Trip to England May/June 2009 Part 2

Part two

Tuesday May 19, 2009

Got off to a good start heading to Stow on the Wold in the Cotswolds, the meaning of wold is an open space at the top of a hill. On our route we came upon a farmers market in the village of Morton on the Marsh. We had a great lunch purchased from one of the stalls. The place was crowded with tour buses stopping and the people from the area coming to market. Not many parking places left in the small village. We arrived at Stow on the Wold about 2pm, found a good B&B right in the middle of town. We spent the rest of the day walking this market town looking at the shops and older buildings. The building the B&B is in had just had its 300 birthday a few years back. One of the things that define the Cotswolds besides the rolling hills is the colour of the stone blocks that make the buildings, they are a pale yellow. We also found our first modern food store similar to our Safeway. Dinner this evening was a venture to an Indian restaurant right next to the B&B. One thing we noticed is that because England had close ties to India in the past, the English love curry. We enjoyed our food at this restaurant.

Wednesday May 20, 2009

Breakfast was served at 8:15 and what a great English breakfast it was. The other couple staying at this B&B were from Seattle and travelling with their small son. The couple who ran the B&B were characters and made our stay enjoyable. I believe we lucked out getting into this B&B as they are booked now until November. We set off for Stratford-on Avon with as stop at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. We walked around the downtown of Stratford and of course walked by the birth place of William Shakespeare. We did not stay too long as this is a tourist town with lots of people and all stores etc. are ones we had seen before. Quite frankly we are finding the stores in the tourist areas very pricy. It was then on to Warwick Castle. Visiting this Castle had been recommended to us and when we got there we thought we may have found an amusement park. The Castle was taken over a number years ago by the owners of Madame Tussaud’s as a place to set up historic wax figure displays. It has grown from that beginning to lots of outdoor activities that interest children. Most of these going on are of the medieval castle type of fun. There were many bus loads of children. Once we got in and had a lunch and started to study the guide we found lots that interest us and it was an enjoyable afternoon. Of course the wax figures as part of the displays were very real. The up keep on this castle was the best we had seen. We left Warwick at about 5pm arriving home at 6.45 after stopping to shop for dinner.

Thursday May 21, 2009.

Hard to believe we have been here one week so we decided to stay close to home today and walk around Keyworth. We spent the late morning and in to the afternoon walking the town. Keyworth appears to be a bedroom community of Nottingham. Very lovely homes with small shopping areas spread through out the community. Lots of services for families such as a pool, gym and youth centre. We purchased our meat at the local butcher and other supplies at a local small grocery store. A highlight of the trip was a stop for lunch at the Salutation Inn and of course it has a good pub and an Inn that has been around for centuries. A neighbour across the street said it is the local pub he goes to for a beer. We had a wonderful lunch and I was able to test a new bitter beer. The pricing I got on my lunch meal was what the locals call the wrinkly price because I was over 60 I got a £1 off. Marilyn did not have the meal. We continued our walk around town after lunch. One of the advantages of a home exchange is that you can take time out to enjoy the area. Today the weather has improved. Back home I was looking to cut the back yard grass but it is a little too wet yet hopefully I can do this tomorrow. Marilyn was able to sweep the debris off the front area.

Friday May 22, 2009

Today we decided to do some local visiting. Marilyn wanted to see the Ruddington Framework Knitters’ Museum. It was just a short distance and a great display of these hand knitting machines of the early 1800. We were able to get a feel of how life was those many years ago and it was not fun. We enjoyed a lovely lunch in the village of Ruddington. On our way home we stopped a large grocery store called ADSA Superstore and what a large store it is, in fact, bigger then the Wal-Mart Superstore in La Quinta. It appears this company has a large connection to Wal-Mart as it had similar advertising and the web site has a link to Wal-Mart. We arrived home at a reasonable time because I wanted to cut the back lawn. We have now had two days of no rain and the lawn was drying. I got that done after finally figuring our how to start the Briggs & Stratton powered lawn mower. It has been a few years. After dinner we went for a walk around the residential areas of Keyworth.

Saturday May 23, 2009

Today we went to downtown Nottingham by bus. The bus fair return was £3.90 or about $3.60 Canadian for a one way fare. The trip took 20 mins. The purpose of today’s trip was to see some historic sights, for Marilyn to enjoy the downtown shopping and get a feel for Nottingham life. We did get to see one very large shopping centre and some of the downtown stores. What we did not expect was the concert we got to see in the down town Old Market Square. Nottingham has about 275,000 people and the downtown area must have had everyone of them down here today. When we first went by the market square we saw a large bandstand so inquired what was happening and were given a program for a three day event. This weekend is also a bank holiday. We lucked out today because at 12:30 The Merseybeats ‘I Think of You, Don’t Turn Around, Wishin’& Hopin’ then at 2:10 Dave Berry and The Cruisers ‘The Crying Game, Little Things, Mama’ and at 3:40 The Manfreds with Manfred Mann ‘Do Wah Diddy, Pretty Flamingo, 5-4-3-2-1 and they also had two featured guests Zoot Money and Alan Price. We were at the concert until 5;45 and only left after we could not stand any more. It was quite the afternoon. Marilyn was able to sneak in some shopping at a 40 minute break in the action. This long weekend of a free music and dance festival had events going all over the downtown area. It is called City Pulse and sponsored by the city of Nottingham and the downtown merchants association. Vancouver could learn a thing or two and the merchants were happy with all the people this event drew in to this area. We got home about 6:15 exhausted. Spring lamb has just hit the local butcher shops so we had a great lamb chop BBQ and of course some wine.

Sunday May 24, 2009

Today our friends the Pollock’s arrive after having spent about the same amount of time in Scotland. Jim and Bob Pollock and wives Wendy and Yvonne are friends from our Happy Wanderer park in Indio. We have some grocery shopping to do and Marilyn has planned a British dinner of Roast Beef, potatoes and vegetables around the roast, gravy and Yorkshire pudding. One thing we learned is that in the stores they have Yorkshire putting already made up and all you have to do is heat it in the oven. Should be a fun day as the weather looks great with lots of sunshine and the evening should be great with friends. We will up date you in part three of this blog as I am now going to publish this five days.

Trip to England May/June 2009 Part 1

Part 1

Wednesday May 13th.

Paul Porter drove us to the airport at 3 pm. I had already printed my boarding passes so we went through the check in very fast. We proceeded immediately to the gate at the international departure level. The flight left on time at 5:20 pm and arrived in London Heathrow on time at 10:20 am England time on May 14th which was 2:20 am Vancouver time. The trip was smooth and uneventful. We had the entertainment centre that kept us busy watching movies. Marilyn pointed out that the service from Air Canada was poor compared to the other airlines we had travelled on the past year.

After we got through customs etc. and picked up our bags we were at the dot2dot transport counter at 10:55 am. The gal said the bus would arrive depending on traffic at between 11:20 and 11:50. She said she did not think we would make our 1:15 pm train. This was not a problem as we could catch the 2:15 pm train to Nottingham. The bus arrived at 11.45 am and based on what a friend Reg King has said he thought we could make the 1:15 pm train. The bus driver felt we could make it as he was going to drop us off at London St Pancras station first. After arriving at 12:55 pm all I had to do was go to a self serve ticket vending machine and put in a code I had received when I bought the tickets on line and presto all four tickets were printed. We walked to the area where the Midlands train leaves and it was just arriving so we were a few minutes early.

The London St Pancras station is a beautiful new station. This is where the Euro rail the high speed trains to Brussels and Paris leave. We learned we could when we return to London catch a train to Brussels. then a train to Alan’s home. Maybe we will try that one year.

The train trip was lovely and relaxing watching the beautiful English country side go by quickly. We were both caught napping a couple of times. We arrived in Nottingham station at 3 pm and as all this had gone so quickly we decided to sit down and share a sandwich and water. We then caught a cab to the home we are staying in Keyworth Nottinghamshire. The trip was 20 minutes and cost £15 with tip which is $27.45 Canadian. It took a minute or two to get the front door open as the key kept sticking and they are well locked with 3 bolts into the frame. I have had trouble ever since with the front door all other doors are great. The house we are staying in is a lovely 4 bedroom, 3 washrooms, Kitchen, Dining room and large family room home.
It was cool when we arrived so I started to study the manual Jan and Ed had left us and before long I had the hot water heating system working, the entertainment centre working and the computer up and running. After that I collapsed on the sofa to join Marilyn in a glass of wine that they had left us. Nice touch. It was at this point we both realized we were exhausted and were going to stay in for a snack and try to stay up until 10 pm. We made it to 9:30.

Friday May 15th.

We slept in this morning and we both had good nights sleep. We decided today we would go to the centre of Nottingham and look around. This will also allow me to drive the car and get this fear I have out of my system. This will be the first time I have driven a standard car in 38 years, first diesel and of course on the left hand side of the road. The car is a Citroen G4. It was strange, the standard came back quite fast but the left hand side of the road took some time. I kept being close to the left side of the road which made Marilyn nervous. I guess the biggest hurdle was the round abouts or traffic circles. That was scary. We did make it to the parking lot of the big shopping centre near the centre of town. By this time it was time for out first pub lunch so we walked through the shopping centre and headed to Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem Brewhouse which is the oldest Inn and Pub in England. A great place for a good pub lunch and beer but couldn’t face the bitter beer yet so we had Carling cold. We will be going back to that pub if we have any money left. That was our first introduction to the cost of food which was over $36 for a small lunch. What we are finding is if an item cost say £9.95 we would look at that and say similar to Canada except that is actually $18 Can. Wine is cheaper and beer is reasonable. After lunch we toured the downtown which is great. Saw the start of the Robin Hood trail and Nottingham Castle which we will save for when friends arrive next week. In the Main Square there was a farmers market which was great and we stocked up. The trip home was about the same as the trip in a little scary but that coupled with not knowing where we are going, the trip took on a new thrill. We did find Keyworth and the centre of town so were able to complete our shopping and get stamps. We spent the evening at home.

Saturday May 16th

Again had a good night sleep and slept in. Today we are off for a drive through Derbyshire and the Peak District in England. Our main reason for going was to visit Chatsworth House the home of the Duke of Devonshire. A few years ago one of the Dukes put the house in a trust and opened it up to the public to help pay for the cost of operating and upkeep. The Duke and his family live on the first floor, pay rent, and all the other floors are open to view. It is a big house and very interesting to see with wonderful grounds surrounding. Today in part of the grounds was the Chatsworth Horse Trials which are apparently quite up in the horse world. We also toured the gardens which are beautiful. We went in the maze which is something I have always wanted to see and after 30 minutes Marilyn and I never did reach the centre. We left Chatsworth House about 5 pm after having spent 5 hours and continued our trip through the peak district going through the town of Buxton which is the highest town in England. The weather has not been great with rain storms, wind and the odd sunny period but this has not stopped us. The scenery on this circle trip is great. I think we have all seen those pictures of England with the rolling hills and the different fields all seperated with built up stone walls. The drive today had lots of those pictures. Those that know Marilyn’s navigation abilities can guess what happened next. Yes we got lost and arrived home in the rain at about 7:30 pm. It was a great day and the driving was not too bad except the roads are very narrow and I kept going close to the left side of the road.

Sunday May 17th

We started this day with a typical English breakfast of great bacon and eggs all supplies we picked up at the farmers market on Friday. Today we decided to stay close to home after our drive and getting lost yesterday. We both needed a break from the driving. This is one of the great advantages of a home exchange. When you feel you have had enough just stay home and read. Jan and Ed had left a note showing the direction to a local pub so we decided we would go mid afternoon walk and have dinner. It was raining off and on so when we finally got going about 1 pm it appeared ok and after talking to one of the neighbours for a few minutes it started to come down heavily so went back in the house. We ventured out in the car later and The Plough Inn in Mormanton on the Wolds (don’t you love the names) was a great place to have a beer and midday dinner. We should have had a reservation as this is a Sunday British tradition because the place was full but they found us a seat close to the bar where we could see all the action. Families come to the pub on Sundays which is very civilized. In fact there were three little girls playing with their dolls on the floor in front of the fireplace while the parents were at the bar having a beer before they sat down. The Pub had ran out of their main roast meals so we settled on Haddock, the fish of the day, and it was great. I decided to try the bitters and the beers were good. We had a great relaxing day.

Monday May 18th.

Guess what I found ‘Tom Tom’ GPS so Marilyn and I decided to go to Lincoln. What a difference ‘Tom Tom’ made. We knew we could not get lost and it lead us through the traffic circles which made driving easier. I will have to say the traffic circles do work and speed up traffic. On this route we took it was all traffic circles except for one cross road which had lights and a big back up of Cars. I was getting very used to standard by now to this was an enjoyable driving day.

Lincoln is an old historical town, in fact from Roman times I believe. We went to see Lincoln Cathedral and Lincoln Castle. The castle was quite interesting especially when we got involved with a tour guide who made the stories come alive. We got some great pictures from the top of the castle looking over the Trent River valley. We again had lunch in a pub where I tried another small glass of beer. We had soup and shared a ploughman’s lunch. It’s hard but I am still trying to watch my weight. The Cathedral was very big and lots to see but we just had a quick look and decided to walk around the centre of town. We headed home about 4 pm and had a good ride arriving at 5:15. I am getting used to the driving. We again used the BBQ in between the rain storms. That’s all for now. It’s off to Stratford upon Avon tomorrow.