England, September, 1977
Our good St Paul friends, Martin and Judy Imm, propose we take a trip with them and their children (our Unitarian godchildren!), Christopher and Elizabeth. We would spend time together in England; then they would break for Austria and we for Paris.
September 18, 1977. Dear Mother, This is such a lovely country with so much to see. I’m happy that we plan to return here. After a week in London we have rented a van and are travelling through the countryside. Yesterday we saw Salisbury cathedral and then came upon Stonehenge, small but magnificent as it rises from the plain. We spent the night in Warminster, played skittles and now are on to the Cotswolds. Love, Linda
September 23, 1977. Dear Grandma. Hi! I am at Lincoln Minster. I saw a imp. A imp is a devil helper. I will show you a picture of an imp when we get home. Bye. Mother: are still enjoying ourselves although we are not getting as far distance-wise as we first expected. Each town is way too interesting. As it is we are just scratching the surface. Will return in time for K’s birthday in Oct. Love, Linda.
September 27, 1977. Dear Mother, We are leaving England for a day in Paris. We had lunch at the top of this hill which was lovely. It’s a warm clear day and I really am sad to be leaving this country. I’m just happy we’ll be coming back soon and you’ll join us. Love, Linda.
England and a bit of Paris, September 1977.
We take a charter flight from Minneapolis (KTCA public TV benefit) and arrive in London, September 8. We go to our "starless" hotel, the Hansel & Gretel near Victoria Station. We see the sights for several days before being joined by the Imms who fly in from Boston. St. Paul's; The Catholic Westminster; Past St. Paul's; Tower of London; Tower Bridge; Kristen, just out of her cast (leg broken Memorial Weekend), surveys Greenwich.
Changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Prince Albert Memorial.
Trafalgar Square where Kristen is enamored by the pigeons. In Hyde Park we walk and pose by the Peter Pan statue.
Imms join us... good company & great pictures (Martin's camera/Agfa film easily beat out my Instamatic!). London from Thames; Trafalgar Square; Big Ben. We pause for coffee to regularize Martin's system!
St. Paul's Cathedral in the City.
Tower of London tour.
The Tate Gallery.
Westminster Abbey: The Cloister, The Chapter, West Lady Chapel.
Regents Park garden where we spend a delightful afternoon in the sun.
Parliament on the Thames.
Salisbury: We rent a van and head first for Salisbury Plain (before it was fenced off!).
Longleat: an Elizabethan estate with beautiful grounds designed by Capability Brown.
We drive on to the splendid and massive Wells cathedral.
Bath England: one of the highlights of our trip with its Roman Baths and elegant town with neoclassical Palladian buildings.
Christopher Imm prepares to join the Romans.
The Cotswolds where we stay with the Beckerlegge's, our genial host and hostess.
White Horse Hill and Wayland's Smithy.
Gladstone Pottery Museum in Stoke-on-Trent.
Wonderful York. Splendid acres of heather on the moors. Castle Howard.
Scarborough; We drive to Ipswich where the Imms ferry to Europe. Kristen cried so! Our We then visit the Lincoln cathedral after leaving Imms.
We leave Lincoln, hear evensong at Ely Cathedral (exquisite!). Then its down the East coast to Colchester (a Roman retirement colony) and Constable country. We tour Sissinghurst with its white gardens cultivated by Vita Sackville-West. Then on to Battle Abbey (where Jack reads the account of the Norman invasion), Hastings, Rye, and Winchelsea. We arrive in Dover where we picnic at the castle, then reluctantly take the hovercraft to Calais and train into Paris. Notre Dame.
