hi basingstoke.

how nice to hear what friendly folks we are.

looking forward to more,

regards, ann

I'll look forward to the rest of your report!

"As I was schlepping the biggest duffel up the stairs, a well dressed fellow offered to help, and of course I let him, thinking that if he was going to steal it, I would have no trouble catching him."

The exact same happened to me at the same tube station back in 1993 - only mine was a 30 inch suitcase loaded to bursting. That was the very last time EVER I used a bag bigger than 21 inches. You should tell you DW from now on -- she takes it, she carries it

LOL - somehow I did not expect someone so British sounding and with the name Basingstoke to use the word "shlepping" - I think that alone is histerical.
Good report.

janisj - easy to say, not so practical to do. BTW thanks for the pre trip planning tips.

Mahya2 - as Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Newman might say "What - Me British?" I have always been somewhat of an anglophile having started reading books by British authors at an early age and ending up playing in the pit orchestra of nearly every Gilbert and Sullivan operetta - that is where I took the name Basingstoke, the city name being used in "Ruddigore" to calm Mad Margaret.

annhig. thanks, here is some more.

Saturday, the 23rd was St. George's day so we took the tube to Regent Street to pick up our British Heritage passes to use for the next two weeks and then moseyed down to Trafalgar Square to check out what was happening in the celebration. There were quite a few others with the same idea in the square and after spending time enjoying the crowd, the idea of lunch became an attractive one. What better place for lunch in that area than in a crypt. In the crypt of St. Martin's in the Field is a nice little cafeteria. This actually is a crypt, not a Disney-esque version. The food is decent, the prices good and for me, St. Martin's in the Field is shrine in that I have many recordings made there by the chamber orchestra "Academy of Saint Martins in the Field" - Sir Neville Marriner conducting (can't say one without the other). There are many concerts that take place there and it is used for recording as well.

With stomachs full and graves trod upon we were ready to take on the British Museum, or at least as much as our slightly jet lagged bones would allow. We tubed over and although we saw quite a bit before closing, we were disappointed that a collection of manuscripts and books that we had been looking forward to seeing once again had been moved to another building.

While exploring the neighborhood around the museum we encountered yet another example of Brit kindness. We were walking down the street a woman caught up to us carrying the jacket that I had unknowingly dropped a half block away. I was particularly glad to get it back since not only would I be needing it, but there was nearly 200 pounds in an inside zipped pocket.

We popped into a pub for dinner and a good fish and chips dinner it was! The remainder of the evening was spent in the Saturday night crush of Covent Garden where we enjoyed both the intentional and unintentional street theater and then a tube ride back to the hotel.

Next - we meet Graham. You should meet him too.

We've shlepped bags up those very stairs, too, basingstoke, and been offered the kindness of strangers. So glad that kindness was a theme of your trip.

Similarly, I heard classical radio DJs talk about the Academy of St. Martins etc for years before setting foot there. Somehow in my imagination the church always faced south.

I'm enjoying your report.

Who knew fodors had so many schleppers? Our Sunday in London began with a trip out to the Jewish Museum. It was a bit hard to find walking from the tube station, down a residential street. It is an interesting place detailing the history of London's Jewish population with some interesting interactive exhibits. A good find if you enjoy such places as we do. FOOD ALERT - the museum has a restaurant and a darn good one at that at prices that are rock bottom for London. We had the Moroccan style cous cous with chicken and the poached salmon with potato. I mentioned that DW is a vegetarian, but not exactly. To be precise, she will not eat the flesh of creatures whose blood flows warm.

Both dishes were delicious. The cous-cous was sweet rather than spicy with pine nuts and dried fruit. Traveling back to central London we found the station we had left earlier closing for renovation work so rather than walk to the next station, we took the bus to where we were to meet Graham, our guide for the London Walks Westminster tour.

It turned out that the Sunday of our tour, was also the day of the London Marathon and the meeting place was along the course. With the crowd, and an enthusiastic one at that, we nearly despaired of finding Graham, but find him we did - pressed up against a wall holding a London Walks brochure aloft. Graham was happy to see us since he thought no one would show up. Graham deputized DW as a temporary London Walks guide, giving her the job of holding the brochures aloft as he set off through the crowd to see if anyone else was searching for the tour and found a few others. If you take a London Walks tour, find one where Graham is the guide. He was a font of detail and information about the history of Westminster and its environs and a very interesting older chap as well. The Westminster tour was a good choice and particularly interesting was exploring the small streets and squares behind and nearby. Westminster College is a gem and also of interest were the former homes of Sir John Gielgud and "Lawrence of Arabia" as well as others. We saw a clutch of parents standing outside the choir school to pick up their sons who were arriving back from singing in the Westminster choir for evensong - like soccer moms with kids in robes.

The tour over, we watched some of the tail end of the marathon for awhile and then over to Covent Gardens for dinner at a vegetarian restaurant we spotted while wandering about the night before. It was Sagar's Vegetarian Indian restaurant and was very good.

Other than the friendly and kind Brits theme, another theme of the trip would be the good food. It was consistently good throughout our trip, fairly priced, and for the vegetarians reading this, nearly every place we ate had a variety of vegetarian friendly options - DW ate well! We had one bad meal the entire trip and that was Sunday's breakfast that we grabbed at a Burger King across from the hotel only because it was raining at the time and the BK was closest. Even for a BK, it was bad.

Finishing a fine veggie dinner, we had to, just had to, go down to Leicester Square for the sake of nostalgia. I had taken DD to London when she was 13, and she was smitten with the Square and we had to go every night. Thus I wanted to show DW our hang-out and also see if "our" ice cream place was still there and take a photo for old times sake. The Ice Cream place was indeed still there and as crowded as I remembered it to be. Leicester Square remains a fine place for people watching. Back to the hotel we went to pack for our Monday train to Salisbury.

Next - Toro! Toro!

Westminster College is a gem>>>>

Oooh! They'll shoot you for that. It's Westminster SCHOOL and they are VERY fussy about this.

And given that our Deputy Bum Faced Overlord, Nick Clegg, is an old boy - he could nuke you!

On the Crypt I have often wondered if the people that paid a fortune to be buried in there ever thought they'd end up in a cafe.

...Other than the friendly and kind Brits theme, another theme of the trip would be the good food....

I always chuckle when I read this sort of comment.
It is not at all uncommon, but you still get people on this forum assuming that the food will be horrible.
BTW, Londoners are usually nice and helpful, but especially to pleasant polite people like you.

CW - mea culpa. Regarding the crypt - I had the identical thought.

>that is where I took the name Basingstoke, the city name being used in "Ruddigore" to calm Mad Margaret.

Also the name of where there was a prominent mental asylum in 19th C. England - that's why it calmed Mad Meg

Lavandula

Thank you lavandula - I did not know that.

basingstoke- loving your trip report! I, too, shlepped luggage on last trip to Paris- first down the stairs to the train at CDG, and then up three flights when we got off that train at Notre Dame (as the escalators were broken!)

Here's to the end of shlepping! And more trip report!

Modern Basingstoke is an awful hole.

CW - yes, I have been there, but that said, I like the sound of the word - it rolls nicely off of the tongue. Say it slowly, now then - wasn't that soothing?

Sarge56 - we form a cadre of schleppers - a many nuanced word.

Continuing the TR,

With an early afternoon train, we spent Monday morning at the V&A museum that has always been a favorite. It is a fascinating place. I was particularly intrigued by the wrought iron exhibit - something truly unique. My grandfather was a master craftsman in ornamental iron and I believe that there are still examples of his work in various places in NYC, but I do not know just where. Whenever I see beautiful examples of the art, I wonder if it was made by him.

A short walk back to the hotel and we took a taxi from the hotel to Waterloo station. Our timing was either perfect or awful, depending on whether one takes the view of a tourist or a miser. On the way we were delayed by traffic where we were to pass Buckingham Palace. It was changing of the guard time and traffic was halted for a few minutes. We had a premium view of the event from the taxi and it was well worth the ticking meter. I should mention that although I had been in London four times previously with the kids, it was DW's first trip back since 1975 and she had never seen the changing of the guard, so this was a serendipitous happening. Approaching the station we passed the Union Jack Club where I had stayed on my previous London visits. For persons who are members of the forces that were allied with the UK in WW II, either active or retired, you can apply for an honorary membership there and it is a fine and reasonably priced place to stay.

The taxi ride from our hotel in Kensington to Waterloo station was about 18 pounds and considering our luggage, well worth it. We had purchased our tickets to Salisbury on the Megatrain.com site and saved a bundle. Our two tickets to Salisbury were 20 pounds total, about a third of what they would have cost otherwise. If we had opted for an earlier train, it would have been even less. The ticket instructions said to look for a special car on the train marked megatrain, but we did not see one so just boarded one of the second class cars. The conductor came by and our names were on his list - there was no problem. Trip to Salisbury was comfortable and smooth - it really was a very nice train- much nicer than Amtrak trains I have been on recently.

In Salisbury, we had reservations at Webster's B&B. The address was programmed into our Garmin and it was about a 10 minute walk from the station. Our host John met us at the door and showed us to our thankfully ground floor room. It was nice, not fancy, but nice. The breakfast routine there is that you are given a card with lots of options for the next morning and you check off what you would like. Kippers!! They had Kippers!! I have never met a kipper I didn't like, so I checked off porridge, kippers and eggs. Our host asked if I really wanted the eggs. Why? I asked. He replied that it was an awful lot to eat, but If that was what I wanted, he would make it. That puzzled me because the kippers I know at home come in a can and are not large. He explained that his are fresh and one kipper covers an entire dinner plate. I canceled the eggs. The next morning I had my first fresh kipper and it was delicious. - but I digress.

By then it was mid afternoon and we took a walk down to the Cathedral - one of the finest in England. We were just in time for an almost private tour with an very lovely, elderly docent who knew the history of every speck of dust in the place - very informative. Afterwards we walked around Salisbury and then looked for a place for dinner, settling on "Ask" a mostly Italian restaurant where I had a two-fer coupon. Our meal was excellent, DW opting for grilled salmon with veggies and a tureen of prawns, chicken, olives, pine nuts etc. in a tomato based broth for me. With evening coming on and all of the shops closing (why do shops in the UK close so early? It would seem they lose a lot of trade) we asked our server what there was to do in the evening in Salisbury and she could not suggest anything other than pub crawling. Luckily, another server overheard us and suggested we check out the play house. We did, and they had a play that night, Toro! Toro! We bought tickets at 10 pounds each, open seating. It was theater in the round and a one man show with 2 musicians - a trumpet and guitar - the play follows a child who lived on a ranch that raises bulls for the ring and his pet bull through the Spanish Civil War. Again, we lucked into something memorable. The actor was captivating and the play riveting.

Next - Citizens of England, guard your lives. I rent a car and drive on the left side for the first time. A manual shift no less. Who says "you can't teach an old dog new tricks?"

I do like your traveling style.

He's a schlepper. I'm a schlepper. Wouldn't you like to be a schlepper, too?

The same thing did happen to us. Aren't those Brit boys nice now? They must carry Yank bags up steps every time they hop of the tube.

>>. . they had a play that night, Toro! Toro! We bought tickets at 10 pounds each, open seating. It was theater in the round and a one man show with 2 musicians - a trumpet and guitar - the play follows a child who lived on a ranch that raises bulls for the ring and his pet bull through the Spanish Civil War. Again, we lucked into something memorable.<<

I'm trying real hard to hang with you on this one, Mr. Basingstoke, but I can't quite imagine this being riveting.

I agree, though, that you have a most entertaining style of reporting. Looking forward to more.

<I'm trying real hard to hang with you on this one, Mr. Basingstoke, but I can't quite imagine this being riveting.>

I guess you had to be there. The story involved the child losing most of his family when the ranch was bombed, living in the forest with the partisans, fighting, etc. The actor was amazingly good.

I'm enjoying your report, looking forward to the rest.

Very enjoyable and easy reading,thanks for posting. Can't wait for more!

An elderly American friend of mine was a very early riser and went to Salisbury Cathedral around 7 in the morning.
She was a bit hesitant about going in, but a cheerful voice shouted "Come in love".
A group of cleaning ladies was busy. "We're known as the holy dusters, dear".
They too knew every inch of the place and showed her things like misericords and lots of other stuff which she wouldn't have noticed by herself.

Enjoying your trip report we were in England in October. It brings back good memories

The morn dawned and the kippers were served. I devoured breakfast as if it was my last meal. Considering I had never driven on the left side of the road (I refuse to call it the wrong side) and it being several years since driving a standard shift when I rowed a Smart for4 along the Amalfi coast, it occurred to me that the thought of the kippers being my final meal might be an apt one.

We had arranged a great prepaid inclusive weekly rate of $212 through Kemwell for a car in the Ford Focus class and our vendor was Europcar. It was a bit of a long walk to find it since "near" the train station actually meant nearly a mile away. With the heip of the GPS we found the place and the transaction was seamless. Climbing into the right hand side of the nearly new silver Vauxhall Astra, I was pleased that at least since I would be shifting with my left hand, it was an advantage to be a natural southpaw. I plotted a route back our B&B carefully calculated to avoid the double roundabout and we were off. Immediately it became clear that my greatest challenge would be in judging just where the left side of the car actually was. My tendency was to drive too close to the left. The shifting actually was no problem other than occasionally putting the car in 4th gear when I really wanted second. Later on, this tendency seemed to pop up a few times when entering roundabouts to the great amusement of other drivers. DW suggested that I keep more to the center and let oncoming cars go around us, but I pointed out that the oncoming car may also be driven by a tourist whose DW was giving the same advice.

Picking up our luggage at the B&B, we were off to Stonehenge. I had been to Stonehenge 2 times previously and honestly it is a place that I could never tire of seeing. It was the first time for DW. Just a bit of background - much of my travels have been with one or another of my kids sans wife and I had a habit of mentally filing away those places that I thought DW would enjoy at some time. Stonehenge was one of those, and it was the first time there for her- she really did enjoy visiting the place. We stayed longer than planned and it was a beautiful day. I quickly learned that my plan of avoiding roundabouts would be futile, and I have lost count of the number encountered on the way to Stonehenge. Other than terrifying DW by the tendency to keep too close to the left, the other thing that I needed to concentrate on was making sure to give way to traffic coming from the right. This is not something one would want to forget - even once.

From Stonehenge we drove on to Avebury - a most interesting and moody place. The drive there was beautiful and in and of itself was more than worthwhile. Other than the stones, completely different than those of Stonehenge, the Gardens and Manor House were of interest. When we were there, the Manor House was empty of furnishing, although I understand there may be some by now. Each room had a docent and so we had some good history lessons.

From Avebury, we drove to Bath where we to spend three nights. Bath is another of those places that I had mentally filed away as one that DW would like.

Here, the Garmin failed us. We entered the address of our next B&B, Cornerways and the GPS did not recognize it. Stopping at a petrol station on the A4, I bought a street map of Bath and we spent the next hour plus lost in that small city in heavy traffic trying to find the place. That was the most stressful driving of our entire trip and fortunately I was already adapting pretty well to driving in the UK. Finally, I parked the car in an area I thought to be nearby and set off on foot to try and find the place and succeeded within five minutes.

Our host, Sue Black, came to the door and showed me how to get to the included parking area and I returned and fetched DW and car.

Rick Steves, you've done her wrong. Rick Steve's guidebook described the rooms at Cornerways as "well worn" and frankly it was not the kind of writeup that would draw one to the place. I am glad that I did not read that write-up before booking our room because our experience was exactly the opposite. Our room was large, spotless and bright - attractive in a simple way, and the rate was an absolute bargain for what we received. There was nothing worn about it. Sue is a gracious hostess and gave us some fine restaurant and touring tips. Cornerways is very conveniently located midway between the Cathedral and the Royal Crescent. About a 5-10 minute walk either way. We walked down to the area near the Pump Room and just walked around getting "the lay of the land." We had a good pub dinner and I went to sleep that night with earlier cries of "you're too close to the left" still reverberating in my brain.

Next - blue eggs and adventures in Bath.

I neglected to note that we learned Grove Road where Cornerways is located is also part of the A4 - for anyone trying to find the place. Grove Road, a major route is not on Garmin maps - even those that have been updated as ours was. Entering the postal code, while usually usefull, was no help.

I want one of those kippers. It's good to have the Cornerways recommendation. Looks like a good location for walking?

It was an excellent location - we walked everywhere from there. The only drawback is that Grove Road is a busy one, so if you like to sleep in, request a rear room - for us that was not an issue since we are early risers. Sue's prices are rock bottom for Bath but she is a wonderful hostess. For example, we asked where there was a place to do laundry and she said just leave it with her and she would take care of it. It was back the next morning, nicely folded. The cost? All she asked for was a contribution of 5 pounds to one of the 2 animal charity boxes she keeps in dining area. More on Cornerway's in a segment I plan to write this evening.

ERROR ALERT!!! The road that I could not find for Cornerways was NOT Grove Road. It was called Crescent Gardens. Grove Road was the location of our B&B in Stratford-upon-Avon.

To continue...
Breakfast at Cornerways was extraordinary. Sue served the usual Full English and there was an excellent assortment of cereals and such. What made the breakfast different was the quality of the ingredients. All was organic and the eggs came from a nearby farm and were from a type of chicken that lays blue eggs. Blue eggs and ham became more that a Dr. Seuss story. Well make that blue aggs and bacon, but why quibble about some pigmeat. The mushrooms were also of a variety that was new to us. Almost black in color with a rich earthy taste. The marmalades were of the Duchy brand - that is the company that Prince Charles sponsors. There were also other quality marmalades as well such as Dundee. Also available were some gluten free cereals and since DW mentioned that she preferred gluten free, she was served toast, sans gluten.

An excellent breakfast eaten, we took the short walk down to the Pump Room for the free Mayor's walking tour of Bath and to make Pump Room lunch reservations. The guide was both entertaining and informative and we covered a lot of ground in the 2+ hour walk -if you are in Bath, do not miss it - which left some shopping time before our 2PM lunch and we found a fob watch for nurse DD. It is a kind of watch that we do not see much in the US - the watch even had a special dial to calculate pulse rate.

Lunch in the Pump Room lived up to our expectations. I had the smoked mackeral with creme fraiche on an open faced sandwich and carrot soup. Served also were the best chips I have ever had. DW order Sea Bream over a mash of cauliflower and potato. Sparkling water went along along with a taste of the Bath spring water that had a taste reminding of flat alka seltzer. Cups of Pump Room blend tea finished things off. It is a most elegant place and the service was attentive.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon on a very relaxing boat ride on the river Avon taking advantage of a beautiful sunny day. That is something else that we would recommend to do when in Bath.

Evening saw Dinner at Tilley's which had a menu with a plethora of vegetarian freindly items that suited us well. It was, as most meals would be, excellent.

Our evening was with Bizarre Bath with Noel as our "guide." Bizarre Bath is moving street theater and as Noel pointed out, there is nothing educational about it. The walk is a steady stream of quips, tricks, playing off of members of the group and passersby and just good fun. The prices quoted were 8 pounds each, 5 pounds for students and "11.50 for Seniors, because they slow us down." Mention the Rick Steves guide and you will save a quid. A stroll back to our Cornerways home would get us ready for another day. Please see my post of 2:41 PM above for an example of the extraordinary kindness of our hostess. She even put gluten free treats in our room for DW.

Next - a change of weather brings on some indoor activities.

I'm really enjoying your trip report, basingstoke2 (and your screen name) especially as so far, you are covering much the same ground as I did in my trip same time last year.

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/eigasukis-english-experience-april-2009-somewhat-belated.cfm

I also stayed at the Websters' B&B in Salisbury and in Crescent Gardens in Bath. I had a mini tour of Bath finding the place too. As an Aussie, driving on the left wasn't an issue for me but the roundabouts! There are certainly a lot!

Onee thing I did notice was that most if not all places I stayed at, and many of the places I ate in, catered well for vegetarians and others with dietary needs. I'm fortunate to be able to eat anything but I often noticed labels and signs and menu choices for specific needs.

Aren't the GBH passes awesome? I really hammered mine. Best thing, apart from the savings, was all the places I might otherwise not have bothered with.



Looking forward to more....

me too, Basingstoke. your B&B sounds a gem.

eigasuki, I read your entire trip report and we did indeed cover much the same ground as you will see. The problem with finding Crescent Garden is that the postal codes do not completely match up with the place, it is not identified as such on the GPS, at least not on ours. Our hostess said folks with Tom Tom had the same problem and on most maps it is called Upper Brewster Road while the street signs say Crescent Garden. We also made a "profit" on our GBH pass and like you, visited a few places where we may not have if it wasn't already covered.

BTW, thanks all for the feedback, it is appreciated.

to continue...
Our second full day was a gray, cool drizzly one as anticipated. As it turned out, one of the few days like that on our trip - we really lucked out as far as weather for the entire trip. It was an ideal time to for indoor activities such as the archeological tour of the Roman Baths and the Georgian House at #1 Royal Crescent.

The audio tour of the Roman Baths was very comprehensive and took better than 2.5 hours. If you enjoy history and archeology as we do, it is a not to be missed activity when in Bath.

From the Pump Room, which is also the start of the archeological tour, we walked up (and it is up) to the Royal Crescent in about 20 minutes. The route gets steeper as you pass the park. Number 1 Royal Crescent is not on the GBH pass, but is well worth the entrance fee of 5 pounds. There is a knowledgeable docent in each room, describing the history and furnishings of the rooms and the various owners. If you go, climb up to the third floor, we noticed that most viistors did not. In the hallway there are two Dutch Elm chairs done in marquetry that may be the finest examples of the type that I have seen. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking about Bath, shopping and such and giving our umbrellas a good outing.

Dinner was at Sally Lunn's - a Bath landmark in the oldest building in town. Reservations are a must - we saw many turned away. We were there at 6:45, just in time to still be able to order the early bird special. It was well priced at I believe 11.50, but I may be off by a quid or two. We both had soup I believe it was carrot with corriander, a soup that we would see often on UK menus. I had the lamb chop and a very nice one it was and DW ordered the ratatouille which she enjoyed. Veggies, wine and a slice of the famous Sally Lunn Bun were included in the price.

We wandered around Bath a bit more after dinner and then back to the B&B to pack up for out departure the next morning to Bourton-on-the-Water for our Cotswolds stay where we would be sleeping at Rooftrees B&B.

Next - we enter a garden of gnomes and I later hit the jackpot.







annhig - if you are looking for a simple, inexpensive place where you could feel at home, be treated as a welcome guest, and is convenient for walking, this place is for you. There is parking for up to 3 cars behind the house, but they are in-line so you have to coordinate with other guests to get your car out unless you are on the end.

Please continue Basingstoke, very much enjoying your report. Was really interested to read about the free walking tour in Bath, I hadn't come across that, thank you.

Thanks Maudie - will do. Today I posted a review of the B&Bs we visited on this trip that others who are planning a similar trip in the near future may use.

The Mayor's tour of Bath is a must. The guides are very knowledgeable. Free is a great price. The guides will not take tips. We invited our guide to join us for lunch in the pump room as our guest, but he needed to get home after the tour. Pity.

Count me in as another who is enjoying your trip report. More, more, please.

Union Jack Club where I had stayed on my previous London visits. For persons who are members of the forces that were allied with the UK in WW II, either active or retired, you can apply for an honorary membership there and it is a fine and reasonably priced place to stay.

basingstoke2- is this "membership" open to male and female alike?

PS Loving the trip report! Good info~

sarge56 - the requirement is to have a valid ID, active or retired. Gender is not a consideration. Actually there are 2 such clubs in London, the other being the Victory Services Club, which actually does have some broader catagories of membership, e.g., if your parents served. I do not know if the VSC does temporary memberships but the annual fee can be quite reasonable depending on your catagory. VSC is located near Marble Arch and has affiliations with other such clubs in the US, Belgium, Canada, etc. for members.

I have stayed in both and my preference for the Union Jack is based on its "clubby" atmosphere and location across from Waterloo Station. Both are very nice.
For more info:
Union Jack Club - www.ujclub.co.uk
Victory Services Club - www.vsc.co.uk

Hi basingstoke2, Great report. I too remember hearing radio recordings from St. Martins in the Field with Sir Neville M.

I drove a Volkswagen (stick) from Heathrow to downtown London in 1969 with 3 screaming friends in the car. Sympathies to your DW!

Looking forward to more report!

Thanks all for your kind words and encouragement.

To Continue...

Leaving Bath was far easier than entering. With clear signage to the road I needed, it was in fact no problem at all. Our stay in Bath was rewarding and we are looking forward to a return some day.

On the way to Bourton-on-the-Water we stopped at Castle Combe for a few hours and agree it is a must see village. It is hard to find a place more picturesque and it set the stage for our Cotswold visit. It was a lovely diversion that was to be a favorite.
Our next B&B was Rooftrees in BotW. Not having been to the Cotswolds before, I wanted a town that was centrally located and BotW seemed to fit. We were not disappointed. BotW is small, but not too small, has loads of charm and as we were to find out, has some excellent restaurants and the kind of shopping opportunities that we like best, namely antiques and such. Later after visiting Chipping Camden and Broadway, we were pleased that we chose BotW because it is the type of place that better suites us and we found it an entertaining and most pleasant place to be. It is a sweet little town and I am sure that in season there would be tourists by the bus load but that was not the case during our all too brief stay.

We easily found Rooftrees B&B in BotW. If you have already read my other current thread reviewing the B&Bs we stayed at during this trip, go ahead and skip the next two paragraphs – there will be little that is new.

Rooftrees B&B – this is a most interesting place. There is a good sized gnome garden (or small gnome city) that greets you as you walk to the flowered house entry from the ample off street parking, lending an air of whimsy that will continue throughout your stay. The location is excellent, a very pleasant straight 7-10 minute walk to the center of town. The B&B is an attractive one that features a sun room and a lovely patio in the back for relaxing. The breakfast was well cooked and a dinner can be ordered for extra charge. We did not try the dinner, so have no opinion as to its quality. The rate is amazing. We paid a paltry (for a Cotswolds B&B) 52 pounds per night for a room with a 4 poster bed. Rooms with regular beds are 2 pounds less. Our room is accurately pictured on the B&B web-site. What also makes this B&B interesting is that our hostess, Sylvia is a very talented maker of dolls and teddy bears. She makes every part including the porcelain like heads (I think she uses a resin), clothing etc. The dolls are quite elaborate. The house, including sleeping rooms is full of the teddy bears, no two alike. My grandkids would absolutely love this place.

Our 4 poster room and bath did not leave a spot undecorated – even the toilet paper had a flower pattern. The room itself is somewhat small, but suitcases can be shoved under the high bed that had a mattress what was somewhat too hard for our tastes, but that is a personal thing. The bath is large but the pressure in the shower was a bit on the low side – still though it was adequate. I understand that the other rooms have a “power shower.” Towels were of excellent quality.

A quick fish and chips lunch and we spent the rest of the day checking out the antique and other shops and made dinner reservations at the Rosetree. Now, one hobby of mine is Wedgwood Jasperware – it is something that appealed to me the first time I saw it and I have a small collection at home. Really, I have an affinity for all things ceramic and glass. At one of the antique shops I found the jasperware mother load. It had the usual pieces that one finds and also a number of pieces that are hard to find (at least in the US) and that I had coveted for awhile. The prices were excellent compared to those in the US. How much should I spend? How much can I safely carry?? Will we have to buy a new display cabinet when we get home??? These were things to think about during the evening.

Dinner at the Rosetree was as good as we expected. We both ordered the fish pie, a specialty there and it was delicious and ample. A first! DW tends not to drink things alcoholic, particularly beer so I was surprised that I was able to convince her to try a shandy. It was something that she really liked and shandys were to become her drink for the remainder of the trip.

Bourton-on-the-Water is especially pleasant in the evening and we spent some time just meandering about and planning our next day until it came time to walk back to Rooftrees and play Lord and Lady in our ornate four poster.

Next – some of the best days of our trip.

''There is a good sized gnome garden (or small gnome city) that greets you as you walk to the flowered house entry from the ample off street parking''.

Thank you.

I will inform the Gnome Liberation Front forthwith.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_Gnome_Liberationists

Ah, but these gnomes have set up their own society where they live, love and conduct their daily commerce. I am sure that they would not consider it liberation, but kidnapping.

However, I know of much cash, leading an oppressed, not to mention pressed, exisistance in several ATMs. There, they live in terror, knowing the fate that awaits them, to be folded, at times crushed and in the end pleasuring their captors against there will.

So I can feel the tension of all of the fodorites out there just waiting to learn what we did about the jasperware (place smiley face icon here). Keeping our carry on limits in mind, I exerted some self control and only bought a small tri-color bicentenary box that is hard to find in the US and what is now the gem of my collection, an exquisite cobalt blue tea pot in remarkable condition that according to the markings I placed at about mid 19th century. I have since confirmed the marks as pre 1860.

We spent much of the rest of the day hiking in Upper and Lower Slaughter, enjoying beautiful weather and idyllic scenery of these two towns. The Slaughters should be on the must visit list of anyone coming to the area and well worth a detour (I am working on getting photos ready to post). We had looked for B&Bs in the Slaughters, but apparently there are none. For the very well heeled among us, there are two hotels whose daily rates most likely exceed a full week in a B&B. If you want to stay in a beautiful manor house, go there. Later we stopped at a small art show in Lower Slaughter featuring local artists. One, Priscilla Peace - is that a great name or what? - lives on a nearby farm and paints her farm animals. We bought two of her smaller watercolors, one an amusing painting of a goose and the other of horses. She is very, very good.

For the remainder of our Cotswold adventure, we followed fodorite advice and visited Sudeley Castle, Hailes Abbey, Hidcote Gardens, Chipping Campden and Broadway. Sudely Castle is located just outside of Winchcombe where we spent some time before visiting the castle. We found Winchcombe to be particularly fetching with a pleasing mix of architecture, shops and restaurants set in a beautiful countryside. It would be a leading candidate as a Cotswold base when we return.

We spent more time than expected in the castle itself and again it should be on a must visit list. The castle and its exhibits give a good sense of history and the grounds were most enjoyable. A surprise was a mini bird zoo with peacocks walking freely about.

Hailes Abbey is a moody ruin. There is a good audio guide that comes with the admission. From Hailes Abbey we were off to Hidcote Gardens where we spent several hours. Our expectations were high and it did not disapoint. Although the formal garden "rooms" were lovely, it was the wilder areas that were spectacular. Bluebells were in bloom and that just added to the lovely surroundings. We had thought to go to nearby Kiftsgate afterwards, but were "gardened out" and skipped it in favor of having extra time to spend in Chipping Campden and then Broadway, wandering about for about an hour and more each. From the short time in these towns, we felt that our tastes ran more to Bourton-on-the-Water and Winchcombe.

It looked as if heavy rains would soon be upon us, so rather than have dinner in Broadway, we decided to beat the rain and head back to BotW for a late dinner at the Kingsbridge Inn, a pub there that looked interesting. At Kingsbridge, we had one of the best meals of the trip. I had the shoulder of lamb and DW had Sea Bream and she said it was one of the best fish dishes she has ever had. The Sea Bream were fresh and simply, but perfectly done as were the veggie sides that came with both of our meals. We toasted our last meal in the Cotswolds with a Guinnes for me and a shandy for her.

Next - Romeo and Juliet aint

Sea Bream is just lovely.

My Best Ever Meal in My Whole Life was sea bream with dill in Oslo.

BTW, I am very pleased to see you've followed my advice (whether you read it or not) on another thread regarding castles - which is that they must be falling apart and it must be pouring down with rain when you visit for maximum medieval grimness

Your trip sounds so much like our last one. I'm reliving it through your eyes, especially the lovely Cotswolds. Thank you, basingstoke!

Sigh...

Double sigh....taking all this in with pleasure. We only have 12 more months to wait - extra big sigh.

I guess it is time I got back down to business and continue this TR. I've been spending much of my spare time gardening these past few days - those UK gardens inspired me - and working on my trip photos which should soon be ready for posting.

We reluctantly left the Cotswolds on a cold, blustery morning to head for our next stop, Stratford-upon-Avon with a stop at Blenheim Palace along the way. We arrived soon after it opened and our British Heritage pass allowed us to skip the already long ticket buying line. I've been to the usual suspects of "great palaces of Europe" and Blenheim ranks up with the very best - it is spectacular and the rooms rival Europe's finest. We particularly enjoyed the Churchill exhibit. The "Untold Story" exhibit was a multi-media presentation and although very reminiscent of something that Disney would do, was entertaining and informative. We did not spend as much time on the grounds as we would have liked because of the cold, wind and rain - the Pim's Cup concession was doing a very poor business.

Leaving Blenheim we drove on to SuA and had no trouble at all finding our B&B. Following is a description of the B&B taken from my earlier thread of B&B reviews. If you have already read it, skip on.

Woodstock B&B – This place is a gem. It is a beautiful home, with beautiful furnishings that is a short and pleasant walk to central Stratford-upon-Avon with some good restaurants along the way. There is ample off the street parking. The B&B is also directly across the street from a very nice park (Firs Garden) and stop #7 of the hop-on, hop-off bus is also across the street within 200 yards. It is on a street of B&Bs. Our room was beautiful and spacious with a bay window that had stained glass trim and overlooked the park and street. Everything about the place spoke quality. The location was not noisy and the price was very reasonable. Pictures on the web-site are accurate. Our room was the one with the bay window and 2 pink chairs. It was actually done up as a triple, with a double and single bed. The bath was modern and the shower had good pressure and plenty of hot water. There was a nice welcoming tray with a good assortment of biscuits and such. Linens and towels were first rate.

Our hosts Jackie and Dennis met us as we arrived and helped carry our luggage to our first floor room. They were friendly and helpful throughout our too short stay with some good recommendations for restaurants (We particularly enjoyed the nearby Windmill Pub). The breakfast room was also very attractive, in keeping with rest of the place and the breakfasts were very nice, with a good variety.

Jackie recommended we lunch at the nearby Windmill Pub that is in one of the oldest buildings in a town of old buildings. The Windmill was also on my own list of restaurants to try so the suggestion was a confirmation of that. They do serve a very good pub lunch. I had the recommended Fish & Chips. The fish was enormous and perfectly done - the best I have had before or since. DW had a gigantic baked potato with some sort of cheesy filling. We then walked into town, saw the Guild Hall and decided to do the hop-on, hop-off bus, first to just ride the entire loop and listen to the audio. We would use the 24 hour ticket the next day to actually hop on and off. The audio tour was OK, but not nearly as good as the next day when we had a live guide on most of the buses.

Dinner was at the Dirty Duck, a well known pub next to the Court Yard Theater. We were both in the mood for something light so we both ordered the tomato soup - delicious and I had a cheese plate that was outstanding. It had large wedges of 3 types of cheese - a cheddar, shropshire blue (my new favorite cheese) and some crumbly something or other. The cheese was served with a carmelized onion chutney, oatcakes and grapes. With a half pint of bitter it was really a fine dinner. DW had another shandy following her soup - also a fine dinner or so she said.

Morning saw breakfast in the Woodstock's lovely dining room and we then crossed the street to the nearby hop-on and off bus stop #7, doing all of the Shakespeare tourist things and wandering SuA - a fine town to wander. Our day was to culminate with a pre-theater dinner and then Romeo and Juliet at the Court Yard Theater. We had planned on Lamb's for dinner but liked the menu at Vintner much better so went there instead and a very good choice it was. DW had salad with broiled pollock and veggies and I had the butternut squash soup and a lamb casserole both were excellent and the pre-theater dinner prices were very reasonable. If in SuA check out all 3 places mentioned, you will not be disappointed. Dinner done, we walked over to the theater and picked up our tickets at the will call window. We ordered them while back in the states. The Royal Shakespeare company has a user friendly web-site that was easy to use. Our seats were in the front row gallery and we had good sight lines.

The production was an interesting combination of traditional and contemporary and for us was a bit off-putting. The language was traditional and followed the original pretty closely. In the way of costumes, all were in traditional dress, except for R&J who wore modern clothing. The play opened with R coming on stage with a digital camera taking pictures of the audience. One of Mercucio's entrances was on a bicycle. At he very end, all are in modern garb. We also did not find J convincing as a 14 year old. If pressed, I would have to say that in balance I liked it - DW and I certainly had plenty to discuss on our walk back to the B&B.

Morning brought another fine breakfast and then an easy drive out of SuA to the M4 and on to York.

Next: York is in Shambles

Glad you've had a chance to get back to us basingstoke! Your comments about the Courtyard Theater performance are interesting. We had the same experience when we saw the Merchant of Venice, so it must be the way they often do it. The actors were in more modern dress; the scenery was almost Art Deco or Art Nouveau; but the language was traditional Shakespearean. After our initial surprise, we found we really enjoyed it.

Again, sounds wonderful.

basingstoke2:

Well done report - keep it coming.

Sandy

Thanks TD and SB - I neglected to mention that Ann Hathaway's house had docents in most rooms, dressed in period costume and Mary Arden's farm had working exhibits as well as a falconry demonstration. If you are traveling with kids, they will surely enjoy that. At the farm in the kitchen exhibit, the women doing the cooking demonstration asked the woodcutter to bring her some fagots. An older American woman asked "what is a fagot?" To her credit, the docent gave the straight answer (sorry, couldn't help that. I was tempted to call out "a bassoon" (fagott in most languages).

lol, Basingstoke,

here in the UK, a faggot is also a sort of meat-ball.

i thought you ought to know that.

looking forward to more,

regards, ann

I did not know that about the meat-ball, I learned something new today. Along a similar vein, DW is foreign born and although not spelled the same, the pronunciation of her given name is the same as UK and Aussie slang for an intimate part of the female anatomy. I informed her before we left that if I had to call out her name in a public place, in the interest of not being arrested as a public pervert, she would be "Fiona" until our return.

The teapot sounds lovely. Will you use it for tea?

As an Aussie - I had a good laugh at that! Looking forward to York.

In the UK you can have faggots followed by spotted dick without anyone raising an eyebrow. Apart from the diet police, of course,.

stokeb - It appears that the tea pot was always a display item and not used for tea in more than 150 years, which would explain its pristine condition. It does have glazing inside that would make it appropriate for tea, although I wonder that the glazing might contain lead. In any case, my intentions are to keep it in its pristine condition on display. It really one of the finest examples I have seen of a jasperware teapot, not only for its condition and age, but also because the figures and decorations seem more detailed and finer than more modern pieces.

It is a shame that Wedgwood Jasperware is no longer made in the UK but I believe in Malasia and the difference in quality can easily be seen.

I keep forgetting about lead, bstoke. Love cobalt Jasperware.

SB - You would really love this piece then - it's really special.

On with the trip report.

We found our way to the M4 pretty easily. It was our first "M" highway drive, and other than the lanes being in reverse order, it was much the same as driving on a good interstate in the US. The trip took about 3 hours including a stop for coffee along the way. Entering York, our GPS brought us directly to our B&B.

Following is a description of the B&B copied from my recent "basingstoke's review of some UK B&Bs" thread. Go ahead and skip the next paragraph if you have already read it.

Chelmsford Place B&B – Of the B&Bs we visited, I am a bit conflicted about this one, because of its location. It took easily a half hour to walk to Central York and about 45 minutes to Exhibition Square. The B&B itself was fine – it was a little more worn than the others, but still it was perfectly clean and acceptable. Our room was somewhat unusual. It was on the top floor but our host Nigel took care of the luggage, so that was not a problem. The room itself, a twin, was a bit on the small side, but that was made up for with a large dressing room with chair and vanity. The shower was located in the dressing room. The toilet was in a separated small room that was part of the suite. It was a convenient set-up. Breakfasts were good although by this time I was beginning to tire of “Full English.” There were other options though and special diets are attended to. Parking was in a designated area that was on the street and a parking permit, supplied by the B&B at no cost was supplied. Chelmsford Place had free wi-fi.

Having parked and settled into our room we saw that there was still time to walk to Exhibition Square and catch the 2:30 free walk hosted by volunteers. We made it with about 10 minutes to spare after a 45 minute walk. Again, our guide was engaging and had a deep knowledge of local history. The walk concentrated on the Roman and Norman aspects of York. Especially interesting learning how tell Roman walls from Norman by the type of stonework and the walk through the Shambles. The walk did not go into York Minster but there were explanations of outer features and ended with a long narrated walk along the top of wall surrounding York followed by the Shambles walk. Wending our way back to Exhibition Square we decided to do another hop on-off bus tour (the buses leave from there) to see some more of the city while resting our feet. We just rode the entire circuit and listened to the audio guide. Dinner time - where to eat?? Our guide highly recommended a place called Russell's Carvery. A carvery for a vegetarian? As a well known Alaskan would say, "you betcha." They had several vegetarian items on the menu, and best of all for DW, ordering an entree brought with it a visit to the hot veggie part of the carvery where there was a delicious variety to choose from. We liked it so much that we ate there again the following evening. I had the usual carvery dinner and it was very good, I thought their Yorkshire pudding was terrific, but what do I know of Yorkshire pudding? Following dinner we wandered around York for several hours but were a bit disappointed at the early closing time of the shops. I swear they have to be losing a lot of trade. We did stop by Betty's Tea Room to see what might be a good time to drop by for lunch or tea the next day without the long lines that we saw earlier in the day. More wandering about window shopping and it was back to the B&B, this time we figured how to walk part way along the river and it was pleasant. Emerging from our river walk, we were standing at an intersection near Clifford's Tower studying our map when a cyclist stopped and gave us accurate directions to our address - another example of the kindness of strangers that we found so common in the UK.

Next: Fat Rascal. Me??? Yes, Me.

Oh goody, yet another free walk to add to my list.

Maudie, there are 2 each day in York. I think the morning one is at 10 but I could well be wrong. The best thing about all of the free tours other than the price is that the leaders are local volunteers with real enthusiasm and knowledge about their city's history and buildings who enjoy sharing that knowledge and it shows. The ones in York leave from Exhibition Square just opposite the tourist info office. The ones in Bath leave from just outside the Pump Room. Reservation are not taken, just show up on time. The London Walk was very good too but although not free, they only cost a fiver.

Enjoying your report! We will be in England in a couple months, so I'm still working on possible-but-will-be-rather-flexible itineraries for each day. We will be in York on a Sunday. Was the walk you took a 2-hour-one and did it begin and end at the same place? Was Russell's crowded? (My DD is a vegetarian so I was interested in their menu after I read your post.)

tbw- York walks start at Exhibition Square and ours ended exiting Shambles. I do not know if all guides follow the same itinerary. It was about 2 hours, maybe a bit more. We had a fairly small group, perhaps 10 people. We keep our itineraries flexible too. Russells was not crowded when we were there in May, we arrived soon after it opened for the dinner hours, about 6 I believe. Their menu is on their website www.russells-restaurants.com . You can see by their menu that there are some good chices. One can also order only the veggies that are served at the carvery table- those are self service and I particularly liked the good selection of root vegetables. DW is the kind of vegetarian who will eat fish, dairy,eggs, and tries to avoid or limit gluten. We found restaurants in the the UK to be far friendlier to that kind of diet than here in the US, or at least in the area where I live. She ate well the entire trip and was very pleased with the choices available. Are you going to Edinburgh? If so, as my grandmother would say, do I have a vegetarian restaurant suggestion for you!!

Thanks--no Edinburgh this trip (alas--but NEXT TIME!). But sounds like your DW's menu selections would suit my daughter mostly (also GF-intolerant a bit) so any suggestions in London, Shrewsbury, Conwy, Carlisle, Durham, or Dover would be appreciated and duly noted on the restaurant list I'm working to compile before July 28 departure.

Keep reportin'!

TBW - of the places you mentioned above, the only one we visited was London. We liked Sagar's Vegetarian Restaurant (Indian food) quite a bit. It is in the Covent Gardens area. After a while, with a few exceptions we made no special effort to find a vegetarian friendly place. We were surprised to find the UK very vegetarian friendly - most every restaurant and pub had a variety of vegetarian selections. She will eat well. If she eats fish and dairy, she will have no problem at all, but even if she doesn't, she will be happy most anywhere.

You are a wealth of information, basingstoke. Thanks so much.

Moving on, we began our only full day in York by hiking over to York Minster. On the way, we stopped at Clifford's Tower and then yet another antique center, this one was quite large, occupying 2 floors and DW ended up buying a few old lace bobbins with the thought of making a small display of them with some antique lace we picked up in Delft on an earlier trip. This shop also has a large room of old books and maps and one could easily lose track of time in there. We arrived at York Minster just in time for a free docent led tour (there is an admission fee to the cathedral). Our docent was most entertaining with stories about those who designed and those who were associated with the cathedral throughout its history and also explained the history and use of each part of the building. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, a visit to York Minster is a must - the interior is amazing. I was particularly taken with the Chapter Room - when my photos are posted you will see that is obvious, I will let them describe the room for me. When you do visit York Minster allow more time than you think you will need, it is hard to pull yourself away. As we left, we made note to return later in the day.

When we visited Betty's tea room the day before, we were told that the best time to avoid long lines is just before three. That left time to visit the outdoor market and wander some more stopping where we found it interesting and just followed our whims. We did also scout out some restaurants for dinner. We were then over to Betty's for a light lunch. There are many descriptions of Betty's on this forum and many more in the guide books so I will say that in our opinion the long lines are for a reason. The place has an elegance to it combined with excellent service and food. We skipped the formal high tea in favor of the cream tea menu for me and a garden vegetable soup for DW. The cream tea is served with 2 scones, butter, clotted cream, jam and a choice of teas. I noticed on the menu a fruited scone called "Fat Rascal," and fat rascal that I am, I had to have it, sugar load be damned. Our server was quite willing to substitute it for one of the 2 standard scones for a nominal extra cost. When served, it was easily twice the size of the other scone, which itself was ample. For my taste, it was a bit too sweet and I preferred the standard which was perfect. My tea choice was the house blend, and it was excellent - I am sorry that I did not buy some to bring home. DW proclaimed her soup to be light, fresh tasting, and exactly what she was in the mood for. In visiting Betty's know that the upstairs and downstairs dining rooms are very different, the upstairs being light and airy while the downstairs room is dark wood paneling and formal.

Having scouted out some other restaurants, we deciding to dine at Russells once again, and again it did not disappoint. I visited the carvery table once again having a different choice of meats than the evening before and loading up on those veggies that had appealed to me, particularly the parsnip and potato mash. DW also visited the carvery, but only had the veggies which we had found could be ordered that way, but it was not listed like that on the menu. It pays to ask your server.

Before dinner, we had visited York Minster once again for Evensong which was splendid (and it's not even our religion). I was also anxious to do more photography in the cathedral when there were fewer people and also to tour the lower area of the cathedral which is an archeological exhibit of some York history as well as the cathedral underpinnings. When you visit York Minster, don't miss it. Visiting late is good not only because after evensong, we practically had the place to ourselves, but also because of the different light that enhanced photographs. There were so few people there late that I was able to take photos of the empty Chapter Room's ceiling lying on my back on the floor.

Our after dinner plan was to walk down to the river and meet "The Original Ghost Walk." There are number of ghost walks to choose from. This one has no gimmicks or costumed leaders. It is a walk around parts of York with a stories of some of the more lurid parts of the history. The leader of our walk is also a consultant to that ghost program (on the travel channel in the US) and he knew his stuff. Back to York Minster for some night shots of the exterior and then to our B&B to pack a bit for leaving York the next morning on a late morning train to Edinburgh after turning in our car, Europcar being right next to the train station.

Next - 14 Hart

Enjoying this so much. Fat rascal indeed!

One of the Reader's Digest How To books has a section on making bobbin lace. I did the sampler with clothes pin and nearly went berserk doing the project. It took 30 or so (if I remember correctly) to do the sampler.

oh how your report brought back memories of York Minster and the number of photos I took- of the exterior with hyacinths growing in bed in full sun(!), the view from the top (after I'd recovered from my panic attack on the ascent), the intricate stonework, chapter house dome and many, many pictures of the tiles - I may have photographed every tile. The menorial to the women of the Empire made me tear up. There were Easter displays when I was there. The crypt tour was really interesting - recommended.

The sun shone every day I was in Yorkshire, in contrast to most of my trip, and everything was wonderful.I'm sure the weather colours your perceptions. But I just loved the tea - at Betty's, at the B&B, at Castle Howard - everywhere. Fortunately, I can buy Taylor and Harrogate's Yorkshire Tea at quite a few places near home so that's become one of my travel-related treats for myself.

I'm looking forward to your Edinburgh instalment as well as to my next trip to the UK> Whichever parts I end up visiting, I'll be sure to include Yorkshire - so much still to see.

TD - I am glad you are enjoying the TR - coming from you, that means a lot (BTW, we've been out you way a few times this month - do you have any exhibitions at present?

eigasuki - thanks for the kind words. We had good weather for almost all of our trip - meaning no rain. Some cool days are expected.

Quiet Waters Park (Annapolis) and River Gallery (Galesville) at the moment, thanks for asking!

Maybe we should try an Annapolis GTG one of these days. After you finish your TR of course!

We're up for an Annapolis GTG anytime. Its a great location. Maybe we can do it on one of the tour boats - sort of a GTG cruise.

That would be wonderful.

moving on....

If you take the train from York to Edinburgh, try to get a seat on the right side as you face the forward direction. You will be rewarded with views of the coast as you move north. The train itself was comfortable and quick - if only coach class in airplanes were as comfortable.

Arriving in Edinburgh, we wheeled our luggage over to the taxi stand and after a short ride, we were at our B&B, 14 Hart Street. The address is the name. The taxi driver wasn't sure that he brought us to the right place, since there is no outward indication that it is a B&B. Following is our review of 14 Hart copied as usual from our other thread.

14 Hart Street – Another gem. I have paid 5 quid to visit homes that did not match up to 14 Hart. This B&B is elegant, and artistically decorated with lovely antiques, beautiful prints on the walls, and fine plasterwork. Everything about 14 Hart reflects a refined taste. Sleeping rooms are semi below ground level. Ours was bright and had character with a fireplace, an antique marquetry fireplace screen and a very pleasant view of the garden. In contrast to the traditional decor of the sleeping room, the bathroom was large and very modern with a tower shower that I wish I had at home. The bed was comfortable with quality linens. Towels were of the best quality. Our room greeted us with a decanter of scotch and bottles of both red and white wine, an assortment of biscuits, as well as a welcoming note from the hosts - a different touch that was appreciated. Our hosts were still at school teaching and they arranged for a gentleman to get us settled - he asked if we would care for and early afternoon cuppa and brought fresh milk. It was altogether a brilliant place to spend four nights.

14 Hart is in a New Town residential neighborhood chock full of restaurants and pubs. We particularly enjoyed the food at the nearby Urban Angel. It is an easy walk to both the Waverly train station and an even shorter walk to the bus station. Princes Street was a pleasant ten minute walk, and the Royal mile about another 5-10 minutes past that.

Breakfast was tasty and plentiful. The porridge was particularly good as was the fresh fruit salad - different each day.

Hotels and B&Bs in Edinburgh tend to be expensive, thus the 80 pounds per night we paid was quite a bargain, particularly since it was a place that we so much enjoyed coming "home" to.

As in any B&B, it is the hosts that define the experience. James and Angela were the perfect hosts and we much enjoyed most interesting evening conversations with them. James is a teacher of Tudor History, while Angela teaches Greek and Latin. Nothing was too much trouble.

A couple of cuppas and an early afternoon nip of the scotch for me and it was explore Edinburgh time. If you have yet to visit Edinburgh make plans to do so-the city has an ambiance that is enthralling. We went first to the TI building on Princes Street, passing St. Andrews park on the way, and making note of interesting pubs and restaurants as we walked. I also made mental note of a shop selling stringed instruments and another down the street called "The Wind Section" selling brass and woodwinds. The latter was a place that I knew I wouldn't be able to resist visiting for long.

Although Edinburgh is a very walkable city, we decided to do the hop-on-off bus circuit to get a feel of the city lay-,out. The live narration was a welcome change from audio guides and our guide had the usual tid-bits and stories. We started with the entire circuit, about an hour and I made note of the location of Sandy Bell's, a pub that features local folk music in the evenings.

If you like shops selling woolens, mostly of souvenir quality, but some higher end, you will love High Street, the main drag of the Royal mile. One of DW's intents for Edinburgh was to hit those shops for easy to pack items to bring back for relatives and friends, and by god, we went to it- we probably hit them all that afternoon, comparing goods (much the same with some exceptions) and prices -ditto. Along the way, we walked up to the castle but saved going in for the next day.

Having skipped lunch - we stuck it out until the shops closed around 5:30- we were famished and set off in search of David Bann's, a vegetarian restaurant that we heard much about, but did not find it. We did however stumble upon the Creel Restaurant, they had tables, we like fish, so we went in. The Creel is located just off of High Street, next to the Ibis Hotel. What a treat it was. For starters, I had an assortment of different types of salmon - they smoke it themselves. DW started with a cream of Celeriac soup that she believes also had some leek flavor. She was in heaven, saying it was by far the best soup of any type she had ever tasted - she gave up a spoonful to me so I could try it and truly, it was gooood. The entree for both of us was broiled fish, I believe haddock. The next few hours were spent in wandering, then taking the long way back to the B&B where I couldn't wait to try the shower, and, it was bliss.

Next- bewitched by the Witchery.

We woke up to our Edinburgh Castle Day. Using our still good hop-on-off tickets we took a ride up there. It was interesting that the live guide's talk was very much different than the first, so it made for and interesting trip. The hop-on-off drops one off right on High Street. Walking up to the Castle, we passed the Witchery restaurant, a place we had heard much about. The menu looked interesting but the dinner prices were quite steep. However, we saw that they had and prix fixe luncheon menu at 13 pounds that looked good so we made luncheon reservations for 2 PM, the only available time left, but that fit our schedule just right. When we made the reservations, we were told that we would have the table for 2 hours. I have never had a time limit put on a restaurant meal before, but of course that was more than ample time and we thought quite generous considering the demand for reservations at the place, since we had one of the last reservations available. Reservations made, it was up to the castle and a quick entry with our heritage pass. A tour was just being formed, so we joined it - it lasted for about an hour and a half and had about 15 people. Again, as most such tours it was both entertaining and informative. Since the tour hit just the high points, we went back and picked up audio guides and spent a few more hours exploring. It was pretty blustery up there but it was easy to see why visiting this castle is so popular. Much is restored and we recommend allowing enough time to actually stop and read the exhibit explanations rather than just file past like we saw so many others doing. BTW, the views from the castle are marvelous.

Leaving the castle, we had just a very short walk for our Witchery reservations. The service in this restaurant is extraordinary, beyond the usual keeping glasses full. For example when DW went to the lady's room, the server came over and re-folded her napkin. DW had a duck egg starter and we both ordered the fish pie for our entree. I saw that the menu listed haggis as a starter, but it was not on the set luncheon menu. I asked our server if I could substitute the haggis as a starter, and they were glad to do it, so I was to experience my first haggis. As a starter, it was not a large portion, perhaps 50% larger than the duck egg. I did enjoy it, but if it was served in the US, I would have it as only an occasional thing. It reminded me of two dishes that my grandmother used to make. One was called "helzel" the neck skin of a fowl stuffed with grains, fat, herbs and spices. The other, chopped liver. Mix them together and it would taste much like haggis, at least the one served at the Witchery. The fish pie, though a smaller portion than the one we enjoyed at the Rosetree in Bourton-on-the-Water, was still very ample and filling. Compared to the Rosetree fish pie, it was a mixture that had smoked fish as well, and was delicious. Between the two, we both preferred the one at the Witchery.

Having used our full two hours soaking up the ambiance of the restaurant, we were left with about an hour and a half before shops closed and DW continued on her quest for the perfect souvenirs for the folks back home. As you see, shopping is another theme for our trip.

Our plan for the evening was to have dinner at David Bann's and then spend a few hours at the Sandy Bell pub to enjoy the music. This time with better directions, we had no trouble finding David Bann's a vegetarian restaurant stopping in to make dinner reservations - we were told reservations would be necessary. Simply said, David Bann's is everything a vegetarian/vegan restaurant should be. The decor is modern and the food is fabulous. This is not the usual tofu place, but a restaurant that serves delicious, creative, fusion, vegetarian dishes that anyone, even if not vegetarian would enjoy. The place was packed. It is what an upscale vegetarian restaurant should be (although the dinner prices were not upscale at all) and its popularity shows that there is a demand for such restaurants. I wish that there was a place like David Bann's near our home.

Sandy Bell's was a bit of a walk from David Bann's and was much smaller than we expected. Finding a table, we were soon joined by two personable young fellows on holiday from Norway, and the musicians began arriving. This is not like a stage show, but informal jam sessions of folk music as the musicians join together. The music, ambiance, company, and drink made for a fine cap for the day. When in Edinburgh, seek it out. The Musicians usually arrive after 9 PM a few hours earlier on weekends.

Next - some serious culture.

Saving this all for future ref, bstoke. Especially valuable B&B reviews.

Glad you find them useful stokeb. I will soon post photos that will include the Woodstock and 14 Hart B&Bs.

What a lovely report! Re driving on 'the other side'. My constant refrain as the passenger was 'too close, too close!!'. Our really frightening experience in country France was when my hb was reversing out of a driveway and mistakenly looked in the wrong direction for oncoming traffic. Thinking the road was clear he backed out and very nearly collected a car. All parties in both cars got an awful fright!

We were also helped by some friendly Brits. Not with luggage, but when we were a bit muddled trying to find our hotel on arrival in London one evening. We were clearly tourists (dragging luggage behind us) and a couple of young men kindly stopped and got us sorted out.

Your report is wonderful and has provided a great early morning read.

Agree with cathies about your report and remembering how right-sided we are .

Hi.
I am going for a trip with my fiance to europe and really confused about which restaurant to choose from
so while searching i came through this website http://covent-garden.fluidrestaurantguide.co.uk/, Is this website is really good as it sounds on web?

morkel, I wish that I could be of help, but the only Covent Garden restaurant we ate in is the one mentioned in my report, and it is not on the list so I am unable to compare our impresson with a listing. This website does seem to be one where the included restaurants self nominate. Perhaps you would find restaurant reviews in the Zagat London edition useful. Covent Garden Garden is loaded with restaurants, only a very few are in the fluid guide.

Try to post your question on the Europe forum for responses from those more knowledgable than myself.

We are staying at 14 Hart Street in Edinburgh in September. Thanks for all the other good suggestions that we are looking forward to doing.

saraho, I'm not finished uploading photos of this trip to flickr but I have already uploaded the pics of 14 Hart if you want to see them. www.flickr.com/photos/basingstoke2/sets

I only have the Edinburgh and Warwick Castle ones left to do. The ceilidh videos are already uploaded.

Two more days to go. We are keeping a close eye on news of the volcano and do not like what we have been seeing. It's getting lively again and parts of Irish airspace and some of northern Scotland have been shut down. Will we be able to leave Edinburgh? Will be forced to stay a few more days? Will our trip insurance kick in if we are? Will our flight leave Edinburgh only to leave us stranded at our Heathrow connection? Heck, we are having too good a time to care very much about it, except for the last possibility.

So, without carrying a heavy burden of concern, we begin our penultimate day. On our morning walks from the B&B we had noticed an interesting building just around the corner. This morning it had a sign "Auction Today" or something like that, so we walked over to see what it was about. Shades of "Cash in the Attic" there was a lot of interesting looking stuff there, or as I overheard one cynical local remark "what a load of rubbish." I stuck to the former assesment and we decided to stay for a bit, looking around to see if there were any small objects that might be fun to bid on. A small 18th century memorial locket with a man's portrait on the front and a lock of his hair behind glass behind caught DW's eye. I thought it was creepy. We both liked the set of six very nice imitation Chippendale dining room chairs, but we could not figure out how we would get them into our luggage for the trip back, even with the large pieces we had been schlepping about. We stayed for the bidding through the locket (#32) that went for a few hundred pounds as part of a group of 4 similar pieces. The chairs were #200 something so we decided not to wait, not having solved the packing problem. Still, it was fun.

Edinburgh is filled with traps to take our money. On the way up to the Edinburgh Museum, we passed those music shops I mentioned earlier and had promised myself to stop in and visit the brass shop, aptly named "The Brass Section." Since I rarely break such a promise to myself, we stepped in. There, hanging on the wall among a few used French Horns was a beautiful Alexander model 107 descant horn -- with a sterling silver leadpipe that had been added on. Dear reader, I don't expect you to know what this means to a horn player like myself, but it was a rare and very desirable find. Feigning little interest with my best middle eastern suk bargaining face on, I asked the price. Two thousand pounds was the answer. Quick mental calculation told me that was about 3 thousand dollars. One like that in the US sells for somewhere between 5-6 thousand dollars and that is with a standard brass leadpipe. I asked if I could play it. Sure the proprietor answered-he even let me borrow a mouthpiece. It played like a dream! How much to ship it to the US? About 100-150-quid was the answer. Summoning every bit of self control I could muster, I did not buy it. Why? I had to face the reality that my first chair days are over - given to the younger and sturdier members of the orchestra and a descant is an instrument that specializes in high range - first chair horns play the high and solo parts. Also, I am not in the horn trading business, even though it would probably turn a nice profit. For me, it would be just a toy and an expensive one at that. I had no way to rationalize the purchase, so with a still doubting heart, I left the shop.

Well, the past, even the recent past is still the past, so we walked to the Museum. Again, there was a free tour to go along with the free admission. Our bearded tour guide looked very Scottish in his kilt but sounded German in his accent. Yes, he said, he was from Munich but moved to Edinburgh some years earlier. His tour was interesting in a different way. Somehow he put politics in much of his presentation and somehow managed to make, shall we say not positive, allusions to US policy as he went along, looking at DW and myself as he did as we were the only Yanks in the group. We stuck with the group, even though a bit uncomfortable at times. At tours end I had a nice talk with him - really, it was nice and we both learned from each other.

After a few hours in the Museum, we had time left to visit Holyrood. We loved the art collection, grounds and interiors, but as you can tell by now, we are pushovers for that kind of thing. We decided to walk back from there, and it was a long walk, passing the newish Parliament building. I won't comment except to say that even though I am against capital punishment, I would make an exception for the architect of the Parliament.

Arriving at the B&B we had time for a change into some fresh clothing and dinner, before going to a Ceilidh for the rest of the evening. Dinner was at the Urban Angel about a block from the B&B. I noticed vegerarian haggis on the menu and although it is a contradictory concept, ordered it. It was delicious - something that I would order often if available in the US.

A Ceilidh is something that every visitor to Scotland should experience. I have another thread about it as well as videos that I have also posted and will link again at the end of this post along with all of our other photos. For those who have not seen the Ceilidh thread, I'll copy my original post here.

Ever been to a Ceilidh? We went to one in Edinburgh last month and it was more fun than should be legal. If you are in Scotland, be sure to find one and attend - it is an authentic Scottish experience and often they are held to raise money for a charity - this one was to raise money to help Edinbugh's homeless. We learned of it through the TI office.

See if you can spot "The Jew Dance." As the Ceilidh was going on, the caller put a Virginia Reel in the mix for any Americans that might be in the crowd. I said to DW, "next they will be doing a hora. " Wouldn't you know, the next dance was announced as "The Jew Dance." It cracked me up. If you have never seen men in kilts doing a combination of hora and hasidic dance, you'll see it now. Also try to spot a fellow who is the John Travolta of Ceilidhs. He is a young man in a kilt, long hair and a beard.

Have fun and turn the sound up.

UK trip photos link: www.flickr.com/photos/basingstoke2/collections

Next and last: Warwick (not the reformatory - those from NY would know what I mean) and the volcano gods frown.

UK

Fantastic trip report!

Thanks semiramis. I like your ancient goddess screen name.

So here is the final installment of the trip.

After the ceilidh we slept well and arose early for our day in Warwick. We wanted an early start because would you believe it, we still had some shopping to do. DW decided that tea cozies would be nice gifts, so we needed to get back before stores closed to see if we could find some. We also needed to turn in early for a 4:30 AM taxi pickup that our hosts kindly arranged.

A short walk to the train station and we bought our tickets to Warwick - only 6 pounds for a return ticket. Arriving in Warwick, it was up to the castle, and I do mean up - it is quite a steep climb. Pantingly, we arrived at the castle gate and used our heritage pass for the last time on this trip. The pass was well worth it - we received full value and then some.

Warwick Castle impressed as very unlike Edinburgh Castle in that it seemed oriented more toward entertainment than history, although there was plenty of the latter. That day- a Sunday- there were no tours. Instead of the tours, they had costumed historical skits, demonstrations and entertainment at the different castle buildings. If you click on the photo link above and choose the Warwick set, you will find 2 videos of the music demonstration/entertainment. You will also see some of the beautiful views of the nearby countryside - I believe that is the beginning of the highlands, or so said a tour guide back in Edinburgh.

Leaving the castle, it was a much easier walk down to the train station and a comfortable ride back to Edinburgh, arriving in time for a tea cozy search. We couldn't find one among the high street shops but were directed to Jenner's department store and there was a good assortment to choose from there. If you are looking for a tea cozy, Jenner's is the place.

Cozies in hand, it was back towards 14 Hart with a stop for a combination lunch/dinner at Magnums - a nearby restaurant recommended by our hosts. Vegetarian haggis was on their menu too, so we had it again.It was spicier than that at the Urban Angel, but delicious. I guess that haggis is a perfect last meal before leaving Scotland.

Amazed that we were able to get all into our luggage with breakables in a carry-on, we brought our swollen luggage into the hall-way near the door, so as not to disturb other guests in the morning. Our taxi arrived at exactly 4:30 AM as ordered and it was a quick ride out to the airport. I believe it was under 15 pounds. The flight on B.A to Heathrow was on time so we breathed a sigh of relief - not so fast Basing the volcano god said. We had a 3 hour lay over at Heathrow and as the gate to the waiting area for our flight opened, there was an announcement that because of a shifting wind pattern, our flight would be delayed for 2 1/2 hours so that a new flight path could be plotted and plan filed. The allotted time passed and we boarded. OK, so we are only 2 1/2 hours delayed. That's not too bad. Not so fast Basing, frowned the volcano god. The doors had closed and we were backing away from the gate when the airplane stopped. Announcement - the winds had shifted again at it would be at least another 2 1/2 hours. We would have to stay on board. Actually, it was 3 hours, so 5 1/2 hours late, we took off. The new route was longer than the original so we landed at JFK at 9 PM rather than 2:45 as scheduled. We still had to gather our luggage, pass through customs and get our car for our 5 hour ride home, arriving at 3 AM or 8 AM body time. Now that was a long day. We were fortunate though because soon after, our flight would have been cancelled and then we would have been thrust into the midst of the space available hordes. I had planned to go into the office that day. I didn't.

Next: well, there really isn't any next, although I do plan to follow up with a short overall impressions post. Thanks for sticking with it and I hope you found it useful and perhaps a bit entertaining.

OKay -- for the last 2 days I kept wondering how you got from Edinburgh to Warwick - - and then figured out -- you meant Stirling Castle. Different place, different country

Fabulous report!!

janisj - you are so right - of course it is Stirling Castle. Where did Warwick come from since I've never been there? Perhaps, the street where I was born and lived the first 20 years of my life was named Warwick Street. Could there be something subliminal going on?

A final bravo. Looking at the first of your Ceilidh sets then will go through pix. Super report.

ps-Delays on the way home are doubly "painful"-one wants to be home NOW, eh?

Great report, Basingstoke. Sufficiently detailed but not over-detailed.

I would like to end this TR with some final thoughts and impressions.

People - It is the people that you meet that make the real difference in a trip and the folks we met in the UK enhanced our venture. Without an exception, we met people who were friendly, kind and helpful to strangers.

Food - food in the UK gets a bad rap. Our meals, except for that one Burger King breakfast, were memorable. Some were simple and others more upscale but all were good. We particularly enjoyed pub grub where we had some of our best meals and enjoyed new things. Some things stood out, for example the soups were outstanding. We really liked the carrot/coriander soup and the Celeriac soup at the Creel restaurant in Edinburgh was unbelievably good.

Prices - surprisingly reasonable. Our most expensive meal was 16 pounds at Bath's Pump Room, but most restaurant meals were 11-13. That is not more than we would pay at home. Pubs were less at about 7-10 pounds, even less, and one can eat very well sticking to pubs. One of my best meals was in a pub - the cheese plate with soup and a pint at the Dirty Duck in Stratford-upon-Avon. It was simple but very satisfying and one of the most reasonable in price. Probably our best meal overall was the sea bream at the Kingsbridge Inn, a pub in Bourton-on-the-Water. In restaurants we pretty much stuck to set menus and pre-theater menus which were always a good value. You don't have to spend a lot to eat very well.
Semi-vegetarian DW ate very well and finding food to match her diet was no problem at all. Vegetarian alert! If in Edinburgh, seek out David Bann's. It is what a vegetarian restaurant should be.

Our B&Bs were very well priced, we never spent more than 80 pounds (hotel in London and B&B in Edinburgh) and would not hesitate to recommend any of them to our closest friends. Most were considerably less. Particularly outstanding was 14 Hart in Edinburgh and Woodstock in Stratford-upon-Avon. Cornerway's in Bath is also worth a mention for our hostess's outstanding hospitality, location, simple but very pleasant room, breakfast, and for Bath, a rock bottom price.

Our British Heritage Pass was very worthwhile and for us, a good value. An added benefit is that one can often bypass lines and since it is already paid for, we went to places that we may not have otherwise, to our benefit.

The beauty of the UK - One thing that made this trip special for me, was being able to see some of the UK through DW's eyes. Although I had been to some of our destinations before, it was the first time for her. We were both taken with the beauty of the countryside, especially around the Cotswolds, architecture, and lovely towns and villages.

Deserving of a special mention when speaking of beauty were the rapeseed fields that were in full bloom when we were there. Imagine driving, surrounded by fields of the brightest yellow. It turned even gray days to days of sunshine.

Attitude - as you can tell if you follow my TRs, we travel with a "glass is half full" attitude and enthusiasm for what we find. We are not hard to please. As the old joke goes, if we entered a stable piled with manure, we would find the pony.

Best experience - That is hard to say because there was so much that was memorable. We will never forget our evening at the Ceilidh nor the beauty of the countryside.

Driving - We thought the road signs were excellent and even got used to the roundabouts. Roads were all decent even when narrow. We particularly enjoyed driving in the Cotswolds on the narrow winding roads with a new vista beyond each turn. Learning to drive on the other side of the road was no big deal other than some stress on the first day where I had to adjust to where the left side of the car was. Just remember to give way to traffic coming from the right.

Lastly, thank you to all of those who have stuck with long TR - I hope you find things that will be useful for your own future trips to the UK.

Lastly, thank you to all of those who have stuck with long TR - I hope you find things that will be useful for your own future trips to the UK.>>

basingstoke - it was no hardship to do so. I really enjoyed reading about how you "foreigners" see us! and learning some things about my own country as well.

What a wonderful trip report. I enjoyed every bit and relived many of my own memories of a similar trip about 12 years ago. Thanks so much for sharing.