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| A very happy Sophie walking up to receive her PhD on Thursday |
A big
advantage of mooring right outside Waitrose is that we can wander over and get
free coffees whenever we want one. I know we have to buy something to get a free cup of coffee but it's easy to buy one thing at a time when we're so close! We have been taking our china mugs with us and have only just realised
that we are meant to use cups with lids which I assume is a health & safety thing. Still, no one stops us, and it
definitely tastes better from a proper mug.
Another
advantage is that Judith & Nigel live just around the corner so are able to
pop into the boat to see us for coffee and cake every so often. Judith & Nigel and a group of their
friends meet in a coffee shop in Aylesbury every morning. The group regularly take walks around the Aylesbury
area where one of them takes the lead and explains points of interest whether
they be geographical, historical, architectural, natural or some other topic that takes the leader's fancy. We think this is a great idea as it helps
spread knowledge and there is nothing better that being taught by someone who
is enthusiastic about their subject.
My middle
daughter, Lauren, is marrying Lewis at the weekend so Karen and I popped into a
hairdresser on Tuesday morning to have our hair tidied up. What with Sophie’s graduation on Thursday and
the wedding we’ve got some good family times coming up over the next few
days.
On
Wednesday I joined the ‘coffee shop’ tour where Peter led the group out to the
deserted medieval settlements of Quarrendon which are a couple of miles to the
west of Aylesbury. We didn't both go as Buddy wasn't well so Karen stayed on the boat to look after him.
On the way we walked
through Aylesbury old town and Julie explained the history of some of the
old buildings including the original grammar school. The brick wall outside the school was covered
in marks where the children used to sharpen their slate pencils which they used to write on their slates.
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| Marks where schoolchildren sharpened their slate pencils |
Quarrendon
was really interesting and consists of two deserted village sites. The first site was believed to have inhabited
from around the sixth century and, in the medieval period moved to a more suitable location practically
next to the original site.
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| Aerial view of the first settlement (from Buckinghamshire Conservation Trust) |
It was
fascinating as the layouts of the villages in terms of streets and building
plots can still be made out. Between the two settlements was a large Elizabethan
manor house which, in itself, was also interesting. The house was built by Henry Lee, the founder
of Aylesbury grammar school and a respected figure in Queen Elizabeth’s
court. As part of the manor house he
built elaborate water gardens surrounded by high walkways which can still be
walked along today.
A further
feature of the site are earthworks from the Civil War which were used during
the Battle of Aylesbury in 1642.
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| Looking up one of the streets of the second settlement to the Civil War earthworks |
The whole
area, covering 25 acres, is now protected and being looked after by the Buckinghamshire
Conservation Trust. Clearly, Peter explained far more than I have covered here but if you're ever in the area then it's well worth paying a visit.
The name
Quarrendon is derived from the Old English, Cweorndun, meaning ‘hill where mill
stones were found’ (mill stones are also called querns). We have always thought that
millstones were made from millstone grit which is generally found in the hill
ranges like the Pennines so it was odd to find this derivation in a relatively
flat landscape where millstone grit doesn’t feature.
We were leaving for Sophie’s graduation
on Thursday morning when we found out that CRT were finishing the works on lock
16 a couple of days early. This means
boats can now leave the basin and we know that at least two of them will go
whilst we are away for the next few days.
It’ll be interesting to see if they are replaced by other boaters by the
time we return.
Sophie’s doctorate was entitled,
“Representation
of Contemporary Feminist Protest in Germany and the UK” and was the result of
three years hard work following receiving her Masters in German Studies. After the graduation 14 of us celebrated with a good meal in a
local Lebanese restaurant.
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| I can’t resist including this happy picture 😊 |
By the way, Buddy is now nearly
recovered having had gastroenteritis and therefore not eating anything for
three days. He must have found something
dodgy on the towpath but a visit to the local vet for anti-vomiting injections
etc. seems to have sorted him out in time for the wedding 😉
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