Monday, 23rd September, 2019.
Paul had gone to a great deal of trouble planning a circular trip around their beautiful part of the world. He sent me three different versions of this map until Google finally got it right.
The original plan was that we would leave at 9am, but the rainy weather was due to improve, so we had coffee in the garden first, and the weather did improve!
Our first stop was Great Ayton, the birthplace and childhood home of Captain James Cook.
There are even gladioli in the garden.
This is Cooks' Cottage in Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne. I visited it in 1970, believing, like many other Australians, this it was where Captain Cook actually lived. It turns out that this cottage was built by Cook's parents in 1775, well after Cook himself had left the district. It was brought to Melbourne by Sir Russell Grimwade in 1934, with each brick individually numbered, and packed into barrels, along with cuttings of the original ivy.
Instead of being called "Captain Cook's Cottage" as it was when I saw it, it is now called "Cooks' Cottage". The subtle transferring of the apostrophe subtly transfers its ownership to Captain Cook's parents.
This obelisk marks the spot where the cottage taken to Australia once stood. It is a replica of an obelisk which stands at Point Hicks, Australia, where Cook first sighted land in April 1770. The granite blocks for this obelisk were quarried from Point Hicks.
It is interesting that this plaque calls the building "Captain Cook's Cottage" (not Cooks').
This was where Cook went to school - it is now a Captain Cook Museum.
Statue of Captain Cook in Great Ayton.
Quite a good looking lad.
More of Great Ayton, a very pretty village:
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