Yesterday, we left Durham and made our way to York, via Whitby. We stopped off at Whitby Abbey, the site of an Anglo-Saxon abbey. When we left Durham, there were a few clouds in the sky. By the time we arrived in Whitby, it was wet and misty. Our first taste of true English weather! We were fortunate enough to be at the abbey at the right time, because when we had finished our exploration, more of the ruins were shrouded in fog. We then drove on to York in the afternoon. We did not do much. We visited the historic laudrette in York before going out for dinner. Today, we spent all of the morning exploring the Minster. We walked through the Museum Gardens between our place and the old city, where we saw our ... read more

Today was another big driving day with very little action in between. We called into Coventry on our way to Durham to see the tapestry of 'Christ in Glory' that hang in the Cathedral. The present Cathedral was built in the 1950s, after the original Cathedral was destroyed by incendary bombs during WWII. The new Cathedral still has a modern look and feel, given the date that it was built. We then drove on to Spondon, in Derbyshire, so that I (Terry) could visit where my grandparents lived before they came to Australia in 1914. Then we made our way (almost 3 hours of motorway driving) to Durham. We decided to leave visiting the Norman Cathedral and Castle until tomorrow to make sure that we can give them the thorough exploration they deserve.... read more

We started the morning visiting Glastonbury Abbey. Although it is just ruins, you can really imagine what it might have been like in its time. It was a serene place. We then travelled to Wells. We saw the Cathedral there with its beautiful façade and its amazingly famous scissor arches. The Bishop’s Palace was equally impressive and the wells that the city is named after, which apparently produce approximately 1,000 litres per minute. The gardens of the palace were so stunning and so English that it wasn’t funny. We then drove on to Bath and visited the famous Roman Baths and Bath Abbey. In the evening, we went for dinner and on the way back to the motel, we saw some Morris dancing. It had to be seen to be believed.... read more

Today we made our way from Spain to England. We arrived at the airport to find that our flight had been cancelled by AirComet, but that they had not provided us with seats on another flight. Fortunately, we were able to come to an arrangement which allowed us to leave at our scheduled time. We arrived at Gatwick and picked up our hire car to drive to Canterbury. Despite having a sat nav we circled the airport a number of times to try and find the right way to Canterbury. For some reason, the sat nav kept giving us a bum steer. Once at Canterbury, we headed for the old town to see the 11th century Cathedral. The pictures don’t really do its magnificence justice. The Cathedral’s simplicity is in stark contrast to those in Spain. ... read more

Today we made our way to Toledo in air conditioned comfort, which was short lived as the temperature reached 36C today. Despite the heat, it was a most enjoyable and interesting day touring this medieval town that is a UNESCO heritage site. As we approached the city, walking from the station, we saw the remains of the town's walls and gates. We made our way to Tolede Cathedral, and spent the next two hours exploring its many wonders. We could have spend much longer there to appreciate its beauty and history. We even say the processional monstrance, the largest in Christendom, made of silver and gold, containing the smaller monstrance that belonged to Isabella the Catholic. They also had a Corpus Christi procession on the day of the festival. We then explored many of the small ... read more