Pompeii

 

A visit to Pompeii can be divided into two parts: the wonderful museum (named as the Antiquarium), where many artifacts which had been stored away for safety, have relatively recently been put on display - and the vast site of streets, palaces and houses. In its day it was a rival to Rome.

 

The mummified figures of people caught in the lava flow are  especially poignant.

 
Having absorbed as much of these treasures as we could, we headed out towards the remains of the large and imposing Forum.

 

Nearby is the amazing bronze statue of a Centaur.

 

We headed off along the longest street ...

 

 

... and investigated a fine house.

Further along was the the House of the Faun ...

 

 

 

Towards the end of our exploration we came upon the Gymnasium ...

 

 

Just to the left was the somewhat restored Arena. It is now used for concerts and shows.

 

To conclude, here is a picture of the city with Vesuvius behind it. A fine memento!

 

 

 

Naples

          

                                                                        The Castel Nuovo

We are in Naples for a family wedding, but first we are keen to see something of the city and also the great sights of Pompeii and Herculaneum. We leave our rather grand hotel (apparently popular with professional footballers) and walk to the Castel Nuovo. It was founded in 1279 and is also known as the Angevin Castle (its founder was Charles I of Anjou). The white triumphal arch was commissioned by Alfonso of Aragon in 1442.

The castle is rectangular, with a large courtyard: this is the opposite end, viewed from the outside.

 

 

We followed the pavement by the main road towards and then beside the sea. There are many fine buildings on the landward side of the main road. This often crowded path brought us to the second of Naples' castles: the Castel dell'uovo, Naples' oldest castle - and yes there is an egg supposedly buried in its foundations.

 

The castle stands on a small island which was once used by the Greeks as a harbour and which was converted into a fort by the Normans in the 12th century. We had a pleasant ramble through the castle, which is now used for cultural events and exhibitions. This is the view from the ramparts inland towards the city.

 

 

 

The Castle is now surrounded on the landward side by a large selection of restaurants. Looking back the way we came we caught a glimpse of a three-masted sailing boat, with the twin peaks of Vesuvius behind it. Not my best photo, but better than nothing.

We headed inland towards the Piazza Trieste e Trento and then walked up via Toledo as Ange was in need of new sunglasses. Once that need was satisfied we continued along this long pedestrianised street to reach the spacious Piazza Dante ...

 

 

... inevitably with a statue of the great man himself.

 

 

We then headed through a warren of streets to find a grand baroque church, the Gesu Nuovo, hidden behind scaffolding. We later discovered that the scaffolding concealed a rather austere and not very attractive facade. The Baroque interior was a bit OTT.

 

 

 

More or less opposite was the church of Santa Chiara which was built in 1313–1340 by Queen Sancha of Majorca and her husband King Robert of Naples who is also buried in the complex. Inside the church is spacious and with a pleasant interior. Beyond the church there was an incredible garden and cloister. The garden features these exquisite columns with majolica tiles added in 1742 by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro.

 

 

The four walls of the splendid cloister were covered with seventeenth century frescoes depicting Saints, allegories and scenes of the Old Testament.

 

It remained only to amble back to our hotel and its footballers. Not that we actually saw any.

Brighton

We are here in Brighton to go to a gig at the Brighton Centre, conveniently located facing the sea. We are looking forward to enjoying Michael Kiwanuka and his band. The gig was first on our radar two years ago, but COVID and lock down created a long delay. Before the main business however we thought we would have a brisk tour around the city to remember sights we saw in our previous visit in 2010 and to enjoy some new ones.

We started at the Town Hall (above). The current building was commissioned to replace a previous town hall built on the western side of Market Street in 1727. The new building, which was designed by Thomas Cooper in the Greek Revival style and built at a cost of £60,000, was officially opened in 1832. Later the local police force, formed in 1838, established a police station in the building and police cells in the basement. The police cells were removed in 1965, but a police museum took their place.

We found our way into Ship Street and the imposing Seven Stars.

We wondered through the Lanes and emerged into North Street where we admired this redbrick building on the left.

Continuing in the same direction we found ourselves in the gardens of the wonderful Royal Pavilion.

This statue of George IV stands near the North Gate of the Royal Pavilion. It was put up in 1828 and paid for by public subscription. During his time as Prince Regent (1811-1820) he was responsible for the huge growth of Brighton and the building of the Royal Pavilion

As time was short we retraced our steps up North Street to reach the Clock Tower, one of the very many erected all over the country in honour of Queen Victoria's Jubilee. Our most recent sighting was in Ripon.

Now we hurried back to our hotel, passing several interesting buildings (OK, bars) ...

Then to the Brighton Centre where Michael Kiwanuka and his band put on a great, and long overdue, show. Below is is my best effort at an iPhone photo.

Piddletrentide

 

Today's walk took us a long way from Poole to the village of Piddletrentide. The unusual name of the village is derived from its position on the River Piddle, combined with it having been assessed for thirty hides in the Domesday Book.

We followed the bank of the Piddle, crossed a narrow bridge and  headed up the side of a field

We reached a hilly area with a track running though it ...

... and passed farm buildings on the left. This proved to be a mistake as we continued into a rather lovely area of bluebells.

We then started to hear traffic noise, which confirmed we had gone off piste. Mercifully we found our way to pass the farm buildings on the other side and return on the track we went out on.

We headed away from the village, noting this very handsome house on the left hand side. Perhaps it was formerly a school?

Melbury Hill

We started are walk in the village of Compton Abbas at the rather attractive church of St Mary. The current church is Victorian, replacing an earlier one with a thatched roof.

We followed a downhill path to emerge into and then cross open country.

We reached a field edge and climbed towards Fontmell Down.

Reaching the Down we headed left (north) with wonderful open views on both sides of the valley.
 

 

 

We reached a B Road, marked on the map as Boyne's Lane, and followed it briefly before turning left along the hill on the far side of the valley.

 

Her is another angle. We decided not to try to climb the very steep-looking Melbury Hill, and instead descended towards a farm in the valley.

 

 

 

Once on the road, we were delighted to pass the ruins of the 14th century "Old Church". Only the tower remains and this is locked

 

 

It remained only to continue along the lane to reach St Mary's church.

Map: Explorer 118 (Shaftesbury & Cranborne Chase)

Distance: about 5 miles.

Conditions: bright and sunny, some cloud.

Rating: four stars.

Windsor Castle

 

                                                     Aerial view of Windsor Castle

We have a friend from the US visiting us and our suggestion of a trip to Windsor Castle was very well received. It is hard to grasp the full layout of the Castle from ground level, but this wonderful aerial photo gives a much clear view of its shape and size. Visitors approach the Castle at the bottom left of the photo with the gateway nearby. 

Most visitors - us included - think this is the entrance, but it is not so. Police are on hand to direct visitors to follow the line of the walls and enter through a purpose built security zone. So we followed the same route.

Once we emerged from screening we entered the Castle through thus gateway, with numerous other buildings to the right.  

 

A guerilla photo through the railings provided this shot of the State Apartments in the Upper Ward: the Queen's Audience and Presence Chambers, the Official Entrance, St George's Hall, the Guest's Entrance. Would would later see them from the inside as part of our tour. 

 

Soon we were beneath the splendid Round Tower alone on its mound. It was built by Henry II between 1165 and 1179 and re-modelled in the 19th century

 

We headed round the back to enter  the State Apartments and then headed down to the Lower Ward, dominated by St George's Chapel. The Chapel is a quite magnificent fan-vaulted space.

We left the Chapel to observe the Guard being changed and had glance at the building opposite the Chapel, which appears to be accommodation for elderly courtiers and staff.

A wonderful and successful visit. We may be back since UK visitors are given a voucher for a free visit in the following year.