like the city centre of Exeter, a random road near caravans or even paying for a caravan spot, but finally decided the easiest (and safest) way was to sleep at a rest area on a freeway.


Our next stop was Launceston. Yes that's right, the original Launceston. Once the capital of Cornwall, Launceston (pronounced "Lance-ton") by the locals is now a forgotten little town of about 4,000 friendly people, packed with historic goodies like castles and old churches. This town lent its name to the second-largest city in Tasmania and is now overshadowed in almost every respect by its Australian counterpart, so much so that most people don't even realise there is a Launceston in England. We soon discovered that this was the case for many places in the UK which have the same names as cities in Australia.



The old castle gate


Launceston Castle, buit by Robert de Mortain in 1087, one of the Normans who conquered England.


Launceston Town Square


Candice finds a door


Cornish Clotted Cream!

After many days of great weather in England, the skies finally opened up. We drove on towards Newquay, passing through the Dartmoor National Park. The moors looked eerie through the rain.


Colliford Lake where we would have spent a night if it hadn't been for weird clowns, wild horses and dog-walkers

We finally arrived at Newquay, Cornwall's most popular tourist destination, a busy coastal town housing England's only surf beaches. During the summer tourists from around the UK flock to Newquay to "ride the waves". The fact that it was a gloomy day didn't seem to perturb any of the Brits who were anxious to get as much surfing in as they could. Evidently, sandy beaches and good waves are a rare thing in the Motherland.


Newquay, we even found Quiksilver and Billabong shops here. It was weird seeing Australian surf brands in rainy England.


Fistral beach


England and surfing? Boy are we pampered in Australia.


The cold weather didn't stop people surfing these less than average looking waves


A sandy English beach. We thought of Paddington Bear stories.

We left Cornwall and headed back North. Our next and final stop before crossing over into Wales was the pretty seaside city of Weston super-mare. Weston sits directly opposite Cardiff (Wales) across the mouth of the Severn river. The tide was out and it felt like you could almost walk all the way to Cardiff! If you're wondering about the name, Weston super-mare means "Weston by the bay" or something in Latin and has nothing to do with strong horses.


The tide was out


View of Weston


Candice in the middle of town


Traditional English entertainment - a Punch & Judy show in Grove Park

Leaving Weston, we drove across one of the many bridges that crosses the Severn into Cardiff, the capital of Wales.

For more pictures of our drive around Southwest England, visit http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=48350&l=6d64a&id=681501850