After our theatrical adventures last night, Vicki and Jerry to give us an adventure. They asked us where we had never been in the area. John and I have been the to the England many times, and we have done just about all the major tourist attractions - and some oddball ones, too. But I did say that we had somehow never managed to make it to Winchester. So off we went.
Winchester is one of the oldest cities in England. There was once a Roman settlement on this site. Although historians argue a bit about whether it was the capital or not, most agree that Winchester was the most important city of the ancient kingdom of Wessex. King Alfred the Great’s ruled from here. After the the Norman conquest, London became the capital and Winchester became just another cathedral and market town. But that helped preserve a remarkable historic center. The city was absolutely mobbed with people when we arrived. We never could quite figure out if this was typical of summer Sundays or whether there was some special event tang place.
The cathedral is the most important of all the historic buildings. It has the longest nave of any Gothic church in Europe. The vaulting is particularly light and airy.
Most of the services are held at the crossing in front of the rood screen.
But evensong is held in the choir where you can admire that beautiful reredos. Notice how lacy the carvings are!
In medieval times, people came here to the shrine of Saint Swithun. He is still buried there, but a much later Winchester resident is the real attraction for modern pilgrims.
Yes, Jane Austen is buried here on the north side of the nave, not that far from all the ancient kings of Wessex. Not bad for a girl who grew up in a small country parsonage.
Jerry knew a small hotel nearby that had great food. We had a wonderful lunch.
As befits the country of “beef eaters”, John had a large plate of meat.
It was maybe a little too rich for him, and as we left to go to the seaside he started to feel a bit of motion sickness. Plus, it started to rain a bit. So went went back to London a little early. Once he felt better, he went outside for some fresh air. The canals are filled with swans and cygnets this time of year.
I sat up in my room and just admired the lovely rainbow.
Tomorrow Jerry has to go to Leeds, and Vicki and the two of us head off to Wales.
