There and Back

2022 - A year of celebrations to mark 1,000 years since the founding of the Abbey of St Edmund in Bury St Edmunds by King Canute. Various events are being held this year and I took a brief visit to get a snapshot of the celebrations. Obviously, I have visited Bury many times before, so the first couple of images are from the beautiful gardens taken previously. The gardens really are worth a visit on their own. They are always kept in immaculate condition no matter what the time of year. The first Patron Saint of England and King of East Anglia, Saint Edmund was enshrined in the Abbey lending his name to the town. The shrine brought visits from across the UK and abroad including Royalty as the Abbey became one of the most famous and wealthy pilgrimage locations in England. Today, the extensive Abbey remains are surrounded by the Abbey Gardens, which are visited by some 1.3million people every year. So onto some images of the ruins of the original abbey.. The story of St Edmund, who rule

Norwich is the administrative center of Norfolk and a lovely city to visit. It is steeped in history and has many fine buildings, including two Cathedrals and a Castle keep. To quote Wikipedia: Norwich is a cathedral city in Norfolk, England. Situated on the River Wensum in East Anglia, it lies approximately 100 miles (161 km) north-east of London. It is the county town of Norfolk and is considered the capital of East Anglia, with a population of 141,300. From the Middle Ages until the Industrial Revolution, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important.  The city is the most complete medieval city in the UK, including cobbled streets such as Elm Hill, Timber Hill and Tombland, ancient buildings such as St Andrew's Hall, half-timbered houses such as Dragon Hall, The Guildhall and Strangers' Hall, the Art Nouveau of the 1899 Royal Arcade, many medieval lanes and the winding River Wensum that flows through the city centre towards Norwi

We were hoping that today's rain would not be too heavy as we planned a trip to Canterbury to visit the cathedral primarily, but anything else in the town that took our interest.This was a place we had not visited before. Before we left for our visit,Mr fox was spotted again jogging through the field at the back of the property.  And so, via a convenient Park And Ride, we arrived in the center of Canterbury.  Not many photographs taken on the outside as the main west end was covered in scaffolding but just a few for the record! St Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, arrived on the coast of Kent as a missionary to England in 597 AD. He came from Rome, sent by Pope Gregory the Great. It is said that Gregory had been struck by the beauty of Angle slaves he saw for sale in the city market and despatched Augustine and some monks to convert them to Christianity. Augustine was given a church at Canterbury (St Martin’s, after St Martin of Tours, still stan

Having been to Wells before and being fascinated by the clock, we decided to revisit as we were in the area. I think Wells Cathedral has the most magnificent frontage. The mind `boggles` at the `man - hours` spent on  constructing these monumental buildings. Wells Cathedral - West Front  I don't remember anything much about the town of Wells, apart from the Cathedral area. Mind you, it has such an impact when you first see it, like most of our Medieval Cathedrals.  The present Cathedral was begun about 1175 on a new site to the north of an old minster church.  Bishop Reginald de Bohun brought the idea of a revolutionary architectural style from France, and Wells was the first English cathedral to be built entirely in this new Gothic style.  The first building phase took about eighty years, building from east to west, culminating in the magnificent West Front. About 300 of its original medieval statues remain: a glorious theatrical stone backdrop for feas