Post by californian on Sept 16, 2014 16:57:55 GMT
Left Los Angeles Sept 2, direct flight to London, arriving at 7:30, after about 45 min-1 hr of holding pattern over Heathrow, by 8:30 I was at Dot2Dot’s counter, but it took about 1 ½ hr to get a transfer to the hotel, it was OK, because by then I had the room ready, The Hilton Olympia is not the best Trafalgar hotel, nice area, residential, in Kensington, close to Holland Park, but far from the places I wanted to see. Took a cab (around 20 lb) to the Imperial War Museum, I had wanted to see this museum for long time, it was de 70th anniversary of the declaration of WWII by the UK (9/3/39) Very interesting, many rooms dedicated to each war, trenches from WWI, letters from children sent away during WWII, photograph of London during the blitz, home shelters, memorabilia and a large display of all kind or armaments, airplanes, tanks. Enough to go a second time, I hope I can go again. Had lunch there and took a cab back to the hotel, a little tired and jet lagged.
Sept 4th, I started the morning with the included Trafalgar city tour, but I left it when we arrived a Westminster, wanted to see the Abbey slowly and in detail, I took my time, had lunch (the best Tortilla soup I ever had), and took a cab to St. Paul’s, here the lines were very long, so I asked the driver to take me back to the hotel, don’t remember how it started, but he took me in a long tour of the city, pointing out many “hidden” treasures and places, I enjoyed, it was really great and relaxing having my “own” private tour. I had bought some fruits and other snacks, that was dinner, and early to bed, departure next day at 7:15, breakfast and bags out by 6:15.
1st day of tour (Sat Sept 5th) Oxford-Stratford- Warwick: Our TD is Richard, our driver is Dave. There were 38 of us in tour, 5 or 6 Americans, 3 from New Zealand, a lady from S. Africa, the rest Canadians and Australians. First stop Oxford; we walked through the city, Richard had planned to visit one to the colleges but they were closed, we did visit the Sheldonian Theatre instead, large painted ceiling, organ pipes, it looked very impressive. Did a little souvenir shopping, until was time to go back to the coach. Next stop: Bladon and the cemetery with the grave of Winston Churchill and wife, next to the old Church, Bladon is just outside Blenheim castle, large estate surrounded by miles and miles of walls, we just got a glimpse of the castle from the gates. We left for Stratford-upon –Avon, had the group picture taken by Anne Hathaway’s cottage, visited Shakespeare’s house and many books and souvenirs stores, there were stalls and the usual entertainers everywhere, I don’t remember but I probably had lunch there. Next to Warwick to see the castle (Optional) and stop for the night at the Hilton. Warwick is impressive as a castle, but I did nor care for the Madam Tussuod display, kind of Medieval Times-Disneyland, I did not see the whole castle, there were many stairs, lots of people, I walked through the gardens instead. Others seem to enjoy this experience, I did not see it all so I can’t honestly give an opinion. Hotel Hilton, very good, had coffee and tea in the room, iron and iron board. Dinner and breakfast the next day, like the rest of the tour, were excellent.
2nd day (Sun Sept 6th) Wedgwood Centre-York: Very good visit to the center, although we did not see the museum, Waterford-Wedgwood is closing the pottery plant and moving to the Czech Republic, I did buy a few odd pieces, some were discontinued and at good prices. We must have had lunch at one of the two or three stops by the motorway; most times the stops were at villages or towns. On to York and its Shambles , hundreds of places to shop and to the Cathedral, I was lucky to get a seat by the choir for the evensong, truly great experience. Dinner at the Hotel (Holiday Inn).
3rd day (Mon Sept 7th), First stop at Durham, we visited the Cathedral and the gardens of the old castle, an University now, more shopping, had a cappuccino with a berry cupcake and sat to watch people until was time to return to the coach. Lunch stop was a the Swan Restaurant, next to the Hadrian Wall, they were having a Leek show, the biggest I have ever seen, I guess the area is big in leeks, because the restaurant had a very good soup. We crossed into Scotland, and stopped at one of the many Edinburgh Woolen mills shops , passing by Jedburgh Abbey, but we did not stop, also from the road we saw the house where around 1566, Mary Queen of Scots recuperated from a severe fever that almost took her life. We arrived at the Marriott, one of the best hotels of the tour, and soon after we departed for the optional dinner and drive about the city and the big Arthur’s Seat Park. Dinner was very good at a restaurant in the new city, (the new city was planned around the year 1700), most of us had lamb, which was delicious.
Later that night started to rain, and on the 4th day (Tues Sept 8th) we awoke to a rainy and windy day, but it was not too heavy, neither was cold. It kept raining on and off, but we enjoyed the visit to the castle, Keith was our guide, he was good and very funny, trying to keep his kilt secure from the wind (did not work, most of us discovered if they wear something or not under it; I am not telling) After the Castle went back to the streets, very complicated, Princess Street is closed to traffic for the most part; they are installing trams tracks, that made a nightmare of the whole area, we did drive by the Royal Mile, finally stopping at the Waterloo section, we had about two hours of free time, a little shopping again, lunch, I had made up my mind of climbing Carlton Hill and taking a picture of the Dugald Stewart‘s monument and views of the city, with little time left, I went back to look for the coach , saw Holyrood House just from the outside…next time…? Later in the afternoon we visited Rosslyn Chapel, a must see in my opinion. That evening we had the optional of the Scottish Show and Dinner, we all enjoyed it, I tried haggis and like it.
Sept 9th Day 5 Edinburgh-St Andrews-Aviemore
Left Edinburg, with much better weather, crossed the Fife of Forth towards St. Andrews, a brief visit here, mainly to the links and beach, not even close to the city, university or castle. Crossed the Firth of Tay, toward Dundee, no stops here , but we saw from the road, the RRS Discovery, Scott ‘s Ship anchored , now a museum, we continued to Pitlochry, via Perth. A short visit to the distillery, and then to Blair Castle, which was an optional, those not going stayed a little longer in Pitlochry, very nice village. The visit to the castle was very good, we saw about 30 rooms and the gardens. Mary Queen of Scots stayed there, as well as Queen Victoria who granted the Blair family the right to have their own army, which they still have today. (I rented the movie The Queen, and there is scene with the castle) The next optional was a farm to see the dogs work, I took it, but immediately was sorry, remembering that to enter back in the US they always ask if you visited a farm. I tried to stay put and watched the whole exercise from far, although I grew up in a farm with sheep and dogs I found the visit very boring. To the hotel Mc Donald Resort, we stayed in the tower, dinner was very good.
Sept 10th, Day 6 Aviemore-Culloden Moor, Loch Ness, Eilean Donan Castle-Isle of Skye.
Wonderful, sunny day, the Highlands beautifully covered with rose heather, we arrived at the Culloden battle site very early, we had a good opportunity of walking around the battle grounds before the museum and coffee shop opened, left after the comfort stop. We skirted Inverness and turned South and took the road West of Loch Ness, we drove for a while, watching but did not see anything resembling Nessie. Short stop by the ruins of Urquhart Castle, not close enough to take good pictures (at least with my camera). From there to Eilean Donan Castle, I think everyone’s favorite, we did not have time for the tour, a shame, but enough time to walk and take pictures from every side. I am not sure how long is the tour, but I recommend to do at least part of it, I did not think of this early enough, next time….?
From there, a short ride and crossed the fairly new bridge to Kyleakin, Isle of Skye and the King’s Arms hotel , not the best of the tour, although in the words of Richard “there is nothing wrong with the hotel that a bulldozer could not fix”, it wasn’t that bad, the rooms had TVs, although not the best reception, no phones, (wake up call is a knock in the door), but dinner and breakfast were good. The afternoon optional was tour around the island, Portree, the Black Cuillin Mountains, the many stories about Bonnie Prince Charles and Flora McDonald, etc. Andy, our local guide, was excellent. This tour is long and satisfying, last at least 3 ½- 4 hours. We saw, but from very far, Dunvegan Castle. The weather continued to be very good, did not have any more rain the rest of the tour.
September 11th, 7th day
Isle of Skye-Fort William, Glencoe-Loch Lomond-Glasgow.
We left early, driving south through the West Highlands, gorgeous views, the highest peak, Ben Nevis (not optional offered ) the deepest loch, Loch Morar. First stop Fort William, founded by William of Orange to keep the pesky Scots on line. From the old fort, the only remain is an arch or gate, that is now the entrance to the cemetery. I visited the Cathedral, St. Patrick, spent some time looking a the old graves stones, not much to do in the busy commercial the area, the usual souvenir shops and many shops geared toward climbing, skiing, etc. There is probably more to see around the area but I had not done enough research and did not have lots of time either.
Next to Glencoe, beautiful and sad, a highlander playing the bagpipe, a stone marking the place of the 1692 massacre. Some ruins near by indicate the probable old McDonald settlement. Another optional at Loch Lomond, lasted about an hour, with a few commentaries by the crew, they showed us the Bob Roy’s cave and a luxury hotel where Wordsworth had stayed and written (don’t think it was a luxury hotel back then), I think Queen Victoria stayed there also.
We arrived at Glasgow mid afternoon, went on a city walk and the Highlight dinner at a “food court” (we decided it was) but nice place inside Princess Gallery, who looked very posh and modern, with upscale stores. Don’t remember the menu, probably salmon or lamb, good food again. The hotel Jurys Inn, very nice, but not wash clothes, if I remember correctly. I had a nice room with a view of the river and bridge.
September 12th , 8th day.
Glasgow-Lake District-Liverpool
We left Glasgow for our two nights stay at the Jury Inn in Liverpool. Crossed into England and the lake district, we visited Grasmere, one of those places that you wish could spend a few more hours at least, visited the Church and the cemetery with the graves of the Wordsworth’s family, beautiful stores, I could spend more time and $$$, but luckily we had to keep going…that day an annual swimming competition was taken place, hundreds of entries, the whole lake area was very crowed.
The hotel was very nice, by the Convention Center and the Albert Docks, now all converted to luxury apartments and offices, the area suffered enormous bombings during WWII, and it was reconstructed the same way Prince Albert had designed ; again I had a nice room with a view of the Convention Center, fountains and gardens .
The optional for the evening was the Liverpool and Beatles tour and dinner at a pub. Phil was our local guide, took us to see the magnificent Cathedral, very new and beautiful; Cathedral with a new concept: no pews, so they can cleared the nave for concerts, fashion shows, theatre, anything that needs a large venue, with even a bar (!!). Paul McCartney concert was first played there. (Paul himself didn’t make it the choir, he could not read music) Went to Penny Lane, Matthew Street and the Cavern Club, birthplace of the Beatles, we briefly met Allan Williams, visible intoxicated, the ex Beatles ‘s Manager, included on this tour was dinner at a pub near the hotel, The Baltic States, not the best meal, stew and desert, free beer or wine.
Sep 13th, 9th day. Excursion to North Wales, back to Liverpool.
Visited one of the prettiest villages of the tour: Betws-y-Coed, a photographer paradise, from there on to Caernarvon, by the Menai Strait and the castle built by Edward I, a World Heritage Site; was there that Edward vested his son Edward (Later King Edward II) with the title of Prince of Wales. Later Edward VIII and Prince Charles were also vested there, there is a video of the Prince Charles’s ceremony. We continued through the beautiful Wales’ landscape and Snowdonia Mountains toward Anglesey Peninsula and the town with the longest name, which I will not type here, I am sure I will get it wrong, not sure what other attractive the town has besides the name, but this alone has brought many visitors and a boom to the economy. Back to Liverpool.
Sept 14th, 10th day. Chester-Llangollen- Ludlow- Llandrindod Wells.
Chester, built during Roman times is today a beautiful city, the majority of the buildings dating from Queen Victoria’s time, beautiful Cathedral. Back to Wales and the pretty mountain roads, Dave demonstrated his ability, stopped many times for photo ops. Spent some time in Llangollen, another pretty town, with a canal that is attracting many tourists interested in cruising, apparently Harrison Ford was seen there recently. The town has an interesting museum and a great chocolate place. Back to England for a visit to Ludlow, an old market town, with timber façade buildings. The hotel in Llandrindod Wells was the Metropole, very quaint, loved my room with its wall paper and old fashioned bathtub, again, the usual tea, coffee in the room, iron, etc. Good dinner at the hotel.
Sep 15th, 11th day. Cardiff-Tintern Abbey-Bristol
Cardiff Castle, a medieval castle built over the ruins of a Roman fort, Many rooms were built in the 19th century, the tower, the royal apartments; not all the rooms were accessible for viewing the day we were there, but the few we saw were very ornate (the Arab Room, Library, Smoking rooms).
Continued to the Wye Valley and Tintern Abbey Ruins, the first Abbey in Wales: short stop for lunch, we did not see the Abbey in detail. The valley is very beautiful, it inspired Wordsworth to write “Lines Composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey” , and other poets . It has a long history of the work produced there by forging iron; the first brass was made in 1568, alloying cooper with zinc. The plague and later Henry VIII ended the Abbey’s productive life.
On to Bath after a quick lunch at the Abbey; Dave took us to admire the great architecture, the circles, Royals Crescent, Queen Square. I skipped the Roman Bath and Pump Room (having being there a year ago) and went to look for the Jane Austen Center, saw the small museum, got some souvenirs from my granddaughters, and walked around the city center, back to the coach and on to Bristol, home of the SS Great Britain, Brunel’s steamship, one of the first built for crossing the Atlantic from Bristol to N. York, it’s now in dry dock and a museum, pity we did not have time to see it. Hotel Mercure Holland, 4 stars, very nice and modern, nice room.
Sept 16th, 12th day. Bristol-Wells-Glastonbury –Dartmoor-Plymouth
Wells Cathedral is a jewel, the seat of the Bath-Wells Bishop, who lives next to the Cathedral in a grand castle. The Cathedral is worth a good visit, photographs are allowed, previous a paid permit of 3 pounds.
Glastonbury Abbey’s ruins and King Arthur’s legend, one of the highlights of the tour, we had a local guide from the Abbey, Brother George (?), he was very good. Legend or not, King Arthur and Guinevere are “buried” there, we just needed Richard Burton singing Camelot.
The drive to the moors was good, Dave demonstrating again his superb skills, the road was very narrow, only one car at a time, which was tricky sometimes ( but not as tricky as the later in the evening when we went to Cornwall). We spent some time in the village Widecombe-in-the Moor, famous I guess, for a TV series. Many wild horses and ponies on the moors, the day was just too beautiful for this drive, we needed some glum, I think, to get the whole impact of the moors.
We arrived at Plymouth for our two nights stay (Hotel Copthorne, very good) Dinner was an optional “Forgotten Cornwall”, we took a 7 min ferry to the coast of Cornwall and drove for about 45 min or more to get to the restaurant, great views, narrow, very narrow road, when another car was encountered someone had to back up, luckily most of the times were others backing up. Food was very good at an old Tavern, lamb, pork, chicken, fish and all the trimmings. The tavern does not have entertainment, the owner encouraged us to sing, it worked for a little while, a few had good voices, but it would have been nice if we had a professional group.
Sept 17th, 13th day Cornish Excursion
First. it was the optional covering the Pilgrims steps, a harbor cruise, with views of both side of the River Plym.
We continue to Cornwall, viewed St. Michael’s Mount, Penzance and a lunch stop at St. Ives. I loved this beach-port-artists town, there is a coach parking in the hill, and shuttles going down and up to and from the center of town, it costs 50 cents. Afternoon tea stop was at Heskin Mills Restaurant, in Cornwall. The owner gave us the history of the place, Henry VIII gave the land to a family (not sure if it was the Heskin family), some of the buildings dating as back as the 17th century, the restaurant is located at the old mill, dating from 1701. The afternoon tea was not very impressive, but at last I had clotted cream, I had not tried it since I was 10 or 11, the taste and smell were the same, great treat. Back to Plymouth for the night.
Sept 18th, 14th day Stonehenge-Isle of Wight-Portsmouth
The whole area around Stonehenge is about to get lots of improvements before the 2012 Olympics, the road will be moved and new structures built, it will be good, since the present facilities are not the best. No sun today, good for photography. I walked around the whole circle. It was crowed, many school children. Besides the circle there are many prehistoric tombs (round mounts) many declared World Heritage Sites, although they are in farm lands, they have been left untouched for centuries, archeologists are still trying to figure out about the people buried in those mounts.
Drove through the New Forest toward Lymington and the ferry to Isle of Wight, crossed the Solent in about 30 min and drove to Osborne House. Beautiful house and gardens, we had a complete tour of the house, designed by Prince Albert, it was his and Queen Victoria favorite place, she died in 1901 in this house.
To Portsmouth and Marriott Hotel, excellent. Farewell dinner tonight, but the hotel was too busy to accommodate the group, we ended up in separate tables, Richard was disappointed but couldn’t do anything about it.
Last day, September 19th, Winchester-Windsor-London
Started the morning in Winchester, I just walked around and checked the several stalls of the street market, others went to the Cathedral and college campus, other attemped the long walk to the castle where the Round Table is hanged, but returned when half way, no enough time. Winchester Cathedral is where Jane Austen is buried, (I had visited the Cathedral a year ago)
The icing in the cake was a 2 ½ hr or so stop at Windsor, this was not in the itinerary, Many of us jumped at the opportunity and went for the Castle tour, hurried but enjoyable, I wish I had more time there, but I covered most of it.
Finally London and the end of the tour, driving by Runnymede, just a large green area, with a couple of monuments that can barely be seen by the road. We arrived back at the Olympia Hilton, checked in and was glad to find out the shuttle to the airport was already set for the next morning, pick up time 6:50.
It was a great tour, we had the most amazing weather, covered most of England, Scotland and Wales, there are still a few more places I would like to visit, some other time. I took all the optional tours, total cost £ 208. All the hotels had kettles, coffee, tea and cookies, the majority had iron and boards, hair dryers, internet connections, not all of then had refrigerators or business center for us without lap tops, but the good news was that buying a card at the Hiltons or Marriott it could be used at other locations, I spent a total of £ 15 for about 1 ½ hr of internet use.
I know this was a little too long, since there are no other tales from this tour, I though I write about it. If anybody has a question, I’ll try to answer the best I can, I started taking notes but I stopped after a couple of days, it would have been good, because visiting so many places in just two weeks I have already forgotten many details. Thank you for reading it and your comments.
Sept 4th, I started the morning with the included Trafalgar city tour, but I left it when we arrived a Westminster, wanted to see the Abbey slowly and in detail, I took my time, had lunch (the best Tortilla soup I ever had), and took a cab to St. Paul’s, here the lines were very long, so I asked the driver to take me back to the hotel, don’t remember how it started, but he took me in a long tour of the city, pointing out many “hidden” treasures and places, I enjoyed, it was really great and relaxing having my “own” private tour. I had bought some fruits and other snacks, that was dinner, and early to bed, departure next day at 7:15, breakfast and bags out by 6:15.
1st day of tour (Sat Sept 5th) Oxford-Stratford- Warwick: Our TD is Richard, our driver is Dave. There were 38 of us in tour, 5 or 6 Americans, 3 from New Zealand, a lady from S. Africa, the rest Canadians and Australians. First stop Oxford; we walked through the city, Richard had planned to visit one to the colleges but they were closed, we did visit the Sheldonian Theatre instead, large painted ceiling, organ pipes, it looked very impressive. Did a little souvenir shopping, until was time to go back to the coach. Next stop: Bladon and the cemetery with the grave of Winston Churchill and wife, next to the old Church, Bladon is just outside Blenheim castle, large estate surrounded by miles and miles of walls, we just got a glimpse of the castle from the gates. We left for Stratford-upon –Avon, had the group picture taken by Anne Hathaway’s cottage, visited Shakespeare’s house and many books and souvenirs stores, there were stalls and the usual entertainers everywhere, I don’t remember but I probably had lunch there. Next to Warwick to see the castle (Optional) and stop for the night at the Hilton. Warwick is impressive as a castle, but I did nor care for the Madam Tussuod display, kind of Medieval Times-Disneyland, I did not see the whole castle, there were many stairs, lots of people, I walked through the gardens instead. Others seem to enjoy this experience, I did not see it all so I can’t honestly give an opinion. Hotel Hilton, very good, had coffee and tea in the room, iron and iron board. Dinner and breakfast the next day, like the rest of the tour, were excellent.
2nd day (Sun Sept 6th) Wedgwood Centre-York: Very good visit to the center, although we did not see the museum, Waterford-Wedgwood is closing the pottery plant and moving to the Czech Republic, I did buy a few odd pieces, some were discontinued and at good prices. We must have had lunch at one of the two or three stops by the motorway; most times the stops were at villages or towns. On to York and its Shambles , hundreds of places to shop and to the Cathedral, I was lucky to get a seat by the choir for the evensong, truly great experience. Dinner at the Hotel (Holiday Inn).
3rd day (Mon Sept 7th), First stop at Durham, we visited the Cathedral and the gardens of the old castle, an University now, more shopping, had a cappuccino with a berry cupcake and sat to watch people until was time to return to the coach. Lunch stop was a the Swan Restaurant, next to the Hadrian Wall, they were having a Leek show, the biggest I have ever seen, I guess the area is big in leeks, because the restaurant had a very good soup. We crossed into Scotland, and stopped at one of the many Edinburgh Woolen mills shops , passing by Jedburgh Abbey, but we did not stop, also from the road we saw the house where around 1566, Mary Queen of Scots recuperated from a severe fever that almost took her life. We arrived at the Marriott, one of the best hotels of the tour, and soon after we departed for the optional dinner and drive about the city and the big Arthur’s Seat Park. Dinner was very good at a restaurant in the new city, (the new city was planned around the year 1700), most of us had lamb, which was delicious.
Later that night started to rain, and on the 4th day (Tues Sept 8th) we awoke to a rainy and windy day, but it was not too heavy, neither was cold. It kept raining on and off, but we enjoyed the visit to the castle, Keith was our guide, he was good and very funny, trying to keep his kilt secure from the wind (did not work, most of us discovered if they wear something or not under it; I am not telling) After the Castle went back to the streets, very complicated, Princess Street is closed to traffic for the most part; they are installing trams tracks, that made a nightmare of the whole area, we did drive by the Royal Mile, finally stopping at the Waterloo section, we had about two hours of free time, a little shopping again, lunch, I had made up my mind of climbing Carlton Hill and taking a picture of the Dugald Stewart‘s monument and views of the city, with little time left, I went back to look for the coach , saw Holyrood House just from the outside…next time…? Later in the afternoon we visited Rosslyn Chapel, a must see in my opinion. That evening we had the optional of the Scottish Show and Dinner, we all enjoyed it, I tried haggis and like it.
Sept 9th Day 5 Edinburgh-St Andrews-Aviemore
Left Edinburg, with much better weather, crossed the Fife of Forth towards St. Andrews, a brief visit here, mainly to the links and beach, not even close to the city, university or castle. Crossed the Firth of Tay, toward Dundee, no stops here , but we saw from the road, the RRS Discovery, Scott ‘s Ship anchored , now a museum, we continued to Pitlochry, via Perth. A short visit to the distillery, and then to Blair Castle, which was an optional, those not going stayed a little longer in Pitlochry, very nice village. The visit to the castle was very good, we saw about 30 rooms and the gardens. Mary Queen of Scots stayed there, as well as Queen Victoria who granted the Blair family the right to have their own army, which they still have today. (I rented the movie The Queen, and there is scene with the castle) The next optional was a farm to see the dogs work, I took it, but immediately was sorry, remembering that to enter back in the US they always ask if you visited a farm. I tried to stay put and watched the whole exercise from far, although I grew up in a farm with sheep and dogs I found the visit very boring. To the hotel Mc Donald Resort, we stayed in the tower, dinner was very good.
Sept 10th, Day 6 Aviemore-Culloden Moor, Loch Ness, Eilean Donan Castle-Isle of Skye.
Wonderful, sunny day, the Highlands beautifully covered with rose heather, we arrived at the Culloden battle site very early, we had a good opportunity of walking around the battle grounds before the museum and coffee shop opened, left after the comfort stop. We skirted Inverness and turned South and took the road West of Loch Ness, we drove for a while, watching but did not see anything resembling Nessie. Short stop by the ruins of Urquhart Castle, not close enough to take good pictures (at least with my camera). From there to Eilean Donan Castle, I think everyone’s favorite, we did not have time for the tour, a shame, but enough time to walk and take pictures from every side. I am not sure how long is the tour, but I recommend to do at least part of it, I did not think of this early enough, next time….?
From there, a short ride and crossed the fairly new bridge to Kyleakin, Isle of Skye and the King’s Arms hotel , not the best of the tour, although in the words of Richard “there is nothing wrong with the hotel that a bulldozer could not fix”, it wasn’t that bad, the rooms had TVs, although not the best reception, no phones, (wake up call is a knock in the door), but dinner and breakfast were good. The afternoon optional was tour around the island, Portree, the Black Cuillin Mountains, the many stories about Bonnie Prince Charles and Flora McDonald, etc. Andy, our local guide, was excellent. This tour is long and satisfying, last at least 3 ½- 4 hours. We saw, but from very far, Dunvegan Castle. The weather continued to be very good, did not have any more rain the rest of the tour.
September 11th, 7th day
Isle of Skye-Fort William, Glencoe-Loch Lomond-Glasgow.
We left early, driving south through the West Highlands, gorgeous views, the highest peak, Ben Nevis (not optional offered ) the deepest loch, Loch Morar. First stop Fort William, founded by William of Orange to keep the pesky Scots on line. From the old fort, the only remain is an arch or gate, that is now the entrance to the cemetery. I visited the Cathedral, St. Patrick, spent some time looking a the old graves stones, not much to do in the busy commercial the area, the usual souvenir shops and many shops geared toward climbing, skiing, etc. There is probably more to see around the area but I had not done enough research and did not have lots of time either.
Next to Glencoe, beautiful and sad, a highlander playing the bagpipe, a stone marking the place of the 1692 massacre. Some ruins near by indicate the probable old McDonald settlement. Another optional at Loch Lomond, lasted about an hour, with a few commentaries by the crew, they showed us the Bob Roy’s cave and a luxury hotel where Wordsworth had stayed and written (don’t think it was a luxury hotel back then), I think Queen Victoria stayed there also.
We arrived at Glasgow mid afternoon, went on a city walk and the Highlight dinner at a “food court” (we decided it was) but nice place inside Princess Gallery, who looked very posh and modern, with upscale stores. Don’t remember the menu, probably salmon or lamb, good food again. The hotel Jurys Inn, very nice, but not wash clothes, if I remember correctly. I had a nice room with a view of the river and bridge.
September 12th , 8th day.
Glasgow-Lake District-Liverpool
We left Glasgow for our two nights stay at the Jury Inn in Liverpool. Crossed into England and the lake district, we visited Grasmere, one of those places that you wish could spend a few more hours at least, visited the Church and the cemetery with the graves of the Wordsworth’s family, beautiful stores, I could spend more time and $$$, but luckily we had to keep going…that day an annual swimming competition was taken place, hundreds of entries, the whole lake area was very crowed.
The hotel was very nice, by the Convention Center and the Albert Docks, now all converted to luxury apartments and offices, the area suffered enormous bombings during WWII, and it was reconstructed the same way Prince Albert had designed ; again I had a nice room with a view of the Convention Center, fountains and gardens .
The optional for the evening was the Liverpool and Beatles tour and dinner at a pub. Phil was our local guide, took us to see the magnificent Cathedral, very new and beautiful; Cathedral with a new concept: no pews, so they can cleared the nave for concerts, fashion shows, theatre, anything that needs a large venue, with even a bar (!!). Paul McCartney concert was first played there. (Paul himself didn’t make it the choir, he could not read music) Went to Penny Lane, Matthew Street and the Cavern Club, birthplace of the Beatles, we briefly met Allan Williams, visible intoxicated, the ex Beatles ‘s Manager, included on this tour was dinner at a pub near the hotel, The Baltic States, not the best meal, stew and desert, free beer or wine.
Sep 13th, 9th day. Excursion to North Wales, back to Liverpool.
Visited one of the prettiest villages of the tour: Betws-y-Coed, a photographer paradise, from there on to Caernarvon, by the Menai Strait and the castle built by Edward I, a World Heritage Site; was there that Edward vested his son Edward (Later King Edward II) with the title of Prince of Wales. Later Edward VIII and Prince Charles were also vested there, there is a video of the Prince Charles’s ceremony. We continued through the beautiful Wales’ landscape and Snowdonia Mountains toward Anglesey Peninsula and the town with the longest name, which I will not type here, I am sure I will get it wrong, not sure what other attractive the town has besides the name, but this alone has brought many visitors and a boom to the economy. Back to Liverpool.
Sept 14th, 10th day. Chester-Llangollen- Ludlow- Llandrindod Wells.
Chester, built during Roman times is today a beautiful city, the majority of the buildings dating from Queen Victoria’s time, beautiful Cathedral. Back to Wales and the pretty mountain roads, Dave demonstrated his ability, stopped many times for photo ops. Spent some time in Llangollen, another pretty town, with a canal that is attracting many tourists interested in cruising, apparently Harrison Ford was seen there recently. The town has an interesting museum and a great chocolate place. Back to England for a visit to Ludlow, an old market town, with timber façade buildings. The hotel in Llandrindod Wells was the Metropole, very quaint, loved my room with its wall paper and old fashioned bathtub, again, the usual tea, coffee in the room, iron, etc. Good dinner at the hotel.
Sep 15th, 11th day. Cardiff-Tintern Abbey-Bristol
Cardiff Castle, a medieval castle built over the ruins of a Roman fort, Many rooms were built in the 19th century, the tower, the royal apartments; not all the rooms were accessible for viewing the day we were there, but the few we saw were very ornate (the Arab Room, Library, Smoking rooms).
Continued to the Wye Valley and Tintern Abbey Ruins, the first Abbey in Wales: short stop for lunch, we did not see the Abbey in detail. The valley is very beautiful, it inspired Wordsworth to write “Lines Composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey” , and other poets . It has a long history of the work produced there by forging iron; the first brass was made in 1568, alloying cooper with zinc. The plague and later Henry VIII ended the Abbey’s productive life.
On to Bath after a quick lunch at the Abbey; Dave took us to admire the great architecture, the circles, Royals Crescent, Queen Square. I skipped the Roman Bath and Pump Room (having being there a year ago) and went to look for the Jane Austen Center, saw the small museum, got some souvenirs from my granddaughters, and walked around the city center, back to the coach and on to Bristol, home of the SS Great Britain, Brunel’s steamship, one of the first built for crossing the Atlantic from Bristol to N. York, it’s now in dry dock and a museum, pity we did not have time to see it. Hotel Mercure Holland, 4 stars, very nice and modern, nice room.
Sept 16th, 12th day. Bristol-Wells-Glastonbury –Dartmoor-Plymouth
Wells Cathedral is a jewel, the seat of the Bath-Wells Bishop, who lives next to the Cathedral in a grand castle. The Cathedral is worth a good visit, photographs are allowed, previous a paid permit of 3 pounds.
Glastonbury Abbey’s ruins and King Arthur’s legend, one of the highlights of the tour, we had a local guide from the Abbey, Brother George (?), he was very good. Legend or not, King Arthur and Guinevere are “buried” there, we just needed Richard Burton singing Camelot.
The drive to the moors was good, Dave demonstrating again his superb skills, the road was very narrow, only one car at a time, which was tricky sometimes ( but not as tricky as the later in the evening when we went to Cornwall). We spent some time in the village Widecombe-in-the Moor, famous I guess, for a TV series. Many wild horses and ponies on the moors, the day was just too beautiful for this drive, we needed some glum, I think, to get the whole impact of the moors.
We arrived at Plymouth for our two nights stay (Hotel Copthorne, very good) Dinner was an optional “Forgotten Cornwall”, we took a 7 min ferry to the coast of Cornwall and drove for about 45 min or more to get to the restaurant, great views, narrow, very narrow road, when another car was encountered someone had to back up, luckily most of the times were others backing up. Food was very good at an old Tavern, lamb, pork, chicken, fish and all the trimmings. The tavern does not have entertainment, the owner encouraged us to sing, it worked for a little while, a few had good voices, but it would have been nice if we had a professional group.
Sept 17th, 13th day Cornish Excursion
First. it was the optional covering the Pilgrims steps, a harbor cruise, with views of both side of the River Plym.
We continue to Cornwall, viewed St. Michael’s Mount, Penzance and a lunch stop at St. Ives. I loved this beach-port-artists town, there is a coach parking in the hill, and shuttles going down and up to and from the center of town, it costs 50 cents. Afternoon tea stop was at Heskin Mills Restaurant, in Cornwall. The owner gave us the history of the place, Henry VIII gave the land to a family (not sure if it was the Heskin family), some of the buildings dating as back as the 17th century, the restaurant is located at the old mill, dating from 1701. The afternoon tea was not very impressive, but at last I had clotted cream, I had not tried it since I was 10 or 11, the taste and smell were the same, great treat. Back to Plymouth for the night.
Sept 18th, 14th day Stonehenge-Isle of Wight-Portsmouth
The whole area around Stonehenge is about to get lots of improvements before the 2012 Olympics, the road will be moved and new structures built, it will be good, since the present facilities are not the best. No sun today, good for photography. I walked around the whole circle. It was crowed, many school children. Besides the circle there are many prehistoric tombs (round mounts) many declared World Heritage Sites, although they are in farm lands, they have been left untouched for centuries, archeologists are still trying to figure out about the people buried in those mounts.
Drove through the New Forest toward Lymington and the ferry to Isle of Wight, crossed the Solent in about 30 min and drove to Osborne House. Beautiful house and gardens, we had a complete tour of the house, designed by Prince Albert, it was his and Queen Victoria favorite place, she died in 1901 in this house.
To Portsmouth and Marriott Hotel, excellent. Farewell dinner tonight, but the hotel was too busy to accommodate the group, we ended up in separate tables, Richard was disappointed but couldn’t do anything about it.
Last day, September 19th, Winchester-Windsor-London
Started the morning in Winchester, I just walked around and checked the several stalls of the street market, others went to the Cathedral and college campus, other attemped the long walk to the castle where the Round Table is hanged, but returned when half way, no enough time. Winchester Cathedral is where Jane Austen is buried, (I had visited the Cathedral a year ago)
The icing in the cake was a 2 ½ hr or so stop at Windsor, this was not in the itinerary, Many of us jumped at the opportunity and went for the Castle tour, hurried but enjoyable, I wish I had more time there, but I covered most of it.
Finally London and the end of the tour, driving by Runnymede, just a large green area, with a couple of monuments that can barely be seen by the road. We arrived back at the Olympia Hilton, checked in and was glad to find out the shuttle to the airport was already set for the next morning, pick up time 6:50.
It was a great tour, we had the most amazing weather, covered most of England, Scotland and Wales, there are still a few more places I would like to visit, some other time. I took all the optional tours, total cost £ 208. All the hotels had kettles, coffee, tea and cookies, the majority had iron and boards, hair dryers, internet connections, not all of then had refrigerators or business center for us without lap tops, but the good news was that buying a card at the Hiltons or Marriott it could be used at other locations, I spent a total of £ 15 for about 1 ½ hr of internet use.
I know this was a little too long, since there are no other tales from this tour, I though I write about it. If anybody has a question, I’ll try to answer the best I can, I started taking notes but I stopped after a couple of days, it would have been good, because visiting so many places in just two weeks I have already forgotten many details. Thank you for reading it and your comments.