England 2025 Day 1

Today began my latest travel, this time to England. I haven’t been back to England, for a trip, since 2000. I’ve passed through the airport on my way elsewhere several times but this time it was the destination.

I’ll be traveling around the southwest of England to Cornwall and Devon. Then heading up north to the Cotswolds to finish off the trip.

Today I had very simple goals. Grab the car, see a couple of close by sights and don’t crash the car on the way to my first night’s lodging. That last part is always harder than it seems when you have to drive on short sleep.

After picking up the car from the airport, goal one complete, I headed off to my first visit of the trip, Weald & Downland Living Museum. This museum is similar to Old Sturbridge Village in that the homes at the site were moved from other locations to preserve them. The main reason I chose to go to this site is that it was the shooting location for the Tudor Monastic Farm series. An excellent series demonstrating the daily life of the Tudor farming middle class. I did not know that the British TV show Repair Shop is also filmed here.

The buildings range in age from about the 1500’s to the early 1900’s.

I was so excited for this room! It’s where they made the cheese on the Farm show.

House showing the different floors and how they were made.

I loved this chair! It won’t fit in my checked luggage though.

I did grab lunch at the cafe when I first arrived. I was pretty hungry so anything would have been good.

My second stop of the day was the Fishbourne Roman Palace. I found this place by accident when looking for whatever there was to do near my first stop. The palace was also discovered by accident when a construction crew was digging a ditch in the 60’s.

It turned out to be one of the largest Roman palaces ever found in England. All that is really left are foundations and some of the floor mosaics. It was those mosaics that truly interested me!