16th Dec
Oh how nice to be in civilized London. We landed at busy Heathrow airport at 8:30 pm where we were quickly ushered through the diplomatic immigration gates and in no time had caught the underground to Piccadilly and on to Waterloo Station. The Union Jack Club was located right across the street in Sandell St and the whole journey took less than 45 mins. It was warmer too without a trace of snow. We were entitled to stay at this All Ranks hotel since Eric was a seconded member of the RAAF. It wasn't salubrious but very affordable and a great location to base ourselves. They were very welcoming so we visited the bar for our first Pommie beer before bed. The exchange rate here is $10 Aust=£4.57 (pound sterling).
17th Dec
Woke to a huge breakfast and caught the train to Piccadilly. Just look how bright and cheerful London is in comparison to drab Moscow! Next we bought a 3 day London Explorer Pass for £8 which includes all trains and buses and turned out to be great value.
In the afternoon we visited Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum and spent a fun 2 hrs there meeting some of our heroes before going upstairs to the Planetarium.
At Leicester Square we went looking for discount tickets to a London Theatre production but found there were none for Cats or any of the other shows we were interested in. At the AA Club, not Alcoholics Anon. but the Auto Assoc. we picked up a copy of '9 Walks around Central London' which we found invaluable over the next few days. In fact we did the 'St James from Piccadilly' walk in the afternoon which took us from the Circus to Jermyn St, Fortnum & Mason, St James' Palace, St Jame's Square (bottom left), Waterloo Place (top left in pic below) and Haymarket.
A most helpful English gentleman saw us studying maps in Piccadilly Circus and came to our assistance. He then insisted on taking our photos and promised to send them to us. Well, we figured we'd been suckered out of £5 here, too easy! How pleasantly surprised we were to find them in our mail when we returned to Butterworth. We walked home via Embankment Station to buy tickets for the opening show of Peter Pan for tomorrow night.
We crossed Waterloo Bridge where St Paul's looked superb on the evening London skyline despite all the cranes in view.
Had dinner at the club then went next door for a beer in a local pub before turning in.
18th Dec
We set out early to buy the tickets to Edinburgh £42 then walked to Buckingham Palace through Trafalgar Sq and Admiralty Arch. The Arch is an amazing building housing government offices which incorporates the archways providing road and pedestrian access to the Mall from Trafalgar Sq. Once through the arch, the Royal Horse Guards came up the Mall as we approached the palace, as if to meet us.
Its a stirring sight as they ride through the streets to Change the Guard on Horse Guards Parade. These were a Squadron of The Blues and Royals with blue tunics and red plumed helmets who make up part of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment. They swapped with a Squadron of The Life Guards, who wear red tunics and white plumed helmets.
We stayed to watch the Changing of the Guard at 11:30 am Mon/Wed/Fri to the tune of Christmas Carols at this time of the year.
We visited the Queen's Gallery and then walked through St James' Park, the oldest of the capital's eight Royal Parks, and surrounded by three palaces. Westminster, which is now the Houses of Parliament and home of the most familiar clock tower, Big Ben. St James' Palace is the home of Prince Charles and Diana and includes Clarence House where the Queen Mother lives. Buckingham Palace remains the London residence and principal workplace of the monarchy of the United Kingdom.
Churchill 's statue dominated Parliament Sq. On the way back to Trafalgar Sq we visited Westminster Abbey, the coronation church since 1066 and is the final resting place of seventeen monarchs.
10 Downing St has the Xmas tree on the curb.
We spent a pleasant 2 hours in the National Gallery, seen in the background behind Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Sq where the pigeons are ever-present.
Then we visited the fabulous Geological and Science Museums in South Kensington.
We arrived home just after 6pm, weary but having had a great day. Couldn't believe how many familiar landmarks, from all those years of watching programs from the BBC and playing Monopoly, we had managed to see in one day.
Walked along Oxford St in the evening; it was alive and all dressed up for Christmas. Had a quick beer in the UJC before strolling back across the Thames to the Aldwych Theatre. It was an excellent performance and we enjoyed seeing the differences in emphasis to the RAAF Sch Butterworth production we had both been involved in earlier in the year.
Enjoyed a lovely Italian dinner on the way home.
19th Dec
We packed our gear early and left our bags in the baggage room of the UJC then went to Bank Station to begin another walk, this time surrounded by the imposing old buildings of the Bank of England, Guildhall, Stock Exchange etc. Then we climbed the 311 steps of Wren's monument. The view across London's skyline shows the new telecom tower in the distance, St Paul's Cathedral in the midst with Wren's Monument in the foreground, built after the Great Fire of London. The view in the opposite direction features Tower Bridge.
We joined a tour of the Tower of London, both a Royal Palace and Fortress in a historic castle. The tour was conducted by a most entertaining Beefeater who regaled us with many interesting stories. Apparently legend says that the kingdom and the Tower will fall if the six resident ravens ever leave the fortress. According to the stories it was Charles II who first insisted that the ravens of the Tower should be protected. The ravens are actually kept captive and have their wings clipped.
We crossed the Thames via Tower Bridge after lunch on the riverbank in the clear, crisp sunshine.
Eric and Kenny then visited the Chamber of Horrors, an exhibition of waxworks of notorious murderers and other infamous historical figures. I went to London Bridge Station to book our tickets on to Amsterdam for 27th Dec. We met back at the UJC Bar for a few beers before heading to Kings Cross Station. Caught the 11:25pm Nightrider to Edinburgh which was comfortable but a long trip. I wished I had had as many beers as Eric.
20th Dec
We arrived in Edinburgh before 7am after about 7 hours on the Nightrider from London. Eric was missing his wallet but we hoped it was back at the UJC where we had left some luggage. We found accommodation at the Osbourne Hotel for £24. It is just a short walk from the station. That was a brisk walk in the crisp morning air so we felt quite refreshed and grabbed a pamphlet from the tourist info counter and began a walk of the Old Town.
We're on our way to visit friends in Ardrossan but are already delighted with our decision to stopover here. The walk to the Tourist Info Centre gave us our first glimpse of the skyline with the castle soaring above in one direction and Carlton Hill in the other. These were just becoming definable in the dawn light.
First stop of course was Edinburgh Castle, built on Castle Rock, an extinct volcano. By the time the tour ended the light had improved and so did our pictures.
Ramsay Garden is a block of sixteen private apartment buildings in the Castlehill area. They stand out for their red and white exteriors, and for their prominent position. Walking must be the best way to get around the Old Town area, where narrow passages and alleys (cloo-zes) run off both sides of the main street. We wandered down a few of them just to get the medieval feel of the Scottish capital back in the 12th C. Walking the Golden mile was truly beautiful. We stopped for brunch of soup and baked potatoes along the way and then continued towards Holyrood Palace. The weather was kind to us, clouding over at times but remaining dry.
Scotts Monument, dedicated to Sir Walter Scott is the largest monument in the world dedicated to a writer. There are 287 steps to the top and from there you have fabulous views of the city and beyond. Would be amazing on a perfectly clear day.
The city has an interesting mix of architecture and the Prince's Gardens were beautiful. This lovely clock below adorns the Tollbooth dated 1591, it was here that the tolls or public dues were collected.
It also served as the council house, courtroom and prison for the Canongate. Although most of the prisoners were transferred to a newly built jail on Calton Hill. Its now a museum.
The large clock face is dated 1820 and replaced an earlier clock from the 17th Century.
Our walk ended at The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. We were too early for the tour so enjoyed a walk around the gardens first which were lovely but would be truly beautiful in Spring. The tour proved to be well worth waiting for.
We completed the day with a tramp up Carlton Hill to overlook the whole city. Among other things there is an observatory here but it was closed. We ate Italian nearby our hotel.
21st Dec
The coastal town of Ardrossan is located in Ayrshire, 30 miles from Glasgow. Currently it is home to Jenny, an ex-student from Croydon High School (where I used to teach) who is staying with Carol, a Scottish exchange teacher who spent a year with us at Croydon. We had planned to meet up with Jenny in London where she has been nannying but our timing coincided with her stay in Ardrossan, so there you have it, we are heading there too.
After a great night's sleep, in our first double bed since leaving Butterworth, we caught the train to Ardrossan via Glasgow (6 pound return). We had considered hiring a car to visit St Andrews, Loch Ness, etc but it all appeared too far and too expensive for our budget and timetable.
Jenny met us at the Ingledene Pub, then we checked in at the Stanley Hotel for 2 nights. We had a few drinks in the bar with Rosie, a Scottish Lass and Shona the barmaid. Rosie regaled us with tales of her teaching the wee ones (Primary teacher) and how when she left she would just be crossing the wee burn (creek) . In the evening we went to Carol and Kenny McGregor's for dinner and had a terrific night. Kenny was offering Glenfiddich but I knew better than to ask for it to be served with Coke.
Jenny met us at the Ingledene Pub, then we checked in at the Stanley Hotel for 2 nights. We had a few drinks in the bar with Rosie, a Scottish Lass and Shona the barmaid. Rosie regaled us with tales of her teaching the wee ones (Primary teacher) and how when she left she would just be crossing the wee burn (creek) . In the evening we went to Carol and Kenny McGregor's for dinner and had a terrific night.
Kenny was offering Glenfiddich but I knew better than to ask for it to be served with Coke. There house is in this very neat street, Sorbie St.
22nd Dec
Early in the morning, although the weather looked inclement, I dragged the boys off to catch a ferry to the Isle of Arran; advertised as 'Scotland in a Nutshell' and the mystical Machrie Standing Stones. Fancy me keen to take a ride on a ferry! I also thought at the time that it was the home of aran knitting but later learnt that it comes from the Irish Aran Is. Anyway, we found the ferry wasn't running that day due to the rough seas and poor visibility.
So instead we caught a bus for Ayr and took an interesting drive along the coast. Went by this exciting bit of real estate on the way - Royal Troon Golf Course but I don't remember the weather improving as much as the picture suggests. Must have been an instantaneous break in the clouds. Ayr was bustling with last-minute Christmas shoppers, otherwise it would be a quaint little spot by the sea. It has a large sandy beach but doesn't rate with Australian ones. Scotland's national bard, Robert Burns, was born in Alloway, on the outskirts of the town. As we ventured home we watched the sun setting at 3:45pm.
Back in Ardrossan we went to the 'Melbourne Café ' of all things, for Fish and Chips for dinner. It was beautiful haddock. Then we met Jenny, Carol and Kenny in the bar of the Stanley. Shona was pulling beers again along with the owner. She's a Singaporean! When the pub shut we were invited to stay on in the bar for a private party since it is a very rare thing to have tourists in Ardrossan. I remember finding it very difficult to climb the stairs to our room that night as the walls and stairs were covered in tartan and it all seemed to be moving.
23rd Dec
Woke to another huge Scottish breakfast at the Stanley then caught the 10am train to Edinburgh. Jenny joined us to Glasgow - she's going to do some Xmas shopping. We had a 3hr wait for the next train to York. It was a nice clear day so we got to see Edinburgh in good light and appreciate its beauty all over again.
We travelled on to York, passing through lush Northern England countryside and the beautiful town of Berwick on Tweed, just to name one.
We arrived in York at 5:30 pm and it was foggy and dull in contrast to lunchtime. We took a bus from the station that dropped us right at the Feversham Lodge which turns out to be on the road to the Yorkshire Moors and James Herriot (famous fictional/tv series vet of the day) country. It was only £8.50 a night and very welcoming and cosy to walk into. We walked the 10 mins back into town for a counter tea at the Hole in the Wall Hotel which must serve the biggest counter meals ever, for £1.75. On the way home we noted the dark shadows cast by the city wall and the other silhouetted buildings and felt rather pleased we had decided to break our journey here and spend half a day tomorrow exploring.
24th Dec
The next morning, map in hand we began our walk of the town after depositing our gear at the station. We began on the wall itself, surrounded by fog which appeared doomed to hang around all day. Through it we were able to glimpse the towers of the minster and the beautiful river. Fortunately the fog did lift later.
Then we took a tour of the Minster, the second largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe. Last year a fire, thought to have been caused by a lightning strike, destroyed the roof in the south transept, and around £2.5 million will be spent on repairs and restoration.
The medieval church of St Marys is in Castlegate. The church dates to the 15th century, and boasts the tallest spire in York at 47 metres high. I was more impressed with the leadlight window. After the church became redundant in 1958 it was converted into a museum of local history known as the York Story.
York Castle was originally built by William the Conqueror in 1068. The museum is housed in prison buildings which were built on the site of the castle in the 18th century. Dick Turpin, a highwayman whose exploits were made famous by novelist William Harrison Ainsworth almost 100 years after his execution, was incarcerated here. By all accounts Turpin had joined a gang of deer thieves and later became a poacher, burglar, horse thief and killer. He is best known though for the fictional 200-mile (320 km) overnight ride from London to York on his horse Black Bess.
Heading back into town, where the light was now much improved, we were charmed by the quaint, cobblestone malls of the York business district. We'd spent about 5 hours discovering York before boarding the train at 2pm, just as the fog began descending again.
The London underground was hectic with last minute Xmas shoppers and buskers singing carols. We made our way to the British Museum only to be disappointed; closed 24/25 and 26th Dec. Will not get to visit it this trip.
Went back to the UJC only to be confronted with another disappointment; Eric's wallet, which he had hoped he had left behind, was not among our things. It seems he was pick-pocketed on the train to Edinburgh. We spent the evening ringing VISA and the police and spent a quiet night in.
25th Dec
We lapped-up the luxury of a sleep-in, skipping breakfast altogether, and took it easy atthe UJC until lunchtime when we were treated to a full, traditional Christmas spread. Then we went for a walk along the banks of the Thames, deserted today - we had the place to ourselves.
We arrived at St Pauls Cathedral just as the evening service was about to begin. Sitting at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, this Wren masterpiece can be seen from so many of the places we have walked. Up close it was astonishing and to hear the combined voice of the choir flooding out from within only enhanced its magnificence. My goodness it was cold out on the streets though and we walked home along deserted Fleet St and The Strand to watch 'Murder on the Orient Express'. Fitting.
It was very special spending Christmas Day in London.
26th Dec
We woke to a miserably cold and wet Boxing Day. London turned on one of their best winter days for our farewell. Determined not to miss anything we donned our coats and headed for Hyde Park. With only limited rail services due to the public holiday we were already wet by the time we got there. Not to be daunted, we walked the length of the Serpentine, stopping for a welcome hot chocolate along the way. Bit like we used to do when skiing Falls Creek. Come to think of it these are our ski parkers and mittens.
The Canadian Geese didn't mind the weather and seemed particularly happy to see me. No one else here to top up their tucker.
From there we walked down Oxford St and completed a circuit of the Soho area, the heart of London's music scene, with record stores and shops selling musical instruments lining the streets.
We finished in Leicester Square. In the middle is a small park with a statue of William Shakespeare in the middle of it. Then we found a pizza bar for a late lunch.
We spent a warmer afternoon relaxing at the UJC and had an early night in preparation for a long day of travel tomorrow. We are still in shock over Eric's lost wallet and so thankful Kenny is with us. He can help stake us for the travel on the continent. Then we can pay him back when we return to Butterworth. No other un-linked credit cards with us.
Oh how nice to be in civilized London. We landed at busy Heathrow airport at 8:30 pm where we were quickly ushered through the diplomatic immigration gates and in no time had caught the underground to Piccadilly and on to Waterloo Station. The Union Jack Club was located right across the street in Sandell St and the whole journey took less than 45 mins. It was warmer too without a trace of snow. We were entitled to stay at this All Ranks hotel since Eric was a seconded member of the RAAF. It wasn't salubrious but very affordable and a great location to base ourselves. They were very welcoming so we visited the bar for our first Pommie beer before bed. The exchange rate here is $10 Aust=£4.57 (pound sterling).
17th Dec
Woke to a huge breakfast and caught the train to Piccadilly. Just look how bright and cheerful London is in comparison to drab Moscow! Next we bought a 3 day London Explorer Pass for £8 which includes all trains and buses and turned out to be great value.
In the afternoon we visited Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum and spent a fun 2 hrs there meeting some of our heroes before going upstairs to the Planetarium.
At Leicester Square we went looking for discount tickets to a London Theatre production but found there were none for Cats or any of the other shows we were interested in. At the AA Club, not Alcoholics Anon. but the Auto Assoc. we picked up a copy of '9 Walks around Central London' which we found invaluable over the next few days. In fact we did the 'St James from Piccadilly' walk in the afternoon which took us from the Circus to Jermyn St, Fortnum & Mason, St James' Palace, St Jame's Square (bottom left), Waterloo Place (top left in pic below) and Haymarket.
And these are St Jame's Palace with the changing of the guards and the very noble-looking London Cabs
A most helpful English gentleman saw us studying maps in Piccadilly Circus and came to our assistance. He then insisted on taking our photos and promised to send them to us. Well, we figured we'd been suckered out of £5 here, too easy! How pleasantly surprised we were to find them in our mail when we returned to Butterworth. We walked home via Embankment Station to buy tickets for the opening show of Peter Pan for tomorrow night.
We crossed Waterloo Bridge where St Paul's looked superb on the evening London skyline despite all the cranes in view.
Had dinner at the club then went next door for a beer in a local pub before turning in.
18th Dec
We set out early to buy the tickets to Edinburgh £42 then walked to Buckingham Palace through Trafalgar Sq and Admiralty Arch. The Arch is an amazing building housing government offices which incorporates the archways providing road and pedestrian access to the Mall from Trafalgar Sq. Once through the arch, the Royal Horse Guards came up the Mall as we approached the palace, as if to meet us.
We spent a pleasant 2 hours in the National Gallery, seen in the background behind Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Sq where the pigeons are ever-present.
Enjoyed a lovely Italian dinner on the way home.
We packed our gear early and left our bags in the baggage room of the UJC then went to Bank Station to begin another walk, this time surrounded by the imposing old buildings of the Bank of England, Guildhall, Stock Exchange etc. Then we climbed the 311 steps of Wren's monument. The view across London's skyline shows the new telecom tower in the distance, St Paul's Cathedral in the midst with Wren's Monument in the foreground, built after the Great Fire of London. The view in the opposite direction features Tower Bridge.
We joined a tour of the Tower of London, both a Royal Palace and Fortress in a historic castle. The tour was conducted by a most entertaining Beefeater who regaled us with many interesting stories. Apparently legend says that the kingdom and the Tower will fall if the six resident ravens ever leave the fortress. According to the stories it was Charles II who first insisted that the ravens of the Tower should be protected. The ravens are actually kept captive and have their wings clipped.
We crossed the Thames via Tower Bridge after lunch on the riverbank in the clear, crisp sunshine.
20th Dec
We arrived in Edinburgh before 7am after about 7 hours on the Nightrider from London. Eric was missing his wallet but we hoped it was back at the UJC where we had left some luggage. We found accommodation at the Osbourne Hotel for £24. It is just a short walk from the station. That was a brisk walk in the crisp morning air so we felt quite refreshed and grabbed a pamphlet from the tourist info counter and began a walk of the Old Town.
We're on our way to visit friends in Ardrossan but are already delighted with our decision to stopover here. The walk to the Tourist Info Centre gave us our first glimpse of the skyline with the castle soaring above in one direction and Carlton Hill in the other. These were just becoming definable in the dawn light.
First stop of course was Edinburgh Castle, built on Castle Rock, an extinct volcano. By the time the tour ended the light had improved and so did our pictures.
Ramsay Garden is a block of sixteen private apartment buildings in the Castlehill area. They stand out for their red and white exteriors, and for their prominent position. Walking must be the best way to get around the Old Town area, where narrow passages and alleys (cloo-zes) run off both sides of the main street. We wandered down a few of them just to get the medieval feel of the Scottish capital back in the 12th C. Walking the Golden mile was truly beautiful. We stopped for brunch of soup and baked potatoes along the way and then continued towards Holyrood Palace. The weather was kind to us, clouding over at times but remaining dry.
The city has an interesting mix of architecture and the Prince's Gardens were beautiful. This lovely clock below adorns the Tollbooth dated 1591, it was here that the tolls or public dues were collected.
It also served as the council house, courtroom and prison for the Canongate. Although most of the prisoners were transferred to a newly built jail on Calton Hill. Its now a museum.
The large clock face is dated 1820 and replaced an earlier clock from the 17th Century.
Our walk ended at The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. We were too early for the tour so enjoyed a walk around the gardens first which were lovely but would be truly beautiful in Spring. The tour proved to be well worth waiting for.
We completed the day with a tramp up Carlton Hill to overlook the whole city. Among other things there is an observatory here but it was closed. We ate Italian nearby our hotel.
21st Dec
The coastal town of Ardrossan is located in Ayrshire, 30 miles from Glasgow. Currently it is home to Jenny, an ex-student from Croydon High School (where I used to teach) who is staying with Carol, a Scottish exchange teacher who spent a year with us at Croydon. We had planned to meet up with Jenny in London where she has been nannying but our timing coincided with her stay in Ardrossan, so there you have it, we are heading there too.
After a great night's sleep, in our first double bed since leaving Butterworth, we caught the train to Ardrossan via Glasgow (6 pound return). We had considered hiring a car to visit St Andrews, Loch Ness, etc but it all appeared too far and too expensive for our budget and timetable.
Jenny met us at the Ingledene Pub, then we checked in at the Stanley Hotel for 2 nights. We had a few drinks in the bar with Rosie, a Scottish Lass and Shona the barmaid. Rosie regaled us with tales of her teaching the wee ones (Primary teacher) and how when she left she would just be crossing the wee burn (creek) . In the evening we went to Carol and Kenny McGregor's for dinner and had a terrific night. Kenny was offering Glenfiddich but I knew better than to ask for it to be served with Coke.
Kenny was offering Glenfiddich but I knew better than to ask for it to be served with Coke. There house is in this very neat street, Sorbie St.
22nd Dec
So instead we caught a bus for Ayr and took an interesting drive along the coast. Went by this exciting bit of real estate on the way - Royal Troon Golf Course but I don't remember the weather improving as much as the picture suggests. Must have been an instantaneous break in the clouds. Ayr was bustling with last-minute Christmas shoppers, otherwise it would be a quaint little spot by the sea. It has a large sandy beach but doesn't rate with Australian ones. Scotland's national bard, Robert Burns, was born in Alloway, on the outskirts of the town. As we ventured home we watched the sun setting at 3:45pm.
Back in Ardrossan we went to the 'Melbourne Café ' of all things, for Fish and Chips for dinner. It was beautiful haddock. Then we met Jenny, Carol and Kenny in the bar of the Stanley. Shona was pulling beers again along with the owner. She's a Singaporean! When the pub shut we were invited to stay on in the bar for a private party since it is a very rare thing to have tourists in Ardrossan. I remember finding it very difficult to climb the stairs to our room that night as the walls and stairs were covered in tartan and it all seemed to be moving.
23rd Dec
Woke to another huge Scottish breakfast at the Stanley then caught the 10am train to Edinburgh. Jenny joined us to Glasgow - she's going to do some Xmas shopping. We had a 3hr wait for the next train to York. It was a nice clear day so we got to see Edinburgh in good light and appreciate its beauty all over again.
We travelled on to York, passing through lush Northern England countryside and the beautiful town of Berwick on Tweed, just to name one.
24th Dec
The next morning, map in hand we began our walk of the town after depositing our gear at the station. We began on the wall itself, surrounded by fog which appeared doomed to hang around all day. Through it we were able to glimpse the towers of the minster and the beautiful river. Fortunately the fog did lift later.
Heading back into town, where the light was now much improved, we were charmed by the quaint, cobblestone malls of the York business district. We'd spent about 5 hours discovering York before boarding the train at 2pm, just as the fog began descending again.
The London underground was hectic with last minute Xmas shoppers and buskers singing carols. We made our way to the British Museum only to be disappointed; closed 24/25 and 26th Dec. Will not get to visit it this trip.
Went back to the UJC only to be confronted with another disappointment; Eric's wallet, which he had hoped he had left behind, was not among our things. It seems he was pick-pocketed on the train to Edinburgh. We spent the evening ringing VISA and the police and spent a quiet night in.
25th Dec
26th Dec
The Canadian Geese didn't mind the weather and seemed particularly happy to see me. No one else here to top up their tucker.
We spent a warmer afternoon relaxing at the UJC and had an early night in preparation for a long day of travel tomorrow. We are still in shock over Eric's lost wallet and so thankful Kenny is with us. He can help stake us for the travel on the continent. Then we can pay him back when we return to Butterworth. No other un-linked credit cards with us.
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