Ending in England

And finally, the last set of photographs from my trip to Europe earlier this year…

After Barcelona, we flew to Heathrow and spent the first few days with my husband’s family in Kent. We kept busy and moved around for the remainder of the trip, showing my parents as much as possible: Bath, Stonehenge, the Cotswolds, Oxford, and London.

All photos: iPhone 7

Dylan, my mother-in-law’s dog, in the fields of Trottiscliffe, a village several miles from West Malling, Kent.
The gardens of Leeds Castle, five miles from Maidstone, Kent.
The lush grounds of Leeds Castle in Kent.
Overlooking the maze at Leeds Castle.
Looking out of a window from inside Leeds Castle.
The Pulteney Bridge, crossing the River Avon, in central Bath.
A shot of the Great Bath at the Roman Baths, taken from the upper level. Bath Abbey stands in the background.
A statue’s perspective of the Great Bath.
The grand ceiling of Bath Abbey.
Our unexpected, innovative dishes at Acorn Vegetarian Kitchen in the center of Bath. I highly recommend this restaurant, even if you’re not vegetarian.
Just a bunch of old rocks, aka Stonehenge.
A horse along a road near Avebury.
Part of Avebury henge and stone circles. (Or, another monument of prehistoric rocks.)
An area of Castle Combe, one of the twee villages we passed through in the Cotswolds.
The Bridge of Sighs (Hertford Bridge), which connects two parts of a college over New College Lane in central Oxford.
Overlooking a canal in Oxford.
Tom Quad in Christ Church, the largest college quad in Oxford.
Looking up at the ceiling while queueing to visit the Hall in Christ Church.
A powder blue door on a quiet road in Oxford.
Colorful Neal’s Yard in Covent Garden in London.
The Great Court of the British Museum in London.
The London Eye from afar, seen from the gardens of Buckingham Palace.
Posters of Goldie’s new album on a phone booth in Covent Garden in London.
Fancy porridge at 26 Grains in Covent Garden in London.

Follow me on Instagram @cherilucasrowlands.

Published by Cheri Lucas Rowlands

Senior editor at Longreads / Automattic

38 thoughts on “Ending in England

  1. My dream vacation! Britain is just so poetic, and dramatic too, as your photos show. Too bad my job doesn’t offer a sabbatical. I think that would be a great benefit to the company too, as one can expand one’s mind through explorations.

  2. Not sure how you got that shot of Stonehenge with hardly any people in it! Nice work! We stayed outside of Bath in a small village one January: I think any town with a name like Bath just makes you feel cozy and relaxed, amen to that…and season’s greetings! Bill

    1. Yeah, some of the Stonehenge shots were challenging 🙂

      So far, Bath is one of my favorite places in England—very pretty and grand, and compact, manageable, and totally walkable.

      Happy holidays to you as well!

  3. England is always looking both familiar and exotic to me. Being from Normandy the scenery sometimes is quite similar. The shared history, even if bloody, has left its marks on both sides of the Channel. Your photos of the villages and castles are reminiscent from some in Normandy.
    I noted the restaurant! In case…
    The fancy porridge sounds fantastic too. Covent Garden is such a great London treat.
    And the little dog is adorable!
    Glad you enjoyed family time there.

  4. I must say I’m really impressed with the photos, Kent is a lovely place to visit, though I often am a bit disappointed with the weather in England (living in rain every other day isn’t great) but you really do the country justice here 🙂

  5. Wow, England is my dream country to visit, but still dont know when I can go there. Love the English style as well, British English.

    By the way, I love the photo where Dylan is in the field, can I copy it?

  6. Qu’est-ce que c’est magnifique ! Vous me donnez un intense désir d’aller sur vos traces en Angleterre ; à moins que ce ne soit la magie des photos qui embellissent tellement tous ces paysages qu’on se plaît à les regarder avec beaucoup de gourmandise.
    Vous faites découvrir aussi divers aspects de ce pays ; de la campagne à la ville ; du lointain passé au temps présent.
    Bravo pour ce beau reportage.

  7. Cheri…love the title. And love EVERY single photo. I’m wondering if you got closer to the “old rocks” or had to stay away. I visited Avebury years ago, and was taken by how big the circle was. You gotta wonder just what went on there all those years ago. And how did they move and lift and situate those rocks.

    1. We did the Stonehenge audio tour, which I really enjoyed (despite it being very cold that day), but could not get so close because of the security ropes. Overall I preferred to view the stones (both @ Stonehenge and Avebury) from afar—taking them all in at once. Agree that it’s mind-bending to think about how they moved these rocks and what life was like way back then.

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