<b>Chapter 9--Day 9—Aug. 6--Lickety Split to (but not through!) the Lake District before Coming into Carlisle</b>

Another outstanding cooked to order breakfast. (DD was managing her diet well by eating beans and mushrooms mostly with potatoes sometimes and maybe fruit.) Generally all the B&B’s offered eggs, mostly fried, meat (usually bacon, sometimes also sausage), beans, mushrooms, sometimes potatoes, grilled tomatoes, and toast. Tea—always good and always abundant. Sometimes fruit. A couple offered yogurt, and most had cereal offerings I think.

This was the day I had the least set expectations of, other than going safely from Conwy to Carlisle. I would loved to have had a day or more in the Lake District, but our schedule did not allow for this; I knew we would encounter traffic at this time of the summer if we drove through it, but we decided we would go that way instead of around on an M road.

The day started rather clear, but as we drove it got rainier and rainier. We made good time going from Carlisle to near Kendal on mostly major roads. This was a time when we overruled Sheila’s instructions. Her route had us going near Liverpool, but we changed that and encountered no major traffic snarls at all even in the rain.

We got off onto smaller roads near Kendal, and as we drove into the Lake District, it got pretty rainy and BUSY! I knew it would be busy, but the rain was making viewing anything even less likely. In Windermere, which we had to crawl through in a long line, we hoped to locate food and ..facilities. I had thought we might park at a visitor center, but it was full and traffic was bumper to bumper, snaking round about each roundabout (either there were several or we revisited some!) But as he was trying just to navigate us out of the jam-packed village, he spotted and then shot into a parking spot. It was raining pretty good, so I went across the street to check out a little sandwich shop which offered food but no…facilities. Right next to the parking spot was The Lighthouse with food, available table—and facilities! It was fast, convenient and reasonable for food in the center of an obviously seriously attractive summer spot but not that great. DH had potato with chili, DD had soup, and I had a cheese and tomato salad. I wouldn’t make a special effort to go back, but it was a good spot for us.

We soon went back into the traffic, which did lessen some as we went further north through the Lake District. At some point we drove past the sign to Dove Cottage of the Wordsworths. (This whole area has so many connections with artists and writers, but our schedule didn’t allow for any real sight-seeing stops.) Then I spotted the visitor center at Brockhole, barely in time to alert DH to turn in. We parked in our first “pay-and-display” lot and walked just a little way out to Windermere Lake with its grey green hills under slate-grey clouds with the blue-grey water rippling in the rain. It is pretty. I could imagine the Swallows and Amazons sailing under the lowering skies. Hills climb abruptly up from along the edges of the long narrow lake. There were some hardy souls in wet suits in canoes. DH dipped a hand in the water and pronounced it cold! It started raining steadily, so we didn’t spend long. The short glimpse is just a promise of how lovely the area is; perhaps I will be back some day.

Next we had Sheila take us to Castlerigg Stones a bit east of Keswick. She got a little confused, but we found them down a very narrow little lane. It was surprisingly crowded for such an out of the way place on a rainy day. It was too wet to be fun, and we only spent about 15 minutes. It was cool, though, to see another set of stones to compare to the much larger ones at Stonehenge.

On to Carlisle now. We found the <b>Eastview Guesthouse B&B</b> on a busy main street right outside of the city center. DD didn’t feel well and just stayed in the room, sitting in the pretty common room to use the internet. About 3 or 3:30 DH and I walked into the city and saw the Castle and the Cathedral. The Castle has been used for various military things for a long time, so it has a lot of 18th and 19th century additions, so it wasn’t as “pretty” as some others, but it did offer us good views from the battlements. In the late afternoon there weren’t many people about.

The Cathedral is pretty (no pics though) with a blue and gold painted ceiling. As we entered there was singing that stopped soon—we had heard a practice, we surmised. At 5:30 I think as we were sitting in the aisle beside the nave, savoring the peace and rest, the minister came by: Evensong was starting and we were welcome to stay. We asked if we could sit where we were, and he gave us a wide smiling yes. Very cordial. Soon about 35-40 people of all ages from maybe early teens on up (I seemed to have heard boys’ voices earlier but couldn’t see any when I peeped around the column, but there were some teenagers) began singing, and their voices absolutely filled the space up. Lovely. Not much of an audience/congregation. A Friday Evensong might not be a big draw for the members—but they did have a good sized choir.

We then walked around the town a bit as DH Googled for places to eat again. We ended up near the B&B at the Andalusian, which is a tapas restaurant. We’d never eaten at one, although I knew the “concept.” DH discussed the ordering with our very friendly (but not intrusive) waiter who suggested 3 tapas each. We got way more food than we needed but, boy, was it all delicious! This ended up being probably our favorite meal. I had paella, bruchetta, and mushrooms in a creamy wine sauce. Delectable. DH had very tender steak in a chili sauce, shrimp in a chili and lime sauce, and some nachos. All wonderful. Then dessert. Cream broulee and a chocolate tart. Beyond yummy! We waddled back to the room, which was thankfully only a little bit of a walk!

<b>Carlilse</b>

Corner location a few blocks from the City center which made an easy walk. Our room overlooked the car park. Several reportedly good restaurants on Warwick Road. My best dining experience of this trip was at a tapas-style place called The Andalusian on Warwick. I had never been to a tapas place before. After we sat down, I googled it and read to order three dishes per person. The waiter agreed. Turns out it was too much for us, but it was very good. A nice splurge.

Bed: Rating: ****

Breakfast: Made to order here. My notes say “best mushrooms.” Nice fresh fruit, especially big blueberries that I love. Rating: *****

Shower: Weird arrangement with two steps up into toilet/shower room, but the shower was solid. Bathroom sink in the bedroom. Rating: ****

<b>Chapter 10--Day 10—Aug. 7--Hurrah for Hadrian’s Wall! And Ditto for Durham Cathedral</b>

Today it was raining a little as we left. We stopped at a Tesco in Carlisle for picnic lunch items; the rain had almost stopped by the time we got to Birdoswald. Wow! We are at the Wall!! After some trips back and forth from the parking lot (had to pay-and-display, had no coins, got change at the shop, DD put ticket in car, didn’t bring receipt, you get your money back if you show receipt, she went back to car for receipt—morning exercise!), we made it into the Museum area. We looked around at the exhibits inside and remains out; we had some sprinkles and very misty air which was not great for taking pics but rather atmospheric—bet those Roman soldiers encountered lots of rain and mist while stationed there! A nice stretch of the wall here.

Then we drove on to Housesteads, eating our early lunch along the way. When we got to Housesteads, the sun broke out! It was very crowded at this site spread out over the hills; they sent us to an overflow lot with some very friendly older volunteers. They were having a special day with “Soldiers at the Wall,” guys dressed up as Roman legionnaires; we got there in time to catch a little of a 12:00 demonstration. We spent a long time at this site. DD and I walked along the wall and the wall path for a bit. DH got to take a lot of cool pics. We watched a 1 pm demonstration with kids in costumes being shaped into a phalanx (a turtle). The sky cooperated. The views from the hillside of the countryside as well as of the wall were breathtaking. I have wanted to come to Hadrian’s Wall since I was maybe about 12 so this was exciting, and I was so glad the rain let up. And DD and DH enjoyed it, too, so I was happy. DH said it was so beautiful he hated to leave.

As we were getting ready to leave, gray clouds began rolling toward us again. As we drove, it rained hard and absolutely pounded us on the way to Chesters Fort, but we decided to stop anyway. Here we sat in the car maybe 5 minutes and it let up. We visited the shop and then walked around the ruins and down to the river at the site of the former Roman bridges (now gone). It wasn’t as great a spot as the other two but still very interesting. All the museum areas we found to be well-done, clear, interesting; the most fun for me was actually touching the parts of the wall and the associated forts and buildings. History made real!

Then we went on to the B&B in the Durham area--<b>MoorsEnd</b>. Their email said we could maybe call from the Wall and that they liked keys picked up by 6. I didn’t call and we got there about 4. They were leaving and let us in but were in a hurry and didn’t tell us the internet code or anything about the town or much else. They said they’d been about to leave us a note, (and I guess a key) so I guess we could have gotten in. They directed us to the parking lot around the back, which entailed a walk around behind the next door sports bar.

We dropped some luggage, got back in the car, drove a short drive to Durham and parked in a multilevel parking garage that Sheila directed us to. We walked a little way into town and found the Tourist Info office, which is a nice big place. We got maps and some supper recommendations. We found The Oldfields which was pretty good. DD could get veggies from side menu, and we got lamb puff-pastry pies for reasonable price, one of those 2 courses for set price early bird thing again.

Then we walked a little way to the cathedral and spent maybe an hour. It is lovely, but after our full day we were a little sensory overloaded and I don’t remember much. I am reading a book by Durham’s recently retired bishop,(Simply Christian by N.T.Wright) so that was a nice connection to be in “his” place and see his name on the wall. Then back to the car and back to the B&B, which isn’t in walking distance from town; it isn’t very far but glad we have Sheila to direct. (I had not tried to find a B&B nearer to town because 1. I didn’t know whether we would even have time to see any of Durham and 2. this one was fairly near the highway we’d be getting on the next morning.)

DD tried to take a shower but couldn’t get any hot water. We couldn’t locate any switch or any way to figure out how to turn a heater on if there was one. DH said their car was there, so I started downstairs to see if I could get some info. The door lock was jammed and I couldn’t turn it! DH figured it out, pried it open and we weren’t stuck! But no one downstairs. I called and left messages but never got answer. The next morning I couldn’t get hot water either. I took a sink bath, got dressed and went downstairs. The host was in the breakfast room and said to just pull the cord, the one hanging from the ceiling (that to us looked like some emergency cord). I guess I looked confused and he offered to come up and show me. So he did, yanked on cord, and voila--yes. I had wondered about that cord but…. A couple hostesses at other B&B’s took the time to say something about the shower; a couple places had a pump or heater that was a bit more intuitive. This place needs instructions! (And a few other complaints--The shelf in the bath was loose and everything just slid off into the sink. The ceilings, as we were in an attic, were so low and sloping that our heads bumped—and we’re short. And my bed was lumpy. Also the next day their cc machine was broken and they wanted cash. Well, I had cash but it was still just another off-putting thing about the place.)

<b>Durham</b>

The room here was formerly an attic and it shows. Randy Newman sings “short people got no reason,” but they will feel like giants here. If you are over six feet, you will have to especially take care. The center beam is about 6’2” and the side wall height is very short. I managed to bump my noggin around the bed headboards several times. And, in the bath, I could barely reach the toilet if I pressed my forehead against the ceiling.

Bed: Here we had three beds. Mine was fine, but DW reported hers was terrible. Rating: **** (DW: *)

Breakfast: The hostess had a nice continental spread out and an assortment of breads, including raisin bread, with a large toaster. My hot food was made to order. Served with some small talk banter from the host. The breakfast made up for some of the shortcomings of the room. However, it was here that I decided I had eaten my last English breakfast sausage; they are just too bland without the spicy English mustard. Rating: ****

Shower: This room had a rectangular shower that you step up into. Watch your head again. Pump assisted. Rating: ***

"And I don't think anyone has ever instructed me about title-usage."

Interesting observation: no-one ever gets instructed. But every second Austen or Fielding character's Sir Theodore Something (and always addressed as "Sir Theodore"), though, of course, it's Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - and Sir Lancelot and the Lake. There aren't too many knamed knights in Shakespeare at all.

So what must stick in your mind are the 'Sir plus something funny' names (the something funny's actually always a Christian name, though it often sounds more like a surname)in people like Mallory, from which you've subconsciously assumed the norm is 'Sir plus surname'.

Thus implying - contrary to all expectations - that US teachers of English are more familiar with chansons de geste and the like than with High Victorian literature. And I had you all clocked as Janeites.

Ah yes, the tricky showers with cords. Second nature to the English but incredibly confusing to Americans, used to just turning on a faucet! Sorry you had a cold bath, but you have good stories. Enjoying the report - I'm glad to hear about some (relatively) less-visited spots!

I'm so envious of your Oxford day...

And your account of trying to find a place to eat in Conwy reminds me of our experience there. We left the castle and as I started up the steps to the tea shop across the street, the owner popped out the door, gave me a look, and shut the door. Not even a "sorry, we're closing now".

Then, as we walked down the street looking for somewhere to have tea, we passed a pub with their "please leave quietly" sign facing the sidewalk. Didn't exactly make us feel welcome, but at that point in the day it was amusing.

Lee Ann

Hi, Lee Ann, thanks for your positive feedback and funny story!

Big Russ--in response to your request, DH wrote the following, which is a bit out of order in our story here but relates to our trip planning and our time in Wales:

<b>Here Be Dragons (or how we came to visit Wales)</b>

Whales. Wells. Wales. Maybe we should switch to the Welsh name Cymru.

I have been trying to remember: what was I taught about Wales in school? I can’t recall a thing. “DW, what do you remember learning about Wales in school?” We came up blank.

Flash forward from grade school to 2009, when, as I often do when embarking on a business trip, I asked DW for a book to read. She typically tootles off to her substantial library and returns with two or three options. This time, I settled on one almost too large to carry: Sharon Kay Penman’s 700+ page tale of Llewelyn and Joanna, Here Be Dragons. Beneath my corporate crust, I’m a romantic at heart and Penman’s story of their loves and lives in a rich historical setting captured my imagination. Wales came alive for me and I was “hooked.”

Later that year, I had an opportunity to attend the WRC’s Rally GB, hosted by Wales. After picking up my credentials at Cardiff (apparently pronounced KA-dif by the locals) in the pre-dawn morning of a very rainy day, I sped away from the coast northwest to Rhondda. West of Merthyr Tydil (love that name) and east of the Vale of Neath, through the villages, Pentre, Treorchy, Treherbert, then up, up, up the mountainside to the rocky top shrouded in the mist. What the mountains here lack in stature, they make for in ruggedness. I found myself wondering how Llewelyn’s clan eked out a living on the rocky slopes and the narrow valleys.

The Rhondda stage is apparently conducted on logging roads in the pine forest and as I hurried from the car park, I could already hear the staccato exhaust notes rattling like a chain saw in the stillness of the rainy wood. Across a swampy ditch (last time my feet would be dry that day), through the trees and suddenly I was standing on the outside of a sharp left-hand ninety. The turn is a slow one and the four-wheel drive dragons struggled for grip on the loose wet gravel as they accelerated past me. With the brake rotors glowing like lava and their turbocharged exhausts belching dragon’s breath, they slipped past, leaving a fine patina of limestone over me and the A700. But I couldn’t tarry here.

Back to the car and, hurrying again (I’m always late), I crossed Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Becons) to a stage halfway between Llandovery and Trecastle appropriately named Halfway (practical people, these Welsh). The mountains here are balds with fenceless pastures primarily populated by sheep and ponies and dotted with timber stands.

I arrived at Halfway amid a huge crush of like-minded fans trying to get on stage. I parked, it seemed like three miles out, and began the hike to Dixies Crossing, a high speed jump across a paved road, passing along the way the highest concentrations of Subaru’s I’ve ever seen. I arrived breathless to find I had missed the first cars, as usual. The corner marshal, armed with a radar gun, told me reigning champion Loeb just flew by at 99 mph moments before. Loeb was behind the Finn Hirnoven in the points standings coming into this rally, the final one of the WRC season. Crouching behind a round hay bale, I took pictures as they make the high speed approach and listened in amazement as he called out the speeds.

Like a lot of stage outposts, there was not much at Dixies. What looks like a military Quonset hut anchored the temporary facilities erected for the rally. Four souvenir stands and one food service where I would later buy a few things (I love caps) and stand in line to eventually purchase what passes as a Welsh cheeseburger.

Rally is a hard sport to follow in person. It is spread out over a large geographical area that makes it very difficult to move between stages during the day. On the flip side, one of the great aspects of rally is the proximity of the fans to the cars. I pushed this a bit too much and earned two friendly warnings from the marshals. Of course, all the fans know should one of these dragons lose their tentative grip on the wet limestone, there could be dozens of us wiped out.

When the cars finished the Halfway stage and moved on to others, I had a chance to rest and dry out a bit. There was still a terrible crowd and I hiked back to reposition the car closer to the stage. The cars would be back just before dark for their second Halfway run and I wanted to able to get away quickly after I finished watching.

Wales is showing me it dark, cold, windy, rainy personality. But in this interlude, I had the chance to study the landscape; it pleased me. Even here on stage, sheep were grazing and could wander into the path a car at any time. Eventually, a brief hole appeared in the sky and I followed a little beam of golden light across the meadow, determined to record with the A700 my first glimpse of Welsh sunlight to share with DW.

That night I stayed at the Cardiff Hilton, a very nice hotel, located just across the street from “Castell” Cardiff. In the morning, I enjoyed the breakfast in the executive lounge that over looks the castle. The sun was intermittent and punctuated frequently by showers. I wandered around the town center, photographing St. Johns and working my way south, eventually walking all the way down Bute street to Mermaid Quay. Here there were more shops and restaurants and photo ops. I captured the “baby Big Ben” at the Pierhead Building, the Norwegian church, and of course, the Millennium Centre with it huge obelisk, it shiny surface eager to reflect your image, albeit a bit distorted.

In my hotel room was a coffee table book titled “Great Castles and Historic Attractions in Wales.” I was smitten with it and sorely tempted to steal it, but I asked the desk if I could purchase one and was referred to the local tourist information office. They did not have it, but explained that I should contact Cadw. Back in the States, I was disappointed that the book was not listed on the Cadw website. Nevertheless, I emailed an inquiry and promptly received a pleasant reply that it was indeed available. A phone call later, I had one on the way. Now, finally, after my whirlwind tour through the Welsh countryside, I could show DW the idyllic beautiful of this land of mist and mountain, sheep and stone. I am not trying to sell the book, but it has detailed information on some 35 sites nationwide. Bilingual, softback. I think it was $10-15.

So armed with memory and my book, we began planning for our trip of summer 2010. I wanted to drive completely across Snowdonia and visit the Castells Caernarfon and Dolwyddelan. DW wanted Conwy, so we ended up, after much map-studying, planning for Dolwyddelan and Conwy. This was a good compromise. I love the mountains and have hiked the Smokies and climbed Colorado fourteeners, but there was a romantic loneliness about the Welsh mountains that drew me close. I would like some quality chill time there some day.

<b>Chapter 11--Day 11—Aug. 8--Yahoo! It’s York!</b>

After messing with the shower issues and an 8-ish breakfast, which was delicious, we left about 9:30 and headed south. Most of the roads toward York were major roads; they were a bit busy this Sunday morning, but not congested. We found the B&B--<b>#34 on Bootham Crescent</b>--about 11, with a parking space on the street right at the door to pull into while I figured out what we could do. Check in was set at 11:30 and I had called at 10:30 to say we’d be early but got no answer. However, upon arrival, Julie met us and had the room ready—and a parking permit! DH was glad and said to tell her she got brownie points. Parking so easily is cool. While DD and DH got stuff out of “boot,” I checked in. Julie, our youngest hostess, who DH found out later lives there with her mom, offered us refreshments and information about York. Our room was absolutely charming—DD had a little separate room, we had two more beds and plenty of room, and the décor was newish and chic. Great find. Plenty of info available too.

We headed to York on foot as #34 is just a few blocks from the city walls. (I think I have consistently been inconsistent in using “town” and “city”—I know there’s a difference but don’t know exactly what!) We walked along the walls for a bit, meeting several tours, passing a couple ghouls and ghosties, and admiring the great views of York, the countryside and buildings outside the wall, and the Cathedral. I really love walking on all the different walls—city/town/Roman/castle—that we’ve gotten to trod on on this trip. We got to the Minster about 12:30. Inside—wow. There really aren’t words. It is gorgeous. We spent an hour or so. We are always glad to be able to take pictures—especially as the cathedrals: while every cathedral is spectacular with an individual atmosphere and unique architecture and features, they tend to run together in my mind until I sort them out by looking at the details we captured in the pictures.

Then we wandered the Shambles, the cobblestoned, twisty maze of old streets lined by all manner of shops, and (after getting separated for a few minutes) found El Piano, a vegan/GF restaurant I’d found and DD was excited to try! Cool little place. Good food mostly (not the veggie burger bun so much).

Next on to Clifford’s Tower, the tower being just about all that remains of the old castle, and up the steps for more nice views. The weather was not as clear as the Weather Channel on DH’s BB had made it sound like, but we enjoyed some sun and warmth. We took pictures of the castle area (a Victorian era castle that houses a museum but we didn’t go in), rested and had some ice cream. As we discussed what next, DD didn’t want to go anywhere else; DH was game, but I knew he and I were both tired too, so we just strolled leisurely back to the rooms, this time crossing the river for a bit of a walk on the other side, outside of the city walls.

York is compact and charming and we enjoyed our afternoon here; I see how a person could spend a couple days exploring it, all on foot, more completely, and I also see how it could be a day-trip via train from London, as we saw a lot of it in our 6 or 7 hours.

After a rest, DD really just wanted some down/alone time and had stuff to eat still in her bag. DH and I walked just a little way down the street (past W H Auden’s house!) to a doner place he had noticed and got a couple medium sized ones and went in a Sainsbury for some sweets and ate back in the B&B. These lamb-stuffed-pitas were overflowing; they were quite tasty but we couldn’t finish them. They were not really the portable sandwich DH was familiar with from Germany. He took the remains to Julie and asked if her dog wanted any; turns out there are 2 dogs and they love kebab meat! Evening—charging, resting, watching tv, moving pics, programming Sheila, and DD using internet. She hasn’t complained but has mentioned her phone-less-ness; I know she’s missing the networking/contacting and is glad to use the internet to “talk” to friends some, plus she has had some business from school she’s had to attend to via email, so we’re glad to have this feature for her as often as we have. The internet has been available and free in most B&B’s (if not in the room then in a common area).

<b>York</b>

After a rather quick motorway drive down from Durham, I pulled up to the front of Number 34 in an empty parking space on the street. Moments later, DW returned with a parking permit, an indication that I would not have to move the car again before we left. Joy.

Between the house and the city gates, we found a Kepap house called the La Bodrum. We ordered doners and got such a pile of lamb that I ended up giving half of it the hostesses’ two dogs. We could not eat it all. The two “medium” doners with chips was £10 40p.

Bed: The room arrangement here is two rooms with bath. The main room has two beds and the adjoining room has one. It is through this second room that one must pass to access the spacious bathroom. The rooms overlook the rear alley and the walls are thin, fueling concerns that the night would be noisy. However, by the time I was ready to go to sleep, everything had calmed down and it was a quiet night. The beds were comfortable and properly oriented to be able to see the wall-mounted flat panel (this one was relatively huge, about 20”). Rating: *****

Breakfast: Breakfast is served in a smallish room with three tables. Fresh fruit is available as well as cereals. Breakfast menu limited to four choices. Rating: ***

Shower: Lower flow than I like. Rating: ***

<b>Navigation</b>

A couple of years ago I bought a Garmin nuvi 275T (T for Traffic). I purchased it specifically because it came with North America and Europe maps. I have used it in the USA, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands and the UK. The unit is nicknamed “Sheila” because of the Aussie female voice we use.

Before this trip, I purchased map updates (EUNT 2011.10 and NA NT 2011.10). The new maps worked pretty well with a few of exceptions. Here is a list of some of the issues I encountered in the UK (just to be clear, these are more peculiarities for Sheila than of the UK):

+ It is good to know where you want to go. DW is pretty sorted out, but she did not have a good address for everything. Sheila and I had to improvise then.

+ At the Castlerigg Stone Circle, she reported we were “offroad” while we were still in the little town. Of course, in her defense, in just a few yards, the road becomes a narrow track barely wide enough to pass oncoming vehicles at a crawl.

+ Sheila’s speed limits were not always accurate. While this may not seem to be a big deal, it causes the wrong routes to be calculated as “fastest.” In the US, Sheila will pick a back road over the interstate because she thinks it will be faster when actually, with the lower speeds limits, it will take longer. I will have to try it with the new North America map when I get back.

+ I have to veto Sheila’s proposals sometimes. When we left Conwy, she proposed to go through Liverpool on the way to Carlisle. Fearing the morning rush hour traffic, I ignored her and bypassed Liverpool on the M road to the east. Sheila never shows any hurt over these slights; her response is always a dispassionate “Recalculating…”.

+ A couple of times, I asked her to add a via point and she responded that she was unable to calculate a new route. Immediately following this announcement, she goes into map mode, that is, the route that you were following initially is wiped out. This behavior is less than ideal. She should buffer the original route and then restore it if a new course cannot be plotted.

+ I had told Sheila to tell me about traffic cams. She chimed what seemed like hundreds of times.

Despite her imperfections, I can’t live without her. We don’t always agree, but if I get tired of listening to her, I just remember she has a mute button.

We need to book a night in York but not at all sure about those thin walls in Number 34. There are a number of B&B's on that street and they seem awfully close to the rail line, did you notice any train noise? I have seen a few comments about it on TA reviews.

Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek
I noticed the "Sir Blackwell" too, but kept quiet.
Something that annoys me is when novelists set their books in Victorian times and refer to clergymen as "Reverend Bloggins".
It is an Americanism which sadly is becoming more popular in this country.

Maudie--Number 34 was almost my favorite B&B--the noise won't be a problem. It is lovely, fresh, convenient. All the other B&'B's, highly concentrated in this area, are most likely to have similar walls. No train noise. I'd highly recommend it. We'd definitely go back.

>>Something that annoys me is when novelists set their books in Victorian times and refer to clergymen as "Reverend Bloggins".<<

Me too, but then I come from a church-y family. No doubt the good Canon finds his patience tried too?

<b>Chapter 12--Day 12—Aug. 9--Lingering a Little in Lincoln and Darting to Dartford</b>

Today was to be the longest drive in terms of mileage, but it went great. First we had a good breakfast (not quite “cooked to order” but good—some limit to choices but plenty and tasty, and fruit for the taking, too).

Our first leg of the trip took us to Lincoln. On the way we encountered some Monday morning lorry and farm traffic on the country two lanes. Thanks to Sheila we ended up right at the Castle entrance! There was a parking lot right there but no spaces; DH waited while I darted across the square into the TI from whence I got a map and helpful info about where next lots would be. As I was gone, a spot opened up! Another pay-and-display, so I put in enough for 4 hours. We walked up to the castle. It is a great castle—lovely views from the walls and much of it is rather intact so we can get a flavor of life in it. We spent maybe 90 minutes. The high point here is certainly the Magna Carta; the display area is quite informative. Cool—we’ve seen 3 now!

We considered eating in the little café, but DH wanted to try a place right next to the carpark--The Roman Place. We sat outside in a lovely patio. It was cheap--£5 for a lunch special of salad and fish and chips. DD just ate stuff she packed. The weather was terrific. We got our salads right away, but then it took a long time for mains to come. I felt impatient, but it was a pleasant place and we rested.

After lunch we went right across the square to the cathedral. Another stunningly beautiful building. We had about 45 minutes left on our parking after that, so we walked up a street a little ways to find some Roman ruins, notably the only Roman arch still in use on a British street, and took some pics. Back to the carpark (and the nice toilets there at the carpark) before our time ran out. (The longish lunch meant we didn't make it to the Bishop's Palace this time.)

We headed south and soon got on major highways with traffic flowing smoothly. We did encounter some more lorry backups on the secondary roads but never for long. DH made good time and we got to the London area I think before 6, came across the Dartford toll bridge, darted across the lanes right after the toll to take the proper exit immediately after the toll stations, and found the Hilton. It started raining as we got to the Hotel.

The Hilton is very nice. This was the room we got with HiltonHonors points; DH found it normally went for £175! It was huge room with 2 double but roomy beds. We ate in the hotel restaurant because it was convenient, but was expensive, like about £50 for 2 buffets and some sides for DD. DH arranged at the desk to get free internet instead of paying £15, because he’s an Honors member, but we needed a cable, so no internet. DH figured it would be noisy right next to this busy busy highway, but the windows were double paned, with a several-inches-thick sill in between, and the room was very quiet. He thought that was cool. We had been “warned off” Dartford—well, we didn’t see anything of it except the Hilton, which was very nice, and it worked as a way stop for us—since we had a free room! If not, we would have stopped somewhere else, I’m sure.

<b>Dartford</b>

After driving down from Lincoln in the afternoon, I was anxious to get off the London Orbital. Our huge Hilton deluxe room had two windows, one looking right onto the M25 Dartford Bridge and the other overlooking the toll booth. I was amazed how quiet the room was; there was no traffic sounds penetrating from below. I don’t know what was in the walls, but the windows had a double-pane on the exterior with a single pane on the interior. Separating the two was a six-inch air gap. Looks expensive, but it was effective.

Bed: The room had two queen size beds, but they did not have the same quality of bedding as you will find in the USA Hiltons. The sleep experience was enhanced, though, by the heavy black out curtains and the exceptionally quite interior. The room was also air conditioned. Rating: ****

Breakfast: We skipped the £10 breakfast here.

Shower: The shower was the common hotel stand-in-the-tub model. A mixing valve showed some cycling initially, surprising me. But the head was adjustable and the shower was comfortable. Rating: *****

<b>Traffic</b>

With a couple of notable exceptions, driving in the UK seems much like the US. One exception, of course, is the reversal of the cars and road. My brain, accustomed to driving on the opposite side of the road the last 40 years, really has a hard time adjusting. It was a team effort to keep me on the left side of the road. Hint: if you see “SLOW” upside down on the pavement in your lane, you are on the wrong side.

The other notable exception is that, although the cars are generally smaller, many of the roads I drove through towns and hedgerows seemed to be on an even smaller scale. This led to a lot of grimacing as I met on-coming traffic, imagining side view mirrors slapping together and glass flying. The lorries and the tour buses seem especially bad center-stripe huggers. No room for Suburbans and F-250 Super Cabs here.

The well-marked M road speeds are generally 70 mph, while most towns restrict speed to 30 or 40. We drove a lot of one lane roads with blind hills and curves on which I drove more slowly. Also, through the mountains, the limit was 60 mph and I found we could not comfortably go that fast - maybe 45-50 was good without pushing the C130 and its passengers too hard.

There was not as much construction as I expected to see during the brief summer repair season. The A1M stretch between Durham and York was a notable exception where the speed limit is restricted to 50 mph. The worst M road volume was on the London Orbital and the worst traffic jam was at Windermere, where the one way streets were grid locked with vacationers enjoying a healthy dose of liquid sunshine.

Great report, even though I am a bit overwhelmed at the moment and will have to come back and read it at length later.

"if you see “SLOW” upside down on the pavement in your lane, you are on the wrong side."

Ah, that's where you were going wrong, over here we drive on the road, the pavement is for walking on (did all the pedestrians manage to get out of your way in time) LOL.