80. Itchenor and Surrounding Villages - UK

Once settled with Ned, we ventured out and about. I concede that most seaside areas are not as attractive as they are in Australia. In a lot of cases it is mud, rather than sand, that meets the water and thus high tide makes for a prettier picture. Having said that, the boats and the harbours have their own special magic and the history of the area allowed me to imagine what it would have been like to see the Saxon boats sailing past.

This area has some beautiful properties with some having been built or rebuilt in recent times.

The place we are staying.

The view from the back garden

The view from our room. The harbour is in the distance.

The following pics are of surrounding properties.  This one is across the road.

Other homes in our lane

This was taken in West Wittering - A village close by.

I am fascinated at how many thatched roofs are still being maintained rather than replaced. A lot has to do with heritage listings and having no choice but to keep the type of material, but to see the craftsmanship alive and well is fantastic! For those interested, here is a closeup of the roof of the above house. I was able to get close as the bottom of the left-hand side roof was at my head height. You can see the chicken wire used to keep it all together - How it keeps the water out amazes me.

And a view from underneath

Bosham Village - A beautiful example of thatched roof design and cobbled walls.

Royal Oak Hotel - Hooksway. 

As mentioned in the previous post, we accidentally came across this as we were looking for the burial mounds. As we approached the road leading up to the mound we realised we couldn't drive on the track as it was full of potholes. The hotel was right there and it was close to lunchtime. I don't usually remember meals eaten out however the mushroom and chestnut pie was delicious. Ned and I then walked up to the Treyford burial mounds which they call the 'Devil's Jumps'. 

According to the local story, the god Thor used to sit on Treyford Hill. One day the devil saw the five barrows and started to jump from one to the next in order to amuse himself. This enraged Thor, who threw a stone at the devil, causing him to flee.

The five barrows.

On one of the days the weather cleared, we drove to Winchester, which is famous for its magnificent cathedral. To be honest, the pic doesn't do the cathedral justice.

Coming up to the winter solstice, the Christmas stalls have sprung up in town with many treats and trinkets. We normally peruse, sample and leave, but this day we walked away with elderflower gin liqueur and a selection of unusual cheeses for Christmas day.

The cheese man.

A local distillery.

Mulled wine.

The 'Buttercross' was built in the 15th century, and features 12 statues of the Virgin Mary, other saints and historical figures.

While on this sit we had to do our local shopping in West Wittering, as there were no grocery stores in Itchenor.  The village boasted one charity shop and in it we found a brand new magimix, with all the attachments, for £50. We snaffled it and gave it to D and E for Christmas. Max has waxed lyrical about it ever since. What a find!

Having said goodbye to Ned, Andrea and Tim, we had one day where we hadn't organised a sit so we stayed at an Air BnB just outside Salisbury. We chose that town as we wanted to see the city and go to Stonehenge on our way through to our next sit in Farnham.

These three little piggies were not off to market, but on the property next door to our accommodation. They stood about 30cm tall and were so friendly!  Miniature pigs - so cute!

The Star of Salisbury!

The Poultry Cross is explained on the plaque below

Can't get enough of these buildings. Note the organic shapes of the timbers.

Another magnificent cathedral. And we're supposed to believe these structures were built with horses and carts, picks, shovels, hammers and chisels?