London, Stonehenge, Bath & Wales

By this point in our trip we had accumulated about three extra days, through changes in our travel, and had to decide on where to go. We considered going back to Germany, or possibly heading towards Scotland after London, which would have been incredibly expensive. Ultimately we decided on traveling through the English countryside and visiting Wales. We left Bruges on a blustery day and had to take the long way to Lille, France to catch the Eurostar train to London. For weeks prior, we were debating whether to fly or take the Chunnel to London. Monetarily, it would have been about the same. The difference was the time spent traveling. Plus we thought it would be neat to take a train under the English Channel. Security was tight at the station amid the heightened threat levels, but we boarded without incident.


The ride out of the Eurozone to England was much shorter than we anticipated; only about two hours. After making out way through both St. Pancras International and King’s Cross train stations, we found our way to our hotel in north London. We didn’t have much time to spend running around the city, so we focused our outing on getting dinner and going clothes shopping. We didn’t anticipate having to buy extra clothing during out trip, but it was incredibly cold in London and we just weren’t prepared for it. For dinner we decided to visit one of our favorite places to shop back home: Whole Foods! There are a few stores in London and the closest to us was on High Street Kensington in the central part of the city. It was refreshing to be somewhere we were familiar with. Afterwards we headed toward a mall to buy extra warm clothing to last us through the rest of our trip. We weren’t exactly thrilled to be in a mall, but it was nice being somewhere warm and indoors. The exchange rate hit us pretty hard; one pound was worth one dollar sixty cents, and in general everything was expensive in England. The next morning we were bundled up and ready to hit the town. The weather was not ideal, and it wasn’t the cold that was awful but the wind and rain. We took the tube to Hyde Park Corner then walked to Buckingham Palace. Down the street we stopped at Westminster Abbey where preparations were being made for Remembrance Day, which is the same as our Veterans Day. Across from there is Parliament and St. Stephen’s Clock Tower, commonly known as Big Ben. We hung around for a short while but decided to call it a day due to poor weather. The next day was clear and beautiful, but incredibly cold, I mean freezing. We were definitely thankful to have the sun shining for picture purposes, but it was almost too cold to bear. We were out early to catch a New Europe tour that was dedicated to London’s royal history. We passed by all of the places we saw the previous day, but we had a chance to get better pictures. At Buckingham Palace, we learned about the historic break-ins, including Michael Fagan, an inebriated homeless man who, while covered in dog food and blood, found his way into the Queen’s bedroom one cold winter night, while she was sleeping no less. Our tour also took us past the Clarence House, home of Prince Charles and the rest, where we could be up close to the guards. We passed by the St. James’s Palace, one of the city’s oldest palaces, which was commissioned by Henry VIII. There we received a crash course in the ill fate of Henry’s wives. Our tour turned down Pall Mall, a wealthy street known for its gentlemen’s clubs open to politicians and the elite. There we learned how it came to be that former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is technically a man, since women were never allowed to enter the clubs but PM’s always have an open door. Not far was the Trafalgar Square in the heart of the city. Columns, lion statues, a huge fountain and even a ship in a bottle all decorate the square commemorating a British naval victory during the Napoleonic Wars. Our tour concluded at Westminster Abbey where we learned all about the fifth of November, Guy Fawkes, and the gunpowder treason. When our group departed, we walked right into an organized student protest over tuition increases. There were helicopters flying above and police constables lining the streets. At that point, everything seemed to be fairly calm. Later on, we found out as we were eating at a pub that things had made a turn for the worse as students raided the conservative Tory headquarters and started to cause a panic. Thankfully no one was seriously injured, but it did seem to put the city on edge. The evening was bitter cold and we couldn’t stand to be outside for long, so our day was finished. We were considering doing another New Europe tour that focused on London’s dark history involving the plague and Jack the Ripper, but that would have to wait until we return during warmer weather. On our last full day we decided to visit the Tower of London, known also as Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress. It was quite expensive and took up almost an entire day, but now we can say we’ve been there. We took a tour lead by a Yeoman Warders guard, commonly known as a Beefeater. There’s no definitive explanation for why they’re called Beefeaters, but a few speculations based on the diet of the guards or that they were paid in rationed beef. We learned much about the compound’s history since its inception in 1066 and the many beheadings that followed. Interestingly enough, one of the more infamous beheadings in the Tower of London was of a man named James Scott, which happens to be my dad’s name (no relation). It is said that he was the only person to be executed on the grounds that was also buried with his head, whereas most had their severed heads put on stakes on the London Bridge. What an honor. We walked through the old prison and saw the etchings by inmates then found our way into the chapel where a few royals such as Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife, are buried. Across the way were a few of the Tower’s ravens, kept on the grounds for centuries based on a superstition that if the ravens ever left, the tower and monarchy would fall. Our last two stops at the Tower were to see the Crown Jewels and a museum dedicated to the British military. Although we know that the jewels are real, they are so ostentatious that they almost look phony. The museum offered an interesting view of England’s military past with a wide selection of historic armor and weapons. When our tour of the Tower was complete, we made our way across the Tower Bridge to take pictures. We made plans to meet up with a couple from Couchsurfing, Mike and Virginia, who we met when they were traveling through Monterey. During their visit, we got together for coffee and dinner, so we wanted to do the same while we were in their hometown. It was great catching up with them, and we were given excellent advice on how to find cute hedgehogs in the countryside. As our night came to a close, we began to mentally prepare ourselves for our next challenge: renting a car (or car hire, for our British chums).



We picked up a car at Heathrow airport, equipped with a sat nav (GPS for those state-side), and began our driving adventure due west. Driving on the left side of the road isn’t so bad, even with manual left-hand shifting; it’s the roundabouts that drove us crazy. It’s like a wild free-for-all when you’re in the middle and they always made me nervous. Oh, and to heighten the stress, I was the only one who could drive since Mark lost his license on the train to Krakow months ago. So not only was I worried about wrecking the car but I didn’t have much of a chance to enjoy the scenery. Thankfully Mark thought ahead and took video footage of our drives, so I can relive that nightmare over and over again. These videos include me freaking out while driving in the rural areas where the roads are incredibly narrow and the locals drive way too fast. But I digress; driving in the UK was still a good idea and we enjoyed the freedom of being on the road. Our first stop out of London was Stonehenge. We arrived late in the day and the weather wasn’t great, but we still enjoyed seeing the prehistoric stone arrangement. It’s sometimes hard to comprehend just how old the structure is, and moreover why it exists. When we finished the audio tour of Stonehenge, we continued on in what turned out to be a white-knuckled drive to Bristol. We breathed a sigh of relief when we arrived at our hotel, but it didn’t last through the night as the fire alarm went off at about two in the morning, startling us out of sleep. It turned out to be nothing, probably someone lighting a cigarette in their room when they weren’t supposed to, but it freaked us out nonetheless. The next morning we were out early and on our way to the southern coast of Wales. We decided on that area because of its natural beauty and large area designated as the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. It was interesting to see the road signs in Wales written in both English and Welsh. Our final destination was a B&B in Kilgetty, just north of the town Tenby, about three hours from Bristol. We arrived with enough daylight to head toward the coast and check out the beaches. Tenby is a quaint coastal town with lots of color and an ancient Norman town wall. Along the coast are fortress ruins dating back to the eleventh century. When we finally found street parking and mastered parallel parking while driving on the left, we took a stroll along the sandy beach. There was a rock wall dividing the beach and the streets above, and an occasional cave could be found. We spent the better part of our evening walking through the narrow streets and enjoying the quaint Victorian town. The next morning we were greeted with our first authentic big English breakfast (substitute veggie meat for me, which technically does not qualify as a B.E.B.). We still don’t quite understand why baked beans are such a breakfast staple in the UK, but whatever works for them. It was a good start to our day because our only plans were to drive around the national park and back to Bristol. On our way we passed by St. David’s cathedral, a monastic community that began around the sixth century. Pope Calixtus II designated it as a centre of pilgrimage for the west by decreeing “two pilgrimages to St. David’s is equal to one to Rome, and three pilgrimages to one to Jerusalem.” The cathedral began construction in 1181 and took several generations to complete. We enjoyed walking around the compound and cemetery, as well as the tombs within the cathedral. After about an hour we decided to move on. We stopped one more time at a stony beach along the Irish Sea for pictures. We considered our driving adventure to Wales to be a success and we really enjoyed the scenery. We’ve heard really great things about the northern parts of Wales, so we would consider returning in the future.


We drove back to Bristol for the night, and we decided to stay in the same hotel we did a few days prior. It was a nice hotel, but it was just our luck that the fire alarm went off again. Fortunately, this time it was early in the morning and we were already awake. What are the odds? We left early and went straight for Bath before returning to London. Bath is a beautiful city and has really maintained its richness through architecture. We spent the afternoon walking the city center and along the river. We stopped by the Bath Abbey to find the original “Stairway to Heaven.” There are ladders on both sides of the door going up the building with statues of angels climbing up to the top. Across from the church is the famous Roman Baths. We caught a peek into the “Great Bath” from outside, but we decided not to pay the admission. Mark has already toured the baths on a previous vacation and we were in a budget crunch, so we decided to pass. I know it’s a must-see attraction, but we just weren’t in the mood. Had we been in England at the first part of our trip, we probably wouldn’t have through twice about going into the baths. We left in the late afternoon and stayed another night in London to catch a plane in the morning. We really enjoyed our time in the UK and are definitely going to return, but never again during the winter.


Our final destination: Dublin and the southern coast of Ireland


London:

Bath and Wales: