Last Night in England

We spent our last night in England blogging, drinking wine and scotch, and remembering all the fabulous places we visited and how much fun we had. We got a lot of laughs when Bill tried to set up the timer on the camera to take this picture. Where are Amy and Brenna when you need them. We now call him "Twinkle Toes".

Day 8 - The Sun Came Back Out

The day began with a visit to Winchester Cathedral, the longest medieval cathedral in Britain. The Cathedral was right next to our hotel, so it was an easy walk.

After leaving Winchester, we headed for Portsmouth. Tom and Bill wanted to see the HMS Victory. Debbie and Lisa visited the shops instead. They even found the Quay Outlet Mall. Tom and Bill toured the HMS Victory and the HMS Warrior. They were very impressed and could have spent a whole day there instead of 2 hours. They saw the spot where Admiral Nelson was mortally wounded at the Battle of Trafalgar. The HMS Warrior was the first iron clad steam assisted sailing ship in the world. The grates in her boilers were manufactured in Coalbrookdale.

After leaving Portsmouth, we headed for Windsor Castle. The last admission was at 4:00 and we were cutting it close. We took a wrong turn and had to back track, so Bill dropped Tom, Lisa and Debbie off at the gates so we could get there on time. We made it by 5 minutes. Bill went to park the car and make a business call while the rest of us toured Windsor Castle. It was amazing. It could possibly put Versailles to shame.

Our last meal in Britain was at the Harvester Grill near our hotel. We were all very sad that our trip was coming to an end. We had a good dinner but it was bittersweet.

Day 8 - The Day of the Rain

We began the day with a lovely breakfast in the Conservatory at Bibury Court. The view was so beautiful that even the dreary rain could not dampen our spirits. After breakfast we drove to Bath. This was possibly the most scenic drive of the trip.

As the rain continued our first stop was Bath. We visited the Roman Baths which was very interesting. Then we toured the Bath Abbey, a 15th century medieval church with remarkable carved frontage and amazing fan vaulting. On the way back to the car, we passed the Pulteney Bridge which according to Google is one of the most beautiful and romantic bridges in the world. We disagree.

Stonehenge in the rain!! Despite the drizzle and cold, we visited Stonehenge. There were no surprises here. It was what we expected. No one has been able to figure out exactly how the stones were placed, and neither could Bill and Tom.

Our last stop of the day was Salisbury Cathedral. This cathedral has the tallest spire and largest cloisters in England. The spire is 404 feet tall and weighs 6400 tons. It also has one of only 4 copies of the Magna Carta.

We ended the day in Winchester. It was late when we arrived, so we had a simple dinner in the hotel bar.

Day 7 - The Cotswolds

Our first stop of the day was the Iron Bridge in Coalbrookdale. This was the day Tom had been waiting for. It was the first bridge in the world to be made of iron. It was built in 1779. One could not help but be owerwhelmed by the sense that we were standing at the birth place of the world as we know it(quoted by Tom). Lisa and Debbie visited the shops while Tom and Bill went to the Museum of Iron (yes that really is a place). Tom wanted to visit the Pipe Museum thinking it was a museum of iron pipe. We found out later it was a museum of smoking pipes. They never did find the museum and they were glad.

After leaving Coalbrookdale we began our Cotswolds tour. We visited villages with names like Chipping Campden, Stow-on-the-Wold, Burton-on-the-Marsh, Chipping Norton, Cirencester and Morton-in-Marsh. Each town was more picturesque than the next. There were grazing sheep, rolling hills and cottages with thatched roofs. It was very quaint.

Our hotel in the Cotswolds was Bibury Court, an estate built for gentry in 1663. A touch of heaven, the estate was a maze or corridors and rooms but no lift. The guys had to schlep the luggage up to the third floor. Debbie and Bill were in the Mayflower room and Tom and Lisa were in the Galileo Room.

We ended the day with a 5 star dining experience in the Oak Room. We had a table overlooking the grounds and the Coln River. Our waiter was a lawyer from Spain who was working in England to improve his English.

Day 6 - Yorkshire

On our way down from Scotland, we were going to stop and see Hadrian's Wall but we missed the turn off. Then we were going to see Lumley Castle but we missed the turn off. So our first stop of the day ended up being the Durham Cathedral. The Cathedral has been described as one of the great architectural experiences of Europe. It is renowned as a masterpiece of Romanesque architecture.

Our first stop in York was Betty's. Everyone who has ever been to York said, "You have to go to Betty's." So we did and we were not disappointed. Lisa and Debbie enjoyed afternoon tea while the guys had finger sandwiches and beer. The beer they had was from the oldest distillery in York.

After lunch we explored the York Minster. It is the largest Gothic Cathedral in northern Europe with incredible stained glass and central tower.

After seeing the York Minster we strolled around York for awhile until we found the Shambles. The Shambles is the best preserved medieval street in Britain.

We checked into our hotel in York and luckily there was a pub right across the street named the Fox and Roman. We walked to the restaurant and had a great meal. They guys really liked it because they did not have to drive or navigate.

Day 5 - Scotland

We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at our hotel, nestled on a hill overlooking the Braid Hills Golf Course. We then hopped the bus and headed for the Royal Mile. First stop was the Edinburgh Castle. It was fantastic. The views of Edinburgh from the castle walls were "lovely."

Our next stop was St. Giles Cathedral further along the Royal Mile. Debbie forgot to bring "Flat Calvin" along so that she could take a picture of him next to the statue of John Knox. The Cathedral was very impressive, the Royal Mile not so much. The Royal Mile was the Scottish version of Silver Dollar City (very touristy). Tom did find one shop that he was very interested in.

We left Edinburgh to start our tour of the Scottish countryside. First stop Glenkinchie Distillery. It was out in the middle of nowhere, but Tom spied the stack for the boilers. Then we spotted the black and white stripped pole, and we were there. We took a tour of the distillery and our tour group was truly international, two guys from Italy and a family from India. During the tasting portion, the wife of the Indian family made it very clear she did not approve of her husband sampling the scotch whiskey. Deb and Lisa now know way more about scotch then they ever wanted to know.

We ended our Scotland tour with a visit to the Rosslyn Chapel. It is a little known gem hidden in the countryside of the Scottish Lowlands. It is out in the middle of nowhere, but it was worth driving down cowpaths and over hill and dale to find.

We ended the day at a local pub, The King's Wark, located in Edinburgh's Leith neighborhood near the wharf. It was a very typical Scottish pub, definitely not a tourist trap. We met a log truck driver from Alberta, Canada who was visiting his Scottish girlfriend.