Hilsea, Portsmouth

Wednesday May 9, Thursday May 10

Wednesday May 9
One thing we don’t seem to lack is the ability to sleep and at 8:30 (as requested), Stephen knocked on our door to make sure we were up.

Stephen and Camille were excited to take us to the Gilbert White House and Garden in Selborne where Stephen  volunteers in the gardens. We headed out the door to the car anxious to be on our way and out of the blue Stephen announced 

“We’re locked out!”

“What do you mean?” asked Camille, alarmed

.

“Well, the door closed and automatically locked and the problem is the key is still in the lock on the other side, so I can’t get the key in the lock from the outside to open the door.”

Incredulously, we checked all the windows, the door into the garage, and the door in the fence on the other side of the house. All were locked. The side door and the back French door were locked as well. The only window open was the top quarter of a tiny little bathroom window. I knew there was no way we could manage to slide through that window without breaking it and ripping our bodies on the broken glass!  It was like being on a deserted island and returning to your boat to find it had sunk to the bottom of the ocean!! Acting quickly, Stephen set off to see if he could rouse a neighbour to use their phone and call a locksmith, and soon he was back with good news. We had about an hour and a half to pass so Ray and Stephen went off to do an errand and Camille and I took Gemma for a walk around a nearby pond. 

A beautiful white swan on its nest

The locksmith arrived almost on the dot of 1:30 p.m. and within 30 seconds had the door open!! It must be quite a common occurrence because he had a huge big S shaped tool that he pushed through the letter box and opened the door from the inside. We had tried this using a coat hangar!!  It only cost 118 pounds – about Cdn 205!! An expensive lesson!

So, after our exciting little adventure, we set off to Selborne and parked behind a pub where we thought we could have lunch. Unfortunately, the pub stopped serving food at 2:00 p.m. and it was exactly 2:00, so the chap told us they were closed for lunch. He followed us out of the pub and muttered under his breath to us “….besides, we’ve sold out of food!!” Odd for a pub! Anyway, undaunted we had a lovely walk through town and stopped at the “Selborne Tea Room.” I suspect it must have been a very busy lunch time for the restaurant owners in town as the woman serving in the Tea Room was a little snippy, and short on “customer service”. That said she was also clearing the tables and wiping them, collecting all the dirty dishes, and wiping up the kitchen area, all on her own. There didn’t seem to be anyone else around to give her a hand. There were two other customers in the little restaurant. So, about 45 minutes after we arrived in the restaurant, we got our. The sandwiches. The food was delicious! 

A house in Selborne covered with wisteria

A beautiful thatched roof

Horse weathervane - Selborne

We entered the Gilbert White House and toured the rooms which are set up for the period of 1640 and illustrate some of the discoveries of Gilbert White who was an avid naturalist. One of the other owners of the home was the explorer Frank Oates who, amongst other world travels including Africa and South America, completed an expedition to the Antarctic with Scott, but who unfortunately died on the trip at the age of 32. It was all extremely interesting.

The old kitchen

View from a window

The ponies on the Antartic expedition

But it was the gardens that I truly felt at home in. I don’t know how much acreage there was, but the grounds spread from the house up to the “hangar” – which is local dialect for a ”wooded hill.” As Stephen works in the gardens he gave us a guided tour of all of the flower beds, the cutting beds, the fruit trees, the hops (which are his responsibility), and the greenhouse. It seems that there has been a recent addition of ground so there are some new projects including the building of a brand new tea house as well as the planting of many plants. The methods used to care for these plants and trees replicate the methods used by Gilbert White, according to his extensive diaries.

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Stephen's hard work digging and planting

The hops

Gemma patiently waiting for us

In the evening, we went to the Blue Bell Inn by the quay in Emsworth for a delicious dinner.

The front at Emsworth

Thursday May 10

 On Thursday Stephen and I got up and went for a run. It was a great route around a couple of big ponds. We met lots of dog walkers and other runners; then it was back to the house, eat breakfast, shower, and eventually we set off for the poppy wave at Portsdown Hill and Fort Nelson. The Fort was built in 1859 to fortify the hill from a feared invasion from the English Channel, which incidentally, never happened. None the less, Fort Nelson is a formidable display of guns from around the world. In the midst of what is probably the parade ground, there is a display of ceramic poppies. I think there are about 5000 poppies in this display. It is quite incredible! Poppies were displayed in other places too, and I think there was one poppy made for every soldier’s death

 

A gun from Mandalay in Burma

On our way back to the house we stopped at Titchfield Abbey in Titchfield. The Abbey was built in 1222 for the Premonstratensian canons, an austere order of priests. In 1537 the Abbey was converted to a mansion and called Place House for one of the courtiers of Henry VIII whom you will remember was responsible for the breakup of the monasteries. It was interesting to study the different styles and products of building, and it was obvious that the building had been altered several times. At the back of the Abbey, in the field, some of the original floor tiles were being unearthed. They are apparently the best example of medieval tiles in England. They were covered up by the courtyard when the abbey became a residence.

Medieval cloister tiles unearthed

See the white dove?

Also on the way home we popped into a local nursery where Camille was able to purchase some plants for her garden. I noticed a beautiful fish garden piece...and some colourful flowers!

We finished off the evening with a lovely chicken dinner, and some delicious cheesecake before tumbling into bed and sleep.

Our days have been all go, and like on the Bruce Trail, it is tough to find time to write up my blog. It is a truly beautiful experience to be able to spend time with our friends across the Atlantic.