Bellairegirl says hi from an apartment in Chelsea
Jun 11th, 2004, 05:19 PM
#21
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On our second day in York we decided to drive to see Hadrian's Wall. I had read on this forum that Housesteads is a good place to view the wall and a Roman fort, so that's where we headed. The owners of the B&B seemed surprised that we were going to drive over 100 miles, but hey, we're from Texas -- 100 miles wouldn't hardly get you to the next county here.
Because of the distance, we took the A1 north most of the way. I love the fact that the highway is labelled "The North". On our way we stopped off in Durham (an interesting town with a castle and cathedral). We brought a laptop along with us, and my son tried now and then to get internet access, and was successful off and on. When we were about 3/4 of the way there, we thought it would be a good idea to look up the Housesteads website to find a map and we actually were able to get internet access on a remote stretch of farmland in front of an old stone house. So we pulled over to the side of the road and pulled up the website! It was such an incongruous sight, I had to get out and take a picture of this. Isn't technology wonderful?
We stopped in Hexham for lunch and drove on to Housesteads. Well, I think we made a wrong turn off of one the thousands of round-abouts, because at some point we realize we overshot it and were heading due north instead of northwest. At that point we gave our kids the option of driving into Scotland )we were actually pretty close) or finding Housesteads. They opted for Housesteads.
We did find it and it was really awesome. In order to access the Wall and the fort, you have to walk about 10 minutes up a hilly path through farmland with sheep. That was fun. We all really enjoyed exploring the ruins of the fort and the Wall. I would highly recommend a visit here!
On the next day we decided to stay a little closer to "home," although we packed a lot in. First, we stopped off at the outlet mall on the southern outskirts of York because by this point my husband had run out of clean socks and shirts! (Whereas my younger son had lots of extra shirts with all the soccer jerseys he acquired.) They had a Burberry's, Pink, Ralph Lauren, Gap, Adidas, among others. Unfortunately (for me), the stuff at Burberry's was still very pricey even at outlet prices. My husband did get some good deals at the Pink store, though.
After this, we drove out to see Fountains Abbey. We took the back roads this time, and it was a beautiful drive. We had to undertake another 10 minute walk (mostly downhill) to get to the abbey ruins. It was a beautiful site and well worth the trip. From here, we headed for the Brymor Dairy at High Jervaulx Farm to get some ice cream. It was quite an adventure trying to find it, but the drive through the Yorkshire Dales made it well worth the trip. The ice cream was good (although we actually liked the ice gream at Gelato Valerie in Chelsea better), but the whole experience -- driving through the hills, seeing the cows responsible for our treat, sitting at a picnic table on a farm in the countryside -- made it really fun.
-Susan
Because of the distance, we took the A1 north most of the way. I love the fact that the highway is labelled "The North". On our way we stopped off in Durham (an interesting town with a castle and cathedral). We brought a laptop along with us, and my son tried now and then to get internet access, and was successful off and on. When we were about 3/4 of the way there, we thought it would be a good idea to look up the Housesteads website to find a map and we actually were able to get internet access on a remote stretch of farmland in front of an old stone house. So we pulled over to the side of the road and pulled up the website! It was such an incongruous sight, I had to get out and take a picture of this. Isn't technology wonderful?
We stopped in Hexham for lunch and drove on to Housesteads. Well, I think we made a wrong turn off of one the thousands of round-abouts, because at some point we realize we overshot it and were heading due north instead of northwest. At that point we gave our kids the option of driving into Scotland )we were actually pretty close) or finding Housesteads. They opted for Housesteads.
We did find it and it was really awesome. In order to access the Wall and the fort, you have to walk about 10 minutes up a hilly path through farmland with sheep. That was fun. We all really enjoyed exploring the ruins of the fort and the Wall. I would highly recommend a visit here!
On the next day we decided to stay a little closer to "home," although we packed a lot in. First, we stopped off at the outlet mall on the southern outskirts of York because by this point my husband had run out of clean socks and shirts! (Whereas my younger son had lots of extra shirts with all the soccer jerseys he acquired.) They had a Burberry's, Pink, Ralph Lauren, Gap, Adidas, among others. Unfortunately (for me), the stuff at Burberry's was still very pricey even at outlet prices. My husband did get some good deals at the Pink store, though.
After this, we drove out to see Fountains Abbey. We took the back roads this time, and it was a beautiful drive. We had to undertake another 10 minute walk (mostly downhill) to get to the abbey ruins. It was a beautiful site and well worth the trip. From here, we headed for the Brymor Dairy at High Jervaulx Farm to get some ice cream. It was quite an adventure trying to find it, but the drive through the Yorkshire Dales made it well worth the trip. The ice cream was good (although we actually liked the ice gream at Gelato Valerie in Chelsea better), but the whole experience -- driving through the hills, seeing the cows responsible for our treat, sitting at a picnic table on a farm in the countryside -- made it really fun.
-Susan
Jun 11th, 2004, 05:31 PM
#22
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bonniebroad -- I checked the other apartment website that offers apartments to rent on Draycott Place and it's actually called www.theapartments.co.uk. The ones they list look close by to where we stayed, as we were at 27 Draycott Place. Hope this helps. (By the way, the photos of our apartment on the londonguestsuites.com website look very much like the way our apartment looked. No surprises there!)
Jun 11th, 2004, 06:42 PM
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The next day we headed back to London for a last day before our flight out of Gatwick. I had cashed in my Hilton Honors points for 2 rooms at the London Hilton on Park Lane. The rooms were very luxurious (w/Molton Brown toiletries) and air conditioning, thankfully, since it was 32 degees celsius that day, and the hotel was directly across from Hyde Park. As nice as it was, I really much preferred our location in Chelsea (a block off of King's Road).
We had our last evening's dinner at Belgo's again because we enjoyed it so much earlier. We then went to Hyde Park and hung out there for awhile.
Upon leaving, we took a taxi to Victoria Station and then the Gatwick Express to the airport. To make up for upgrading us on our outbound flight, this time British Airways messed up on our seat reservations and put 3 of us together and the fourth seat not on the aisle across from the others -- but the middle seat on the opposite side of the plane. I agreed to go sit there and lo and behold that was the only seat on the whole airplane in which the entertainment system did not work! So while everyone around me happily sat there watching movies, I sat for 9 hours staring at a blank screen. Well, actually, my wonderful husband ended up switching seats with me after a while so I could watch a movie.
All in all, it was a wonderful trip. There's something about London that I just love -- I love the humor of the people, the beautiful architecture, the history, the way people say "cheers" instead of thank you, the wonderful public transportation and the parks. I love that there's something interesting around every corner. I can't wait to go back. And since I uncovered an unspent 50 GBP note hidden in my carry-on, I just might have to soon!
Thanks to everyone who helped me plan for this trip. I appreciate it.
-Susan
We had our last evening's dinner at Belgo's again because we enjoyed it so much earlier. We then went to Hyde Park and hung out there for awhile.
Upon leaving, we took a taxi to Victoria Station and then the Gatwick Express to the airport. To make up for upgrading us on our outbound flight, this time British Airways messed up on our seat reservations and put 3 of us together and the fourth seat not on the aisle across from the others -- but the middle seat on the opposite side of the plane. I agreed to go sit there and lo and behold that was the only seat on the whole airplane in which the entertainment system did not work! So while everyone around me happily sat there watching movies, I sat for 9 hours staring at a blank screen. Well, actually, my wonderful husband ended up switching seats with me after a while so I could watch a movie.
All in all, it was a wonderful trip. There's something about London that I just love -- I love the humor of the people, the beautiful architecture, the history, the way people say "cheers" instead of thank you, the wonderful public transportation and the parks. I love that there's something interesting around every corner. I can't wait to go back. And since I uncovered an unspent 50 GBP note hidden in my carry-on, I just might have to soon!
Thanks to everyone who helped me plan for this trip. I appreciate it.
-Susan
Jun 12th, 2004, 10:06 AM
#25
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bellairegirl, "cheers" (I watch Eastenders.....for about a hundred years now!
) for all the helpful info, and a great trip report. I will check out the apartments. Wasn't "All Creatures Great and Small" set near York? Our pooch is named "Tristan" after the vet on that series........
) for all the helpful info, and a great trip report. I will check out the apartments. Wasn't "All Creatures Great and Small" set near York? Our pooch is named "Tristan" after the vet on that series........
Dec 8th, 2004, 08:33 AM
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Came across this string while checking out 27 Dracott for a one-week stay June '05. The leaks in #5 alarmed me. We're thinking of taking that flat! Assume the roof's been fixed by now. More important question: do you think husband/wife, 3 (under age 12) children, and another female adult can squeeze in here? Also, is the roof accessible to all guests? Thanks for your time
Dec 8th, 2004, 08:40 AM
#27
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It's a nice apartment in a GREAT location and I would certainly hope that by now the leaks have been fixed, since I assume it's rained a few times since our visit. I'm not sure they would rent it to that many people, though. I think it would accomodate 5 people because there is one double bed, 2 single beds, and a roll-away in the closet, but 6 is stretching it.
Susan
Susan
Dec 8th, 2004, 09:21 AM
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Susan; I enjoyed your report. We used to live very near there, and I know many of the restaurants you mention. Daphne's is quite famous. We once sat next to Shirley Bassey and Ivana Trump having dinner together. Walton Street, around the corner is a fabulous street too. I like the Enterprise too (as McLaurie).
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