Oxford, the Conlon College, and and Geo's Street

 Still a little disappointed that Geo managed to miss the cheering crowds in his photos as we cycled past the finish line of the Tour de Cotswold/Kaulbach Version-

Bath was the end point of our cycling journey as I mentioned, though we did have to mount the bikes one final time to cycle (with luggage) to the train station in Bath to take the train to Oxford, although we had to take a van part of the way as a bridge on the Oxford train line had been damaged.  Apparently, some inexperienced American cyclists had caused some sort of traffic cluster in the Cotswold leading to a lorry swerving around these fools and smashing into the bridge.  We didn't see anything, however.  

As many know, Oxford University is mostly known for having produced the world renowned mathematician, Professor Joseph Conlon.  I was shocked to discover that, apparently in some fit of political correctness,  no college or even major building had been named after the famous professor.  Envious ingrates!  I thought a few of the minor buildings, like this oddly named Bodilean Library- who will ever remember that name?- might have been renamed the Conlon Library, but no dice. 

 Nevertheless, we enjoyed a nice walking tour here, primarily of a couple of the older colleges (there are 38 as I recall), though disappointingly we received no discount when we dropped Dr. Conlon's name.   Oxford is known as the city of spires-

For some reason, Geo thought this was a particularly noteworthy street-

No Conlon Street, though. 

For Tolkien fans, here is the pub where held forth with CS Lewis and other luminaries, such as aforementioned Professor-

Sadly, the Eagle and Child pub is closed- a casualty of the Covid lockdowns-  though it is hoped that it will reopen under new management.  

So that was it for our English cycling sojourn, which also included stops and tours in the beautiful English cities of Bath and Oxford.  We averaged approximately 36 miles and 2200' of vertical (think endless hills) per day during our 5 days of cycling, with many village and photo stops, church tours and conversations with locals along the way.   It was a privilege and delight and Geo, notwithstanding his endless (and futile) efforts at my improvement (otherwise known as criticism for criticism's sake), did a terrific job at planning our cycle routes so as to maximize medieval village visits and quiet roads (the one lorry excepted).  

Thanks for reading.   Perhaps check back for our France tour in July sans Geo.  

Baths, Georgians, and 3 Guys

 As I last mentioned, we finished our 5 day cycle in Bath where I rode in with the yellow jersey to cheering crowds -

Geo could have captured at least a few people in the photo....That must have been the only flat spot in the Cotswold.  So we crossed the River Avon and entered Bath-

Nevertheless, we had heard that there were well known spas in Bath and so looked into 'taking the waters' in this discounted place, but the waters didn't look that inviting-

Well, ok these were the ancient Roman baths which were indeed impressive, if not exactly inviting.  (We gathered that the baths looked much better in Roman times when the natural spring baths were covered by a roof which prevented algae, etc.).  The size and scope of the ancient baths were amazing and the accompanying museum a great and very informative tour.  

In addition to the ancient baths, Bath is also famous for its classical Georgian (1700s) architecture-

The Geogian style is characterized by its classical windows, white brick facade, simplicity and most importantly its symmetry.  The most famous of the Georgian structures in Bath is the spectacular crescent-

The town is dominated by this simple and symmetrical style, though not everyone seemed to get the memo-

I don't recall pink being listed in the authorized color scheme.   

As our walking tour guide explained, the great Georgian revival of Bath was engendered ;primarily by 3 men of Bath in the earlier 1700s.  As a result the City has built a nice monument to them +2-

Today, of course, the City is infiltrated by the ubiquitous American coffee-drinking tourist/cyclist-

The British, of course, really do gardens well-

Not to mention, classical doorways-

And, of course, the spectacular medieval cathedral (part of an abbey in Bath, built about 1490)-

The flying buttresses were really impressive here.  

A great day touring the beautiful and fascinating city of Bath.  Popular for good reason. 

  One more post to wrap up our visit to Oxford, Bath and the Cotswold.  

Butt Wear, Tolls, Barges, Holsteins and a solid Garage

Today took us on our last leg of our bike journey, from the old Roman town of Cirencester to the old Roman town of Bath, some 39 miles away as the cyclist measures it.  

We passed through a number of medieval market villages along our route.  During the middle ages, in the village square, there was often a small stone 'gazebo like' structure (for you Americans) where trading stalls would be set up.  In the middle of these stone structures was usually a stone pedestal with a circular stone seat revolving around it where people would sit.  If you notice the below, you will see these stones seats were worn down over the centuries by endless medieval trading butts-

Our ride took us through quite a bit of farmland today with some familiar Vermont-like faces-

Really pretty cows.  As some of the pictures have shown, houses made of the slab like orange Cotswold stone, both medieval and new, are ubiquitous.  But a new stone garage?  Maybe that's what we will do in Meredith-

We have visited many beautiful medieval churches- circa 1050-1450- but none more impressive and spectacular than the ruined Benedictine abbey church at M-: where the soaring tower collapsed in the  15th century (lightning strike) destroying half the church.  The remains of the church were still awesome with the flying buttresses (circa 1170 and Henry II)-

The abbey and church hold the remains of Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, and the first king of Angleland (d.940)-

Speaking of medieval times, as we biked into Bath, we ran into a woman standing in the middle of abridge in the road holding a hat and collecting tolls-

Tradition dies hard in England, I guess (at least when it comes to certain taxes or tolls).  

Once through the toll (bikers, being more superior, pay nothing and we didn't even deign to glance at the woman), we cycled along a barge canal path into the city.  The canal was built in the late 1700s before the advent of the railroads- there is large network of canals throughout England-, but today the canals carry people on holiday around much of Britain.  Geo said you can rent them (but we had no time)-

As usual, our ride took us through the scenic countryside and some beautifully preserved medieval villages in the Cotswold-

Self Improvement, Lawns, Car Heaven and Fords

 One of the benefits of traveling with your brother is the nearly endless opportunities for self improvement.  Geo never fails to take the opportunity to offer constructive and unconstructive criticism with the undoubted good intention of helping me improve myself, though I am not sure I mentioned that as one of my trip objectives.  It does seem like the unconstructive criticism might outweigh the constructive by a small amount, however.  Maybe by a good margin. Overwhelming majority.  Not sure if there has been any of the former that I can now recall.

The British really should look to Sam and other Americans re how to grow a lawn-

And they could learn a think or two from Clay and others about haying a field-

Ancient churches, including a Saxon one (ie.pre- 1066), abound in the Cotswold-

I think this ceiling, though restored, was from the 1200s.  It was beautiful.  

Clearly religion is important to the English and they take it seriously for more than just people as this sign attested-

Hopefully heaven is better for humans than for cars if this is an example of one which made it-

Today we cycled by, around, over and through some English streams.  Like some knight of old, Geo fearlessly crossed this ford on his intrepid steed-

It is not like those shots were staged or anything and when I yelled "Action!" I was really talking to another tourist.  

Like the 'Crook House' earlier, some places make no bones about their intent to fleece  tourists-

The Cotswold was made wealthy by the wool trade in the 1300s and 1400s, but now it seems to thrive based on a different type of fleece- 

Geo found us a great deal on this quaint but slightly little cramped bnb-

The man can spot a deal.