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 -- 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.

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.