ENGLAND AND WALES 2015 -- 1

+ This post includes entries from May 23 until a date yet to be determined. Latest entries are at the top.  If you would like to contibute, write JW in your subject line and send it to john@abundancetrek.com or make a comment on my Facebook page if you are a Facebook friend of mine.

+ updated on Friday, June 5 at 3:03pm EDT.

+ We want to do some hiking in Northumberland. I found 2 websites with some useful information: https://www.contours.co.uk/walking-holidays/coastal-castles.php and http://stcuthbertsway.info/. Rick Steves has a page as well: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/from-walls-to-islands-northern-englands-past-comes-alive

+ I am learning about Holy Island at http://www.holy-island.info/tours/ and http://www.visitnorthumberland.com/gospels/getting-here and http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g504044-Holy_Island_Northumberland_England-Vacations.html. 

+ Here is a web page for purchasing train tickets on Virgin East Coast Trains:  https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/special-offers/deals/cheap-tickets/. But it looks like we will be doing plenty of travel by train and, thefore, the BritRailPass will be a good deal for us. See https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/britain-rail-passes

+ Thinking about what to do this summer when we are in London for a couple of nights. I wonder what's going on in the West End? So ... http://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/ 

+ Mary will be working with research colleagues in Southampton once again. In the past I have enjoyed visiting the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Winchester and the South Downs which recently became a National Park.  Mary works. I play.  Not fair. I know but she does like my company on these trips. I am blessed.

+ We will be staying at a B&B in Bristol for 2 nights.  We plan to go on a day trip to Cardiff from there. We have never set foot in Wales before.  My favorite spot in Bristol is the Clifton Suspension Bridge.  The B&B is within walking distance from that great bridge.  

+ We will be staying at a B&B in Durham for 5 nights.  Durham is in NE England and we plan to rent a car and see the countryside.  We will do a day trip to York.

ENGLAND 2011 -- 10

+ updated at 5:34pm ESDT on Sunday, September 18, 2011

+ Our hosts in Bristol from August 18 to 21 offered us hospitality second to none. How about tea and coffee in bed each morning followed by breakfast? And they treated us to dinners at their home and at a couple of great restaurants, one in the Cotswolds -- The Gumstool at Calcot Manor, Tetbury -- and one on the Bristol riverfront -- River Station. They live within a ten minute walk of the bridge I wanted to see so much, the famous Clifton Suspension Bridge.  So, I got a chance to take many photos of the bridge and Avon River Gorge which it spans. 

ENGLAND 2011 -- 9

+ It is 10:00am in London as I write today (Saturday August 27). Our friend John has arrived and we should be aboard the same train headed for Edinburgh leaving Kings Cross at 1130. I have been a little concerned since we have been out of touch since he left Richfield Springs on Thursday.


+ It was a great day in London yesterday for both Mary and bill me. We went our separate ways during the day and then ate at Saint James Tavern before we went to a show: 39 STEPS, a comedy based on an old Alfred Hitchcock movie about an unlikely English spy and a romance.

ENGLAND 2011 -- 8

+ I wrote the following last Thursday, August 25:


+ We are on our way to London from Southampton as we move into the second half of our journey. We have 2 weeks to go. Our friend John will be joining us in 2 days We are staying in Glasgow for the first 6 days beginning Saturday, August 27. I am working on a revised itinerary for our last week because we decided to travel by train and bus rather than a rental car. Driving in the UK is quite a challenge. I think it is wo25rth it but Mary finds it very VERY nerve racking.


+ I would still like to get into the English country side a bit more. But I did get to see a lot from the car we rented. I think a few days on a bicycle in the Cotswolds would be delightful. Maybe some day. I was planning to do some hiking near Winchester but I simply ran out of time.


+ Bristol is off of the radar for Rick Steves but we found it fascinating. Two very impressive Anglican churches. A historical and picturesque suspension bridge over the Avon gorge. An inviting harbor. The oldest Methodist Church on the planet.


+ Southampton is also off of Rick's radar. It is somewhat more of an acquired taste than Bristol but I definitely acquired it! Ferry to the Isle of Wight. Remnants of the old wall.

ENGLAND 2011 -- 7

+ updated at 1634 on Wednesday, August 24 (11:34 ESDT)


+ I am aboard a ferry from Southampton to Isle of Wight. One hour over. 1 hour on island. 1 hour back. Approx 1 hour on bus back to flat. I am looking East toward Portsmouth. I can't believe that it was easy to go online on ferry.


+ Going back to Southampton now. Coffee. I think I will go up to the upper deck and enjoy the fresh air. Cheers!

ENGLAND 2011 -- 6

+ The adventure continues. More later. Flat tire in downtown Bristol.

ENGLAND 2011 -- 5

+ updated at 1:44pm here in England (8:44am ESDT) on Wednesday,August 17, 2011


+ I finally picked up a good Southampton guide at the airport where I rented a car yesterday. It suggested Romsey. While Mary heads to Bristol with Mandy, I am driving there leisurely. So, here I am in the historic market and abbey town of Romsey eating lunch at a Cafe Nero with a view of the town center and the abbey which I visited earlier. Good cafe americano! Very historic and well preserved abbey. I may insert a link here some day! And a photo. I am taking onefrom where I am sitting enjoying view and coffee and caramel chocolate shortbread after a tuna melt panini. Now I will try to log on here.


+ I must blog now that we have enjoyed the first 5 days of this adventure.


+ We are so glad we did not change our plans because of the threat of more riots in London. We joined tens of thousands of happy tourists and others visiting the popular attractions. We had already seen most of them so we decided to take the tube to Kew Gardens. I took at least 50 photos there. WOW! Because of construction on the tube we had to figure out an indirect route to get there from Paddington. Bakerloo and District instead of ... OH I Forget now! It was very hot inside the trains.


+ We saw WE WILL ROCK YOU at the Dominion Theater. Great! On Sunday we went to our home church whenever we are in London: St Martin in the Fields. The seron preached by Richard Carter was powerful. He had some very thoughtful, prophetic and compassionate remarks in the aftermath of the riots which broke out last week in London and other cities. We ate there at The Cafe in the Crypt. Then we took the tube up to the British Library which has an excellent display of many ancient and historic documents including the Magna Carta, a John.Milton notebook, the Codex Sinaiticus (earliest complete Christian Bible from the fourth century) and the Codex Alexandria. (I will edit this for spelling later and possibly add to it)


+ Our weekend in London included some frustrating moments and resulting stress for both of us. Our first room of 3 at the Hotel Indigo Padington was at the basement level. We didn't like the dungeon feel! Fortunately we didn't have to stay there. But I managed to trip a circuit breaker trying to get my European cell phone charged. The very pleasant staff moved us to a room on the second floor which was just painted. I have always dislikued the aroma of fresh paint and I quickly got a sore throat and headache. We had to stay there for one night. On Saturday the very pleasant staff moved us to a smaller room on the fourth floor which had a nice view. We really liked it. I tried one more time to charge my phone and tripped still another circuit breaker. Here in Southampton I found a very helpful man at amobile phone store who had the charger I needed. He also knew.how to get our second cell phone.going. It had a very dead battery.


I expected the GPS on my Galaxy tab to work here in the UK but it doesn't work. That is really frustrating since we will be renting a car for 2 weeks. Yesterday I bought a relatively inexpensive Navman GPS for Great Britain and Ireland at Halfords in Southampton. I had fun figuring out the train and bus routes. Soon (Tuesday afternoon) I will be taking the bus to the airport where I will pick up a car at Hertz.

ENGLAND 2011 -- 4

+ updated at 2:11pm ESDT on Thursday, August 11, 2011


+ This is good!
Rick Steves blogs about the current mayhem in London.


We have begun our trip to England and Scotland. Blogging on Amtrak with a Galaxy Tab is a bit of a challenge.


But it can be done!

ENGLAND 2011 -- 3

+ updated at 3:09pm ESDT on Wednesday, August 3, 2011

+ Soon Mary and I will be visiting London (for third time), Southampton and vicinity (second time), and Bristol and vicinity (second time).  Here are some websites: Visit London | London Tube Maps | Big Bus London Tour | London Theater Tickets | Visit Southampton | "Visiting Southampton" by TripAdvisor | University of Southampton | Isle of Wight | Visit Bristol | Bristol Wikipedia article | University of Bristol | Clifton Suspension Bridge | Brunel's SS Great Britain | Visit Bath

ENGLAND 2011 -- 2

+ In 22 days, Mary and I fly to London which we will enjoy for a couple of days before Mary begins 3 weeks of research collaboration in Southampton, Bristol and Glasgow.  I am looking for ideas for my travels in and near Southampton and Bristol as I will have a lot of time to enjoy Southern England.  I have gotten some suggestions from fellow travellers on the Rick Steves Forum and hope to get more on the string which is entitled "Need Ideas for Southampton and Bristol and Vicinity". I am definitely considering walking for a ways on one of England's famous public paths and Linda from Bromley gave me plenty of links.  Thanks Linda.

Oh, and I am still looking for ideas for London since we have seen many of the most popular sights in 2 previous trips.  What show will we see?

+ Since I have been to England twice, I responded to some questions on the Rick Steves Forum. The strings are: "UK 14 days" and "7 day itinerary in England/Scotland".

ENGLAND 2011 -- 1

We will be staying near this famous bridge, the Clifton Bridge, later this year. It is North of the city of Bristol where Mary will be doing research along with colleagues for a couple of weeks as part of a sabbatical. The photo is available as a computer background at http://partners.livingsocial.com/cities/geo?do_not_redirect=1&gwo_id=0433631901&hdnv=true&ref=sojern_national&ver=954&was_geo=true

The little dots above the bridge are hot air balloons.

MY BEST PHOTOS OF ST IVES & BIBURY NOW UPLOADED

+ Bibury is famous for the Arlington Row which is considered to be one of the best examples of the buildings of the Cotswolds built very early (1380) in the era when the Cotswolds region was the premier wool growing area of the world. The UK National Trust owns Arlington Row and is preserving it as a national treasure. It is one of the most photographed places in the Cotswolds.

+ St. Ives is on the North side of the Penwith Peninsula, the extreme Southwest corner of Cornwall. We really enjoyed the Tate Gallery which is on the Porthmeor Beach which is popular with surfers. Even in early March, we saw many surfers. We ate some delicious Cornish Pasties on the way to the Tate. We stopped at another great museum in town as we made our way to the Tate where we saw some of the great sculpture of Barbara Hepworth.

Go to Bibury Photos

Go to St. Ives Photos

I AM ACTIVE ON THE RICK STEVES HELPLINE TODAY

You can find several posts of mine at http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/wall/to-the-north/index.html

In one post, I mentioned the difficulties we encountered with train travel on a Sunday when track work is being done. Week end train and tube travel can be a problem.

We are coming home

+ Such a great trip.

+ JERSEY BOYS is a great show. It is much better than the Changing of the Guard!

YES I DID SEE THE DOVER CASTLE

+ On a bright, sunshiny day, I took the train from Canterbury to Dover Priory and walked up the hill to the Castle. I met a father and son from New Jersey and we shared our experience with some great conversation.

+ Train travel in England is very convenient. By booking ahead we got great deals.

+ Pubs are closing all over England. The Three Tuns in Canterbury which is recommended by Rick Steves is boarded up and unrecognizable. Some one told me that It had never closed for 500 years but it went bankrupt last month. He also told me it has new owners.

+ The Tate Gallery in St. Ives, Cornwall is not to be missed if you get to that part of England. Supurb architecture. However, it often closes between exhibits so check ahead.

+ Our wonderful trip will soon end but I will have all these great memories and plenty of photos.

+ Getting and using a mobile phone (cell phone) is easy and cheap.

ENGLAND IS WONDERFUL AND THE RICK STEVES BOOK IS GREAT

+ This is the third time we have used a Rick Steves book for travel, Spain in 2006, France last year, and now England. Every trip gets better as we use his wisdom and knowledge. He helps with so many little things as well as the really big things.

+ The Mad Max tours have been delightful. The tour guides are knowledgeable and fun. We have made new friends from all over the planet.

+ Badminton was invented in Badminton!

+ Stonehenge needs Avebury to be fully appreciated. Avebury needs Stonehenge. The energy of these holy places is something to behold.

+ Many English trains run on time.

+ Bath deserves its designation as a world heritage site.

+ The tour guide for the Bath walking tour stuck with us on a chilly, breezy and rainy day. It's a free walk and we learned a lot. The Roman Bath is a great experience.

+ This has been the first time I have been on the internet since leaving home last Saturday. I may have time soon to offer some more thoughts about the trip.

DOVER IS A POSSIBLE DESTINATION

The Dover Castle is one of the largest castles in Europe. Will I get there?

+++++++

+++++++

Dover is on the English Channel. It is about 20 miles East of Canterbury and about 80 miles East of London.

WE HAVE BOOKED B&B IN BATH MARCH 3,4,5

This is the River Avon flowing through Bath.

While staying in Bath, we plan to take both of the Mad Max tours taking us to Stonehenge, Avebury, the Cotswalds, and some quaint villages.

PHOTOS FROM OUR 2003 TRIP TO ENGLAND

+ Above is a picture of the Tower Bridge I took in October 2003. More photos from that trip can be found at Abundancetrek Photos.

BEGINNING TO DISCOVER BATH AND VICINITY

+ Bath.co.uk offers a Virtual Tour.

+ Rick Steves recommends Mad Max Tours of Stonehenge and Avebury and the Cotswolds and other places near Bath.

+ Rick Steves describes nearby Glastonbury as a town which "gurgles with history and mystery." He says that it is "located on England's most powerful line of prehistoric sites (called a 'ley line')." Major sights are the Abbey and the Tor. The town is full of New Age shops and eateries.

+ Rick Steves does not cover the nearby city of Bristol in his book on England so I wonder if it is worth seeing. The University of Bristol certainly thinks it is. Their web page on the city informs us that John Betjeman, former poet laureate, describes Bristol as "the most beautiful, interesting and distinguished city in England." Hmmm. I definitely would like to see the Clifton Suspension Bridge completed in 1864. Photo above.

+ Another nearby city is Wells which is included in the Rick Steves book. He says Wells is "wonderfully preserved" with "more medieval uildings still doing what they were originally built to do than any town you'll visit. He says that the cathedral is "the highlight of the city" and is "England's first completely Gothic cathedral (dating from about 1200)." He devotes more than two pages to a description of the cathedral and the nearby buildings and grounds.