(Here we are) In England's green and pleasant land

Travel does wonders for brain training (and, hopefully, for delaying dementia). After a fortnight of stumbling through the German language and looking LEFT before stepping onto the road, it's all change. Keep calm and look right. Say 'cheers' and 'tea for two, please'. Wait patiently and without complaint for your checked baggage to arrive from Zurich. But that's another story...

It's always a pleasure to whip out our Oyster cards and ride British rails, which has been on today's agenda. But we've also clocked up some miles on England's highways and byways this past weekend.

Thanks to our welcoming hosts, Julie and Richard (we've been turning up on their London doorstep since 1984), we've gained a glimpse into two very different worlds in recent days.

Down House and gardens

Down House, in countryside an hour or so south of London,  was the home of Charles Darwin for 40 years. He and his beloved wife and first cousin, Emma, lived most of their married lives there, raising a large family. Darwin, of course, did a whole lot more. This was where he spent much time thinking, corresponding, observing and carrying out numerous scientific experiments, leading to the publication of On the Origin of the Species in 1859.

Now managed by English Heritage,  the house and gardens tell the story of the life and work of this remarkable man. If you're interested, there's more here .

Carnivorous plants - another of
Darwin's interests

Despite his undeniable genius and capacity for hard work, I was left with an over-riding impression of a family man, in the best sense of that expression. He was kind. He clearly loved his family, he played with his children and involved them in his experimental work. Not bad for a Victorian gentleman.

The following day's road trip was a little more ambitious, in both distance and scale. Dover Castle is easy to miss if you are determined on catching the ferry to Calais. We've done the London to Dover drive in the past without lifting our eyes to the impressive fortress on the hilltop overlooking those well-known white cliffs. But Sunday's trip was a revelation. There has been a settlement on the cliffs since even before Roman times. What remains today is a well-cared-for complex of ancient structures supported by excellent signage, knowledgeable tour guides,  and ample opportunities for cups of tea.

A falconry demonstration in costume: what
 could be more English?

As castle newbies, we were fortunate to be with cousin Richard, who helped to make sense of keeps and corridors, moats and medieval tunnels, World War II's Operation Dynamo and so much more.

To complete the experience, there was pie and gravy in the NAAFI  canteen for lunch, with ice creams to sustain us for the motorway-congested journey home.

Here's  a link to the English Heritage site with more info about Dover Castle.

'Step into England's story' is the promotional tagline used by English Heritage. And telling stories is what they do so well. For me, the story of one man who changed the world of science resonated as much as the story of a magnificent castle that has stood for centuries on a strategic headland in the south of England.

Today's expedition involved the aforementioned Oyster travel cards as we made our way from London to Oxford by train. Bruce's father's family came to New Zealand from a small village in Oxfordshire in the 1880s. We were searching for roots!

After picking up a rental car, we pottered around the impossibly beautiful village of Buckland, looking for evidence of any family burials in the churchyard.

Looking for dead people...

With no joy there, we travelled further afield to other equally beautiful hamlets. There was no luck to be had today in terms of dead relatives but we had unwittingly wandered into what Google Maps referred to prosaically as 'Cotswolds AONB'.

It certainly was an Area Of Natural Beauty. The soft yellow Cotswold limestone, an occasional thatched roof and the leafy country lanes  conjured up an England that seemed more in tune with Darwin's life than it did 2017. But that's England for you. Full of contradictions.

Midsomer Murders, anyone?