Travelling is about experiences and today,Tuesday, we had a few. The most fantastic one was when we visited an old mill near Wimborne Minster, the White Mill. It is a National Trust property, not a working mill, but one that is being conserved and has most of the working parts in various states of repair. It was built before the 1300s and substantially rebuilt in 1776. Milling operations appears to have stopped around 1866.The mill is closed on Tuesdays, and today is Tuesday. Although the sign said closed, the gate was open, so we went in. It turned out that yes, the mill wasn’t open, but there was a volunteer afternoon there. A woman who seemed to be in charge came over to us and asked if we had come to see the mill (of course, because we were there) and, when she realised we were from Australia, said that we couldn’t leave without being guided over the mill and promptly arranged for one of the volunteers to show us around. We’ve seen quite a few mills, but we learnt so much more from Barry, the guide, about terminology and operations than ever before. After our private tour, we were asked to join the volunteers for afternoon tea, tea, coffee and plenty of tasty cakes. We were so warmly welcomed and talked to many of the volunteers. Before we realised, we had spent most of the afternoon there. We had an experience that you can’t buy, it was just fantastic.
We headed into Dorchester, to a small pub we (R&G) stayed in a couple of years ago, but they had no rooms. The manager rang another pub, The Old Ship Inn, and we’re there now. We spent time swapping jokes with one of the local characters, then went inside for a meal. The manager hadn’t turned up, so no one was cooking. Went to another pub almost next door. We ordered, but none of their EFT machines were working. Eventually they did and we had a good meal.
Working backwards for the day, our stop before the mill was in Wimborne Minster, where we saw one of the most attractive Minsters ever. Architecturally, both inside and outside it was beautiful, and simply, if that’s the word, decorated inside. They have an organ with over 3000 pipes and the church has been in operation for over 1300 years.
Yesterday, the real start of our holiday, R&G arrived at Heathrow around 5am and G&J at a little after 6am. Once we were all clear of airport formalities, the brand new French tax free registered LHD Peugeot 308 wagon was delivered to us outside. Luggage dimensions were as we measured at home, thank goodness, and our 4 suitcases fitted side by side, under the cover of the luggage blind, all out of sight. Our small back packs/ cabin bags also fitted, with a little room behind the back seats for small stuff.
Our first stop was the cemetery at near Runnymede, where the Magna Carta was signed, to see the inscription of a relative who died during WW2, George Swan Murray Fowler.
Next stop was for breakfast with Debbie and to see her owl, Luna again, and to meet her new falcon, Khayi, with the most amazing stare.
We drove through Hursley so Gary could see the IBM headquarters, where the software he used in the bank was developed and spent the night in Southampton.
Cheese and bread and perhaps a little too much wine. We were all very tired and slept very well.
It’s now 9:40 pm and still light outside. It’s a bit cool, but we’re still sitting outside copying photos and writing this post.
We’ll now see what tomorrow brings.
