Today we visited Bletchley Park where thousands of people toiled during WW II attempting to break encrypted messages sent between German/Italian/Japanese army and naval personnel. While no computers were available to the code breakers at Bletchley Park, the machines and methods they invented were the foundation of computing. It is the birthplace of the post industrial era.
There were many to thank for the countless lives that were saved via advance knowledge of Axis plans but Alan Turing stands out for his decryption of Ultra coded messages (see machine above), his contributions to computing and his death as a result of being persecuted for being gay. The breakthrough was the "bombe" machine which broke the daily Nazi code every day.
While not on the beaten path, Bletchley Park is well worth a full day visit....and Carl thought he had died and gone to heaven, especially when he laid eyes on "The Bombe Machine"!!
Now we go back 500 years...and on to the beautiful Cotswold town of Burford. The High Street hasn't changed over the centuries. Beautiful 15/16th buildings in Cotswold stone line the streets...antique shops, galleries and lovely pubs..photos below. We dined at The Lamb pub...food was excellent. Just a beautiful and charming place. Stay tuned tomorrow for our visit to Downton Abbey...Carl has the alarm set early for this one!
Location:Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire & Burford, Oxfordshire
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