I’ve no idea what they looked like before they were redeveloped but now the quays were pretty spectacular. All the old large warehouses had been renovated and given over to the museum, sundry businesses and up-market flats. Certainly the marina itself was delightful and a very pleasant place to pass some quiet time (when the flipping bells weren’t pealing anyway).
We made our way passed the marina and briefly stopped at the Gloucestershire Regiment Museum where Nat and Hannah proceeded to climb all over a vintage armoured car. I thought Deb was in the museum shop but it turned out she’d continued on without us and so we hurried to catch her up. Eventually we met up and walked on toward the cathedral. On the way we stopped off at the Beatrix Potter shop where the kids entered a free ballon contest and each received a free goody bag…which was nice.
WHERE ARE THE PHOTOS OF THE SHOP
The Cathedral was immediately through an archway located next to the shop and very soon we were inside this ancient edifice and away from the noise of the incessantly ringing cacophony outside.
Whether one is religious or not (we aren’t, quite the opposite) you can’t fail to be impressed by the sheer grandeur of these medieval constructs built to any the glory of God. They are simply breathtaking and to think they were built by men equipped with only the simplest tools adds to their grandeur.
Despite our lack of religious convictions the kids both lit a candle in memory of Katie, their sister, who was still born on 23 September 1999.
Gloucester Cathedral will be appear very familiar to millions across the World as many of the scenes from the various Harry Potter films, which were set in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, were filmed here. As soon as one is made aware of this one begins to recognise things that had already seemed oddly familiar. For example the corridor pictured below.
By now we were all a little peckish so we visited the café where Nat had one of their special pies (?????) Han had a local ice-cream and Deb and I a drink. This of course didn’t stop us visiting Nandos shortly after for a proper meal.
Eventually we left the cathedral and proceeded to explore Gloucester itself. The majority of shops appeared to be open and I was able to get some great photos of some of the older buildings. We tried to find a GamesWorkshop for Nat who was desperate to buy a Warhammer book but were unable to locate the shop that the tourist info bureau had directed us toward. I nearly bought a Pulse Mini Android mobile (£30!!!) when I passed a T-Mobile shop and noticed they had some on sale (they’ve vanished from their website). Eventually we made our way back to the Quay and from there made our way to a local Nando’s for lunch. None of us had ever been in one before, they specialise in spicy chicken dishes, and it was very pleasant and the staff were particularly helpful. Deb, unfortunately, the wimp, found even the mild dishes too spicy so no doubt we’ll not visit one again. After this we toured the mall before returning to the car and heading off for a brief visit to the Forest of Dean.
The FoD is beautiful and we stopped very briefly at the visitor centre but decided not to pay to visit the museum as this was expensive and it was getting late. We did stop to admire the wood carvings and outsized pieces of furniture that were being made in an open air workshop located next to the car park.
After this we enjoyed a leisurely drive back to Stouts Hill and spent the rest of the day there.
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