Oh, to be in England--and we were! Trip Report of 2 Weeks in London and Day Trips
Jul 30th, 2008, 04:18 PM
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Oh, to be in England--and we were! Trip Report of 2 Weeks in London and Day Trips
My DH and I just returned from 14 nights in London with 5 day trips. We had an incredible, exhausting (or even incredibly exhausting!), fantastic 30th anniversary trip, and now I want to �pay my dues� here with a trip report I hope will amuse and/or help someone.
First, a big thank you to all you Fodorites who helped me while doing my 6 months of planning and self-educating, especially London experts like janisj, flanneruk, elendilpickle/Leann, Patrick, PalenQ, CW, and others. I cannot imagine how I would have planned this trip without this forum.
So, I will post in small doses as I finish sections. In this trip report you can read about how we (among other things)--
*Saw the Queen�really!
*Met someone who went to church with C.S. Lewis
*Were grateful for free ear plugs at Silverstone Race Track
*Took thousands of digital pics despite a camera acting part of the time
*Stood in the spray of the Emperor Fountain at Chatsworth
*Watched King Lear on the heath in the storm getting wet from rain�stage effects compliments of Mother Nature, not the Globe
*Had a short tour of Oxford by a guide who had met both Tolkien and Colin Dexter
*Needed sunscreen at Dover
*Used almost every public transport possible (plane, train, bus, Tube, taxi, and boat) with only 1�yes, that�s ONE�minor glitch or delay
*Didn�t get pickpocketed, lost, sick, rained on much, or arrested (although I was tracked down after leaving the US Embassy, all the way to Marks and Spenser on Bond Street, and questioned about why I was taking pictures!)
First, a big thank you to all you Fodorites who helped me while doing my 6 months of planning and self-educating, especially London experts like janisj, flanneruk, elendilpickle/Leann, Patrick, PalenQ, CW, and others. I cannot imagine how I would have planned this trip without this forum.
So, I will post in small doses as I finish sections. In this trip report you can read about how we (among other things)--
*Saw the Queen�really!
*Met someone who went to church with C.S. Lewis
*Were grateful for free ear plugs at Silverstone Race Track
*Took thousands of digital pics despite a camera acting part of the time
*Stood in the spray of the Emperor Fountain at Chatsworth
*Watched King Lear on the heath in the storm getting wet from rain�stage effects compliments of Mother Nature, not the Globe
*Had a short tour of Oxford by a guide who had met both Tolkien and Colin Dexter
*Needed sunscreen at Dover
*Used almost every public transport possible (plane, train, bus, Tube, taxi, and boat) with only 1�yes, that�s ONE�minor glitch or delay
*Didn�t get pickpocketed, lost, sick, rained on much, or arrested (although I was tracked down after leaving the US Embassy, all the way to Marks and Spenser on Bond Street, and questioned about why I was taking pictures!)
Jul 30th, 2008, 05:28 PM
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Before I start the report, I’ll give a bit of personal background; I’ve found this helpful when reading others’. Feel free to skip to the actual report if you want; hey, I’ll never know!
Personal: We are in our early 50’s and in good health except for some heel/bone spur discomfort for DH, but we live on the flat gulf coast of Texas (ergo, no stairs, reliance on cars, and used to AC!) and knew this would be a strenuous trip, an adventure and not necessarily a “vacation.”
Goals: My planning of this trip (a 30th anniversary present from DH) was driven by interests in literature and history more than arts, food, or shopping. I’m an English teacher and history fan. And the dollar is so weak it didn’t make sense to do any real shopping this time, and we were willing to try to save some money by not eating at expensive places (i.e., we relied on pubs and take-aways mostly).
Planning: We decided early on to 1. not use a packaged tour; 2. not drive; 3.stay in a bed and breakfast rather than hotel; and 4. stay in London as a base and take a few day trips using public transport. I used various travel guides, the internet, this forum, maps, and a little knowledge from a trip to England and London 3 years ago when I accompanied my daughter with a high school EF Tour. I used detailed maps of London to plan out possible itineraries/routes/sites and grouped things I wanted us to try to see or do into 14 “days,” arranged either by area or by major destination. These “days” would be mostly interchangeable if weather or our feet affected our plans!
I found a recommendation in Frommer’s for a B&B agency in London, At Home in London. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Then I coordinated dates of availability, cheapest days to fly, discount for extended stay, etc., and in early January booked flights and the B&B for July 14-29. (Alas, not enough FF miles at the time I was booking to help any and we needed firm dates for DH’s summer business travel planning, so we had to book early.)
After hours of reading and research, I decided to purchase the BritRailEngland 4-day flex pass. And it was terrific. The complete flexibility of times and days was worth every penny/pence that the pass cost over the cheapest tickets available. So for us this was a great decision.
Other than the train pass, I bought/booked only a few things before leaving : Globe tickets (in mid-February best seats already gone for July 27), an Inspector Morse tour in Oxford (also almost full in mid-February), Prom tickets, and Silverstone Classic Race tickets.
Before we left: I got a Capitol One credit card (sorry, Dave Ramsey) to use with no overseas transaction fees. Good decision. I got some pounds from our bank—costly, but eased my mind to have some correct currency on hand when landing. Okay decision. I notified credit card companies and bank of our travel times, and left all sorts of contact info with children (all in or out of college) and friends. Prudent decisions.
What we packed: I packed things to layer, slacks and tops and jackets, mostly in black, white, and grey. Wore black tennis/walking shoes. And always felt appropriate! DH wore jeans and shorts (and was NEVER the only one in shorts) and a kind of fishing shirt with lots of pockets on the front that keep him organized and thus happier. White shoes—and he was never alone in this! We needed our rain gear a couple times, jackets often, and cooler clothes a lot. We each had one checked medium-size wheeled piece of luggage. This was not a problem at all as our BandB was just 5 minutes from Hyde Park Corner Tube stop and thus we had almost no steps to negotiate (except the steep case at the BandB!). We each carried a bookbag type bag, mine rather small; 100’s of others, both professional London types and the tourists, were seen with similar bags on backs or in hand. We carried DH’s laptop (for picture storage and internet) and Blackberry (he didn’t really have a complete vacation from work!); the blackberry also served as phone if we needed it, which we didn’t. We took our Sony DSLR, 2 batteries and charger and 2 memory cards, a couple flashdrives, and a backup small HP digital point and shoot; we knew that taking lots of pics and being able to download them and back them up would be a priority for us.
Day 0(Travel) and 1—In which the flat-landers arrive in the big city
We traveled from Corpus Christi, Texas, via Dallas/Fort Worth on American, arriving at Heathrow. Uneventful flight, leaving Monday at 12:30 pm CDT and arriving a few minutes early actually, about 8:15 AM Tuesday. The passport control was very quick, and when we got to luggage area, our bags were already there! Found customs to be just a walkthrough; found Underground ticket office at Tube entrance with no problem; Oyster line maybe 5 minutes long. (We found the Oyster to be easy and cost effective.) Used ATM machine next to ticket office with no problem at all. Got on Tube and we were off at Knightsbridge Tube Stop at 9:52! So the whole process, from landing to being off the Tube and near our rooms was less than 2 hours. Wow—much faster than anticipated. We had opted to use the tube over other modes from Heathrow to our rooms because our BandB was a short walk from Knightsbridge or Hyde Park Corner, on the Picadilly Line straight, which is the line from Heathrow, so there were no changes, stairs, trains, or long walks with our luggage. It worked great for us.
Although we were a bit early our hostess met us at the door of the BandB in Belgravia in the Kinnerton Street area. We had a bedroom with a double bed, a roomy bath with shower, and a great sitting room with desk, wardrobe, and several seats. Made it feel very roomy. (BandB’s are tricky to recommend, as people’s expectations and preferences are all so different. I was very pleased with this one; clean, a sense of privacy, very quiet for being a few yards off a major street in London, and roomy—and so conveniently located. We could use the refrig but no microwave or anything else in kitchen, really. Free wireless. And the price was extremely reasonable, as we got a discount for staying 2 weeks. The breakfast was a bit Spartan; enough for me but not DH always, but all in all the facility was great. We were about 5-10 minutes from 2 pubs, a Waitrose for groceries, Hyde Park, and 2 tube stops, plus Harrods and Harvey Nichols!)
After a shower and short rest, we went exploring the neighborhood, to stay awake and get our bearings! We ate at one of the 2 pubs a couple minutes from our rooms, The Nags Head. Smallest pub in London by some claims. And it is small! I won’t use the q-word here but it is….unique, pub-by, and friendly. We went back a few times during our stay. We wandered around Belgravia toward Victoria Station, stopping for a scrumptious brownie at the Chocolate Society. A gentleman there was enjoying hot chocolate and recommended it, but it was too warm. We got to Victoria Station and looked around a bit. We picked up salads at a Marks and Spenser Simply Foods (they are EVERYWHERE!). After a walk back and a nap, we walked the short distance to St. Paul’s Church in Knightsbridge, a lovely place with some important Victorian decor. Then across to Hyde Park along with many others enjoying this gorgeous evening with warm air and blue sky; rented a couple of those famous canvas chairs and ate our salads. Then we walked through Hyde into Kensington, by the Peter Pan statue, and back to Knightsbridge. The long summer evening’s light lasted until after 9. We walked to the Waitrose on Motcomb to get sandwiches and such for tomorrow. What a LONG time it had been since a real sleep, but what a great hello to London.
Personal: We are in our early 50’s and in good health except for some heel/bone spur discomfort for DH, but we live on the flat gulf coast of Texas (ergo, no stairs, reliance on cars, and used to AC!) and knew this would be a strenuous trip, an adventure and not necessarily a “vacation.”
Goals: My planning of this trip (a 30th anniversary present from DH) was driven by interests in literature and history more than arts, food, or shopping. I’m an English teacher and history fan. And the dollar is so weak it didn’t make sense to do any real shopping this time, and we were willing to try to save some money by not eating at expensive places (i.e., we relied on pubs and take-aways mostly).
Planning: We decided early on to 1. not use a packaged tour; 2. not drive; 3.stay in a bed and breakfast rather than hotel; and 4. stay in London as a base and take a few day trips using public transport. I used various travel guides, the internet, this forum, maps, and a little knowledge from a trip to England and London 3 years ago when I accompanied my daughter with a high school EF Tour. I used detailed maps of London to plan out possible itineraries/routes/sites and grouped things I wanted us to try to see or do into 14 “days,” arranged either by area or by major destination. These “days” would be mostly interchangeable if weather or our feet affected our plans!
I found a recommendation in Frommer’s for a B&B agency in London, At Home in London. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Then I coordinated dates of availability, cheapest days to fly, discount for extended stay, etc., and in early January booked flights and the B&B for July 14-29. (Alas, not enough FF miles at the time I was booking to help any and we needed firm dates for DH’s summer business travel planning, so we had to book early.)
After hours of reading and research, I decided to purchase the BritRailEngland 4-day flex pass. And it was terrific. The complete flexibility of times and days was worth every penny/pence that the pass cost over the cheapest tickets available. So for us this was a great decision.
Other than the train pass, I bought/booked only a few things before leaving : Globe tickets (in mid-February best seats already gone for July 27), an Inspector Morse tour in Oxford (also almost full in mid-February), Prom tickets, and Silverstone Classic Race tickets.
Before we left: I got a Capitol One credit card (sorry, Dave Ramsey) to use with no overseas transaction fees. Good decision. I got some pounds from our bank—costly, but eased my mind to have some correct currency on hand when landing. Okay decision. I notified credit card companies and bank of our travel times, and left all sorts of contact info with children (all in or out of college) and friends. Prudent decisions.
What we packed: I packed things to layer, slacks and tops and jackets, mostly in black, white, and grey. Wore black tennis/walking shoes. And always felt appropriate! DH wore jeans and shorts (and was NEVER the only one in shorts) and a kind of fishing shirt with lots of pockets on the front that keep him organized and thus happier. White shoes—and he was never alone in this! We needed our rain gear a couple times, jackets often, and cooler clothes a lot. We each had one checked medium-size wheeled piece of luggage. This was not a problem at all as our BandB was just 5 minutes from Hyde Park Corner Tube stop and thus we had almost no steps to negotiate (except the steep case at the BandB!). We each carried a bookbag type bag, mine rather small; 100’s of others, both professional London types and the tourists, were seen with similar bags on backs or in hand. We carried DH’s laptop (for picture storage and internet) and Blackberry (he didn’t really have a complete vacation from work!); the blackberry also served as phone if we needed it, which we didn’t. We took our Sony DSLR, 2 batteries and charger and 2 memory cards, a couple flashdrives, and a backup small HP digital point and shoot; we knew that taking lots of pics and being able to download them and back them up would be a priority for us.
Day 0(Travel) and 1—In which the flat-landers arrive in the big city
We traveled from Corpus Christi, Texas, via Dallas/Fort Worth on American, arriving at Heathrow. Uneventful flight, leaving Monday at 12:30 pm CDT and arriving a few minutes early actually, about 8:15 AM Tuesday. The passport control was very quick, and when we got to luggage area, our bags were already there! Found customs to be just a walkthrough; found Underground ticket office at Tube entrance with no problem; Oyster line maybe 5 minutes long. (We found the Oyster to be easy and cost effective.) Used ATM machine next to ticket office with no problem at all. Got on Tube and we were off at Knightsbridge Tube Stop at 9:52! So the whole process, from landing to being off the Tube and near our rooms was less than 2 hours. Wow—much faster than anticipated. We had opted to use the tube over other modes from Heathrow to our rooms because our BandB was a short walk from Knightsbridge or Hyde Park Corner, on the Picadilly Line straight, which is the line from Heathrow, so there were no changes, stairs, trains, or long walks with our luggage. It worked great for us.
Although we were a bit early our hostess met us at the door of the BandB in Belgravia in the Kinnerton Street area. We had a bedroom with a double bed, a roomy bath with shower, and a great sitting room with desk, wardrobe, and several seats. Made it feel very roomy. (BandB’s are tricky to recommend, as people’s expectations and preferences are all so different. I was very pleased with this one; clean, a sense of privacy, very quiet for being a few yards off a major street in London, and roomy—and so conveniently located. We could use the refrig but no microwave or anything else in kitchen, really. Free wireless. And the price was extremely reasonable, as we got a discount for staying 2 weeks. The breakfast was a bit Spartan; enough for me but not DH always, but all in all the facility was great. We were about 5-10 minutes from 2 pubs, a Waitrose for groceries, Hyde Park, and 2 tube stops, plus Harrods and Harvey Nichols!)
After a shower and short rest, we went exploring the neighborhood, to stay awake and get our bearings! We ate at one of the 2 pubs a couple minutes from our rooms, The Nags Head. Smallest pub in London by some claims. And it is small! I won’t use the q-word here but it is….unique, pub-by, and friendly. We went back a few times during our stay. We wandered around Belgravia toward Victoria Station, stopping for a scrumptious brownie at the Chocolate Society. A gentleman there was enjoying hot chocolate and recommended it, but it was too warm. We got to Victoria Station and looked around a bit. We picked up salads at a Marks and Spenser Simply Foods (they are EVERYWHERE!). After a walk back and a nap, we walked the short distance to St. Paul’s Church in Knightsbridge, a lovely place with some important Victorian decor. Then across to Hyde Park along with many others enjoying this gorgeous evening with warm air and blue sky; rented a couple of those famous canvas chairs and ate our salads. Then we walked through Hyde into Kensington, by the Peter Pan statue, and back to Knightsbridge. The long summer evening’s light lasted until after 9. We walked to the Waitrose on Motcomb to get sandwiches and such for tomorrow. What a LONG time it had been since a real sleep, but what a great hello to London.
Jul 30th, 2008, 09:11 PM
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Welcome back texasbookworm!
This is a great start!
I thought of you just the other day and wondered when you'd return.
<<Stood in the spray of the Emperor Fountain at Chatsworth>>
(sigh)
Can't wait to hear more!
This is a great start!
I thought of you just the other day and wondered when you'd return.
<<Stood in the spray of the Emperor Fountain at Chatsworth>>
(sigh)
Can't wait to hear more!
Jul 31st, 2008, 03:08 AM
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Thank you, encouragers, for your comments! Here're the next 2 days (partial!) memories:
Day 2—In which we see Buckingham Palace, Westminster and—well, read on!
We left about 8:30, packing our lunch; the day was cool but warming with mostly blue skies. We walked through Green and St. James Parks toward Buckingham Palace. London’s Parks are such a wonder, green and spacious, even when packed with people. A needed oasis from the city for Londoners and a treat for the eyes for visitors. We seemed to have beaten the crowds and took tons of pictures of the Palace and surrounding area. DH got his first glimpse of Big Ben. We strolled toward Westminster Abbey and got tickets with absolutely no line. We did not beat the crowds inside, however. But the beauty, history, and the sheer awesomeness of the church was the focus. The free audio guide is excellent; we spent about 90 minutes soaking up the atmosphere. We ate our lunch looking out at the cloisters. (I had a 2for1 voucher for Westminster Abbey, but you have to have paper travel cards to use them. At Victoria Station yesterday I had asked about buying them ahead; you can, but only one day ahead. As weather for this day was uncertain, and I didn’t know for sure if we’d want to go to Westminster, I didn’t want to commit to the paper cards for the little savings we’d see. And I sure wasn’t going to walk the 15-20 minutes to Victoria Station this morning to get the travel card. So I blew off the voucher idea for today.) DH was feeling pretty jet-lagged but gallantly (in the true knight-serving-his-lady sense) pushed himself on—and this was pretty much the way it was all 2 weeks! Blessings on the man who will keep going with bone-tiredness and blisters, even if grousing a little while doing it!
As we walked toward Parliament and Big Ben with 1000’s of other tourists, still beside Westminster Abbey, I heard a siren. The next few things happened in a few seconds: Oh, there’s a motorcycle leading a car. Oh, the car has a flag on top. Oh, the flag is –the royal flag! Oh, it might be the—
And there, sitting smiling in the back, dressed in blue and I think with a small crown, was Queen Elizabeth! Quite a stir it was causing! DH reacted as fast as non-paparazzi-humanly possible but got pics only of the car, not of her-self. How priceless! The pictures of her smiling famous face are in my head if not on the Sony memory card! We saw the Queen.
Then we went on to see Big Ben and Parliament—not anticlimactic at all, as these landmarks are so monumentally beautiful and –well, monumental. Everyone in London not on some sort of public transport whizzing by (like busses and taxis) must have been walking, jogging, or biking in this area; it was packed. We had our first look at the Thames on Westminster Bridge (where I stood and re-read Wordsworth’s words which are on a covering on the bridge where they’re working—This City now doth like a garment wear/The beauty of the morning—of course, it was actually afternoon by now)
Our next trek was up Whitehall. Couldn’t see #10 Downing close; bummed; but kept walking. Got to Trafalgar Square where a telecast of an opera that night meant that scaffolding and fencing were up preventing me from touching the lions. Bummed. But we got a few pictures anyway. I spent a shockingly short hour in the National Gallery among hordes of people while DH rested his feet. (He’s not a Philistine but doesn’t really enjoy art museums.) Every museum we went into in London deserves a day or more, so it’s with regret that I left after such a brief time. But a short visit is better than none
DH felt like walking again, so we went down Picadilly with the throng; stepped into Fortnum and Masons just to say I had! Back in Belgravia we went to the other pub near our rooms, the Wilton Arms. Also wonderful, friendly, more than adequate food (we had fish and chips, and bangers and mash). Then we found a great bakery across from Waitrose and had an incredible brownie—Ottolenghi’s. We’ll be back! Tomorrow first train ride to Salisbury, so we called it an evening.
Day 3—In which we go to Stonehenge and Salisbury via public transport
Although it looked like a gloomy, maybe rainy day, we decided to go to Salisbury and Stonehenge. As I explained above, we had purchased the BritRailEngland 4-Day Flex Pass and used it for the first time. We rode the Tube to Waterloo Station. Once there, we found ticket office and had our passes validated as we needed to for the first use. As car-dependent Americans, we had never ridden a train before and were a bit intimidated by the process. But the people were helpful in every station we used, and if the signage or directions weren’t clear, we could always find someone to help. So if you’re going to be riding the rails in England, just allow plenty of time, like 15-30 minutes, after you arrive at the station to find available trains if you don’t have that info, which platform the train will be departing from and the actual platform. With the FlexPass we didn’t have to try to get to a specific train; in this case we knew there was one at 8:50 and then 9:20 if we missed it, but we found platform and train in time to get on the 8:50. This train, as all others we rode, left on time and was not crowded at all. We had a smooth 90 minute ride to the Salisbury train station. Trains are comfortable, have nice facilities, and give a nice view of the passing countryside. Definitely better than driving for us this trip.
I loved arriving at all the different train stations, some rather compact and old, others a bit more modern and full of services. Salisbury, as I recall, was on the small side but had a snack shop and a helpful agent who told me where to catch the Stonehenge bus.
I had researched how to get to Stonehenge via public transport and found that this year there was a service called (not very creatively but appropriately) The Stonehenge Tour that for £17.50 each would pick us up at the train station and drive us to Stonehenge. Admission was included so we wouldn’t have to stand in line, and then we could spend as long as we wanted and take any of their busses that ran every 30 minutes to go back into town. (There was also a stop at Old Sarum but it was not nice enough for us to do this). This mode worked great for us; the bus was on time, comfortable, had a narration on its nice 30 minute ride to and from the site, and gave us freedom to spend as much or as little time there as we wanted. Highly recommended.
Stonehenge is impressive, of course, and can’t really be described, only experienced. So I won’t try to recreate the experience. Go there. This day it was pretty windy, cold, and sprinkly so we didn’t dawdle, and we had read much so didn’t find the audio guide to be that interesting (plus I’d been before) but all in all it’s an unforgettable experience.
We caught the bus back after warming up with hot chocolate and then in town walked, following obvious signs, to the Cathedral. It is impressive, of course, and can’t really be described, only experienced. So I won’t try to recreate the experience. Go there. (Yes, I know I just repeated myself—but both sites have that effect on me—awe, if for different reasons, and wonder.) Salisbury is just an incredibly lovely place of worship and is 750 years old this year! The good copy of the Magna Carta is almost worth the trip all by itself. On this day when we came out the sky had brightened up nicely so we took duplicate pics as the light playing on the structure differently than when we went in made it look quite different (let’s see, didn’t some guy name Constable notice the same thing?) DH was pretty tired and so we didn’t spend any more time in this lovely city, but caught a 4:20 train (barely made it!) back to the madhouse known as Waterloo-at-rush-hour at 5:45.
A look at the weather forecast (75% rain and in 60’s) convinced us to do some switching of my itinerary days, and instead of being outside at the Tower and along the Thames, go to the British Library and British Museum tomorrow. So we spent the evening resting and looking at our pictures. Our camera had been malfunctioning and not letting us review the pics on the camera, but it was taking good ones anyway we were happy to discover. Camera malfunctions to us are a major trauma, one we hadn’t anticipated!
Day 2—In which we see Buckingham Palace, Westminster and—well, read on!
We left about 8:30, packing our lunch; the day was cool but warming with mostly blue skies. We walked through Green and St. James Parks toward Buckingham Palace. London’s Parks are such a wonder, green and spacious, even when packed with people. A needed oasis from the city for Londoners and a treat for the eyes for visitors. We seemed to have beaten the crowds and took tons of pictures of the Palace and surrounding area. DH got his first glimpse of Big Ben. We strolled toward Westminster Abbey and got tickets with absolutely no line. We did not beat the crowds inside, however. But the beauty, history, and the sheer awesomeness of the church was the focus. The free audio guide is excellent; we spent about 90 minutes soaking up the atmosphere. We ate our lunch looking out at the cloisters. (I had a 2for1 voucher for Westminster Abbey, but you have to have paper travel cards to use them. At Victoria Station yesterday I had asked about buying them ahead; you can, but only one day ahead. As weather for this day was uncertain, and I didn’t know for sure if we’d want to go to Westminster, I didn’t want to commit to the paper cards for the little savings we’d see. And I sure wasn’t going to walk the 15-20 minutes to Victoria Station this morning to get the travel card. So I blew off the voucher idea for today.) DH was feeling pretty jet-lagged but gallantly (in the true knight-serving-his-lady sense) pushed himself on—and this was pretty much the way it was all 2 weeks! Blessings on the man who will keep going with bone-tiredness and blisters, even if grousing a little while doing it!
As we walked toward Parliament and Big Ben with 1000’s of other tourists, still beside Westminster Abbey, I heard a siren. The next few things happened in a few seconds: Oh, there’s a motorcycle leading a car. Oh, the car has a flag on top. Oh, the flag is –the royal flag! Oh, it might be the—
And there, sitting smiling in the back, dressed in blue and I think with a small crown, was Queen Elizabeth! Quite a stir it was causing! DH reacted as fast as non-paparazzi-humanly possible but got pics only of the car, not of her-self. How priceless! The pictures of her smiling famous face are in my head if not on the Sony memory card! We saw the Queen.
Then we went on to see Big Ben and Parliament—not anticlimactic at all, as these landmarks are so monumentally beautiful and –well, monumental. Everyone in London not on some sort of public transport whizzing by (like busses and taxis) must have been walking, jogging, or biking in this area; it was packed. We had our first look at the Thames on Westminster Bridge (where I stood and re-read Wordsworth’s words which are on a covering on the bridge where they’re working—This City now doth like a garment wear/The beauty of the morning—of course, it was actually afternoon by now)
Our next trek was up Whitehall. Couldn’t see #10 Downing close; bummed; but kept walking. Got to Trafalgar Square where a telecast of an opera that night meant that scaffolding and fencing were up preventing me from touching the lions. Bummed. But we got a few pictures anyway. I spent a shockingly short hour in the National Gallery among hordes of people while DH rested his feet. (He’s not a Philistine but doesn’t really enjoy art museums.) Every museum we went into in London deserves a day or more, so it’s with regret that I left after such a brief time. But a short visit is better than none
DH felt like walking again, so we went down Picadilly with the throng; stepped into Fortnum and Masons just to say I had! Back in Belgravia we went to the other pub near our rooms, the Wilton Arms. Also wonderful, friendly, more than adequate food (we had fish and chips, and bangers and mash). Then we found a great bakery across from Waitrose and had an incredible brownie—Ottolenghi’s. We’ll be back! Tomorrow first train ride to Salisbury, so we called it an evening.
Day 3—In which we go to Stonehenge and Salisbury via public transport
Although it looked like a gloomy, maybe rainy day, we decided to go to Salisbury and Stonehenge. As I explained above, we had purchased the BritRailEngland 4-Day Flex Pass and used it for the first time. We rode the Tube to Waterloo Station. Once there, we found ticket office and had our passes validated as we needed to for the first use. As car-dependent Americans, we had never ridden a train before and were a bit intimidated by the process. But the people were helpful in every station we used, and if the signage or directions weren’t clear, we could always find someone to help. So if you’re going to be riding the rails in England, just allow plenty of time, like 15-30 minutes, after you arrive at the station to find available trains if you don’t have that info, which platform the train will be departing from and the actual platform. With the FlexPass we didn’t have to try to get to a specific train; in this case we knew there was one at 8:50 and then 9:20 if we missed it, but we found platform and train in time to get on the 8:50. This train, as all others we rode, left on time and was not crowded at all. We had a smooth 90 minute ride to the Salisbury train station. Trains are comfortable, have nice facilities, and give a nice view of the passing countryside. Definitely better than driving for us this trip.
I loved arriving at all the different train stations, some rather compact and old, others a bit more modern and full of services. Salisbury, as I recall, was on the small side but had a snack shop and a helpful agent who told me where to catch the Stonehenge bus.
I had researched how to get to Stonehenge via public transport and found that this year there was a service called (not very creatively but appropriately) The Stonehenge Tour that for £17.50 each would pick us up at the train station and drive us to Stonehenge. Admission was included so we wouldn’t have to stand in line, and then we could spend as long as we wanted and take any of their busses that ran every 30 minutes to go back into town. (There was also a stop at Old Sarum but it was not nice enough for us to do this). This mode worked great for us; the bus was on time, comfortable, had a narration on its nice 30 minute ride to and from the site, and gave us freedom to spend as much or as little time there as we wanted. Highly recommended.
Stonehenge is impressive, of course, and can’t really be described, only experienced. So I won’t try to recreate the experience. Go there. This day it was pretty windy, cold, and sprinkly so we didn’t dawdle, and we had read much so didn’t find the audio guide to be that interesting (plus I’d been before) but all in all it’s an unforgettable experience.
We caught the bus back after warming up with hot chocolate and then in town walked, following obvious signs, to the Cathedral. It is impressive, of course, and can’t really be described, only experienced. So I won’t try to recreate the experience. Go there. (Yes, I know I just repeated myself—but both sites have that effect on me—awe, if for different reasons, and wonder.) Salisbury is just an incredibly lovely place of worship and is 750 years old this year! The good copy of the Magna Carta is almost worth the trip all by itself. On this day when we came out the sky had brightened up nicely so we took duplicate pics as the light playing on the structure differently than when we went in made it look quite different (let’s see, didn’t some guy name Constable notice the same thing?) DH was pretty tired and so we didn’t spend any more time in this lovely city, but caught a 4:20 train (barely made it!) back to the madhouse known as Waterloo-at-rush-hour at 5:45.
A look at the weather forecast (75% rain and in 60’s) convinced us to do some switching of my itinerary days, and instead of being outside at the Tower and along the Thames, go to the British Library and British Museum tomorrow. So we spent the evening resting and looking at our pictures. Our camera had been malfunctioning and not letting us review the pics on the camera, but it was taking good ones anyway we were happy to discover. Camera malfunctions to us are a major trauma, one we hadn’t anticipated!
Jul 31st, 2008, 08:13 AM
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Hi Texasbookworm -
Welcome back! Enjoying your trip report, and thanks again for your tip on the Stonehenge tour (when I was doing my research for my trip back in May).
tod- There are free guided tours at the Salisbury Cathedral when I visited. The tours are about 1 hour long, and I had such a wonderful guide/docent who knew everything about the Cathedral. The tour does not include the Magna Carta, which is in the Chapter House. But there are another couple of docents in the Chapter House who can tell you everything you need to know about it.
In addition, there are paid guided tours of the Towers of the Salisbury Cathedral. The Tower tours are 1.5 hours long, but I didn't have the time. But Fodorite noe847 took the tour and had detailed it in her trip report.
Welcome back! Enjoying your trip report, and thanks again for your tip on the Stonehenge tour (when I was doing my research for my trip back in May).
tod- There are free guided tours at the Salisbury Cathedral when I visited. The tours are about 1 hour long, and I had such a wonderful guide/docent who knew everything about the Cathedral. The tour does not include the Magna Carta, which is in the Chapter House. But there are another couple of docents in the Chapter House who can tell you everything you need to know about it.
In addition, there are paid guided tours of the Towers of the Salisbury Cathedral. The Tower tours are 1.5 hours long, but I didn't have the time. But Fodorite noe847 took the tour and had detailed it in her trip report.
Jul 31st, 2008, 09:52 AM
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Tod--I'm typing as fast as I can! This may take a few days! Thanks for your compliments.
Tod--no we didn't do a tour. It was my second trip, and DH takes so many pics it's hard to keep him reined in by a tour guide! Sounds like there are several ways to enjoy this lovely place, though.(But don't skip the Magna Carta; it doesn't take long and it's a wonderful copy).
Day 4—In which we enjoy the joys of the British Library and Museum
As this looked like a good day to be indoors, and a good day to not overtax our aching legs before a big day in Oxford, we went to the British Library and the British Museum. We had a very unhurried morning (DH had some business faxing to take care of anyway) and still got to the Library about 10, with a walk by St. Pancras’s fascinating outside (we’ll be in train station another day for pics).
The Library is a wonderful place to spend a morning. As an English teacher, I was thrilled to see, among other things (all in one room) a Shakespeare First Folio, a Gutenberg Bible, Bronte’s manuscript for Jane Eyre (Reader, I married him—in Charlotte’s handwriting!), Scott’s diary before his death, letters and writing materials of Austen—what treasures! Glad we'd seen the good copy of the Magna Carta at Salisbury, too; this one is sad. Before you go expecting to see something specific, though, be aware that the displays change and rotate stuff, so just because the Library has it (like Lewis Carroll stuff) doesn’t mean it will be viewable. But it is definitely wonderful, whatever you might see.
Then we walked not far to the British Museum which was, as expected on this might-be-raining-any-minute summer holidays day, packed. What can I say that hasn’t been said about this wonder? It was my second trip and I had things I wanted to share with DH, of course, and led him there, plus I followed him to some areas, and there were still 100’s (1000’s?) of things I didn’t see this time either. If a person has only 2-3 things to see or do in London, this and the Tower are the 2 I will always recommend. And allow at minimum half a day. (I did get a picture, with me in it, of the Rosetta Stone which was the one obligatory picture from my trip in 2005 that I somehow never snapped.)
About 4 we headed down Charing Cross, planning to find #84 and go to Covent Garden, maybe to eat. So we walked down the teeming street, looking for #84. If you haven’t read the book by Helene Hanff, it’s a delight. The bookstore, Marks&Co., once there is gone now, but they (I forget who “they” is) put a plaque on the wall to commemorate the store which birthed the book which was turned into a play and movie. We got to like #86 and then #82—backtracked and still no sign. DH went into a restaurant and I looked around. Oh, there it is—and here he came with a kind waitress who said people often stopped in to ask. Took a pic (of course—do you sense a pattern in our days?) of me and the small, now rather dingy plaque and walked not too far to Covent Garden. I suggested we find the Lamb and Flag, which despite showing up on lots of suggested lists might be ok to grab an early-ish dinner at and rest. Somehow, don’t ask me, we did find it—but they don’t serve food at dinnertime. Bummed. So we just grabbed Tube at Charing Cross and hit one of the pubs near our “home.” Oxford tomorrow!
Day 5—In which we make the Morse, Lewis, and Tolkien pilgrimage!
Oxford was just about number one on our list of places to go, in or out of London, when we planned this trip. At first I figured it would be by rail, but someone on the forum mentioned that the coaches from London were just as fast, reasonable, and dropped you off more in the center of town (and would actually be just as easy for us to board as getting to a train.) So bus it was. Both the Oxford Espress and the Oxford Tube pick up at Marble Arch, at a bus stop well marked, which was about a 15 minute walk for us. Both run frequently, have good information on their websites, and cost the same. So if you decide to use this service, I highly recommend it; just check out times and stops on their websites to see what fits you.
We left our rooms at 7:45 and got to Stop 14B about 8 and the Espress came by within 10 minutes. (If the Tube had come first, we would just have ridden it.) £30 for both of us, return tickets.
My first goal was to go to C.S. Lewis’s house, the Kilns. Thanks to flanneruk, whose suggestion was spot on, I decided we’d get off the bus at Thornhill Park and Ride and walk about a mile to the house. I had a googlemap and off we trotted. (Ok, I was ready to trot but DH was willing to walk in a more normal way!) The map was accurate and within 15 minutes we had walked along the quiet, green, flowery neighborhood streets and found The Kilns. We unobtrusively, I hope, took pictures and I just tried to imagine Lewis here. Then DH was willing to walk about a mile, we hoped, to Holy Trinity Church where Lewis worshipped and is buried. My map this time was accurate but the directions weren’t; I should know to look at the map, not read the google instructions. We missed it. But a nice gentleman working in his yard patiently gave us directions (“Looking for Lewis, I’ll wager. Well, you’ll find him waiting there for you!”) and also a general idea of where to catch bus afterwards.
We backtracked to the church notice board and took the little path to the church. It is---so ENGLISH! Small grey stone church, well-tended graveyard with a sexton (do they call him that?) tending to the grounds that morning, a bird singing, clouds skittering along in the high blue morning sky, vines twining on the stone walls. Oh, breathe! Lewis’ grave is indicated so we paid our respects there. As we looked around, a couple came in the front gate and began unlocking the church. They smiled at us and said, “We’re here to clean and you’re welcome to come in if you want.” (If we want?!) So we followed them in. He said, “From across the pond, are you? And here to see where Mr. Lewis is buried?” We entered the cool, they pointed out a few things and said they’d leave us and get to their chore; they were on the rota to clean this week. So we inspected the Narnia window and Lewis’ pew. And we struck up more conversation (not difficult!) with the gentleman. He had been christened, baptized, confirmed and married in this church, as had his children. They’d just had their 45th anniversary. And he remembered C.S. Lewis! Didn’t claim to “know” him but remembered his sitting there and how he often left before the sermon! Funny. Also, this gentleman had been a Morris dancer for most of his adult life, until the arthritis kicked in, and his group is actually in the background in one scene of the Hopkins/Winger version of Shadowlands! (I’ll be looking for that one to purchase on amazon when I get home!) He told us a bit more about himself and she about the church. What a blessing to have them there when we were!
I could have stayed much longer but didn’t want to impose upon their graciousness, so we said farewell and headed to the main road (London Road I think), found a bus stop, waited about 10 minutes, and rode into the town center, about a 20 minute or so ride.
Well, at noon on this Saturday, Oxford was awash with a million teenagers. (Lots of language schools/language school tour groups, it seemed, had descended upon the town this day. No, that sounds like locusts, and they were not behaving inappropriately at all; there were just masses and masses of them!). We just grabbed some food from an EAT, used a loo in Marks and Spencer and carried our food to the Oxford Information Center where we would be joining a tour in about 90 minutes. People everywhere and no place to sit really. We sat on a curb. At least it wasn’t broiling or raining. DH was pretty unhappy at this point. But by 1:30 his feet had rested and the food and coke had helped, so when our Inspector Morse Tour began, he was ok.
We both like the Inspector Morse “stuff”—I’ve read all the books, and he’s read most, and he bought me the whole series on DVD. We’re not fanatics, but fans, and when he read about this tour, it piqued his interest. So I made reservations in Feb, I think (Note: I couldn’t get the website to accept my input as an American and so I called the office directly. I never got any sort of confirmation, so I was a tad nervous, but they had us booked, no problem.) There were actually 3 Morse groups this day, of about 19 each.
Our tour guide was Eva Wagner, a feisty older lady who’d been called in at the last moment because of the number of people signed up and who had a sore throat and proclaimed herself to be grumpy. But she energetically and demandingly led us off. And she was a delightful hoot! She’d been doing this for years and years, starting when they were actually still filming the series. So she had lots and lots of inside stories, having met Colin Dexter and seen John Thaw several times. This tour was a delightful mix of some Oxford history, an explanation of the Oxford university/college system (the tutorial system), a quick glance at and trot by several of the most famous Oxford spots, and Morse trivia. Took about 2 hours. Toward the end I talked to her a bit and discovered that she was a former German/comparative lit professor who’d had rooms next to JRR Tolkien! When she found out I was a literature teacher (not of her caliber, of course!), she said it was a pity we weren’t here longer so she could give us a “proper” tour of Oxford. I would have loved to have taken her up on that! But she gave us a great afternoon. (If you ever have her as a tour guide, she may tell you the story of the entrance exam question. One time one of the colleges set one statement before the applicants: “Is this a question?” and she asked us if anyone could say what the answer was the examiners liked the best. DH, without even blinking it seemed, said, “Is this an answer?” and she laughed and said, “That’s it, you must be very clever!” Even with aching feet, his brain is sharp as a tack!)
Next we walked to Magdalen College; it was open (the colleges Eva Wagner had tried to get us into during the tour were closed, so I was glad to find this one still open, about 4). We admired the spires and towers, the quad and halls. Then we went for a stroll along Addison’s Walk where JRR and Jack had discussed the Christian faith. Lovely. People punting on the Cherwell. Shadows playing along the path. Deer feeding in the park. Flowers rambling over the walls. Just lovely.
DH navigated a quieter way for us to walk back to St. Giles far from the madding crowd and we went to the Eagle and the Child. It was crowded but far in the back we got a table and some food. It was tasty. The Rabbit Room was full and he wouldn’t disturb the patrons to take pics of the Inkling plaques—I’ll have to retrieve my 2005 pics! Took pics of us both outside the Bird and Baby and headed to the bus station, found our bus and got off at Marble Arch about 8:45 for a walk through Hyde Park at dusk. What a day!
Tod--no we didn't do a tour. It was my second trip, and DH takes so many pics it's hard to keep him reined in by a tour guide! Sounds like there are several ways to enjoy this lovely place, though.(But don't skip the Magna Carta; it doesn't take long and it's a wonderful copy).
Day 4—In which we enjoy the joys of the British Library and Museum
As this looked like a good day to be indoors, and a good day to not overtax our aching legs before a big day in Oxford, we went to the British Library and the British Museum. We had a very unhurried morning (DH had some business faxing to take care of anyway) and still got to the Library about 10, with a walk by St. Pancras’s fascinating outside (we’ll be in train station another day for pics).
The Library is a wonderful place to spend a morning. As an English teacher, I was thrilled to see, among other things (all in one room) a Shakespeare First Folio, a Gutenberg Bible, Bronte’s manuscript for Jane Eyre (Reader, I married him—in Charlotte’s handwriting!), Scott’s diary before his death, letters and writing materials of Austen—what treasures! Glad we'd seen the good copy of the Magna Carta at Salisbury, too; this one is sad. Before you go expecting to see something specific, though, be aware that the displays change and rotate stuff, so just because the Library has it (like Lewis Carroll stuff) doesn’t mean it will be viewable. But it is definitely wonderful, whatever you might see.
Then we walked not far to the British Museum which was, as expected on this might-be-raining-any-minute summer holidays day, packed. What can I say that hasn’t been said about this wonder? It was my second trip and I had things I wanted to share with DH, of course, and led him there, plus I followed him to some areas, and there were still 100’s (1000’s?) of things I didn’t see this time either. If a person has only 2-3 things to see or do in London, this and the Tower are the 2 I will always recommend. And allow at minimum half a day. (I did get a picture, with me in it, of the Rosetta Stone which was the one obligatory picture from my trip in 2005 that I somehow never snapped.)
About 4 we headed down Charing Cross, planning to find #84 and go to Covent Garden, maybe to eat. So we walked down the teeming street, looking for #84. If you haven’t read the book by Helene Hanff, it’s a delight. The bookstore, Marks&Co., once there is gone now, but they (I forget who “they” is) put a plaque on the wall to commemorate the store which birthed the book which was turned into a play and movie. We got to like #86 and then #82—backtracked and still no sign. DH went into a restaurant and I looked around. Oh, there it is—and here he came with a kind waitress who said people often stopped in to ask. Took a pic (of course—do you sense a pattern in our days?) of me and the small, now rather dingy plaque and walked not too far to Covent Garden. I suggested we find the Lamb and Flag, which despite showing up on lots of suggested lists might be ok to grab an early-ish dinner at and rest. Somehow, don’t ask me, we did find it—but they don’t serve food at dinnertime. Bummed. So we just grabbed Tube at Charing Cross and hit one of the pubs near our “home.” Oxford tomorrow!
Day 5—In which we make the Morse, Lewis, and Tolkien pilgrimage!
Oxford was just about number one on our list of places to go, in or out of London, when we planned this trip. At first I figured it would be by rail, but someone on the forum mentioned that the coaches from London were just as fast, reasonable, and dropped you off more in the center of town (and would actually be just as easy for us to board as getting to a train.) So bus it was. Both the Oxford Espress and the Oxford Tube pick up at Marble Arch, at a bus stop well marked, which was about a 15 minute walk for us. Both run frequently, have good information on their websites, and cost the same. So if you decide to use this service, I highly recommend it; just check out times and stops on their websites to see what fits you.
We left our rooms at 7:45 and got to Stop 14B about 8 and the Espress came by within 10 minutes. (If the Tube had come first, we would just have ridden it.) £30 for both of us, return tickets.
My first goal was to go to C.S. Lewis’s house, the Kilns. Thanks to flanneruk, whose suggestion was spot on, I decided we’d get off the bus at Thornhill Park and Ride and walk about a mile to the house. I had a googlemap and off we trotted. (Ok, I was ready to trot but DH was willing to walk in a more normal way!) The map was accurate and within 15 minutes we had walked along the quiet, green, flowery neighborhood streets and found The Kilns. We unobtrusively, I hope, took pictures and I just tried to imagine Lewis here. Then DH was willing to walk about a mile, we hoped, to Holy Trinity Church where Lewis worshipped and is buried. My map this time was accurate but the directions weren’t; I should know to look at the map, not read the google instructions. We missed it. But a nice gentleman working in his yard patiently gave us directions (“Looking for Lewis, I’ll wager. Well, you’ll find him waiting there for you!”) and also a general idea of where to catch bus afterwards.
We backtracked to the church notice board and took the little path to the church. It is---so ENGLISH! Small grey stone church, well-tended graveyard with a sexton (do they call him that?) tending to the grounds that morning, a bird singing, clouds skittering along in the high blue morning sky, vines twining on the stone walls. Oh, breathe! Lewis’ grave is indicated so we paid our respects there. As we looked around, a couple came in the front gate and began unlocking the church. They smiled at us and said, “We’re here to clean and you’re welcome to come in if you want.” (If we want?!) So we followed them in. He said, “From across the pond, are you? And here to see where Mr. Lewis is buried?” We entered the cool, they pointed out a few things and said they’d leave us and get to their chore; they were on the rota to clean this week. So we inspected the Narnia window and Lewis’ pew. And we struck up more conversation (not difficult!) with the gentleman. He had been christened, baptized, confirmed and married in this church, as had his children. They’d just had their 45th anniversary. And he remembered C.S. Lewis! Didn’t claim to “know” him but remembered his sitting there and how he often left before the sermon! Funny. Also, this gentleman had been a Morris dancer for most of his adult life, until the arthritis kicked in, and his group is actually in the background in one scene of the Hopkins/Winger version of Shadowlands! (I’ll be looking for that one to purchase on amazon when I get home!) He told us a bit more about himself and she about the church. What a blessing to have them there when we were!
I could have stayed much longer but didn’t want to impose upon their graciousness, so we said farewell and headed to the main road (London Road I think), found a bus stop, waited about 10 minutes, and rode into the town center, about a 20 minute or so ride.
Well, at noon on this Saturday, Oxford was awash with a million teenagers. (Lots of language schools/language school tour groups, it seemed, had descended upon the town this day. No, that sounds like locusts, and they were not behaving inappropriately at all; there were just masses and masses of them!). We just grabbed some food from an EAT, used a loo in Marks and Spencer and carried our food to the Oxford Information Center where we would be joining a tour in about 90 minutes. People everywhere and no place to sit really. We sat on a curb. At least it wasn’t broiling or raining. DH was pretty unhappy at this point. But by 1:30 his feet had rested and the food and coke had helped, so when our Inspector Morse Tour began, he was ok.
We both like the Inspector Morse “stuff”—I’ve read all the books, and he’s read most, and he bought me the whole series on DVD. We’re not fanatics, but fans, and when he read about this tour, it piqued his interest. So I made reservations in Feb, I think (Note: I couldn’t get the website to accept my input as an American and so I called the office directly. I never got any sort of confirmation, so I was a tad nervous, but they had us booked, no problem.) There were actually 3 Morse groups this day, of about 19 each.
Our tour guide was Eva Wagner, a feisty older lady who’d been called in at the last moment because of the number of people signed up and who had a sore throat and proclaimed herself to be grumpy. But she energetically and demandingly led us off. And she was a delightful hoot! She’d been doing this for years and years, starting when they were actually still filming the series. So she had lots and lots of inside stories, having met Colin Dexter and seen John Thaw several times. This tour was a delightful mix of some Oxford history, an explanation of the Oxford university/college system (the tutorial system), a quick glance at and trot by several of the most famous Oxford spots, and Morse trivia. Took about 2 hours. Toward the end I talked to her a bit and discovered that she was a former German/comparative lit professor who’d had rooms next to JRR Tolkien! When she found out I was a literature teacher (not of her caliber, of course!), she said it was a pity we weren’t here longer so she could give us a “proper” tour of Oxford. I would have loved to have taken her up on that! But she gave us a great afternoon. (If you ever have her as a tour guide, she may tell you the story of the entrance exam question. One time one of the colleges set one statement before the applicants: “Is this a question?” and she asked us if anyone could say what the answer was the examiners liked the best. DH, without even blinking it seemed, said, “Is this an answer?” and she laughed and said, “That’s it, you must be very clever!” Even with aching feet, his brain is sharp as a tack!)
Next we walked to Magdalen College; it was open (the colleges Eva Wagner had tried to get us into during the tour were closed, so I was glad to find this one still open, about 4). We admired the spires and towers, the quad and halls. Then we went for a stroll along Addison’s Walk where JRR and Jack had discussed the Christian faith. Lovely. People punting on the Cherwell. Shadows playing along the path. Deer feeding in the park. Flowers rambling over the walls. Just lovely.
DH navigated a quieter way for us to walk back to St. Giles far from the madding crowd and we went to the Eagle and the Child. It was crowded but far in the back we got a table and some food. It was tasty. The Rabbit Room was full and he wouldn’t disturb the patrons to take pics of the Inkling plaques—I’ll have to retrieve my 2005 pics! Took pics of us both outside the Bird and Baby and headed to the bus station, found our bus and got off at Marble Arch about 8:45 for a walk through Hyde Park at dusk. What a day!
Jul 31st, 2008, 10:09 AM
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You day at Oxford sounds absolutely lovely! I have to go back for a revisit next time.
Just FYI, the British Library has <i>two</i> copies of the Magna Carta. One copy is fairly well-preserved, but it was off display when I went in late May, so I assume you didn't see that one. The other copy was damaged by fire, which I believe was the one you saw at British Library.
Of the 4 remaining copies of Magna Carta, the copy at Salisbury Cathedral is the best preserved, though the original wax seal was broken (shattered into pieces) when the Magna Carta was being moved to saftey during WW II. [At least this was what the docent told me, when I inquired about the lack of wax seal.]
Just FYI, the British Library has <i>two</i> copies of the Magna Carta. One copy is fairly well-preserved, but it was off display when I went in late May, so I assume you didn't see that one. The other copy was damaged by fire, which I believe was the one you saw at British Library.
Of the 4 remaining copies of Magna Carta, the copy at Salisbury Cathedral is the best preserved, though the original wax seal was broken (shattered into pieces) when the Magna Carta was being moved to saftey during WW II. [At least this was what the docent told me, when I inquired about the lack of wax seal.]
Jul 31st, 2008, 10:25 AM
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Your report is terrific -- I am so jealous that you had FOURTEEN days in London when we had only four -- I am especially interested in the way you made London a home base and did many day trips by public transport. This really sounds like the way to go to me.
We were there in October, so didn't experience the madding crowds you seem to have encountered. So from your report I have learned not to go to London in the summer!
Also, I sympathize greatly with your DH and his blisters.I thought I was well prepared with broken-in walking shoes, but ended up buying moleskins and band-aids at Boots. Ouch. Hope the foot problems improved -- mine did.
We were there in October, so didn't experience the madding crowds you seem to have encountered. So from your report I have learned not to go to London in the summer!
Also, I sympathize greatly with your DH and his blisters.I thought I was well prepared with broken-in walking shoes, but ended up buying moleskins and band-aids at Boots. Ouch. Hope the foot problems improved -- mine did.
Jul 31st, 2008, 10:39 AM
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Day 6—In which we ride a boat, meander a market, and climb a hill
This was a beautiful day to be outside. And many were! We began the day by arriving at Warwick Avenue Tube stop and finding our way, not very clearly, to the Waterbus dock to take a noon canal boat ride from Little Venice to Camden Lock through Regent Park Canal. They could improve their signage. But the ride was lovely, taking about 45 slow, relaxing minutes. We arrived at Camden Lock about one. It was a busy, bright, stew of people and aromas. We got kabobs and then wandered around the Market area for a while. It seemed to me to be definitely for younger people (lots of tattoo, goth, punk type places mixed in with vintage, antiques, junk and jewelry stalls). And lots and lots of ethnic flavors.
Had our fill and walked toward Regents Park. There we made the climb up to Primrose Hill. It was covered with picnickers and sunbathers and children. There at the top was a cold wind but a cooler view of the city. Worth every achy step!
Walked down the hill, through Regents Park full of flowers and gardens, and convenient benches! Caught the Tube and got off at Knightsbridge so DH could see Harrods. Well, see it is about all we did. It was a tightly packed at Camden Market! And the streets outside were gridlocked with Rolls, Bentleys, Jags, and Mercedez and their chauffeurs. I’m definitely out of my social strata! Walked home via Sloane Street, lined with Chanel, Jimmy Choo, Versace, Armani, Yves St. Laurent, etc. I’m definitely out of my fashion strata! Funny just to walk past the windows anyway.
Day 7—In which we walk the cliffs, see the castle, and get sunburned
This was to be Dover Day if the weather was good, and the forecast was favorable. So off we went, catching a train at 9 ish from Victoria Station. The ride takes about 2 hours. A plan was to go into town, go to castle, either walking or by taxi, and then go to walk the cliffs. But when we got there, and walked to the information center and looked at map more closely and the sky, DH decided we should go walk the cliffs first while the weather was good. Looked like a long walk from either town or castle, so it didn’t matter. So off we went. Be warned—it is a LONG walk from the center of town to the National Trust entrance/path to the White Cliffs of Dover. Worth it, but long. First we walked down towards the Channel and ferry/port area. The man-made stuff is utile and ugly, but the Channel and the view—magnifique! There was Calais, pretty clearly, 22 miles away. We kept walking and kept walking and then began to climb. There were the cliffs, yes, but all sorts of ugly intrusions and such. Finally, as we entered the National Trust area, the cliffs began to appear as we had imagined them—white, sheer, falling away from the brown and green grasses into the blue water. Beautiful. We decided to try to walk the “bracing 2 miles” to the South Foreland Lighthouse. A spectacular walk. It was only slightly windy but very sunny; we could have done with some sunscreen! The views across the channel stayed clear all day. The golden grasses in the fields on one side, the turquoise and azures of the water to the other with the white chalk in between. Oh, to be a poet, or painter. Oh, well, we had a mostly cooperating camera! This was the longest 2 miles ever I think (and I’ve climbed a 14-er in Colorado and had 3 children!). But we made it (ok, honestly, we only got close enough to get it in the viewfinder—but we couldn’t have gone up in it anyway). It’s the lighthouse Marconi used for radio transmission history making.
Walked back. Still gorgeous views! This way the Dover Castle often loomed into view in the distance; it was our goal. Walked back down into town. Found the path up to the castle. Yes up. And after the day we’d had, it did feel steeply up. We began for the first time on the trip to dream of a taxi! But we got into the Castle about 4 and had a glorious 90 minutes or so there. It deserved at least 3 hours. But we just didn’t have it! We opted right away to not take the 1 hour WWII tunnel tour. Next time! I know they are fascinating, and important, but we had to choose and we chose old stuff. We were able to see most of the important parts of the rest of the castle, getting up high on the walls and reveling in the spectacular views; the weather had cooperated more than even expected.
So, suggestions: The Castle really does need 3-4 hours, unless you totally skip the Tunnels. The Castle is up a steep slog, so a taxi (as JanisJ suggested) from the station to the entrance would be a wise thing. Should we have done the castle first? Well, we really wanted nice skies for our cliff walk and channel view and the weather is notoriously changeable, so I wouldn’t second guess our decision. But it did mean we ran short of time at the castle; I wouldn’t have spent any less time on the cliffs.
We walked back down to town, ate at a Weatherstone’s pub (mint lamb burgers and chips) and then when checking timetable discovered we might be able to make a 5:54 train. We had about 20 minutes. So we had one last sprint in us, slid into the station, were stopped momentarily by young man wanting to see our tickets and telling us which platform, we ran up and down the steps, and the 6:54 was pulling away—and I swear the clocks said 6:52! So we collapsed and waited an hour. Got back to Victoria at 9:45 and had 15 minute walk. We were rather sun and wind burned/chapped and would be sore tomorrow—but another glorious day.
While on the train, DH had gotten an email from work about an –impending hurricane! And 2 of our kids (19 and 23) would be in the path! But by the time we got back to the bandb, we’d received some emails from them that said local forecasters had Dolly going south of Corpus Christi, which it did. So hurricane alert stood down!
This was a beautiful day to be outside. And many were! We began the day by arriving at Warwick Avenue Tube stop and finding our way, not very clearly, to the Waterbus dock to take a noon canal boat ride from Little Venice to Camden Lock through Regent Park Canal. They could improve their signage. But the ride was lovely, taking about 45 slow, relaxing minutes. We arrived at Camden Lock about one. It was a busy, bright, stew of people and aromas. We got kabobs and then wandered around the Market area for a while. It seemed to me to be definitely for younger people (lots of tattoo, goth, punk type places mixed in with vintage, antiques, junk and jewelry stalls). And lots and lots of ethnic flavors.
Had our fill and walked toward Regents Park. There we made the climb up to Primrose Hill. It was covered with picnickers and sunbathers and children. There at the top was a cold wind but a cooler view of the city. Worth every achy step!
Walked down the hill, through Regents Park full of flowers and gardens, and convenient benches! Caught the Tube and got off at Knightsbridge so DH could see Harrods. Well, see it is about all we did. It was a tightly packed at Camden Market! And the streets outside were gridlocked with Rolls, Bentleys, Jags, and Mercedez and their chauffeurs. I’m definitely out of my social strata! Walked home via Sloane Street, lined with Chanel, Jimmy Choo, Versace, Armani, Yves St. Laurent, etc. I’m definitely out of my fashion strata! Funny just to walk past the windows anyway.
Day 7—In which we walk the cliffs, see the castle, and get sunburned
This was to be Dover Day if the weather was good, and the forecast was favorable. So off we went, catching a train at 9 ish from Victoria Station. The ride takes about 2 hours. A plan was to go into town, go to castle, either walking or by taxi, and then go to walk the cliffs. But when we got there, and walked to the information center and looked at map more closely and the sky, DH decided we should go walk the cliffs first while the weather was good. Looked like a long walk from either town or castle, so it didn’t matter. So off we went. Be warned—it is a LONG walk from the center of town to the National Trust entrance/path to the White Cliffs of Dover. Worth it, but long. First we walked down towards the Channel and ferry/port area. The man-made stuff is utile and ugly, but the Channel and the view—magnifique! There was Calais, pretty clearly, 22 miles away. We kept walking and kept walking and then began to climb. There were the cliffs, yes, but all sorts of ugly intrusions and such. Finally, as we entered the National Trust area, the cliffs began to appear as we had imagined them—white, sheer, falling away from the brown and green grasses into the blue water. Beautiful. We decided to try to walk the “bracing 2 miles” to the South Foreland Lighthouse. A spectacular walk. It was only slightly windy but very sunny; we could have done with some sunscreen! The views across the channel stayed clear all day. The golden grasses in the fields on one side, the turquoise and azures of the water to the other with the white chalk in between. Oh, to be a poet, or painter. Oh, well, we had a mostly cooperating camera! This was the longest 2 miles ever I think (and I’ve climbed a 14-er in Colorado and had 3 children!). But we made it (ok, honestly, we only got close enough to get it in the viewfinder—but we couldn’t have gone up in it anyway). It’s the lighthouse Marconi used for radio transmission history making.
Walked back. Still gorgeous views! This way the Dover Castle often loomed into view in the distance; it was our goal. Walked back down into town. Found the path up to the castle. Yes up. And after the day we’d had, it did feel steeply up. We began for the first time on the trip to dream of a taxi! But we got into the Castle about 4 and had a glorious 90 minutes or so there. It deserved at least 3 hours. But we just didn’t have it! We opted right away to not take the 1 hour WWII tunnel tour. Next time! I know they are fascinating, and important, but we had to choose and we chose old stuff. We were able to see most of the important parts of the rest of the castle, getting up high on the walls and reveling in the spectacular views; the weather had cooperated more than even expected.
So, suggestions: The Castle really does need 3-4 hours, unless you totally skip the Tunnels. The Castle is up a steep slog, so a taxi (as JanisJ suggested) from the station to the entrance would be a wise thing. Should we have done the castle first? Well, we really wanted nice skies for our cliff walk and channel view and the weather is notoriously changeable, so I wouldn’t second guess our decision. But it did mean we ran short of time at the castle; I wouldn’t have spent any less time on the cliffs.
We walked back down to town, ate at a Weatherstone’s pub (mint lamb burgers and chips) and then when checking timetable discovered we might be able to make a 5:54 train. We had about 20 minutes. So we had one last sprint in us, slid into the station, were stopped momentarily by young man wanting to see our tickets and telling us which platform, we ran up and down the steps, and the 6:54 was pulling away—and I swear the clocks said 6:52! So we collapsed and waited an hour. Got back to Victoria at 9:45 and had 15 minute walk. We were rather sun and wind burned/chapped and would be sore tomorrow—but another glorious day.
While on the train, DH had gotten an email from work about an –impending hurricane! And 2 of our kids (19 and 23) would be in the path! But by the time we got back to the bandb, we’d received some emails from them that said local forecasters had Dolly going south of Corpus Christi, which it did. So hurricane alert stood down!
Jul 31st, 2008, 11:31 AM
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Thanks so much for your helpful details in your report. I'm sure that your students' education will be the richer for your experiences. Thanks for sharing; looking forward to the rest of the report!
Jul 31st, 2008, 11:49 AM
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<<with Rolls, Bentleys, Jags, and Mercedez and their chauffeurs. I’m definitely out of my social strata!>>
I hear you TBW, and if it's any consolation, I've no driver for my jag! :0-)
<<I'm sure that your students' education will be the richer for your experiences.>>
Well said, irishface.
I hear you TBW, and if it's any consolation, I've no driver for my jag! :0-)
<<I'm sure that your students' education will be the richer for your experiences.>>
Well said, irishface.
