UK 18 Stories

Last Day - and a river runs through it.

2/10/2018

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

I knew I would not get this posted in Wales. So here I am in Manchester at a wonderful Airport hotel. Here the wifi works. So I will post last nights tale. It is so nice to have a comfortable last night.
As I wrote yesterday…
......................................

This is the last chapter to post. Tomorrow is our final trip driving out to Manchester where we will connect with Emirates.

Today was about bridges again. We chose Llangollen to stay because of its proximity to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. This is a quick drive from our hotel and we were the first into the car park. Not the first time that has happened this month. This was the usual Pay and Display but a whole day was £3.
Bargain!
Then a walk.
We walked over the Aqueduct which towers above the countryside. The walk is along the tow path where horses used to drag the narrow boats. The boats are very narrow and slip along the canal in the air at less than walking pace. We know this cos we walked past one as it motored along.
I called out to the guy driving the boat,
“If you are in a hurry, feel free to jump off and walk with us.”
Nice to make people giggle like that.
I wandered under the bridge to get some more pictures. It is an amazing structure by Thomas Telford. Another of the amazing British engineers of the 19th century. We have seen lots of his structures. Bridges, canals and locks. These guys were so busy in the 19th century.
Before leaving the site Julie wanted to learn how to pronounce the name of the bridge. We had a wonderful classroom session with a Welsh host in the gift shop.
She told us that Welsh is the easiest language to pronounce because it is fully phonetic. It has 26 letters but not the same 26. She claimed that if you master the 26 sounds and make even a tiny effort to pronounce correctly. You will convince everyone that you are a native because so few people speak any Welsh at all. It was an interesting story… but I am not sure I will remember it beyond today. Try as I might I still can't name the bridge correctly or the town we are staying in. In my mind it will remain in its anglicised version.
Walking around this World Heritage site took 2 hours. Then we headed out to our final bridge stops of the trip. We wanted to drive over Telford’s other bridge near here across the Menai Straits. This is the gap of water between Wales and Angelsey. More examples of the wonderful engineering skills from so long ago.
So our final day was a quiet, slow meander around North Wales. Tomorrow we begin the wind up. Easy drive to Manchester and our accomodation at an airport hotel. A different one to last time for sure, that was very unpleasant. I will spend a few hours plane spotting at the Runway Park. Then post this story.
Judging by the internet I have in Langollen right now, I wont be getting this posted tonight.
Thanks for reading my tales. I have appreciated your comments, encouragement and suggestions. I still have 3 or four stories almost written waiting to be edited. I may get them done on the plane.
Next job back in ADL, compile this 20,000 words into another book of my UK travels.

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Another Museum - Another Concorde

30/9/2018

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I’ve seen a few Concorde.
Filton outside Bristol, on the way to our final stop, was one of those if we can manage it. I am so pleased we managed it. This was, hands down, the best aviation museum I have ever seen. It is only a year old. We asked for a guide book but it still being written. So the exhibition is recent and uses much modern techniques.
The story of flight and Filton made us aware of many things that had confused us for a while. The second world war crops up often on tours in Bristol. Now we know why. Bristol was bombed about every 3 days during the war. Filton was often the target. Filton is the home of much British aviation.

It is still a vital part of the aviation industry being where Airbus make the wings for their aircraft.
In the 1960s, Filton and Toulouse built Concorde. This Concorde exhibition is outstanding. I have walked through two other Concorde and they all look spectacular. But this displayed so much better. You can get further back from the plane and appreciate the size of it. It is not really all that big next to an A380 or a B777.
Concorde is so hard to photograph when you are too close. But it needs to be indoors or it will decay quickly. Enthusiasts worry about the decay of Concorde at Heathrow because it is outside.
This was the final Concorde to fly. Its last trip was here to Filton. Back to where it was made. It flew over the Clifton Suspension Bridge on its way here from Heathrow.
The links between Concorde and the SS Great Britain are quite astounding. Both rest in the place they were built. Both were the best example in their field at their time. Both were a source of pride for the British people.
There is a short film of the workers marching to talk to Tony Ben. He was the minister in the early 70’s who was talking about closing the project down. The workers did not talk about losing their jobs and their work. They talked about the importance of Concorde to the British people.
One of the short films projected on the fuselage has a Concorde flight attendant talking. She says,
“they called Concorde the Flagship of the Fleet. Actually, she was the Flagship of the Nation.”
Yes they project video onto the fuselage of the plane. It is sensational.
If you stand long enough in an aviation museum, another plane nut will start talking to you. It happened twice today. One guy directed us to another free aviation museum a few miles north of Filton. We did visit it. It is dedicated to the development of the jet engine. It is the home of the Gloucester Aircraft works.
The other man to speak to us worked on the design and building of the engine for Concorde. What a wonderful thing to chat with such a man. He was quick to point out that the engine was not really a Rolls Royce Engine. It was a Bristol Engine eventually sold to RR. The pride in his voice as he chatted, standing next to G BOAF
I have seen a few Concorde. Now I have seen the best Concorde exhibition.
From Filton we head to Llangollen, North Wales for our last stop before home. Here we have terrible internet. Posting this tale could be tedious.

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A Henge or Three

29/9/2018

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A field of concrete blocks to show where a wood henge once existed.

Today we did not visit Stonehenge. Well, we did drive there, about 90 minutes from Bristol. The carpark is huge and at our arrival time there was plenty of space. Of course we couldn’t see the bus park. That was huge too. Only it was well patronised.
You can of course see nothing from the carpark except the visitors centre.
Here you buy tickets, coffee and souvenirs.
Here you wait for your bus to go rocks.
Here you experience totally organised tourism.

It really was not for us. The visitors shop was very expensive. They had leather kit bags with Stonehenge embossed on the side for £199. That is about AUD360. As a souvenir!
The crowds were beyond anything we could have predicted. It is a Friday. School is back. Uni starts this week. But the place was so busy.
Neither of us really wanted to suggest leaving. But eventually we realised this was not something we could manage.
So we left.
By now the roads leading to Stonehenge were locked up tight. Cars and trucks crawling along the henge road at about the same speed the rocks are eroding. We were heading in the opposite direction.
We caught a glimpse of the stones in the wide open field. With the visitors walking around the track many meters from the rocks.
Stonehenge was never on our list. This is the spare day we gained after the London Incident. Had we planned the trip we may have booked a special inner circle trip for about £40 per person.
Only 30 people on the tour. No guide, no commentary not even a gift shop because these tours run at 0530 or after 1830. You need to be very committed for this kind of a tour.
I knew that close by Stonehenge is another site called Woodhenge.
We went!
There is nothing here except the memory of a henge in a field. There are sign boards to tell you what you are seeing. There is no car park, no pay and display, no gift shop. Just a field with concrete markers to show where the Wood henge once stood.
This was a good site and we enjoyed the quiet. As we drove off trying to steal a glimpse of the stones we ended up in a MoD housing estate.
Military only.
Run Away!!!
The area is surrounded by military things. Warnings of unexploded bombs, Tanks on the road and live fire testing.
Run Away!!
The drive back took us through a tiny village like so many we have seen this month. One little difference I could not resist. Thatched roofs. They look quite charming. So we stopped and took a few pictures.
After the village we saw fields stacked with hay at the end of the season. The hay stacks made a henge of hay bales.
Then we passed a pig farm with three little pigs close by the road. Julie laughed,
“Should we warn them?
Don’t make your Henge from hay… The farmer is gonna sell it.
A Henge of wood cant last. This one has already fallen over.
You need the Henge made from stone. Those stones are still standing after 2000 years.
The three little pigs need a Stone henge.”
"Just remember that the gift shop is full of wolves trying to sell souvenir kits bags for £200."

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Bristol

28/9/2018

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A = Driving yesterday was very trying.
B = Bristol is the worst driving city yet.
C = We want to see some things in Bristol.
A + B + C = Tourist bus.
Yes today we caught the big red, roofless, guided, tour bus. It took us all around Bristol and was the most cost effective way of seeing the two things we wanted to see.
We jumped on the bus a short walk from the hotel and were the only ones on it. We got the commentary all to ourselves. He did use the microphone, just for effect I suspect. A half hour of fascinating Bristolean storytelling. We had an expert driver to navigate the terrible knotty mess of roads and roadworks. We comfortably arrived at our first stop.
Brunel’s SS Great Britain.

We have done an aviation museum in Edinburgh. In The Lakes we saw a motor museum. Out of Derby was the Tramways museum. Today was the turn of sea travel. You can find lots about this ship on line. It has an remarkable history. The rescue story from the Falkland Islands is well worth chasing up. Quite like the rescue of the Queen Adelaide from Glasgow. The museum around the ship was excellent. Such a well planned visiting experience.
The ship was built to dash from UK to New York. Eventually it took Migrants to Melbourne. It did have stops in Brisbane, Perth, Sydney and even Adelaide. So we had a link with migration.
It died in the Falkland Islands. After 30 years in a bay at the southern end of the world it was rescued and hauled home. It now rests where it was built, a dry dock in Bristol.

The hop on hop off bus cruised past just a little late. We met the same driver for our next run. This was to visit the Brunel designed bridge across the Avon Gorge. The Clifton Suspension Bridge.
OK… there are many stories about the design of the bridge. Who did what and when but Bristol seems to be Brunel town so we’ll call it his.
This is another brilliant engineering feet. It opened in December 1864. We are astonished each day with engineering achievements from so long time ago.
I also like how the UK like to see their achievements together. The last ever flight of Concorde flew over this bridge on its way to Filton.
Youtube has vision of the flight - I looked.

The hop on hop off bus was a great way to do highlights of Bristol. Tomorrow is back to driving. We talked lots today about the best way to see UK. We still believe the car is the best. Yesterday’s 15 minutes of anguish is worth it I guess. It gives us the freedom to see amazing things no hop on hop off bus can offer. But the bus was the right idea today.
We wondered why Bristol has been so hard for driving. We checked the population compared to Adelaide. It is half. Bristol is 566,000 people to Adelaide 1.2mill. The difference is the area of the city. Bristol is about 110 Sq Mi. Adelaide’s population fits into over 1250 sq mi.
So it is the population density that is our problem here not the number of people. Adelaide’s Population density is a bit over 1000 per Sq Mi. Bristol is 10 time that.
Now it makes sense.
Worth doing the comparison just to give some context. Also, Bristol has been here for 1100 years. Many of the streets go back many hundreds of years.
Hmm beginning to make sense I guess.

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Is Driving UK the Best Plan?

27/9/2018

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From a motor museum in the Lakes. Maybe this is the best size car for British driving.

We designed this holiday to see specific things. Lots of what we wanted to do was obscure, off the beaten track, less touristy. The only way fo adventures like find the source of the River Tees or get to the Heights of Abraham is to have a car. We have driven a long way and there is more to come.
With a car comes the concern of hotels. We remembered to ask,
“Does the accomodation include parking?” for every stop.
We did not ask,
“How easy is it to get to this hotel in a car?”
Now we know better.

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Driving South Wales

26/9/2018

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Aberystwyth Esplanade.

When I bought my car I said to the dealer,
“Give me all your gadgets, wrap them up in a car.”
I love my gadgets. I am missing them.
I keep hunting for my reversing camera.
I can’t believe how much I use the warning lights in my mirrors.
My adaptive cruise control ohhh my I miss that. It would be perfect in this kind of traffic.
HUD… head up display. There is so much information hitting you as you drive here with the roundabouts and motorways. To be able to take it in with my car info on the windscreen too. Ohh I miss that.

Tinted windows… hardly a gadget but so missing them. My sunburnt forearm.
When you do not have the gadgets you realise how much you use them. I miss them lots.
That said this little Skoda has been fine for us. Small, easy to drive, good fuel economy. The performance is a bit tepid. The seats hmmm pretty average for 3 and 4 hour drives.
We cope but Ohhh I miss my gadgets.
We have covered many miles. 75% through the trip and we are over 3,000 miles. Today we added many hundreds more driving through South Wales. It was not on our agenda. After the London episode we have an extra day for South Wales.

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People

25/9/2018

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Driving to Wales today.

If stones are standing like this... are they standing stones?

Such fun visiting Andertons in Guilford this morning.

3 weeks since I have played a guitar and he had one just like mine. So I had to play it... didn't I.

The first person we had to deal with in UK was the car rental person in Glasgow. She was not easy to get on with but not many like her.
After that, almost every one has been wonderful. The young women at the Holiday Inn Express in Stirling were outstanding. Keen to help in any way they could. They smiled, laughed, joked with us. Nothing was too much trouble.
The Holiday Inn Express at Inverness was the next hotel and they were the same. I think the chain has some way to make the staff want to be perfect. This chain has been excellent.
Our second less good experience was the coffee shop person who ordered us where to sit. I am sure she had her reasons. Her attitude left us feeling uncomfortable.
So we left.
Because we can.
Our experience in eating places has been excellent. The staff at the Antibo Restaurant in Derby was amazing. It was a great eating place. The way the staff worked to make everything just right made Antibo a highlight.
We have had only one not so good eating experience. The food was not what we expected.
So we did not go back.
Because we can.
Shopping has been great too. Everyone we have bought from has been keen to know our story. Our accents heighten their interest. They ask more questions. I guess cos we are not in the most common international tourist spots.
Today I met with a favourite shopkeeper. He runs a youtube channel for his music shop in Guilford, outside London. I watch all his Andertons' TV clips and was keen to wander through his shop.
Also, tell the truth, it is 3 weeks since I touched a guitar and needed to crunch the arthritis in my fingers.
I bumped into Captain Lee Anderton on the shop floor of his massive music emporium. We chatted for 15 minutes about music industry, business, equipment. Just general music chit chat. What a delight.
So we have done well with people. There have been very few fails.
Yesterday was a massive fail and I am still realing. Yesterday I wrote how much I enjoyed the time at Runnymede. From there we drove the 15 minutes to our accomodation.
The thing stuff something Guest House.
It was a fine choice 4 months ago.
It was uncomfortable right away.
The rooms he had were not what we booked.
He could fix it for only £100 extra.
Credit card has a 20% fee.
British credit card only.
£100 extra in cash - up front.
Much more rubbish but you get the picture.
Every word shouted scam!
So we left.
Because we can.
Having had such a good time with Holiday Inn Express we sought out the nearest. They were perfect - again. They were full but called other places nearby until they found us something.
Now we are in Newport Wales at a Holiday Inn Express with lovely people looking after us again.
One fat old man undermining so much good will in the rest of the country.
We shall rise above it.
Already have.
Just needed to make the brain dump.
All gone…
2 wonderful London successes, Runnymede and Andertons.
Now here we are in Wales.

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Runnymede

24/9/2018

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The Thames at Runnymede

Another of dad’s plays was King John at Runnymede. It makes Runnymede a logical place for a stop. That is not the only reason to seek out Runnymede.
In 1963, three young children hid in the back seat of a tiny 1956 Ford Anglia. No not the one like in Harry Potter. This was more like a 100e series Ford Prefect.
That means tiny.
Their dad was taking them on a secret trip to see where he worked and they had to hide so security would not catch them. It was early evening in Northern England on that November day. And that is where I was when Kennedy was shot.

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The Crich Tramway Village

23/9/2018

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Today's 3 trams ready to start work.

In keeping with our many themes, today we visited a tramways museum. This was a great morning. It is run totally by volunteers. Hence quite a conflab to construct a double espresso. Of course we were early and heard the workers chatting about their day and how it all works. Seems they do about 2 days a month. There must be hundreds of these people keeping 80 or so old trams working. They have a couple of miles of track and your ticket gets you unlimited rides on the trams that are running. They use three trams per day and cycle them around so they do all get used.
The highlight for us was when a gang of young people came to sit with us on the upper deck of the tram.
They told us how it works.

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Sherwood Forest

22/9/2018

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Robin fighting with Little John over a river. The park had to apologise for the lack of water in the river. "It has been a long dry summer."

Mile after mile of tree lined walk ways.

Fascinating sculptures from the dead trees. There are a lot of dead trees.

More carvings in dead trees

The Major Oak - the centre piece of Sherwood Forest walks. It was first in need of preserving work in 1901. Tourism goes back a long way again

More sculpting

Some dead trees need to sculpting to look spectacular

We met our cousin today. I had not seen her for 53 years and I recognised her instantly. We sat over coffee talking about our families over the years. You can't actually cover 50 years of history over a double espresso. So we talked about what we had done in the past 2 weeks and where to next. She suggested that Sherwood Forest was not too far away.
Decision made and we were off - “riding through the glen.” (somebody may get it)
Our final discussion was to pick between Richard Green and Errol Flynn. A tough call. Someone said what about Kevin Costner but that was shouted down right away. Later I checked to see just how many films have been made about Robin Hood. It is a lot!
Sherwood car park is massive. Luckily for us it was almost deserted. I would hate to be wandering through the greenwood trees
(ah de doo ah de doo da day - oops no that was the Gypsy Rover)
with a full carpark.
The car park is of course that scourge of touring the UK… the Pay and Display. Seems you have to pay someone whenever you stop your car. I worry they will wanna charge you to stop at a traffic light.
But there was no charge to get into the forrest so I guess it covers the cost of the upkeep somewhat.
There is a fully equipped visitors centre. That means coffee and cake and fridge magnets on sale. But we were off walking right away.
The wonderful host at the door told us exactly which tracks to follow. Showed us them on the map.
Off we went.
We forgot the map.
We forgot the directions.
We ended up lost on the 4 mile track and not the 1 mile track.
Siri tapped me on the wrist after 10 minutes to say,
“you seem to be on an outdoor walk should I track that for you.” I knew it was only a 15 minute wander so I passed. Later, when we were lost in the home of Robin and his merry men, I knew I should have listened to Siri… she always knows what is best.
Our walk through Sherwood took an extra hour but no complaints. It was a delightful wander on well made tracks through a wonderful forest.
Richard Green as Robin Hood was one of those early B&W TV heroes leaving a lasting impression. It was a good idea to visit.
Did you know?
In 1953 the Indiana Text Book Commission tried to have Robin Hood removed from American school text books.
Because he was a communist.
So today was an easy walk through a historical forest. Boy, I wish I had invited Siri along though. Then I would be sure of exactly where we wandered.
And I cant help wonder if the Pay and Display theme everywhere is an example of robber barons at work. Hmmm

How many dead trees can you photograph? I made a good effort.

This looked like the tree to pick, if you have to live in one of them.

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Why This Blog

Three years ago, my sister Julie and I travelled to the UK for 3 weeks. It was 50 years since we had arrived in Australia as £10 tourists. We wanted to see all the places we remembered from our childhood. Not only the places we went to in our childhood but also the places we had never seen but had formed part of our family culture. We felt the trip was a wild success. But there was a down side… we needed to go back and finish a few things off. 2018 and we are back. So let me tell you all about it.

Last Day - and a river runs through it.

Another Museum - Another Concorde

A Henge or Three

Bristol

Is Driving UK the Best Plan?

Driving South Wales

People

Runnymede

The Crich Tramway Village

Sherwood Forest

Why This Blog

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