Our man in England

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29 May - 13 June

I arrived in London very late and woke up very late to a beautiful sunny day in London. After resting the first day I went to the Indian High Consulate to begin my visa process. I was hoping to get a visa in one day but, no, because I hold a US passport there not only is a higher processing fee but it takes 3-5 days to process instead of one day. What is it with US passports in Europe?

So I spent a day or two walking around London and seeing the sights and generally being a tourist. But very quickly it became apparent that London is one damn expensive city. Once realizing that (over a $4 cup of coffee) I spent a lot of time just trying to figure out why everything is so expensive. Sure, the pound is twice as strong as the dollar, but why exactly is the pound so strong. The English economy is strong but not nearly as strong as the US economy - in many things (manufacturing, exports, oil production, technology) the US is ahead (as far as I know). And traveling in other countries the US dollar is still the preferred foreign currency. So I just never figured out why everything was so expensive; but that's not surprising as I don't have the business sense to run a lemonade stand much less comprehend international monetary fluctuations. All I knew was that I had to get out of London, and quick, or my own money would quickly fluctuate to nothing.

So I searched the internet (ah, sweet blessed internet!) and found a nice climbing area in the Peak District north of London near the city of Sheffield. The closest place with amenities such a lodging and food was the quintessentially quaint and lovely village of Hathersage. From Hathersage it was a sixty or ninety minute walk to the climbing area at either Stanage Edge or Burbage Valley. Stanage Edge is a very popular spot for climbing and, as it was one of the first developed climbing areas in England, is quite appropriately famous and historic. It's basically a 25-30 meter tall exposed cliff edge that continues for maybe two miles at the top of a hill. The best part of the whole thing is that to get there (unless you have a car or take a bus) you can walk through the beautiful countryside on a very extensive and well-maintained network of public footpaths. These footpaths are all over England and you can literally walk for weeks without taking the same path twice. The other strange/nice thing about the footpaths is what appears to be the wholehearted support of the private landowners. I walked on footpaths that literally took me through the front yards and driveways of homes (estates, really) that must have cost millions of dollars. If I saw somebody who lived or worked there I would always ask "Are you sure it's okay if I walk across here?" and they invariably would smilingly respond "Sure, sure come on through, it's no problem." With years of experience of doing authorized archaeological fieldwork on private land I just can't imagine private landowners in the US (particularly in the west and especially in Texas) being willing to put up with the same thing at all.

The countryside was beautiful and legend has it that this was the stomping ground of Little John of Robin Hood fame. And then one day it struck me. Here is an imbecilic young(ish) traveller (me) who literally gets tossed out of continental Europe on his ass, staggers to a temporary refuge in the British Isles, has to then flee the moneypit called London, and somehow finds himself walking on public footpaths through beautiful Robin Hood scenery without a care in the world, just waiting for a visa to India to clear. Life's pretty funny, aint it?

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