I was looking forward to visiting York, but I had very little idea of what to expect... a small, picturesque walled city on the borders of Scotland, perhaps? I'd wanted to visit ever since falling in love with the slack-jawed way the Prince announced "Wallace has sacked York!" in Braveheart. In actual fact, William Wallace didn't make it that far south, but the quote is certainly the reason behind my faulty geography! Rich in mediaeval buildings, including the walls and the enormous Minster, York is the city of the Original Ghost Walk. Ghost walks are advertised all over England n [View Full Entry]

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Following my literary trail of thought, the next destination was Stratford-Upon-Avon, home of the Bard. I'd been tossing up between Stratford and other destinations, and realised that I was just being silly - I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go to Stratford. Not just because because of my interest in its most famous resident, but also because it's supposed to be one of the prettiest towns in the country. I was in the mood for pretty. At Oxford's bus station I found myself in the queue behind a tour group of Argentinian students and their teachers, also Stratford bound. It's [View Full Entry]

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From Bath, I was Oxford bound. I was excited about seeing it, because it's so famous and always recommended by those who visit. To make sure I got there without delay, I reserved my seat on the only daily NX service between the two cities. This turned out to be a bit of a joke, since I was one of only half a dozen passengers on the coach. Arriving in the evening, I saw masses and masses of bicycles glinting in their serried ranks, the traditional steeds of the city on display, awaiting the five o'clock rush. Once I had had [View Full Entry]

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I've wanted to visit Bath ever since I can remember - the first time I heard of there being such a place is lost in the mists of time. I seem just always to have known of its existence. I was so anxious to be there that I hot-footed it to the Exeter bus station and was early for my bus. The chattering bus driver made the journey from Devon to Somerset a little different - he suffered from delusions of grandeur, announcing everything as though he was an airline pilot, hence: "Bing bong, this is your captain speaking. Welcome on [View Full Entry]

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Arriving in Plymouth still dreaming of castles and wild Cornish coastlands, I found a complete contrast in the orderly naval town. It has been an important base of the British Navy through all its major naval battles, from the attacks of the Armada and Napolean to the wars of the twentieth century. Unsuprisingly, then, my first view of the harbour encompassed small water craft of all varieties with a backdrop of enormous grey battleships. Birds and helicopters whirled overhead. I walked along the high esplanade known as the Hoe, admiring the magnificent views of the harbour. This broad [View Full Entry]

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If you haven't been, you should plan a trip to Tintagel. If you've been lucky enough to visit, then like me, you probably hope to return one day. It's just that sort of place. When I started planning my travels, a friend gave me very firm advice to visit. The castle had made such an impression on her that I was intrigued, and never having heard of it, looked it up in my guidebook to learn more. Very shortly it was high on my "must see" list. It was a bit of a mission to get to without a car - [View Full Entry]

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Due in Newquay on the Saturday to meet up with friends, but faced with limited buses, I decided arriving early was a better option than arriving late. A nasty shock awaited me when I went online in Bournemouth to book my seat, though: the only direct journey was already full! An extremely roundabout overnight route back through London would deposit me in Newquay at an ungodly hour of the morning, but given my record sleeping while travelling, I knew that would be a looong night, and was keen to avoid it if I could... Worried but refusing to panic, I headed [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in Bournemouth bright and early, full of enthusiasm and determined to find a place for the night straight away, so I could leave my bags and go exploring. Unfortunately my expectations were a leetle too high. The bored guy at the Tourist Information Centre in the bus station told me straight away that the Backpacker’s limited opening hours were the reason I had not been able to reach them on the phone the night before. Conveniently, they are open for a whole hour every day. Between five and six in the evening. Gee. It was nine thirty in the [View Full Entry]

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Chatting with the superintendent at the Brighton Coach Station, I was assured of a place on the morning coach along to Southampton - however my friend noticed that my hard won buss pass was invalid, due to the London issuer having written an expiry date which preceeded the start date. He recommended I ask the kind folk at the Southampton National Express Office to sort it out. And just when I thought I was well on my holiday! The bus came in, and we had a very pretty, sunny drive along the coast, via the small sea-side town of Worthing, past [View Full Entry]

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All the stress of packing and leaving London evaporated on the way out of the city, and the bus seemed to fly over the chokehold of the encircling M25. I was elated to be on my way, and even the immediate ten minute stop in a grimy bus stand at Gatwick failed to bring my spirits down. I people watched shamelessly, and was very taken with the sight of an airhostess in a tight, bright pink number stopping at a bench, removing her high heels and replacing them with an even higher pair from the depths of her cabin bag! Gatwick [View Full Entry]

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