Day 27 Hay on Wye

Penny, Alan and I ventured further afield today and drove to Tewksbury, which is about 90 kms from Hay.  It was a very wet morning and we drove through lots of water on the road.  There was an amazing amount of water around Tewksbury and the River Severn was probably twice as wide as normal.

We went first to the old Baptist Chapel which they think is one of the oldest in the country. The chapel was originally a timber framed medieval house, and was converted for use by the Baptists in around 1620.  The museum guide there was very interesting and knowledgeable.  I was a little disconcerted that they had a display of birds of prey there though I did like the owls!

After lunch we went on to Tewksbury Abbey, which is one of the largest parish churches in the country, and is over 900 years old.    It has a beautiful vaulted roof, lovely stained glass (including some very interesting modern windows), and is a beautiful building - though aren't they all.

Tewksbury is a lovely historic town, and had lots of fascinating little alleys!

On the way home we stopped in Ledbury, and wandered up and down the main street, had a cup of coffee ( or tea) and then walked up a narrow cobblestone alley to explore the yard of the church of St Michael and All Angels, which unfortunately was closed as it was getting quite late by then.  

The rain cleared up in the afternoon and it was quite exciting to see the odd star as we drove home!

Ben and Sara left today so we are back to 4.