Sunday 4 September 2016

UK Trip Pt 8 - Wookey Hole, Uffington and Wells

On Saturday 27th, rugby was over and we had the day to ourselves.  Our first target was Wookey Hole, a famous cave in Western England and home to this rather scary mermaid:

The mermaid of Wookey Hole
The main attraction at Wookey hole is cave itself, but the site also has a 1920s style penny arcade, a paper-making mill and some other attractions like dinosaur models and a foam-ball pirate battle.

Aim cannons!
Of course it was for the kids...
Next stop was the mirror maze:

Are we lost yet?


After walking through the Penny Arcade and looking at all the old games, we ended up in  the paper mill, where the kids (and Kris) got a chance to make some hand-made paper.  Cam decided to opt out of this one as he was tired.

Alana making paper

Making paper
The first step was to dip a frame in the water, which had a pulpy fabric and wood mix.
Next you pull it out and let the water drain
Then tip the frame onto the drying paper and push down to let the water drain
Great concentration
Push down
Lift the frame off
The finished product.  It was then wrapped in the drying cloth and wrung out.  It took the rest of the day to dry
Wringing it out
Tom and Kris had a go

After making paper it was off to the caves.  The caves were made by the river Axe, which runs through them.  There is a legend that says a witch lived in the caves and was turned to stone by a monk.

I had been to Wookey Holes about 20 years ago, but they have since opened up more caves.  The way they do this is to send divers underwater to discover new chambers and then they drill and blast to open a path to those chambers.
The witch
Heading into the cave

Stalagmite
Cave with a boat - I kept expecting to hear "My preciousssss."


Cave aged cheese


On the way to the new cave - it's a long way down...

Cleft in the rock
Hard hats are needed in new chambers for the 1st year


Tunnel to the new chamber
Wall of the new chamber
The new chamber

Outside the cave
This poor dragon fell asleep and was covered in dirt, not he is unable to escape or eat so he awaits small children who climb over the fence and crunches them up.  Hoping to feed and build his power until the day he can finally escape and seek vengeance on the groundskeeper who trapped him in this terrestrial prison of dirt.
Unfortunately King Kong invaded during our visit.  Many dragons were injured.
Where the river exits the cave

Having completed his task of planting a mushroom, Frank waits patiently. For when it rains, he alone will have cover... muhahahahaaaaa


Our next planned stop of the day was Uffington.  This was the site of a chalk horse on a hillside and the blowing stone.  To be honest, my main reason for wanting to go was that it was a major part of a series of books I had read (Duncton Wood) but it was well worth the trip:



The white horse is the older dated chalk figure in England (1400-600 BC).  Uffington is also the site of Dragon Hill which legion says is where Saint George killed the dragon and its blood poisoned the ground on the top so grass cannot grow there (the less exciting version is that the high content of Potash in the soil is the cause.. but it could be dragon potash...)

It is also the site of Uffington castle, a raised hill with earth ramparts and ditch.


The view from the top of White Horse Hill:



Looking out towards to White Horse Hill - the horse is just visible in the top left
Looking down at Dragon Hill
Sitting by the horse
Looking down at Dragon Hill from the Horse
The path down from the Horse to Dragon Hill
The view was amazing
Top of Dragon Hill
Since we couldn't get a good shot of the horse from ground level, here's an aerial pic stolen from Wikipedia
The Blowing Stone - So called because if you blow into one of the holes it makes a loud hollow noise
We had planned to head to Straford-Upon-Avon, but it was a 2hr drive and it was starting to get late.  In the end we started on our way home but stopped via a market in the small town of Wells, where we picked up some books and some Cornish pasties:
Bishops Palace gates in Wells

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