The Wessex Tour – sort of! Day thirteen

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We retrace our steps back along the country park alongside the River Avon and back into the city centre. We are off to explore the museum and some of the old architecture today.  

We don’t get far, seduced by a little café on one side of the shopping centre complex, next to the river. Called ‘Armans’, it sells the most beautiful Spanish and Moorish like light fittings and then the highly coloured and patterned Spanish crockery.

Bowls of all sizes, patterns and bright hues line the shelves whilst above wonderful stain glassed light fittings of all shapes dangle above. It is so atmospheric and charming. You can sit outside on the pavement (too chilly) or grab one of the worn, bare wood, heavily scrubbed tables in one corner of the shop.  The Lattes are large, the atmosphere convivial and we are allowed to read our papers uninterrupted and without any ‘subtle pressure’ to move on.

The local museum is small but very interesting. Rather excellent actually. There was a most unusual but visually stunning exhibition of wood prints. The geographer and dinghy sailor within me was extremely happy as many of these depicted landscape, urban and coastal scenes from the 1700’s right up to the 1960’s. Such intricate works of art – all carved on wood blocks first. Truly extraordinary artisan work.

 One room contained an extraordinary set of artefacts from neolithic times right through to the late medieval period – all local, from the surrounding areas. Arranged in the form of a meandering time line with pull out draws of further exhibits below the glass cases, we spent over an hour just in this one room.

Our educational curiosity sated after two and a half hours, we adjourned  to Carwardines in the city centre for a mid-afternoon ‘late’ lunch, before we strolled back to the campsite.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent tidying Bryony up for our departure in the morning and return home along the A303 and A38.

Salisbury has impressed us and we are sure to do a return visit next year to explore the area some more, especially the Durrington Walls area of Stonehenge.

Useful websites:

 Useful websites:

https://salisburymuseum.org.uk/

https://www.homebazaaruk.com/ (Arman’s café)