Cox OE to the UK in 2000

The Cox OE to the UK in 2000

Yvonne and I enjoyed our last trip to the UK and when the opportunity came to go again, we jumped at the chance. The opportunity was the offer of a hand controlled car from Roy Thompson. Roy and Heather treated us royally on our last visit. Roy had had polio the same as me, but was considerably older that me, and was suffering from the late affects of polio. Thus he was not able to drive his car and as Heather had her own one, we were very fortunate in having the loan of his.

This time we flew directly to Heathrow via Wellington, Auckland, Sydney rather than trying to avoid infections by having a number of stops. Unfortunately it didn't work. However on Thursday 18th May 2000 we boarded a Thai Airways Boeing 747-400 to Bangkok via Sydney, and on to Heathrow, arriving at 7-05 AM local time on Thursday. We were met by Rolly Holmes with Roy Thompson's car, and drove to Brimpton via the M4. 

We saw this old mill, now a restaurant
 at Boxford on our first drive

However things soon settled down once we got to Brimpton, where the Thompson's had bought a bungalow after moving from Reading. On the Saturday we spent the day taking short trips while I was  learning to drive Roy's Vauxhall Carlton Estate with its Feeney & Johnson hand-controls. We visited Stone Store in Brimpton and the Manor House in Alderminster.

We stopped to look at Exmoor

Stopped for lunch at Watchet en route to North
Devon

Watchet where the Ancient Mariner left from

On Sunday the 23rd we drove to North Devon, through Watchet, where we had lunch and past Stonehenge. We drove up a steep grade (25%) to Exmoor which was dark and black looking and had very nice views over the ocean. On our way down off the moor we struck a hail storm which made the road very slippery. The we were off to see Georgeham and Croyd where the Prole's (Yvonne's family) had lived  

Passing Stonehenge on our way to North Devon

before coming to New Zealand. In Georgeham which was full of very narrow streets we finally found the local church and cemetery but it was too wet to get out of the car. Then on to Croyde which was very crowded as it is a popular surfing town. 

Coyde, near Georgeham, home of the Proles

The church at Georgeham, where the
Proles may be buried.

Georgeham, we couldnt get out here as there were
 no parking places, too much traffic

Georgeham

We had trouble finding a park and when we did, outside a shop, we couldn't 
find the 
thatched cottage that we has seen photos of, and the shop keeper had not heard of the Prole name.  There was no cemetery and we were tld that in the past, people were buried in Georgeham. We stayed the night at Taunton Travel Lodge, and next morning continued on the M5, calling in at Clevedon but failed to find a supermarket so drove on a minor road to Ponte Island where we were able to get some groceries. I was starving as we had had no breakfast so ate in the car. Next we got back on the M5, and M4 where we tried to get on to the M48 which went over the smaller bridge over the Seven. However we missed the turn and ended up going over the flash new bridge. Our orange badge allowed over the bridge without paying the toll. 

Bryan with a statue of Mr Rolls & Henry V
at Agincourt Square in Monmouth

 
Entering South Wales we checked out the travel lodge we had pre
 booked, then on to Monmouth. We found these lodges convenient for us as they all contained accessible units, were usually available in the area we were visiting and were reasonably priced especially at the weekends. The weather was fine but cold out of the sun. We found a disabled park by the police station, so we felt it was a safe place, then roamed around this historic city. After discussing our future plans at the info centre we continued looking at the sights admiring the buildings and statues. We visited the Nelson Museum, and were impressed with the models, swords and letters.




Tuesday 25th saw us driving down the Ebbw Valley, to see a "real Welsh Valley" and then on to Methyr Tydfil. And on to Breacon Beacons and finally to Abergavenny. We returned to Monmouth for the night.

Bryan tucking in in the Robin
Hood pub

Yvonne outside the Robin Hood
Inn with the Monow Bridge
in the back ground

Raglan castle just out of Monmouth which we visited

Restoring the Abbey at Washford

Next day we set off to Hereford and on to Ullingswick to see the old Skerrett homelands. We found a very small rather spread out village, and finally discovered the church, St Lukes. In the cemetery many of the old headstones had been removed from the cemetery and stacked along the cemetery wall. However the names on many of them had worn away, but I could just make out "Skerrett" on some of them. I managed to get into the church, St Lukes, but could find no mention of my family. Leaving the church we asked passers-by if they knew of any Skerretts, and were directed to an old house with an old man sitting outside called Charlie Skerrett. He knew nothing of his family, but said the house was very old and had always belonged to the Skerrett family. But he said he thought it was built in 1865, by which time our Charles Skerrett had already left fot NZ. Charlie then directed us to a family down the road of two sisters who he thought were descendants of the Skerretts, but when we finally tracked them down, they had no interest in discussing their family with us, so on to Ross-on-Wye to spend the night in their Travel Inn.

On the Thursday we drove to Worcester to see Roys old school and to visit the porcelain factory. Here Yvonne was in her element, with a seconds shop and ???. We enjoyed going round the old town with its famous cathedral.

We then set off back to Brimpton for the night. Here we relaxed while relating our adventures todate to the Thompsons.

On Saturday 29th we set off from Roy's for Hamworthy, via Winchester and Poole. We had decided back in NZ that we would stay at Rockley Park for a week, while we explored Southern England, as there was a chalet there set up for the disabled.

On Sunday we drove round Poole then on to Wimbourne, to see the old Cox house (St Josephs) in King Street. I was very excited to recognise the house that I had seen in photos, and sat by the church wall looking at it for some time. Eventually a guy arrived at the 
house, and I called out to him, hoping he was the owner. He wasn't but did offer tell him that I was wanting to meet him. Soon after, David Sims came out and we arranged to call back later when he would invite us in.