With the smallest of pushes from myself, Libby and I have decided to take a second trip to Britain. Our flight leaves from SeaTac airport on 23 April 2012, and lands in London, at Heathrow airport, 24 April 2012 (we lose a day because the flight is 9 hours, and GMT is 7 hours ahead of PDT). On our honeymoon in Britain, we traveled from Bath, to Morton-on-Marsh, Edinburgh, York (with a short jont to Hadrian's wall), and finally to London. On this trip we will only be going as far north as Durham. As for what our vague itinerary will be, other than Bath we plan to visit, London, York, Durham, Winchester, Canterbury, Cambridge, Oxford (and Blenheim Palace), and possibly Dover.
For Libby's birthday I bought her a Nikon D3100. Since then she has been studying photography and learning better how to use the camera, and has taken some really great pictures (of which I would link to here, but she has forbade me to link to her Flikr account). I'm excited for the new photographs we'll be able to get this time with something other than an iPhone and crappy Sony point-and-shoot.
In Bath we will probably visit some of the same sights we did on our honeymoon. I'm excited to re-visit some of the sites we were able to see last time like Bath's abbey, the Roman Baths, and the town itself. We plan on seeing some of the adjacent towns nearby, like Wells. Also, there is a tourbus called Mad Max Tours that we signed up for. We chose the Full-day one with Stonehenge and Avebury. We may also visit The Holburne Museum. The last time we were in Bath, we had wandered across the Pultney bridge and walked down to it out of curiosity. It was closed at the time--I think for refurbishment--but I had decided I wanted to go in someday. Hopefully we'll be able to this time.
From Bath we will go on to Oxford; specifically our visit to Oxford is for the purpose of visiting Blenheim Palace. Oxford was the impromptu plan B when we went to Morton-on-Marsh (henceforth "Morton"). Our original plan had been to stay at Morton and travel to to Straford-upon-Avon (henceforth Stratford). The idea was to visit the hometown of Shakespeare and maybe take in a show. That however was not to be, as our arrival in Morton was, 1 January 2011, and in an area that has poor public transportation on a good day, had virtually none around New Years. Our only option would have been a very expensive taxi ride. So instead of traveling to Stratford we decided to take a short train ride to Oxford and spend a day there. Our plan B ended up being well worth it. We were unable to go into many of the buildings (because of the time of year I think), but hearing a bit about the University and city was fascinating. The few buildings and quads we were able to visit were really interesting. On the walking tour we joined, we learned first hand what the term "chalk one up" meant, and got to see one of the most important libraries in the world--Bodleian. On this trip we will stay two days and a night so that we can visit Blenheim Palace. Our stay, the dates what they are, will most likely not allow us to see much in the colleges, as I read that May is final exam time for Oxford's students and the colleges are closed to visitors.
Our journey will then take us to the city of York with a day trip to Durham to visit the Durham cathedral. The last time we were in York we loved it. The Shambles, one of the older sections of York, contains some buildings from the fourteenth century! That is, the buildings are contemporary with Chaucer, Richard II, and the Black Prince. The last time we were in York, the York Minster's giant stained glass window was being worked on, blocking our view. There was a plastic tarp over top of it on both sides with the life-sized image of the glass printed on it, but obviously wasn't the same. Building construction was a bit of a theme the last time we were in Britain. I think maybe construction or refurbishment of historic and tourist interests may be, where possible, done mostly during the low season as to be ready for the crowds of Spring and Summer. Hopefully the buildings in Oxford, the York Minster, and London tower will not have scaffolding covering the outside of them.
For a while now I've wanted to visit Durham. It is a little over an hour's train ride north of York between York and Newcastle. The cathedral in Durham was in the Harry Potter films, and the resting place of the Venerable Bede and St. Cuthbert. Aside from that I really don't know what else I want to see there. Honestly, I've just seen pictures of the city and have kind of become infatuated with it.
London will be our home city for the duration of the trip. All sites and other cities will be seen from the comfort of a Premier Inn in London. The extraneous cities we wish to visit are: Winchester, Canterbury (the seat of the Archbishopric of the UK), and possibly Dover and Cambridge. The last time we were in London we had a great time. The biggest downside then was the place we stayed at. It was very affordable but it was in the basement and got little airflow. Not to mention we had some overly noisy neighbors a few nights.
After nine nights in London we will make our way home. Please follow the blog and let us know what you want to know that we may be neglecting in the posts, and tell us what you think about the pictures. We really appreciated all the views, and comments last time.
