August 6/13

Some random thoughts about England as we wait for our flight.....

• Toilets don't flush properly.
• Towel warmers are great but I don't want to live in a place where you need one.
• People are very helpful, even stopping to ask if you need help when you look lost on the street corner.
• You get honked at if in the wrong lane of a multi-lane round-a-bout, but the latter system is better than all the traffic lights at home. Michael did a great job of managing the driving here, especially on the tricky single track roads. Our back lane at home is wider than some roads intended for two-way traffic.
• The scenery in England overall isn't as pretty as in Scotland and Ireland, but there's lots of neat things to see and do here.
• A full English breakfast will keep me going for the rest of the day.
• The accents change as you travel further north. Like in Scotland, some are easy to understand - others not so much.
• England CAN have nice weather. It hardly rained on us for the whole month.
• Much of the cool stuff to see is up a steep hill.
• England has many sheep and lots were outside our B&B or alongside the road.
• It costs £3 to park at the Park and Display lots. Sometimes it felt like they would ask you to pay at a red light if you were there long enough.
• I CAN manage to live a whole month without weighing myself daily and eating a flavoured dark chocolate bar and chocolate muffin daily.
• Even if the trip is good, it's still nice to go home.

August 5/13

Drove to Warwick to see the castle, parts of which date from 1100. It has four towers, some of which have displays on the lower level. Unfortunately many of the rooms on the lower level were poorly lit, making it hard to see how elaborate and colourful they are. Upstairs was better lit, and decorated in the style of the early 1900's. Besides the castle itself, there were a lot of other activities, such as jousting and falconry, which attracted large crowds. They also had Glamping - upscale camping off site. There was a princess tour and a dungeon tour, and the courtyard was full of food tents and things to buy. The castle was bought by Madame Tussauds, and there were some wax figures inside. The whole place had somewhat of a Disney feel to it - very entertaining for families, but a bit over the top for adults in our opinion. The extra activities distracted a bit from the castle too, which should have been the focal point, but I'm sure that these extra things are big money makers.

Because we were heading south and past Oxford, we decided to give that place another try. You may recall that our first visit a couple of weeks ago didn't work out very well. This time we knew to park outside the city and take the Park 'n Ride in, rather than try to drive, which they actually don't want people to do. We went directly to Radcliffe Square. This is where the Bodleian Library (containing 118 miles of books), Radcliffe Camera, the Sheldonian Theatre, the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, and a few other colleges are. The Bodleian is one of three copyright libraries in Britain. Unfortunately we could only see in the Divinity part, as you can only do the rest of it with a tour, and they were all full for today. The same applied for the Radcliffe Camera. We climbed up the church tower and had great views of the city. And at least we saw some of the colleges this time!

Stayed in a small hotel for a change, as it is close to the car rental place. They serve dinners too - Indian food - and it was very good!

Tomorrow morning it's off to the airport and then home. I have one more blog entry that I'd like to post - perhaps while waiting for 3 hours at the airport!

August 4/13

Forgot to mention yesterday that we went to the place where Wensleydale cheese is made. We read the history, viewed the place where the employees were making it, and had a chance to try various samples and purchase the finished product. It looked like hard back-breaking work, as the people had to work while leaning over large tubs. I had no idea that there were so many different kinds - some aged, some with fruit, blue cheese, and one very spicy kind that I couldn't resist.

Today was a longer driving day, as we went to Stratford-Upon-Avon (Shakespeare's birthplace), stopping first at Ironbridge Gorge. This place is noteworthy because it's the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, and also has the first bridge made of cast iron, dating from the 1700's. It was discovered that it was cheaper to use coke to smelt iron rather than charcoal. This was a coal mining area, and even children were used to cut the coal, because there were only 2 foot seams. They worked a full day by candlelight, and then had to turn their wages over to their parents. Here we visited Blists Mill Victorian Town, which simulates what life would have been like during this time period. At the town bank you could exchange pounds for shillings to by items for sale in the stores. It was neat to see a harmonium in the church that was made in Woodstock Ontario. The original blast furnace that was used to smelt the pig iron was on site, as was the original candle-making shop. There was a sing-a-long on the pub, led by Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and in one of the homes there were parlour musicians playing violin, flute and parlour guitar.

In Stratford we had Michael's favorite meal of the trip, in a restaurant called the Church Street Townhouse, which came highly recommended. Mine was very good too. I purposely ordered a light meal, so I'd have room for a dessert called "Eton Mess" - berries, meringue and whipped cream. It was so good, and probably my last chance to have it.

After dinner we took a short walk to see Shakespeare's birthplace, as well as the festival building. I have to say that the one in Stratford Ontario has a much prettier setting.

August 3/13

Left the Lakes District for Yorkshiredales National Park. The drive was beautiful - softer and greener mountains than we saw in the lakes area, but very pretty also. We saw 2 sets of Falls - Hardraw and Ayesgarth. Bolton Castle was considered, but it was being used for a wedding. Next we took an amazing drive through a gorge northwest of Skipton. It was on narrow single track road but with hardly a person, vehicle or dwelling in site. It felt like being in no man's land. Part of the way was a steep incline, and then the most beautiful gorge appeared before our eyes! The drive took a long time, and the Visitor's Centre was closed when we arrived. Still, we were puzzled at how full the lot was, when we hadn't seen hardly anyone on the way. We had hoped to hike to a cove with gorgeous views, and walk along a gorge, but it was too late, and we still had to drive to the B&B, partly on road that we thought wouldn't be better than what we had just been on. Turns out that the road out only took about 40 minutes, and was wider and easier to navigate. This explains how everyone else got to the visitor's centre!

In Skipton we had to stop briefly at a railway crossing. A young fellow in the vehicle in front of us got out of his car, took clothes out of the back seat on the opposite side, pulled off his trousers, changed into shorts and sandals, and then went back to the driver's side and drove off! That was a rather unexpected view to say the least!

August 2/13

Started our drive in the Lakes District by doing the Borrowdale loop - alongside Derwentwater (lake), then up a steep bit to the lakes by Buttermere, and then cross country through the Whinlatter Forest. This was undoubtedly the best scenery of the trip! The roads were narrow but not very busy, and the mountains were spectacular with the sun shining on part and the rest in shadow. We ended up back at our home base in Keswick, where we took another southerly highway past Thirlmere Lake and down as far as Coniston. Although pretty country, this area was not quite as stunning as the earlier section, and the driving was busier and more stressful for Michael. In Coniston we took a National Trust steamboat ride on a boat resembling a gondola. It was a pleasant trip, and a way to see the mountains from a different perspective. The drive back was pretty and less busy, which meant that Michael could enjoy the scenery this time. We were so lucky to have good weather, as it often rains here, and we wouldn't have had those great views of the mountains if the weather hadn't been nice.

August 1/13

Happy Birthday Meredith! Hope you're having a good one!

Left Gateshead (by Newcastle) and drove to Hadrian's Wall. The drive was gorgeous - reminded us of Scotland, but not surprising I guess, as we're very close. The first stop we made was the Roman fort at Housesteads. It's up high with good views of the mountains surrounding it. Emperor Hadrian ordered the building of the wall, which is 73 miles long, with forts built at regular intervals. At this fort there were over 1,000 Romans living on site, ready to go to battle when needed. The wall isn't as high as it used to be, because over time stones have been removed for other buildings. In fact, fences around the adjacent farmlands have been built in similar fashion, but not as wide across the top as the wall is. People can walk alongside the wall, but they ask you not to walk on it, as the stones may crumble.

The next step we made along the wall is Birdoswald. At this fort is found the longest remaining stretch of the wall. The wall and the forts were built in the first hundred years A.D. By about 500 A.D. the Roman Empire had collapsed.

On our way to the B&B in Keswick we made a couple of stops. We drove to see Long Meg and her Daughter, a stone circle with one tall stone outside the circle and a number of stones forming a circle in front. After that we saw Castlerigg Stone Circle, which has an amazing location with its view of the mountains. After dinner (where Michael was served his potatoes cut and standing in a ring to resemble a stone circle!) we took a stroll down to Derwentwater, a lake just a short distance from our B&B - very pretty indeed (thanks for the tip Chris!) Looking forward to spending more time in the Lakes District tomorrow! I know that people rave about Devon and Cornwall in the south, but in our minds this northern part of the country is far prettier.

July 31/13

Headed for Newcastle, but on the way stopped in at Durham to see the Cathedral. It's not as grand as some on the outside, but is vey grand indeed on the inside. Some of it dates back to the 1100's but part was damaged in a fire and was rebuilt in the 1400's. The most unusual thing about this cathedral is the piers, which are carved with geometric designs. The stained glass is amazing too! There was even a modern window which depicts the last supper, but with just bread on the table, and it was donated by Marks and Spencer. It has an inlaid floor, and even the organ pipes are decorated. Unfortunately no photos could be taken inside, which is hard to understand, as other cathedrals from the same time period allow it.

On the way to Newcastle we stopped briefly to photograph the Angel of the North. It's the largest sculpture in England and the largest angel in the world. It's wing span is almost as large as that of a jumbo jet, and it's about 60 meters tall.

In Newcastle we walked along the Quayside, which is along the Tyne River, to see all the different bridges that span it. These bridges serve different purposes, some of which are for cars and trains, and others open to let ships pass through. The Millennium Bridge is the most unusual, as it opens like an eyelid. It was designed by the same person that designed a similar structure in Australia, and it has won many awards. The Swing Bridge turns sideways to let the boats pass. It was neat to be able to look down the river and to photograph most of the bridges together.

Because Michael is celiac we pretty much skip out on lunches while travelling, as lunch menus are typically wheat-based. But rarely do we have trouble with dinner. Tonight was an exception. We walked past many restaurants because we were looking for a recommended one which apparently no longer exists. Then we tried the other one mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide, but even though it said it had gluten-free meals, the restaurant mostly catered to vegans and vegetarians, and Michael didn't care for the few GF options listed. By this time we had past the area where all the restaurants were, and instead could only find things like Subway. Too tired to walk back down hill to where we had originally been, we drove to the B&B, hoping to see something on the way. We didn't, but amazingly the place serves dinners if they have been pre-ordered, and since they were cooking for one other family, they didn't mind cooking for us as well.