Road Trip: Cornwall to the Cotswolds Part 2

Breakfast at the Manor House is prepared by William and served in a conservatory recently attached to this 15^th century house, its stout pillars and solid beams blending well with the general air of permanence.

Today we head east to roam the areas of Somerset where relatives were born, baptised, married and buried several hundred years ago. But first we're planning to check out the Roman mosaic floor at Taunton Castle, now the Museum of Somerset, which was warmly recommended by William last evening as we sat sipping orange juice in the garden at the Manor House.

We park in the nearby Tesco car park and walk around the corner to the state-of-the-art museum. The Roman mosaic is in wonderful condition. The Roman Villa was discovered in Low Ham, Somerset, in 1938 and the site excavated from 1945. The floor dates to around AD 350 and is the oldest object in Britain to tell a complete story. The mosaic records the tragic love of Dido and Aeneas, a story from Virgil's epic, The Aeneid.

Roman Mosaic Floor circa AD 350

Section of Roman Mosaic Floor

Another fascinating display is the Shapwick hoard, a pile of Roman silver coins, 9238 to be precise, one of the largest hoards ever found in Britain. The hoard was buried under the floor of a Roman Villa around AD 225.

Shapwick Hoard 9238 Roman Silver Coins

The rest of the day sees us meandering around the lanes of Somerset in the footsteps of those long-dead relatives. They lived and died in little villages with those English-sounding names like Kingsbury Episcopi, East Lambrook, Lopen and Chillington. When last I came this way in 2010, the church doors were open and I could sit quietly in the church and picture those long ago weddings, baptisms and funerals, the churches being unchanged for hundreds of years. Sadly for us, the church doors are, apparently, no longer open to welcome visitors on days that are not Sunday. I don't know why that is.

A baptism. Chillington

 A wedding. Kingsbury Episcopi

A funeral. Lopen

Our day ends in Salisbury where we walk the short distance from our hotel to the majestic Salisbury Cathedral, closed at this hour but we shall return in the morning. 

Salisbury Cathedral