We said goodbye to London today and, being fearful of driving on the left side of the road in London, took a taxi to Heathrow airport to pick up a rental car.
From there it was a short 10 mile drive to our first stop: Windsor Castle. Or it should have been a short 10 mile drive; our GPS was configured to show north-always-up rather than what I’m used to, which is forward-always-up. By the time that confusion was cleared up I had driven another 10 miles out of our way, and in an effort to not insult those in cars near us, spoke ever so eloquently in what I’m told is French.
On to Windsor! The Queen was not in residence this weekend – I suppose she was wagering on the ponies at Ascot – so we took the audio tour instead.
The Windsor Castle Quadrangle
Kevin and Sarah in front of the quadrangle.
Kevin at Eric at Windsor Castle
The next stop was in Runnymede, where the original Magna Carta was signed by King John of England in 1215. The document is considered the founding document of constitutional law, and the American Bar Association has erected a monument on the site to commemorate it.
Kevin and Eric at the ABA's commemorative monument at Runnymede
On top of the hill overlooking Runnymede is the Royal Air Forces Memorial, where 20,000 members of the Commonwealth Air Forces are remembered. These are airmen who lost their lives over the British Isles and Europe in WWII and have no known graves. We stopped there to see the listing of Sarah’s first cousin once removed, Laurence E. Charnaud, who was shot down over the North Sea.
Air Forces Memorial, Runnymede
Flying Officer L.E. Charnaud
An hour and a half later we arrived at our hotel in Salisbury. Tomorrow we’ll tour locally.
The view from atop a hill in Salisbury, though likely not the one Phil Collins sang about.