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Sat.9/22
The Island of Anglesey boasts the town with the longest name in the world, pronounced for us be a
costumed maiden. (Don’t ask for me to repeat it here). We arrived via the modern Brittania Bridge
and returned to the mainland via the Menai Bridge (the very narrow old bridge that barely gave our
bus inches to spare. Our last taste of Wales is along the Irish Sea to our left, sandwiched between
it and the mountains to our right, serene in filtered sunshine. We pass Conway Castle in the old
walled city of the same name before heading inland and the Welsh/English border.
Chester is a small
walled city dating back to Roman times. Once an important shipping port, sediment has taken over
the port and is now a horse racing track. I walked the entire wall (about 3 miles) and then joined
the crowds of tourists on the pedestrian streets. You can hardly walk with the teeming humanity,
interspersed with street magicians and entertainers. I can’t imagine what it must be like at the height
of the tourist season. We pass Conway Castle in the old walled city of the same name before heading
inland to the Welsh/English border. Our journey south is thru the “black country”, so named because
of the soot and smoke from the many factories that dominated this area during the industrial
revolution. We continue thru the midlands past Birmingham and arrive at our country hotel,
the CHELTENHAM PARK for a lovely dinner and evening.
Sun. 9/23
We travel thru the Cotswalds, one of the most beautiful areas in England, and the private home
of Prince Charles and many other members of the gentry. Undulating gentle slopes of neat farmland
divided by perfect stone fences, cattle, sheep and horses (this is REAL horse country) abound.
Bath is a typical English country town. Architecturally lovely row houses seem to stretch for
miles. Of course, flowers are everywhere. We visit the interesting and very detailed Roman bath
ruins that suggest an aura of what we imagine life to have been like in the Roman era. A gem!
We eventually found a Catholic Church but of course we missed mass because of our tight schedule.
We did, however, witness a baptism on our short visit. On our journey, we took pics of some
thatch roofed houses, quite prevalent in this area, and one of the White Horse on the mountain.
This horse originally dates back to 1778. The soil here is very high in chalk, which makes it
appear whitish. The vegetation was removed in the shape of a horse and from a distance, it is
a distinct “white horse”. Now this horse, and several other ‘copy cat’ horses,‘ are being
“kept alive” by constant grooming and enlarging. We visited STONEHENGE, which is quite impressive
in person, despite all the pictures we have seen of it already. It was quite a propos on this late
afternoon, dreary, very windy day.
Mon. 9/24
BURFORD is a marvelous little town. I seem to have a fascination for the very unique row houses
with their tile roofs, many high, capped chimneys, attractive entries and elegant floral displays
in their front yards enclosed in low stone fences. The old Church of St. John is saturated in history
that dates back hundreds of years, set within the typical old churchyard.
In OXFORD, we spend all
of our allotted time around the handsome buildings of OXFORD UNIVERSITY and its environs. Oxford
is a huge U consisting of many small colleges, each building architecturally outstanding. Our
drive on to London was hampered by a 3 hour traffic delay which forced cancellation of our afternoon
plans. Very disappointing especially since we have such a limited time in this city. There was a lovely
and lively early farewell dinner at our hotel, THE MILLENIUM GLOUCESTER in the Kensington section
of London, this evening.
Tues. 9/25
We took our mandatory bus tour of London this sunny morning. Parks, statues, memorials,
Buckingham Palace, St. George Church and catacombs, magnificent private residences – also, crowds,
traffic, delays as expected. After all, a city is a city is a city, tho in fact, London, with its
plethora of dramatic architecture, is certainly an exceptionally beautiful one. We finally got a
chance to partake of fish and chips by eating them at a neighborhood diner. Strange thinking; a
portion is 5 pounds if it is taken out, but 7.50 pounds if eaten at an inside table, (there were
plenty of empty tables). So, we purchased “take out”, then ate at a small table just outside.
I had very little free time left, but used it to breeze thru the VICTORIA ALBERT MUSEUM. This museum
is absolutely stunning in its number and quality of art and artifacts from every corner of the world,
and displayed in such an informative and practical way. It would take months to visit everything in
depth and still yearn for more. Later, we had a mini-tour of another section of London by bus, then
a pleasant boat ride on the THAMES (in a surprise shower), and finally rode the gigantic EYE
(ferris wheel) for an exciting overview of the city at dusk.
A nice buffet awaited us at the ALBERT PUB for the final dinner of our voyage.
Wed. 9/26
Homeward bound with little delay in a very full plane from Heathrow.
This was a most delightful, unhurried trip, with good travel companions. Everyone was cooperative
and prompt, and we were given a good and varied experience of GB within the small allotted time of
2 weeks. Scotland wins the prize of having the most friendly and helpful citizens. It seemed as
soon as you would pause and look the least confused while sightseeing, someone would be at your side
offering assistance. But all in all, everyone (especially in the rural areas) was most welcoming to
their friends from across the Pond.
Back to start of trip...
This trip to England/Scotland/Wales was made 9/12/07 – 9/26/07 by a resident of New York State.
Your comments are welcome.
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