Wimbledon after 4pm.

I had the great privilege of having a dream come true yesterday. I finally made it to Wimbledon. We didn't have advanced tickets so I did some research and we decided to go late afternoon, stay through the evening, and take our chances with the queue.  It worked!  We got in (after having the Wimbledon queue experience), saw some terrific tennis, and got to enjoy the electrifying atmosphere.

Hundreds camp out each night in an effort to be first in the morning queue for day passes into the park.  We opted instead to try for tickets for later in the day and skip the camping part. 

We left Oxford a bit after 2pm and arrived at Wimbledon just before 4pm where we parked at parking lot #10 because parking is only £10 starting at 4pm. We queued to get a gate pass to the Park and were in the queue over 2 hours as it snaked along. The time passed quickly, though, because we met a young man in front of us from Germany and talked with him the whole time. It's always a delight to make a new friend and have an interesting conversation.

"We've all gone a bit Wimbledon"

We finally made it into the park just past 6pm -- we paid £18 to get into the park after 5pm. With a park pass, you can see games on courts 3-18 but it's really crowded and nearly impossible to get a seat to see anything. So we went to the resale booth above court 18 and bought £10 resale tickets to Center Court. We stopped along the way to quickly eat a picnic we brought which was a big mistake. By the time we made it into Center Court, the last match had just ended. We got to see the court but no play.

                    

   

Results are still posted by hand

Henman Hill or more recently known as Murray Mount

I was surprised to see the skyline of London and to see that Wimbledon is so close to London.  It was also a lovely summer sunny afternoon and a perfect evening.

Court 18 

A quick picnic that cost us from seeing play on Center Court

Center Court as the crowds were leaving

We then turned in out tickets, explaining we didn't get to see any play, and were kindly given tickets to Court Two. We were lucky enough to see an entire match of women's singles: Ons Jabeur from Tunisia (ranked #104) against Sventlana Kuznetsova from Russia (ranked #51). Svetlana won and, although it wasn't a close match, it was still great tennis.
 Ons Jabeur 3, 2     Svetlana Kuznetsova 6, 6

It was an amazing day that I'll never forget. It was a great way to spend the 4th of July, or as my daughter said, Brexit of 1776.

Now that I know just about any one can get into Wimbledon with some luck, planning, and patience, I'm already looking forward to going back next year -- next time for a full day.  I think it is pretty remarkable that for such a world class athletic event, that ordinary folks, without advanced tickets or spending a fortune, and with a little patience, have the opportunity to attend one of the most beloved sporting events in the world. I'm grateful for that.  It's a magical place!

Here are some of the sites that helped me figure out what I needed to know to make our attempt to get into the Park and buy return tickets successfully. Also, here are a few things I learned about Wimbledon:

• 39,000 spectators in the grounds at any one time.  The space really handles crowds well

• Center Court holds 15,000; Court One has a capacity for 11,393

• There are 40 courts in total -- 18 Championships grass courts (Centre + Nos 1-18, minus #13) plus 22 grass practice courts in Aorangi Park and at Southlands College nearby

• Championships courts grass playing height is 8mm. Court grass composed of 100% rye grass.

• The screen on Henman Hill (or most recently known as Murray Mound) is 40 square metres in size

• 674 matches played over a two week period with 757 players (2017)

• There is usually no play scheduled on middle Sunday to allow the courts to recover from intensive use of Week 1 and be thoroughly watered to ensure optimum performance in Week 2 

• Around 6,000 staff are taken on each year for Championships, including 250 Ball boys & girls

• 28,000kg of strawberries are consumed during the tournament with over 10,000 liters of fresh cream

• Since 1954, money raised from returned tickets has been donated to charity

• There are 360 official umpires working each day

http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/tickets/tickets_what_you_need_to_know.html

http://metro.co.uk/2017/06/23/wimbledon-2017-how-to-get-cheap-charity-resale-tickets-6730551/

https://www.lovemoney.com/guides/15708/how-to-get-buy-cheap-wimbledon-2017-tennis-tickets-final-sunday-uk

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/wimbledon-guide-how-to-get-tickets-where-to-stay-what-to-wear/

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/wimbledon/wimbledon-2017-guide-to-the-grounds-which-court-tickets-queue-a7821156.html

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/england/london/greenwich-and-south-london/travel-tips-and-articles/wimbledon-2017-how-to-get-tickets-for-tenniss-greatest-tournament/40625c8c-8a11-5710-a052-1479d2760afe

This is dedicated to my dear mother-in-law who loved to watch Wimbledon.  We thought of you often, Jean, and knew you were with us in spirit.

Great Tew and the Falkland Arms

About 35 miles northwest of Oxford is a charming Cotswold town of Great Tew.  In fact, there are three Tew villages: Great Tew, Duns Tew, and Little Dew. All are charming but Great Tew is my favorite.  The village, the landscape and the local 500-year-old pub could not be more picturesque.  

Great Tew is centered around a grand country Estate surrounded by archtypal thatched roof cottages. Spring lambs playing in rolling grassland, horses in the fields, woods with a carpet of bluebells, thatch cottages, a charming pub -- Great Tew is all this and much more. It's one of my favorite places for a country walk and a pub lunch.

The history of Great Tew goes back to the Roman times.  Click here or a brief historical time-line.  SInce the 1960's, the Estate has been owned and managed by the Johnston Family. The Estate enterprises include the in-hand farming operation, an ironstone quarry, the village, the grand estate grounds, and surrounding woods. 

The landscape around Great Tew is stunning. Like so many landscapes in England, it looks absolutely perfectly with every tree perfectly in place.  And, like such landscapes, it was deliberately designed and constructed by a landscape architect.  In this case it was 19th century landscape gardener, John Loudon, who designed this area as part of an extensive park overlooking the Worton Valley. 

 Great Tew is often referred to as a ‘picture book’ Cotswold village because of its thatched cottages and gabled roofs, mullioned windows and colorful gardens and farmland. However, it isn't crowded with tourists like so many other Cotswold villages. In part, that is why I like it so much. 

Great Tew is also home to one of my all-time favorite pubs -- The Falkland Arms. It's a beautiful 16th Century building which has been a traditional, local pub in some form for over 500 years.   

The Pub has flagstone floors, oak beams, ceilings covered with a enormous collection of beer steins, and an inglenook fireplace that has a fire burning in winter.  In warmer weather there is seating in a beautiful garden where you can enjoy the stunning surroundings.

If you are looking for a quintessentially charming English village with one of the most delightful pubs around, you won't won't be disappointed with the village of Great Tew and the Falkland Arms. 

Here is a link to one of my favorite country walks that starts and ends in Great Tew: http://www.theaa.com/walks/the-village-of-great-tew-a-rare-plot-420807 

Wittenham Clumps

I love discovering interesting new places not far from home. Today's discovery is just 11 miles south of Oxford. We hiked to the top the Wittenham Clumps -- Round Hill and its neighbour, Castle Hill.  These two hills sit side by side, each surrounded by fields and with a clump of trees on top. Castle Hill was once home to a Bronze Age hill fort and the mote that protected the hill fort is still quite evident. 

When you climb to the top of either hill, you will be rewarded with stunning views of the county side, stretching as far as the Chiltern hills to the east and the Cotswolds to the west. Today the views were a bit obscured by a winter haze that made the countryside look soft and impressionistic. 

Known as Wittenham Clumps, the trees on both summits are the oldest known planted hilltop beeches in England, dating back more than 300 years. Also called the Sinodun Hills, the Wittenham Clumps are part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Round Hill

The Wittenham Clumps were made famous by the British landscape artist Paul Nash. He discovered them in his late teenage years and he was immediately caught by their atmospheric shapes and mystical associations. The Clumps became a rich source of inspiration and he returned to paint them many times during his life. His first paintings of the Wittenham Clumps were made just over a hundred years ago, in 1912. 

Click here to learn more about Paul Nash and his painting of the Clumps

The view to the north

The mighty Thames at Dorchester

Castle Hill

The view to the west

This is what I call British "Snow".  It is a deep frost that melts only when the sun shines on it.  We have frosts like this in our garden, woods, and paddock nearly every night during the winter months.   

I look forward to coming back and exploring more on a clear day and when  the wildflowers are in bloom.

For more information about the Wittenham Clumps:

Wittenham Clumps Wikipedia

Click here for directions for a 4 miles walk that includes the Wittenham Clumps