Another catchup post. This one is a recap of our trip to England and Wales last fall.
Our trip started with a drive to Boston. We had made arrangements for a reverse Park n' Fly with a hotel near Logan. We got a month of parking and a hotel room the night we returned for a lot less than it would have cost just to park the car at the airport. We flew Norwegian Air, which is considered a budget airline. The fare was much cheaper than any other airline we found, but the experience was not particularly budget. We flew a very modern Dreamliner and had bulk head seats in both directions. About as good as it gets without upgrading to business or first class. The only down side is that they fly in to Gatwick rather than Heathrow, so the ride to town is longer.
We left Boston the evening of Sept 22 and arrived in London on the morning of the 23rd. Our son Drew flew from Virginia into Heathrow and met us when we arrived at the Cleveland Hotel near Paddington Station. We spent a wonderful long weekend, enjoying Drew's company, and visiting the sites in London. Highlights include the British Museum, Little Venice and a canal boat ride to Camden Locks, Greenwich, the Churchill War Rooms, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, and visiting a variety of pubs.
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| Brett and Drew on our first pub visit in London |
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Brett and Drew on the Cutty Sark
London |
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Carved doors at the Camden Horse Market
London |
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Camden Horse Market
London |
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Camden Horse Market
London |
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Canal boats in Little Venice
London |
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| Celina and Drew |
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| Westminster Abbey |
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| Celina, Drew and Big Ben |
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| Tower Bridge |
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| Tower of London |
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| Dragon made of armor and weapons at the Tower of London |
On Tuesday, Sep 27th, it was time for Drew to head home and for us to depart London for the rest of our trip. We walked to Paddington Station, saw Drew off on to the Heathrow Express and then headed to Kings Cross Station to catch our train north to York. Once there we picked up the rental car we would use for the rest of the trip. We spent a few hours walking around York and then drove to our home for the next 3 nights - the Durham Ox in Crayke, near the North Yorkshire Moors. In the time we were there, we visited Byland Abbey, Helmsley Castle, Rievaulx Abbey, as well as the seacoast towns of Whitby and Staithes. Many of these properties were managed by English Heritage. We decided to become members of English Heritage which gave us free admissions to all of their properties as well as discounts to some other properties. If you will be visiting England and expect to visit lots of historic properties, I suggest you look in to English Heritage membership.
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Views from the top of the city wall
York, England |
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York Minster
York, England |
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Bookbinders used to be located on this street
York, England |
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Public piano
York, England |
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Towers of York Minster
York, England |
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Rievaulx Abbey
North Yorkshire |
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Rievaulx Abbey
North Yorkshire |
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Rievaulx Abbey
North Yorkshire |
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| Helmsley |
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Helmsley Castle
North Yorkshire |
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Helmsley Castle
North Yorkshire |
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Byland Abbey
North Yorkshire |
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Byland Abbey
North Yorkshire |
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| Heather in the North Yorkshire Moors |
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| North Yorkshire Moors |
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Staithes
North Yorkshire |
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Staithes
North Yorkshire |
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Staithes
North Yorkshire |
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Church Road
Whitby, North Yorkshire |
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Whitby
North Yorkshire |
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| Whitby Abbey |
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| View of Whitby from the Abbey |
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| Whitby Abbey |
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| Whitby Abbey |
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| Fields next to Whitby Abbey |
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St. Cuthbert's Church
Crayke |
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The Durham Ox
Crayke, North Yorkshire |
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Main street in Crayke
North Yorkshire |
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Lavender Cottage (on the right) at The Durham Ox
Crayke, North Yorkshire |
Sep 30 we left Crayke and headed to Masham in the Yorkshire Dales for the next 3 nights. Enroute we visited Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Gardens. Masham is home to 2 Yorkshire breweries - Theakstons and Black Sheep - both of which are owned by members of the Theakston family. We toured both breweries and definitely preferred the more traditional Theakstons. Black Sheep was a bit too polished for us. While in Masham, we also visited Bolton Castle and Aysgarth Falls.
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Fountains Abbey
Yorkshire Dales |
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Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Gardens
Yorkshire Dales |
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| St. Mary's at Studley Royal Gardens |
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| Holiday Cottage at Studley Royal Gardens |
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| Studley Royal Gardens |
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| Fountains Abbey |
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Aysgarth Falls
Yorkshire Dales |
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Bolton Castle
Yorkshire Dales |
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| Interior of chapel at Bolton Castle |
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| View from Bolton Castle |
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Brett waiting for our tour at Theakstons Brewery
Masham, Yorkshire |
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Theakston Brewery
Masham |
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Pub at Theakston Brewery
Masham |
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Barrel room at Theakston
Masham |
From Masham, we headed north toward Hadrian's wall. We visited sites along the wall - Chesters Fort, Housesteads Roman Fort, Temple of Mithras before stopping for the night a Lord Crewe Arms in Blanchland. The Lord Crewe was a wonderful place - it was originally and abbey built in the 1100's . We wished we had stayed longer than 1 night.
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Lord Crewes Arms
Blanchland |
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Angel Inn at Lord Crewe Arms
Blanchland |
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Hadrian's Wall
Chester's Roman Fort |
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| Chester's Roman Fort |
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| Housesteads Roman Fort |
From Blanchland, we headed west toward the Lake District. Along the way we stopped to visit Lanercrost Priory, Carlisle Castle, and Castlerigg Stone Circle. We had some difficulty when leaving Castlerigg. We met a large truck along a single track road and it turned out there was not enough room for the both of us! Despite pulling as far off the road as possible, folding in our sideview mirrors, and having assistance from another driver, the truck ended up scratching the mirror as he went by. English country roads are definitely an adventure!
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| Castlerigg Stone Circle |
We spent 3 nights at the Britannia Inn in Elterwater. Our first impressions of the Inn were not great, but it ended up being our favorite stop of the trip. We met several couples also staying at the Inn and spent some delightful time visiting over dinner and in the pub. The Lake District is a wonderful place if you like to walk. We spent our two full days there exploring the area on foot. The scenery is beautiful and it is wonderful to be able to walk, stop for lunch, walk a little more and stop for a pint, and then return to the inn where you meet friends for a pint and then dinner. This is an area we would definitely like to visit again.
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Views while walking in the Lake District
Elterwater |
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Chapel Stile
Lake District |
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| Out for a walk in Elterwater |
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| Views while walking in Elterwater |
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Colorful sheep
Elterwater |
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| Walking in the Fells in Elterwater |
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| Walking in the Fells in Elterwater |
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| Walking in the Fells in Elterwater |
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Celina and the steps over a stone wall along the public walkway
Elterwater |
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Britannia Inn
Elterwater |
From the Lake District, we headed for Caernarfon, Wales where we spent 3 nights. Enroute we stopped in Chester, which is in England just before crossing the border to Wales. While in Caernarfon we visited the castle in town, a local brewery where we met a wonderful character name Gareth, and took a day trip to the Snowdonia Mountains where we visited the National Slate Museum.
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| Chester Cathedral |
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Victoria clock
Chester, England |
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Half-timbered building
Chester, England |
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Caernarfon Castle
Wales |
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Caernarfon Castle decorated for Remembrance Day (Nov 11)
Wales |
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Black Boy Inn
Caernarfon, Wales |
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Snowdonia Mountains
Wales |
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Dolbadarn Castle
Snowdonia, Wales |
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| View from Dolbadarn Castle |
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| Snowdonia, Wales |
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National Slate Museum
Wales |
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Casting floor
National Slate Museum |
From Caernarfon we headed south to Pembrokeshire where we spent 2 nights at the Stackpole Inn. While there we visited Pembroke Castle, walked around Stackpole Estate, visited the medieval chapel of St Govan, and took a walk on the seaside cliffs overlooking Barafundle Bay.
We then bid farewell to Wales and headed east to spend the next 4 nights at the Lamb Inn in Burford - in the Cotswolds. Along the way we stopped in Cheltenham to visit the museum which has a wonderful collection of Arts & Crafts furniture. While in the Cotswolds we took day trips to Oxford, Blenheim Palace (birthplace of Winston Churchill), and a driving tour through Bibury, Upper and Lower Slaughter.
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Blenheim Palace
Oxfordshire, England |
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Celina in the gardens
Blenheim Palace |
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| Gardens at Blenheim Palace |
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Lamb Inn - the Cotswolds
Burford, England |
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Interior - St. John the Baptist Church
Burford, England |
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St. John the Baptist Church
Burford, England |
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Upper Slaughter
Oxfordshire, England |
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Upper Slaughter
Oxfordshire, England |
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Mill Shop in Lower Slaughter
Oxfordshire, England |
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Arlington Row
Bibury, Oxfordshire |
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Bibury
Oxfordshire, England |
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Swans in the River Coln
Bibury, Oxfordshire |
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Swans
Bibury, Oxfordshire |
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| Gardens at Oxford University |
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Dining Hall in Exeter College
Oxford University |
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Radcliffe Camera
Oxford University |
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Partridges for sale at the market
Oxford, England |
From the Cotswolds we headed south to the coast of Cornwall. We spent the next 3 nights at the Old Ferry Inn in Bodinnick. We took a day trip to visit Restormel Castle and then Pendennis Castle near Falmouth. We also spent a day exploring Fowey, Polruan, and Bodinnick via foot and ferry.
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The Old Ferry Inn
Bodinnick, Cornwall |
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Ferry from Bodinnick to Fowey
Cornwall |
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View from our room in the Old Ferry Inn
Bodinnick |
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| A small taste of the many single track roads we drove |
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Pendennis Castle
Falmouth, England |
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View from Pendennis Castle
Falmouth |
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View of St. Mawes from Pendennis
Falmouth |
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Restormel Castle
Cornwall, England |
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Restormel Castle
Cornwall, England |
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Polruan
Cornwall, England |
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St. Catherines Castle and Menabilly Lighthouse
Fowey, Cornwall |
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Fowey
Cornwall, England |
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Punche's Cross and St Saviours Poin
Polruan, Cornwall |
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St. Catherines Castle
Fowey, Cornwall |
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Polruan
Cornwall, England |
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| Map of Bodinnick, Fowey and Polruan |
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View of Polruan (left) and Fowey (right)
taken from Bodinnick along the Hall Walk |
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Lantelgos-by-Fowey
along the Hall Walk |
From Cornwall we headed east along the coast to Dartmouth in Devon. Along the way we stopped in Plymouth where the Mayflower began its journey to America. We spent 2 nights at the Bayard Cove Inn in Dartmouth. We spent a fun day exploring Dartmouth and Kingswear by foot and ferry.
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The starting point of the Mayflower's voyage to North America
Plymouth, England |
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Smeaton's Tower
Plymouth, England |
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Cherub Inn
Dartmouth, Devon, England |
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View of Kingswear from Dartmouth
Devon, England |
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Train from Greenway (Agatha Christie's home)
Kingswear, Devon |
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Ferry from Dartmouth to Kingswear
Devon, England |
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| Dartmouth |
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| Interior of Dartmouth Castle |
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| Dartmouth Castle |
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St. Petrox Church and Cemetery
Dartmouth, Devon |
We continued our journey east along the southern coast, stopping for a night in the New Forest to break the drive up a bit. We stayed at Master Builders Hotel in Bucklers Hard and continued on our way towards Rye the next morning. We stopped in Portsmouth Historic Docks to visit HMS Victory. It would have been fun to spend more time there, but we had dinner reservations in Rye. In the afternoon we got stuck in a pretty bad traffic jam which was caused by an accident on the other side of the road. We still made time to stop at the Seven Sisters (white cliffs) although we only stayed long enough to take a few pictures. We arrived in time to check in to Jeakes House and to get to the Tuscan Kitchen for dinner. We are glad we did because the food was delicious.
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Seven Sisters Cliffs
Eastbourne, England |
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Seven Sisters Cliffs
Eastbourne, England |
We only had one full day in Rye and we spent it by driving to Canterbury. We explored in the morning and then met friends, Trevor, Cherry, and their dog Sammy at a pub for Sunday roast. We intended to explore Canterbury more in the afternoon, but we had such a delightful time visiting we ended up staying at the pub until almost 6:00. We then head back to Rye for our last night in England.
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The Old Weavers House
Canterbury, England |
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| Streets of Canterbury |
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| Gate to Canterbury Cathedral |
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Night scenes near our hotel
Rye, England |
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Jeakes House
Rye, England |
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Dining Room at Jeakes House
Rye, England |
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Celina in the pub at Mermaid Inn
Rye, England |
In the morning, we packed everything in preparation for our flight home and headed off towards Gatwick. Along the way we stopped in Battle which is the site of the 1066 battle between William the Conqueror and King Harold of England. That battle was a major turning point in English history - the end of the Anglo-Saxon era and the beginning of the Norman.
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Gate House at Battle Abbey
Battle, England |
We arrived at Gatwick with plenty of time to grab one last bite and brew at the airport pub. We had a good flight back to Boston where we spent the night at the Park n’Fly hotel. We picked up our car in the morning and headed home. It was a wonderful trip. There is so much more to see in England than just London. I highly recommend visiting the English countryside.
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