We took a day road trip through parts of southern England that included Portsmouth and the old English capital Winchester. First stop along the way was an old Roman village recreation with some other older huts and dwellings primarily from the Iron Age. It was very educational. For instance, we learned that during the Iron Age an important ingredient in dying fabric was urine, which helped stop the colour from washing out. Cow dung was an important ingredient when making daub for the walls as it made the mixture elastic so the walls wouldn’t crack when the house moved. In Portsmouth we saw the Dday museum and then went to the harbour to tour an old Victoria era warship. From there we travelled to Winchester and visited a 1000 year old cathedral. This is where one of England’s greatest novelists, Jane Austen, is buried. Finally, we proceeded to the Great Hall of Winchester. This is one of the finest surviving medieval halls and it contains the legendary Round Table, famous for centuries for its links with the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
