England #11: Glastonbury Day 2- Ascending the Tor in The England Chronicles - September 2024

(Friday September 13, 2024)

I left us all hanging in the last entry as I enjoyed a stout and some people-watching at the George & Pilgrams while waiting on Kim to get done with her past life regression session. I finished my beer about the time the session was due to be over, so started walking back to the hypnotherapist’s office, and ran into her on the way. 

I won’t give details about her session since that’s not my experience to tell, but I will say it sounded amazing. The hypnotherapist used guided hypnosis that focused on letting the subconscious lead her back to past lives that were important in figuring out issues in her current life. Generally you’re in a sleep-like state, kind of between being asleep and awake, but she said she never really felt she was in that state. She was aware of what was going on around her - very very relaxed but not in a different state. And she remembered a LOT of stuff about several lives, in astonishingly great detail. But she wasn’t ever positive whether it was things that had actually happened, real past lives, or her imagining all of it. The practitioner said that isn’t uncommon with people who are gifted in the psychic area, as she is. They are hard to knock out and are always aware of the present even when in the regressed state. It seemed to me, from her descriptions, that it was not just her imagination. It was incredibly detailed and thorough. She did feel like it was terrifically worthwhile, and even if it wasn’t actual past lives it was definitely her subconscious having quite a conversation with her. 

On that note, and with Kim still processing what she’d experienced (she did get to spend some time in a post-regression decompression area so didn’t get hit with all that and immediately dash up the Tor), we …oh, wait, I think we did go get Coffee #2 to let her recover a bit, and then we started off for the Tor. Which is a very reasonable stroll from the center of town. Unless, of course, you are us!!!

We’ve been to the Tor before. We’ve been to the Tor twice before. We know how to get to the Tor from town. There is, seriously, NOTHING to it. You walk down the street past the Abbey, go past the Chalice Well (which we STILL haven’t visited after all these trips to Glastonbury) and then you pretty much run right into the path that goes up the Tor. And is marked “To The Tor”. Last trip we did manage to go off onto a side road that led us to a point where we could see the Tor but couldn’t figure out how to actually get there, but that day we were running a lot later than planned anyhow so decided to just go up it later in the week. This time we did not go that confusing back way! Because we were very aware that we did NOT want to go up the back way, but wanted to go the way which was very straightforward and easy to follow! 

Hahahahahha!!! For some reason we veered off onto a side road beside the Chalice Well instead of continuing on straight to the shorter path. And ended up on a different confusing back way. I have no idea now why we did that. It seemed like the right way to go. And there was maybe a sign about the Tor?? Per Ermentrude, who has been to the Tor many many times, the back way IS a very enjoyable route to the Tor. And it was a gorgeous walk, with fields and spectacular views and lots of sheep. 

We walked and walked and walked. I went on ahead of Kim since I am Speedy Walker, and she needed to take rest breaks for her knee pretty often. By now I knew we were definitely not on the main trail up the Tor, but I figured we had somehow gotten on the trail that goes up the other side. And I thought, oh, I’m SURE when we finally get in sight of the tower, we’ll be practically there!! We’ve gone up and up and up, so we have to be nearly to the top!!!

Then I rounded a corner, and saw….this.   

The tower. Looking just about as far away from us as it would have been at the beginning of the trail that goes directly there. Maybe further.

I stopped and stared at it in shock! And then I turned around and went back to find Kim, and said, “You will not believe how much farther it is!!! We still have a REALLY LONG WAY and we still have to climb all the way up the Tor!!! We can’t do it!!! We have to give up!!!!”

And she said “NO WE WILL NOT GIVE UP!!!! WE ARE GOING TO THE TOP!!!” 

I said, “YOU HAVEN’T SEEN HOW FAR IT STILL IS!!!!”

And even after she saw how far it still was, she said, “I DON’T CARE WE ARE NOT GIVING UP, WE ARE GOING TO THE TOP OF THE TOR!!!!”

I really did NOT think she could do it, especially with her bad knee. I didn’t think I could do it, and I’m in pretty good shape but I’d been walking all day and we’d already hiked for ages uphill just to get to that point. And I could have sobbed at the thought of giving up!! I looooove the Tor, I’d looked SO forward to going to the top, and we were not going to have another chance. But she was absolutely adamant that we could do it and we WERE NOT GIVING UP. 

SO…we didn’t give up!!! We soldiered on!!! I don’t even know now how long it took us. Or how much longer it took than going the direct route would have. She climbed it really slowly, so I got to the top considerably before she did, and immediately collapsed in the grass. For quite some time. But… we made it!!!! And it was of course an absolutely gorgeous hike, and even more gorgeous once we were at the top. And I am SO GLAD she insisted that we WOULD NOT GIVE UP!

In the early 1100s there was a wooden chapel on top of the Tor, which was flattened by an earthquake in 1275, then rebuilt with stone in the early 1300s. Like the Abbey, the stone church was destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries, and the tower is all that’s left. This is where the abbot from Glastonbury Abbey was hanged, drawn and quartered. The Tor itself is terraced and may have been a labyrinth. AND it may have been the Isle of Avalon from King Arthur legend, having been surrounded by water at one time. And it could be a portal to the Land of the Faries! It is definitely a magical place. 

This is my view as I was lying in the grass recovering from the climb - it was SO worth it!

Tower Shadow: 

Kim and I posing with our great big feet in front of the tower! Featuring my beetle green shoes and her supposedly mauve but more grey/pink ones. I especially love the woman meditating right behind us - but that is a perfect thing to do at the Tor! Of course she may have just been soaking in the sun. 

 And then we said goodbye to the Tor at last, and walked back down the way we meant to walk up.   

We went back to the George and Pilgrams for a well earned dinner. I had Crab Linguini and another Mena Dhu stout, and …did not take a picture of my food! Then we were off to our Bath Airbnb one more time before heading off to the Cotswolds the next morning.