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A kingdom united, is what it's called and I went with great expectations. Half of my ancestry originates there and I expected to feel something deeper than a typical visitor might. I'd done the family ancestry dating back almost 600 years, knew who and from where people I never knew but were part of me had lived their lives prior to coming to Australia in the early 1800's and I knew some of what occurred in those lives but I carried some trepidation along with me...until I got there and felt like I was home. 

I'm talking about the United Kingdom (UK) and, for this particular trip, specifically England. 

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I have a lot of photos, some of which I've shared previously and some I never will, and a lot of memories besides. I can't call out one or even several aspects or places of the trip that I'd call the best because to me it was all *the best* and singling out a few photos is always going to be difficult. What's consistent is the lack of photography skills I have so these are not very amazing images, but to me they are because the trip was one of the most amazing several weeks I've spent abroad. 

#### Tintagel (above)

Here's some photographs from that trip beginning with the main image above taken overlooking the remains of the castle at Tintagel, Cornwall which you can see in the distance including the little bridge over the crevasse that goes all the way down to the sea. It was built in the 1230's and is linked with myth and legend around King Arthur. 
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### Shaftsbury

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This is a steep cobbled street, called Gold Street in Shaftsbury, Dorset. It's side (right of shot) runs along the buttressed walls and grounds of Shaftsbury Abbey which was built in around AD 888 by King Alfred the Great. It holds an excellent museum now which was certainly worth our trip to Shaftsbury to see. I may do a separate post on it at some later date. The street was super-cool though, and *steep.* 
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#### Lydford

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This doesn't look like much but it's actually a Norman castle found in Lydford, Devon. There's also a very cool ring-work there as well which we walked out to see, (an earthwork fort), which was the first defensive fort (circa 1068) raised in the area but after being abandoned the new (stone) one was constructed in 1195. We were able to wander inside and even up into the tower you see pictured and there was literally no one else around. It had somewhat of an eerie feel to it, almost malevolent, and considering some of its dark past I'm not surprised. 
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#### Durgan

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I photographed this shot from Durgan, a hamlet at Mawnan, Cornwall right on the banks of the Helford River over which the shot is taken. It's a beautiful location, so peaceful. To get to the river one needs to meander through the lovely Glendurgan Gardens which follow a valley down to the river and includes a cool (and large) hedge maze and it's quite beautiful. We sat and soaked it in surrounded by almost perfect quiet other than natural sounds, not difficult considering it only consists of about ten buildings. 

#### Bath

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we spent several days in Bath, (not *a bath*), and its surrounds. Our accommodation was simply beautiful and there is a lot to do including ranging out for day trips. It's famous for housing the ancient Roman baths but the hot springs there date back way beyond the Romans. I have been meaning to do a post on the Roman baths for a long time but haven't gotten around to it, but will someday. Above you can see a simple scene, the Pulteney Weir on the River Avon which pretty much encircles half of Bath. 

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This isn't at all a good picture, probably markedly worse than the rest, but it's a cool building called the Royal Crescent, also in Bath - a semi-circular structure that borders a large open park area. It's unique in that each of the 30 premises were sold and built individually so from behind it looks haphazard and not at all uniform with each original owner building differently leaving only the front facade in the same style. Prices to buy into it now vary but average at around £1 million. There's a cool little museum at one end and it's from an open window I took this image - it's worth a visit to walk through one of these exclusive terrace homes which appears as it would have in 1767–1774 when it was built.
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#### Marazion

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Here's something quite different. In the morning we were in a small boat crossing the ocean right over the very path I stood on to take this image at St Michael's Mount, Marazion, Cornwall. When the tide goes out it's possible to walk across the ancient causeway as we are doing in the image. It's a very old place, a priory since the 8th century and castle which is still lived in today by the St Aubyn family who gifted the entire thing to the National Trust back in the 1950's but retained a 999 year lease to live in it as well. Many parts of it are open to the public and there's a small permanent community living on the island. I need to do a post on this one of these days and show some of my other images. This one is cool though, considering not long after I walked that path it was under water again. If you're in the area it's worth seeing this place, but be warned, it's closed all winter. 
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#### Clovelly

Finally (I'm sure you can't wait for this to end) is a super-cool place called Clovelly, in Devon. This coastal town is perched on a few steep cobbled streets that drop away to the sea and a little harbour and interestingly it's privately owned. originally the estate belonged to William the Conqueror, first Norman king of England (b. 1028 - d. 1087) and eventually passed through to a descendant of the Hamlyn family (who had acquired it in 1738) who heads up the Clovelly Estate Company to this day. It's an awesome place to visit, amazing views, history, donkeys (used to transport sleds up and down which is how locals move their goods like groceries around) good food (and ice cream) to eat and just a nice place over all. Get ye to the pub at the bottom, you'll love it. 

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The estate encompasses around 80 cottages where people can apply to live, a couple of chapels, some 2000 acres of farming land plus wooded areas as well, I assume where hunting took place back in the old days. At the top is a huge car park (no cars allowed in the village) and a large visitors centre which caters for the tourists - and takes their money for entry and souvenirs. It's been a huge tourism success and it is easy to see why. I've only dropped a couple images of the harbour but will possibly do some more later down the track and I've actually done a full post on the location with a heap of images a few years ago which you can find amongst the 4,000-plus posts I've done on Hive. 

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That brings me to the end of this little post showing a few images from the UK. I'm sure I'll do some more from the UK at some stage but for now if you have any questions or thoughts feel free to write them in the comments. 

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*Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised* - galenkp

<sub>[Original and AI free]</sub>
<sub>Image(s) in this post are my own</sub>