London
The Eurostar whisked us away from France, under the English Channel at great speeds to London where we met up with Jay's cousin Steve and his wife Kat, we spent 6 nights at their place in West Hampstead (a one beddy flat) along with Kat's twin sister and her fiance! It was a little squeazy, but it was great to have a group of friends to hang out with - especially in London. Each night Steve and Kat took us to a different area, pubs, restaurants, etc... and we even had a ride on a 'night bus'!
Took in most of the tourist sites, clambered (with assistance!) onto one of the lions at Trafalgar square, saw mummies at the British Museum, visited the Gallery, went to Harrods where all we could afford were chocolates and fudge and got saturated watching the changing of the guard! Went around on the tourist 'hop on hop off' bus and giggled at the different guides. On our first night Steve and Kat organised a 'Jack the Ripper' tour, which led us around the darker streets of London. We also took in some free comedy in West Hampstead and went to a pub that was featured in 'Sliding Doors'.
Enjoyed the shopping opportunities in London, given that the sales were still on and went to some markets near Brick Lane. Everyone raves about shopping in Paris, but the UK (especially London and Glasgow) far surpasses France and the markets are brilliant!
Stewartby and Bedfordshire
After London we spent 4 nights with my uncle and his partner (and family) in Stewertby, which is a little town about an hour north of London in Bedfordshire. We were treated to lots of tastey home cooking!
We also took in some of the countryside around Bedfordshire (at least the bits that weren't under water!) We visited the American military cemetery, Cambridge and the main sections of Cambridge university, which is really stunning. Would love to study at Cambridge! However the tuition fees are a little steep! We went to Woburn Abbey to see deer and had a look at the antique shops. My uncle took us to Bletchley Park where we learnt how the British broke the Nazi codes and got to see a replica of the world's first computer.
Seascale and Cumbria
We then took the train north to stay with my uncle and aunt (Tommy and Amanda) in Seascale on the Cumbrian coast, along with their horse, pony, two dogs, four cats and tortoise!
The area around Cumbria is beautiful and we spent two days exploring the Lakes district. On the first day Jay and I took a little old coal train up into the hills to a town called Dalegarth for Boot where we visited an old mill and went walking in the National park. On the saturday Tommy and Amanda drove us (and the two dogs) around the Lakes District, we took the dogs for a walk around a castle with a fantastic garden and an 'Owlery'. We also saw Beatrix Potter's house (which looks completely different from the movie) but is still very pretty and there are lots of areas in the house that she used as settings in her books.
On Sunday Tommy and Amanda took us to see segments of Hadrian's wall on the way to Glasgow, where we met my Aunt Ruth and her family, living outside of Glasgow.
Glasgow
Glasgow is an incredible city and the area around the university is brilliant.
On our first day we visited the Cathedral and saw St Mungo's tomb and the chapel of the Blackadders. We also walked up to the Necropolis and looked at the elaborate tombs of the wealthy Merchants. The following day we took a tour into the Lowlands and saw Stirling Castle, Loch Katrine and went to a distillery, where we tried 17 year old whisky (which was so strong it burnt your eyes!)
We bought a two day sight seeing bus ticket and visited the Kelingrove Museum, which has an awesome armoury, dinosaur bones and a fantastic collection of Charles Rennie Mackintosh material. Afterwards we visited the Tennement House Museum, which is set up as it would have been at the turn of the 20th Century. On our last day we took a tour of the university, visited the Charles Rennie Mackintosh house (recreated in the University gallery) and spent the afternoon shopping (I bought some awesome shoes).
Edinburgh
Man did we pick a good time to go to Edinburgh! It was the beginning of the Fringe Festival, which meant cheap 2 for 1 review tickets and the Tattoo was on, not that we could get tickets, but the Castle was lit up each night and their were fireworks, parades, street performers, etc... so the atmosphere was fantastic.
On the Saturday we took a train down to Alnick in Northumberland to visit Alnick Castle, which was used for several scenes in the first couple of Harry Potter movies. To all my fellow Potter fans back at home, I got lots of photos! ;) In the evening we went on a ghost tour of Edinburgh and went into the locked area of Greyfriars Kirkyard - of course someone jumped out and scared us, but it was good fun.
On Sunday we took a free walking tour (in the rain) around Edinburgh and afterwards watched the Festival parade (still in the rain), in the evening we went to one of the comedy shows, which was OK.
On Monday we took a tour of the old buildings underground in Mary King's Close, which is a huge tourist trap and a bit disappointing. Afterwards we went and saw the Soweto Gospel Choir perform, which was absolutely AMAZING! They were so energetic and there were traditional dancers and the music was beautiful! In the evening we caught up with Kylie and Tom and had dinner at their place in the New Town and then following that went and saw Rich Hall (comedian), who was very funny.
And now...
I'm sitting in an internet joint in London, tomorrow we fly out, so I guess I'll be seeing everyone very soon!
HUGE thanks to Michael, Patsy, Tommy, Amanda, Steve, Kat, Kylie and Tom for housing, feeding and showing us around while we were in the UK, we have had a brilliant holiday!
Sorry about the lack of photos, will add some when I get back and might even host a slide night! No, wouldn't put people through that...
Luc.
