Rita's Travel-log: Great Britain

by Rita Cochrane

I  had a wonderful trip to Ghana in 2006 to visit my son, but my adventure was not over. Jeff decided to take some additional vacation time, and flew with me to London. Since we did our pre-boarding routine early, we were able to have one last dinner in Accra at a lovely French restaurant near the airport before time to board our plane.

The plane from Accra to London arrived early in the morning. We rented a car, and drove to Bradford on Avon, near the elegant Georgian city of Bath where we'd reserved rooms. What a great choice! We had the use of one wing of Ashbury Farms, a picturesque farmhouse — two bedrooms/two baths upstairs-living room and breakfast room down stairs. The family lived in the other wing of the home. Each morning we were treated to a bountiful breakfast as we watched horses cavorting playfully outside the breakfast room picture window.

Glastonbury Abby

Our plans were to spend my final vacation time traveling the one lane roads that abound in this part of England — visiting the Abbeys and Cathedrals. We visited the cathedral at Wells, the Glastonbury Abbey, where some say King Arthur is buried — a place where Christianity and mysticism seem to co-exist. We encountered the cats of Malesbury Abbey (quite a lot of them, and well-fed too). We also spent some extremely windy and cold time at Avebury and Stonehenge (Avebury, the older and larger — Stonehenge, the more famous), and visited the famous Roman Baths at Bath.

As usual, I loved my interaction with the people. We visited with folks in beautiful, unspoiled little villages and huge cathedrals. We met the locals at pubs in places with charming names like Castle Combe, and people from all over the world-travelers like ourselves.

I left the basic itinerary up to my son since he was driving and he's traveled so much that he's good at finding just the right places to see. There is something magical when you free yourself of appointments, and minimize your scheduling. One day, our plans were to wend our way through some of the villages we thought would be interesting; ending our day at Salisbury Cathedral before heading back toward Bath for dinner. However, our plans changed when we heard the choir practicing for a concert that night. After dinner, we walked back to the cathedral with only the lights from its windows to guide us. How other-worldly it felt to walk through the huge doors and into the sanctuary. As the concert began, I was transported back in time. If you love music as I do, you could have stayed listening through to the next day. Surely God was especially pleased with creation that night.

We spent my last three days in country, hosted by my son's friends Patrick and Kirston, in London. We ate some great food at all sorts of international restaurants, saw an avant-garde play and visited a jazz club. We took a boat on the River Thames from one museum to another, and craned our necks in wonder as we toured St. Paul's Cathedral. I returned home at midnight March 31, and hit the ground running — getting called to the emergency room early the following morning. All turned out well — the trip and the hospital.

Rita Cochrane is Pastor of the West Point, MS Church.