Sunday Times Where Was I? Holiday Competition

Near as I can figure it, through the possibly flawed perceptual filters of my own reality tunnel, the most likely answers this week, seem to me to be:


Q1. Rugby


Q2. The Battle of Cropredy Bridge


The initial clues appear to place us at Coombe Abbey, Brinklow Road, Binley, Warwickshire CV3 2AB. The Abbey, which was founded c 1150 AD according to some of the sources I checked, now seems to be a very luxurious hotel and indeed has a room which was once occupied by princess Elizabeth Stuart (born c 1596), who was the daughter of James VI of Scotland. The princess lived at the abbey for a time under the care of Lord Harrington and his wife, later marrying Frederick V, 'count Palatine of the Rhine and elector of the Holy Roman Empire'. Princess Elizabeth was promoted to 'Queen of Bohemia' upon the wedding and was known as the 'Winter Queen', due to an insurgency cutting short her husband's tenure of employment in that region. The Eastender had to look up where Bohemia was, seems to have been east of Bavaria, in what is now the Czech republic, though still has no idea why beatniks and hippies are sometimes called 'Bohemians'....

Travelling south from Coombe Abbey would bring us to the twenty two acre organic gardens at Ryton, which seem to have been opened c 1980s . They also practice biodynamic organic gardening there, which is organic horticulture with a bit of Theosophic/Anthroposophic hocus pocus a la Rudolf Steiner, thrown in for good measure.

The village near the two hundred and fifty yard long canal tunnel which has two towpaths, is probably Newbold on Avon and the canal, the Oxford Canal. The first poet is most likely "Rupert Brooke". He wrote a poem called 'Heaven', which features some lines about unfading moths and immortal flies:

"Fat caterpillars drift around,

And Paradisal grubs are found;

Unfading moths, immortal flies,

And the worm that never dies.

And in that Heaven of all their wish,

There shall be no more land, say fish"

According to some of his biographies, Rupert Brooke attended the school at Rugby, as did the second poet 'Walter Savage Landor', who published some stanzas called 'Maid's Lament'. The eleven arch railway viaduct is probably the 'Leicester Road Viaduct' in Rugby.

Eighteen miles south of Rugby. lies the site of the 'Battle of Cropredy Bridge'. This was a Donnybrook involving a Royalist army led by king Charles and the Parliamentarian army under the command of Sir William Waller. Both sides seemed to be fairly evenly matched, with about five thousand horse soldiers and four thousand infantry apiece and the encounter ended in a draw c 29th June 1644.

The second battle is most likely 'The Battle of Edgehill', again an encounter between Royalists and Parliamentarians c 23rd October 1642. There does appear to be an obelisk near the village of Edgehill but the reason that you would probably be lifted for visiting the actual battlefield site, is that there seems to be some sort of military installation there.

N.B. Due to the number of people who normally write poison pen letters in green ink posting on his page, the Eastender has moved to moderated comments but rest assured, if you have a non abusive comment or quip relating to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it.