2008 Glastonbury visitis

The last of my very long posts, as 2008 was the last year I kept my web site up to date. The last few to bring us up to the present I will post as separate visits.

2008 Glastonbury visits

Sat 16th Feb 2008, visit 55

I went down to Somerset to stay with a friend  who lives not far from Glastonbury. We visited Burrow Mump, and Meare Fish House first. The latter was an outlying part of the abbey.  We went on into Glastonbury and had lunch at Rainbow's End and had a quick scoot round the shops. I popped into the White Spring and then we climbed the Tor. It was clear and sunny but very cold. Then we had a wander round the gardens which were full of daffodils. Sunset was watched from the Hood Monument and nearby Walton Hill.


You can see the moon in this one



Robin in the gardens


The angel seat and daffodils


Shadows in the gardens


Me in Rainbow's End

Sat 5th July 2008, visit 56

I had a lovely day in Glastonbury yesterday exept it was a being thwarted by buses day. My first bus was about 10 minutes late but I had left myself plenty of time. Then when I got to Bristol there wasn't an 8.30 376, I had looked at the Monday to Friday timetable. If I had known I would have pottered about Temple Meads station for a while! I got the 9am bus in the end and got down there just after 10, and as it was sunny I went straight to the gardens. It was way too windy to go up the Tor! I spent ages in the gardens, sitting in
various places, thinking and reading. I am re-re-reading "Mists of Avalon" at the moment and one of my favourite chapters is the one where Morgaine has strayed into the faery country, about half way through the book. I happened to get as far as that chapter on Friday evening so I saved it to read, and sat in the summerhouse in the gardens to read it. 

I went round to the White Spring too but it was't open.

Then I went and wandered round the shops, lots of new ones have opened. There is one which sells lots of bath smellies, and an ice cream shop, and some gift shops and one called The Cat and Cauldron which is owned by the same people who own The Magick Box. My favourites are still "The Magick Box" and "The Goddess and the Green Man" and for books, "Growing Needs" which is where I bought three of the books I bought. I had lunch in Rainbow's End, cheddar and broccoli quiche, with salad. Then I resumed shopping. I had time to have a wander round the abbey too but by then it was just starting to rain and was chilly so I had a quick wander then had a nice warming hot chocolate. 





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Sun 24th Aug 2008, Visit 57>

A friend and I had a lovely day yesterday which turned into an ancient sites tour :)) We left here just after 8, and went via the A303, so of course we went past Stonehenge. Only we didn't go past- it was already open when we got there so we went and visited. It had been raining really hard but it was just stopping as we got there, and it was fairly quiet as it was early. No hares this time. (I had a close encounter with a hare when I visited in June 2008)

Then we headed on down to Glastonbury and arrived about 11am. Much much shopping was done! I still had some birthday money left so I spent that on a patchwork skirt in lovely shades of blue, a Celtic ring with a crescent moon in the middle, a little book of views of Britain from above, and a pewter hare pendant which came from the Chalice Well, a moongazing hare figure. I also bought a silver hair clip, patchwork trousers, some Jasons natural hair care stuff, and a black bag with a picture of the Tor on it

Then we went to the gardens. It was a healing weekend there, so there were lots of marquees pitched all over. So they were very busy. Then we climbed the Tor and it was lovely up there. I have never been up there at that sort of time of day before, with the sun in that position in the sky. If I am down for the day I will usually have been there earlier in the day, morning or early afternoon, because of getting buses home. The sunlight on the tower was perfect so many photos were taken. We stayed up there quite a while. 

Then we headed to Avebury for the sunset. Sadly the sun didn't want to play and decided to set behind a big bank of clouds so there wasn't much colour except a bit of pink tinge. But we had a wander and had a hot drink in the pub as it was chilly by then, and had a bit of an after dark wander. Then headed home and I got in about 10pm. 








Wed/Thur 5th/6th Nov 2008, Visit 58

This was a special visit because it was my 20th anniversary visit. 5th Nov 1988, a Saturday, was my first. 

Wed 5th Nov

I went down for an overnight stay with my friend Anne. We were booked into Chalice Well Lodge. We had a leisurely drive down via Marlborough, where we stopped for coffee, Devizes, From, Trowbridge and Shepton Mallet. I don't drive so most of my Glastonbury visits are by public transport, but this cross country route is my favourite one. 

We arrived about 1, and parked at the Abbey then had some lunch in Heapheys, then we had a quick wander round the shops. At 3, we went to the Chalice Well to check in.. and they had had some cancellations for Little St Michaels so we were able to stay there. We had Holy Thorn room which I hadn't stayed in before.

We had a quick walk round the gardens, then as dusk is early in November, we went up the Tor. It was very grey and overcast all weekend, so there wasn't a sunset but it was still nice being on the Tor at dusk, and seeing the lights come on in the town. When we got back to the well I had a quick walk round the gardens in the dark. Then we went into town for fish and chips at Knights. We had another night time walk round the gardens before retiring with hot drinks.

Thur 6th Nov

I had a walk round the gardens in the early morning, the only other person about was one of the gardeners, it was lovely. That is why I love staying at the well, being able to have access to the gardens at any time. We had breakfast then headed into town.

We had a really long wander round the Abbey ruins and grounds, looking gorgeous in autumn colours despite it being so grey and overcast. The colours made it better for photography, otherwise it would have been dull. Then we met one of my Livejournal friends, Laura, for lunch in Rainbow's End, my favourite eatery. We had time to just finish our shopping before heading home via the same route as before only with a very short coffee stop at Avebury.

Although I have been to Glastonbury so many times, because it has been spread over 20 years, it averages about at about 3 visits a year and to put that into contect,  visit London more. But London doesn't have a spiritual pull!

I took over 500 photos, my most ever anywhere. Here are a couple of my favourites


View from our room.


The Sanctuary


The flash was firing on my camera so the inside of the tower lit up.


Our room


There was no water flowing into the Vesica pond so the water was still.

Abbey in autumn.

I also created a set on Flickr.

Glastonbury 20th anniversary visit

Some of the people I have visited Glastonbury with have been various online friends who I since lost touch with, hence some names being omitted!

2007 Glastonbury visits

2007 Glastonbury visits

Sat 17th Feb 2007, visit 50

"Oh how I LOVE Glastonbury :) I really do. After 18.5 years since my first visit, after so many visits, I still so look forward to going there and to just being there. I said Ugg when the alarm went off but funnily enough I woke easily. Admittedly I did doze on the train to Bristol, but dozing on trains is allowed as long as you don't sleep through your stop. I love the bus journey down from Bristol through Mendip villages with magical names like Temple Cloud. Cloudy it was so I didn't get the first glimpse of the Tor that you usually get going down the hill into Wells. But it came into view just after Wells.

I took lots and lots of photos!


One thing which made me really happy was that the White Spring, which is housed in a somewhat dingy Victorian reservoir building, seems to have been opened up into a proper shrine at last. They have made a proper flow for the spring and there are lovely paintings and little shrines and greenery all over. I really hope it is going to stay like that, it felt really special. I took a lot of photos there.

Daffodils were out in the Chalice Well Gardens and even though it started to rain when I was  there it was beautiful as ever.

My legs behaved too! They didn't ache or feel heavy or get tired. They carried me up the Tor  and even carried me into town to get my bus home when I got back to Oxford. Which I think it another indication that I have RLS- it does ease the more you use your legs. Thank you legs.

I was very restrained buying things wise. I bought the winter Avalon magazine, a few cards and a book "Supernatural" by Graham Hancock." 




It was misty


Windswept on the Tor


The White Spring


Daffodils in the gardens!







Sat/Sun 12/13 May 2007, visit 51

Ann and I went down for a stay at Little St Michael's. We had Yew Room and as Ann was the almost birthday girl she got the double bed this time.

"I have invented a new verb. Te be Glastified. It describes how I feel when I have been to Glastonbury. Blissed out and mellow. I am Glastified right now. I took 167 photos... and 42 video clips!! I didn't achieve my ambition to fill the whole of my 1gb memory card but I will down there one day... I am determined.

It was soggy during parts of the weekend, heavy showers on saturday but with sunny bits inbetween, and today it was wet all day though the worst of it seemed to have passed by the time I got home to Oxford. In fact it is sunny here now. We did manage to have an hour at the Abbey yesterday in the dry though, and to get into town and back to eat last night without getting rained on.

We were in Yew room at Little St. Michaels this time, which has a single bed, and a double bed in an alcove. Ann had the double this time as she is the almost birthday girl. It is a lovely room and you can see into the gardens. We had a wander there when we first arrived, I had another one when we got back and we also had a night time walk which is one of the things I love about being able to stay at Little St. Michaels, you get 24 hour access to the gardens. We spent the afternoon in town shopping and at the abbey, and also had tea at the Abbey Tea Rooms. We ate at 100 Monkeys last night, first time for both and it was lovely, I had pan fried bream with mixed veg in a cucumber and dill sauce. This morning it was very wet so a lie in was had till 9. I then had a walk round the gardens in the rain, I had them all to myself apart from some birds for company, and I took a lot of little video clips. Then we went into town.  We took over a table in Heapheys cafe for 90 minutes during which time we did have a couple of cups of coffee and I had scrambled egg with salmon on toast for lunch. 

Journeys home were very smooth and Poppy was pleased to see me.

I spent yesterday afternoon carrying a very large cuddly toy hippo round Glastonbury, which is probably the one place in the UK where you can get away with that. Now why did I do that? Well my manager John collects hippos so I keep a look out for them. I got him a glass one in Venice. This one was in a toy shop sitting in the window looking all forlorn. So I went in and asked a variation on a question.. how much is that hippo in the window. Believe it or not he was only £3.00 so I bought him for John! They didn't have a bag big enough for him though so I ended up carrying under my arm until a very kind lady serving in The Psychic Piglet came to my rescue and gave me a bag!!

I bought some more natural shampoo, conditioner and soap, a faery incense stick holder, a Tor card, a booklet about Glastonbury in the 17th Century when it was briefly a spa town, a book about faeries in the West Country and a CD by Llewellyn, Faerielore."


Me with the Hippo



New painting on the wall of the Glastonbury Experience.


Tor from the Abbey.

Abbey ruins


Gardens from our window.




Vesica pond at night

Sat 14th July 2007, visit 52

"Glastified. I think I may have used that word before, it describes how I feel when I have immersed myself in my beloved Glastonbury landscape. I bring the magical feeling back with me and it lasts for a day or two.

What a strange mixed up journey I had. The train I planned to get from Oxford to Didcot was cancelled :(( I was well fed up by that as the next one only left five minutes to change trains at Didcot. Then the next one which started from Oxford was late arriving. Grrr. So I had more or less resigned myself to missing the Bristol train at Didcot and having to wait an hour for the next one. Got to Didcot and the Bristol train was still at the platform. So I legged it, grabbing my long skirt as I ran so as not to trip up... and made it to the train! There were a lot of other people doing the same, so I realised they had done a fairly rare thing and held the train! Phew. Then when I got to Bristol I realised I might be just in time for the bus before the one I had planned getting to Glastonbury. And I was... just. It was already at the bus stop but with a queue of people getting on it. So after a shaky start I ended up in Glastonbury 30 minutes head of schedule.

There are a few things which have to be done every visit to Glastonbury and two of them are have a coffee in Heaphey's cafe, and lunch in Rainbow's End. The latter is my fave eatery anywhere, it is a vegetarian/vegan/wholefood cafe and does the best food I have ever tasted. I had a veggie lasagne and I want to know why mine never taste like that!

The tor was climbed and the gardens visited and lots of photos taken. Plus a few video clips. I plan to put some of those on That Funny Hill (which I really must try and work on one evening a week) so people can have a virtual visit courtesy of me! 

I spent some of my birthday money from my mum on a gorgeous Goddess scarf and 3 books. 

I now have to come back out of the mists and do a food shop and hoover upstairs."


In Star Child, they sell Phillipa Bowers' sculptures now.


Stormy skies



View of Brent Knoll.

In the tower


Entrance to the White Spring


In the gardens





Thur 9th Aug 2007, visit 53

I had a day out in Glastonbury on my own during my two week summer break from work.

"Journey was nice and smooth and in fact I was in Bristol in time for an earlier than planned bus. So I got to Glastonbury just after 10. I had planned on going into town first for a coffee, but as it was so lovely and I had water with me I decided to go straight to the tor. So I got off the bus at the top of High Street. I decided to walk along Wellhouse Lane and up the tor by what I call the back route- the NE route which is shorter but steeper. I don't often go up that way so it made a nice change and I took lots of photos. There was a herd of cows on top and they had left calling cards which provided endless amusement for children.. look mummy, poo! I took care to avoid them too! I sat and just let the world go by for about 15 minutes in a couple of places. There weren't many people up there and it was perfect weather, highs of about 23C, not humid and with a bit of a breeze. I'll take that all summer please.

Then I walked back down the usual way along the crest of the hill, with frequent photo pauses, to the gardens. They were really fully in bloom, flowers in all hues everywhere and I saw a dragonfly too. I spent about an hour there, wandering round and sitting in various places, just being and listening to birdsong and the waters flowing. There seems to be a problem with the water in the flowform at the moment. Instead of flowing down through that it is bubbling up next to the bottom of it, in one of the troughs at the side of the Vesica pool. I hazard a guess a pipe underground has come adrift. It was while I was sat there that I took my shaft of light photo, which I didn't realise until I downloaded them.

Then I made my way to town for lunch, cauliflower cheese crumble and green leafy salad with elderflower presse to drink at Rainbow's End. Then I had a wander round the shops, but I didn't seem to be in a shopping mood. I don't buy everything I see and like anymore. In fact I have been getting out of that habit for ages now. I looked at a lovely skirt, a diary, jewellery, and decided- no I don't need those things. I did buy three books though.

"Marco and the Blade of Light" by Thom Madley, the second in his series of teen books which are set in Glastonbury.

"Looking for Arthur" by Richard Leviton, described as a Once and Future Travelogue, which is also set in Glastonbury.

"A Knock at the Door" by Angi Sullins and Silas Toball, a delightful faery book with amazing illustrations and a DVD. If you click on the link to Durwaigh Gallery in my links, you can see a preview. The sort of book to read through just before sleep.

Then as I still had plenty of time before my 4.05 bus, I went to the Abbey and had a lovely hour there wandering about. They have an outdoor cafe open in summer so I had a drink there, sat in the shade watching the world go by. Then I just wandered, stopping to take photos.

Then it was time for the bus and the journey home. There was a signalling problem at Bath so the train I got went fast to Swindon, where I was changing so I was one person not inconvenienced by that! I got home about 8.15 

It was a lovely day. 

I put a set of photos from this visit on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jackiesjottings/sets/72157607645774259/

Sat/Sun 20th/21st oct 2007, visit 54

Sat 20th oct 07

I went down for an overnight stay in Oak Room at Little St. Michaels with my friend Ann. We arrived too early to have our room so we left our cases in the office and had an hour wandering round the gardens, beautiful as ever. There is now a new circular bench where the spring in the Millenium wall in the meadow was. Also repair work was being done to the Lions Head so the water for collecting and drinking was being channeled by hosepipe down into Arthur's Court.

After checking in and having lunch, we went into town to do some shopping. I bought a small sketchpad, silver glittery Goddess wall plaque decorated with silver glitter, bar of apple soap, turquoise glitter in a shaker and a book, "Solstice at Stonewylde",  the latest in a series I have been reading. Plus a few odds and ends as presents. We had afternoon tea at the Abbey Tea Room, I had a lovely piece of apple and blackberry crumble with ice cream. We were going to have a walk in the Abbey grounds but they had closed so we did some more shopping instead.

Then we went to watch the sun set from the Tor. It wasn't the most spectacular sunset ever but it was pretty enough and the light was gorgeous, golden and orange and pink. There were quite a few people up there. I took loads of photos. After we came back down we got a Chinese takeaway then had a night time walk in the gardens. I spent some time in the meditation room at Little St. Michaels, and we also sat and read in the lounge.

Sun 21st oct 07

I had already decided that if I woke up early enough for the dawn I was going up the Tor again. I woke at 7.30 so I did! The sun was just above the horizon when I got up there, and it was gorgeous. There was a bit of mist over the Somerset levels and once again the light was woderful, really soft and gentle. I took loads more photos and I felt quite exhilarated (or Glastified as I call it). After breakfast I went for a walk round the gardens while Ann sat on the swing seat in the sun. Then we went into town for coffee. It was warm enough to sit outside. We also had a walk in the Abbey ruins and kicked through autumn leaves and I took more photos!