Southampton: Airplanes, Ruins, and the Case of the Mud Monster

August 28, 2023

Josh here!

After disembarking from the Queen Mary II, Jake and I made our way through the city of Southampton to an Air B&B in a neighborhood in north Southampton called “Shirley.” A delightful couple, Mandy and Alan, shared with us not only stories their home but of their family and the history of Southampton. In his retirement, Alan volunteers a great deal of time in a local historical society which often focuses on the “Spitfire,” a fighting aircraft used by the Royal Air Force during WWII. After a pair of major Spitfire production factories located near the city were bombed by Nazis during the Battle of Britain, officials instead of rebuilding elsewhere conscripted small garages, parish halls, and other buildings, secretly continued construction of the fighters. (Alan shared many other lovely stories, but I won’t drag on with those). If you are interested in reading more about the project please do at: https://spitfiremakers.org.uk/

Our other main activity of the day was a visit to Netley Abbey, located a few miles down the coast from Southampton. The brief history of the Abbey is that it was founded as originally in the 1230s, granted under Henry VIII to a protestant and converted into a private residence in the 1530s, later deserted and left to ruins (though a very popular set of ruins for poets and authors in the Romantic era), and popularly used by locals as a site for romantic picnics and social dances.

The most striking aspect to me, however, was the way in which I saw it being used by locals today. While historic and noteworthy, it serves also as a backdrop for young lads playing tag or hide-and-seek. Two boys stopped at one point, shouting cheerfully to me across a courtyard saying, “Would you take a picture of me and my mate?” Flashing excited smiles, I snapped a quick picture and the boys ran off to find, or perhaps escaped the pursuit of, their friends. Several other groups also shared the space, a mother taking videos of her four-year-old son kicking and chasing a soccer ball in the monks’ dormitory, some young friends sharing a picnic, three older folks together—two women chatting and a man napping nearby in the grass.

“History” can so often be viewed as foreign, concerning generations long passed on, or events which hold no real bearing over how we directly live out our days. It is only natural to think about leaving a mark on this world (many engravers, I assure you, over the course of the “Abbey-as-ruin” have scratched in names or initials). But as I think back on my visit to this site, I may remember something of the layout or the time periods, but I am sure in saying that the strongest image remaining in my memory will be the faces of those two happy boys enjoying a summer afternoon in the immensity of their 800 year old playground.

A tidal cove also rests only a few hundred yards below the Abbey so Jake and I made our way down to see. We had quite the adventure, but I’ll let Jake share about that!

Jacob Here!

We had quite the day in Southampton. After visiting Netley Abbey, Josh and I decided to take a stroll along the river walking along a shell filled cove. We walked without realizing that all the stairs leading out had been abandoned and welded shut, which we soon discovered after a long trek. We also discovered the tide was also coming in rather quickly so began a race to try and avoid becoming throughly washed. Then stood my next challenge, a dirt mound laid out before us and the creeping tide. Josh crossed first and made it to the other side. But some vile beast grabbed me while I crossed and I sunk one foot completely in the mud. Then tragedy struck as I lost balance and fell forwards and barely caught myself. Left abandoned as a victim was my trusty footwear. Excavation of the mud mound produced my shoe completely encased in mud which I promptly had to walk in to avoid the rising water. Needless to say I was not a happy camper and after returning home had to sheepishly ask to borrow a hose at the Airbnb.

Luckily I’m happy to report that my shoes dried and are once again in walking condition after a quick rinse and dry and after a bus ride we should make it over to our next stop in London. Stay tuned for our next blog when we take on the big city.