Da Trip
That's how I thought of it while I was planning: Da Trip. Two weeks spent trekking around Britain with my Mum, BritRail passes to ensure unlimited rail travel, and expensees mostly paid by her. All I had to do was come up with an itinerary. So, I pulled out the guidebooks I borrowed from my Aunt and got to work. My initial itinerary looked something like this:
| Sat. 3/21 | Ealasaid goes to London in afternoon | Victoria Hotel near Victoria Station. |
| Sun. 3/28 - Fri. 4/2 |
London! Mom arrives Sunday at Gatwick S. Terminal, 8:25am on Virgin Airlines Stuff to see: The Tower of London, Hard Rock Cafe (dinnr?), Westminster Abbey, Royal Botanical Gardens, The British Museum (Elgin Marbles!), Tite Street (Oscar lived at #34), Cliveden House is in Taplow, just outside London. Afternoon trip? Thursday: Lunch with Mom's friend Cecile. |
Georgian House Hotel |
| Wed. 3/31 | Oxford - lunch with Ealasaid's pal. (daytrip from London) Stuff to see: The Colleges (get pamphlet from Tourist Centre for opening times), The Bodleian Library, The Ashmolean Museum |
__ |
| Stratford and Warwick (daytrip from London) Stuff to see: Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Warwick Castle |
__ | |
| Bath (daytrip from London?) Stuff to see: The Roman Baths and Museum of Costume (joint tix cheaper), Bath Abbey, Royal Victoria Park - gardens! |
If not daytrip: Lyn Shearn Prior House | |
| Salisbury (daytrip from London?) Stuff to see: Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehenge (buses from train station), Avebury! |
If not a daytrip: The Old Bakery (15th Century building!) | |
| Sat. 4/3 | Nottingham Stuff to see: EVERYTHING! Nottingham Castle, Castle Museum, Brewhouse Yard Museum, North of Nottingham: Newstead Abbey and Sherwood Forest |
Mr. Gent |
| Sun. 4/4 - Mon. 4/5 |
York! Stuff to see: The Minster, The Walls, #Clifford's Tower, #Jorvik Viking Centre, Castle Museum, #Scarborough Castle and #Whitby Abbey (North York Moors Nat'l Park - daytrip?), Lendal Cellars for dinner. |
My dorm room, or B&B for Mom |
| Tues. 4/6 | Hadrian's Wall (daytrip from York) Stuff to see: #The Wall!, Roman Army Museum, #Housesteads Roman Fort, #Vindolanda, #Birdoswald Roman Fort |
-- |
| Wed. 4/7 | Cardiff (optional) Cardiff Castle, Museum of Welsh Life and St. Fagan's Park, Llandaff Cathedral, Caerphilly Castle (take train) |
T Gwyn or Mrs. Bracken |
| Thurs. 4/8 - Fri. 4/9 | Wye Valley Hiking! Valley Walk, #Chepstow Castle, St. Briavel's Castle, Hay-on-Wye (bookstores!!), #Tintern Abbey |
Uh... ask Tourist Board. |
| Sat. 4/10 | Back to London - Mom leaves Heathrow 11am on Virgin. | Ealasaid back to York |
The basic idea was to have some flexibility, but know what we wanted to do. And while I didn't really think we'd do everything I had listed under "Stuff to see," I didn't see why we shouldn't get to 90% of it. I didn't make any reservations (at Mom's request) so we wouldn't be locked in. We figured that since it was the beginning of the season, there wouldn't be any problems. Ha ha.
If you know anything about trips of this sort, you've probably been chuckling at the above. Looking back, I think I can safely say it was very overambitious. But I'd never planned or even been on a trip of this sort, so I had no idea what I was doing anyway!
Our days were packed, but we didn't see anything like all of the things I'd originally planned to. It was still a complete blast, even with the Great Train Adventure (or, rather, Misadventure) and our difficulties at Hadrian's Wall. Below is our actual itinerary; I've also written up a more detailed account (illustrated with photos and postcards) - clicking on a date in the itinerary itself will jump you directly to that part of the report, or you can look at...
| Part One Sat. 3/27 - Tues. 3/30 |
Part Two Wed. 3/31 - Sat. 4/3 |
Part Three Sun. 4/4 - Wed. 4/7 |
Part Four Thurs. 4/8 - Sun. 4/11 |
| Sat. 3/27 | Ealasaid to London | International Student House |
| Sun. 3/28 | Mom arrives! Gatwick 8:25am, Virgin Airlines. See Tourist Info Centre (TIC) for lodging, then rail to Stratford. | Aidan House, Stratford |
| Mon. 3/29 | Stratford-Upon-Avon Stuff to see: Stratford Bus Tour and Warwick Castle |
Aidan House |
| Tues. 3/30 | Bath Stuff to see: Roman Baths, Pump Room, Botanical Gardens |
Originally, Toad Hall. Ended up at The Gardens |
| Wed. 3/31 | Ealasaid to Oxford, Mom stays in Bath Stuff to see:E - lunch with pal, various colleges. Mom: - Costume Museum, Library. The Great Train Adventure! |
The Gardens |
| Thurs. 4/1 | London Stuff to see: Mom's friend Cecile, Hyde Park, tea at Kensington Palace; sundaes at the Hard Rock Cafe. |
Mrs. Royle in Kew Gardens (just outside London) |
| Fri. 4/2 | London, Day Two! Stuff to see: London Bus Tour, Marble Arch, Kensington Palace, Plunkett & Macleane. |
Mrs. Royle |
| Sat. 4/3 | London, Day Three! Stuff to see: The Tower of London. |
Mrs. Royle |
| Sun. 4/4 | London, Day Four! Stuff to see: Hampton Court Palace, then rail to York. |
Ealasaid's Room in Goodricke College (guess who slept on the floor). |
| Mon. 4/5 | York Stuff to see: The Walls - Mickelgate Bar Museum, Richard III Museum; Clifford's tower, York Minster. |
Ealasaid's Room. |
| Tues. 4/6 | Hadrian's Wall Area Stuff to see: Unable to see any of the Wall stuff, but did see Hexam Abbey, Carlisle Cathedral, and Carlisle Castle. |
Ealasaid's Room |
| Wed. 4/7 | Errands in York, Rail to Chepstow | Wye View in Tintern. |
| Thurs. 4/8 | The Wye Valley Stuff to see: hiked up to Devil's Pulpit, Tintern Rail Station (now a musem) |
Wye View |
| Fri. 4/9 | Wye Valley Stuff to see: Tintern Abbey, Chepstow Castle. |
Sheraton Heathrow in London |
| Sat. 4/10 | Heathrow Airport: Mom leaves. Stuff to see: Ealasaid to Westminster Abbey, then rail to Bath |
The Gardens, Bath |
| Sun. 4/11 | Salisbury Stuff to see: Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral before rail back to York. |
Back in Goodricke College, York. |
