Tag: Guildford

Just Back From… Dorset

And Surrey…

(Please click on the photographs to enlarge them)

Short stopover en route at Sidmouth on the south Devon coast (The Red Coast).

The OH and I often had a spring break – either April or May. Sometimes heading for Surrey where we would spend time with my daughter and the grandchildren (if they were around) and David would often catch a train to spend a day with his daughter in London or a longer stay at her home in Colchester.

Brewery Square in Dorchester (known to the locals as Dorch) where shops, restaurants, a gym, a cinema, a Premier Inn and residential apartments can be found

This year I had to do this on my own. Thinking about whether I should move nearer to family I chose to stay in Dorchester for a week, the historic county town of Dorset and home of the Victorian novelist Thomas Hardy,  before moving on to Surrey for the early spring Bank Holiday. Dorchester gave me an opportunity to explore some of east Dorset which I haven’t visited in many years. I liked the old part, hated Poundbury (soulless) but wasn’t keen on all the traffic. It does have excellent transport links with two railway stations with a route to Bristol and one to London.

Walk along the River Frome

I walked along the River Frome. I walked around the town. I ate dinner at a lovely country inn, I walked on the Jurassic coast (shingle) had takeaway coffee and ice-cream (not at the same time) visited Wareham and Studland and several gardens. The weather remained dry, though not always warm, and I stayed in a lovely pristine quiet converted stable in the old part of the town. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it might be. Before I met David I often had solo holidays and even when I accompanied him to conferences I spent many a day exploring on my own. The hardest part is during the evening and eating out alone. I just pretended I was away for work! And ate in the cottage most evenings.

Poundbury – designed by King Charles III when he was Prince of Wales with a mix of Victorian and Georgian architecture. This is Queen Mother Square. It’s a strange place. No road markings and free parking. Lots of cars, hardly any people. Streets were empty, playground was empty. A lot like a film set. But a good coffee shop in the Buttercross.
The Buttercross

Continue reading Just Back From… Dorset

Time x Square

Time for another square month hosted by the lovely Becky. The photos don’t necessarily have to be of a timepiece, but are open to interpretation to reflect time in some way, or sayings such as ‘the passing of time’, ‘a stitch in time’, or time running away from you.

Day 18: Iconic Projected Clock

In 1683, the Guildhall in Guildford, Surrey was refurbished, which included the addition of a council chamber, a balcony over the street and a bell turret. The clock is supposed to have been presented to the Council by a London clockmaker, John Aylward, who presented the projecting clock to the Corporation of Guildford in return for freedom to trade in the borough.

To join in with the Squares challenge please visit Becky for instructions. Remember the only proper rule is that the photo must be SQUARE.

December Squares | Day Eighteen