The very long, very wonderful day.

Waking up after 13 hours of restful sleep is a wonderful thing. Add to that, a full English breakfast that was excellently prepared, and you have the beginnings of  a wonderful day.  Being rested, well fed, and with the weather being partly sunny and dry, Anne and I decided to walk to the Chalice Well and then up Glastonbury Tor to the ruin of St Michael's Church.

Vesica Pool

Well head with wrought-iron cover

The Chalice Well has been in constant use for at least two thousand years based on archaeological evidence. Water issues from the spring at a rate of 25,000 gallons per day and has never failed, even during drought. Iron oxide deposits give the water a reddish hue, as dissolved ferrous oxide becomes oxidized at the surface and is precipitated.

The gardens were lovely and there was a profound sense of peace.

view from bottom of tor

 Full of ambition, we continued from the Chalice Well gardens to climb the Tor.  Let me explain something to you. The climb up is hell, if you are overweight and out of shape like I am. Oh, and       missing a part of one lung doesn't help either!  The Tor is 518 feet tall. And there are so very many steps to get up to the top. I'm pretty sure I saw a mountain goat pass out going up there, but  maybe I was just hallucinating from the lack of oxygen.  Anyway, after an absolute eternity, and many stops to rest along the way, we made it to the top. Hillary's achievement on Mt. Everest paled in comparison to ours!

view through doorway of ruin

After catching our breath at the top we had the chance to appreciate the amazing views of the surrounding countryside. Everywhere you turned there was a beautiful view. The ruin is not very large but the sense of
antiquity and history is profound. Oh the stories those walls could tell.

Anne is pretty sure we went through some sort of fairy portal or time/space vortex, because the trip down was much shorter than the trip up!

view of Glastonbury from the side of the tor

Once back down, we walked back into Glastonbury and straight to the King William Inn for a very well-deserved pint!

For those of you who like to "people watch", there is nothing quite like sitting in a pub in Glastonbury.  This town is full of "characters". It has been a blast, so far.

Dinner at the King Arthur and a walk afterward marked the end of a very long, but very wonderful day. Can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring!



Stay tuned...