Road Trip through England + Christmas

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The next leg of our trip is two weeks through the UK - mostly England and Scotland. Although we flew into Cardiff, we simply did not have enough time to explore it in any detail. Rather we grabbed a hire car and headed straight for the amazing city of Bath. This city is famous for a number of reasons, but none more that the ancient roman bath house which was discovered in the 19th century buried in years of river silt. The Romans came to this area around 44AD and established a fortified town which was centred around the only natural hot springs found in England. As the city developed an extensive set of baths were built completely enclosing the springs. Eventually the Romans left England and the baths were eventually covered with silt from the nearby river flooding. The baths covered a huge area and were rather complex with enclosed drainage pipes to allow the baths to be drained, settlement tanks to ensure the water remains pure, and even a number of saunas with underfloor heating! The most amazing part was that the staff clean the baths quarterly and drain them in exactly the same manner as the Romans did. Essentially the complex drainage systems still function as it did 2000 years ago! It was pretty amazing to see it in such amazing condition, and those parts which had been reconstructed were done in a manner making it easier to picture how they must have looked.

After taking in a few more sites in Bath, we headed out of town in the direction of Stonehenge. With light fading quickly we were pushing along to make it, and actually arrived only five minutes before the gates closed. Stonehenge is an amazing site to see, however it is somewhat underwhelming. It has become such a tourist trap that it is roped off all the way around and enclosed in a fenced paddock. To even get into the roped off area it cost a ridiculous 7 pnds. Fi and I chose the cheap-ass option and checked it out from behind the fence (which was only about 10 metres back from the roped in area). It was amazing to look at those giant blocks of stone and wonder how (and who) had managed to move them, and then arrange them in such a formation that they are still standing 5000 years later. We'd had a taste of this at Bru Na Boinne, but the engineering feat of Stonehenge is somewhat more perplexing. After enjoying Stonehenge from the cheap seats, we jumped in the car and headed for our next destination - the seafaring town of Portsmouth.

The next morning we woke up and made our way down to the historic docklands. Portsmouth lies on the southern coast of England and has a long maritime history both military and civilian. Today it is a major attraction for the those salty sea-dog tourists among us (ie Fiona). First on the list was a tour of HMS Victory, Flagship of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson when he was victorious at the Battle of Trafalgar. Unfortunately it was his last battle and we was mortally wounded whilst standing on the deck of the ship during the battle. Although about 250 years old, this sail powered battleship is still a commission vessel in Her Majesties Navy, and is maintained by both civil and military personnel. Having studied naval history at ADFA I'd done a few assignments on Nelson and Trafalgar and was pretty excited to see the Victory, and it didn't disappoint. The ship was maintained in immaculate condition and the tour took us from the deck right down into the bowels of ship. The tour guide talked us through the daily life on the ship and showed us how the sailors of the day lived - it was a really amazing experience.

Next up was a visit to the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's flagship which sank in an engagement with French forces almost 500 years ago. It was recently discovered and raised from the bottom of the ocean with half the hull intact. Over 14,000 artifacts including books were found which is quite amazing seeing she sank in 1545. Following the Mary-Rose we had a look at the HMS Warrior, an iron clad battleship from the 1860's which was immaculately maintained and completely open to the public to wander. It was a great contrast to a variety of vessels which have symbolised the power of the British Navy over the past 500 years. Another interesting part of the Dockyard complex was the figurehead museum which featured the carved figureheads attached to the bow-spirits of ships over the passed couple of centuries - it was all pretty cool. Such a large complex took us the entire day to get through and it was soon dark and we had to make the walk back to the hotel in the dark before finding a dirt cheap takeout place and enjoyed a £2.90 chicken curry - super tasty.

Next morning we woke and had to make the journey into London. Driving in the UK is not much fun, and we were dreading having to drive through London's streets, so we decided to make a couple of stops on the way. First stop was the town of Winchester which was England's Capital in Saxon times, and the home of King Alfred the Great. Apparently he was a top bloke, but he wasn't the reason we were there. Winchester is the home to Winchester Cathedral, one of the finest cathedral's in England and it didn't disappoint. A combination of two cathedral's, one built in the 11th Century and the other in the 12th, this place was huge beyond description - in fact it is the longest cathedral in Europe. Upon walking inside you immediately felt dwarfed by the huge gothic vaulted ceiling which must have been 6 or 7 stories high - absolutely huge. For such an old church, it was maintained in immaculate condition and was amazing to walk around - I've attached some photos as it's just way too difficult to describe in words.

After our stop in Winchester it was off to Windsor to say hello to the Queen at Windsor Castle - just a pity someone forgot to tell her we were coming and she wasn't there. Windsor Castle is the oldest, still-functioning castle/palace in Europe and is unbelievably lavish. A considerable portion of the Castle is open to the public while the Queen is not in residence, and access is given to rooms which are often used by the Queen for official purposes. We enjoyed a guided tour of the grounds before entering the castle and touring the state rooms using those recorded tour head set thingies. The rooms we saw we absolutely amazing - the walls were lined with amazing works of art, weapons from all ages and huge tapestries. One of the artworks on display was a Ruebens worth £150,000,000 - crazy. Some rooms had the ceilings painted in amazing works of art, the others were covered in ornate, gold leafed decorations. Each room seemed more amazing than the last - it was breathtaking. Finally we made our way down to St. George's Cathedral where Prince Charles married Camilla and where Henry the VIII and Jane Seymour were interred. It was amazing to be wandering around a place which was so rich in history - maybe one day they will have a sign up which says 'Fiona Southwood visited here in December 2008 with her incredibly attractive husband”. Then again....maybe not. After Windsor we made our way into London through the crazy traffic guided by our trusty GPS which occasionally confuses one way roads and no-thru roads with four lane freeways.....but we made it alive......just.

The next day we woke to explore the sites of London. Our first stop the famous changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, so we caught 'The Tube' from Kings Cross into the city. We found our way to Buckingham Palace about an hour before the ceremony and found thousands of tourists already vieing for a key vantage point. We found ourselves a front row seat at the parade ground in front of the palace and waited in the cold. Before too long we could hear the band and the new guard marched on to the parade ground, off the parade ground and behind the gates of the palace....to where they conduct the parade. We were completely wrong about where the parade took place, and from where we'd sat for the past hour all we could see were the top of their ridiculous hats bobbing up and down as they marched around - what a waste of time! So not wanting to waste anymore time we left Buckingham Palace and headed for Trafalgar Square. We paid our respects to the huge statue of Nelson at the front of the square and Fiona got to chase the pigeons around. Once Fiona had exhausted herself we found our way to the the Second World War Cabinet Rooms. These rooms were the secret underground bunkers which Winston Churchill and the Cabinet ran the war effort from. The great thing about this tour was that once the war had been one, the staff simply turned off the lights and left the bunker and some of the rooms were still in exactly the same condition when they re-opened the facility as a tourist attraction in the 80's. When they were setting it up, they even found secret stashes of sugar (which was quite a commodity during the war) which had been left when the rooms were shut down. It was a pretty cool place to vist - even the original maps were still on the walls. After the tour we enjoyed a picnic lunch of what had become our staple while traveling - banana and honey sandwiches. We sat in the shadow of 'Big Ben' in a park between Parliament House and Westminster Abbey and although it was cold and windy the view was worth it. Unfortunately it was Sunday so we couldn't see Westminster Abbey, so we decided to have a long walk along the Thames past the London Eye. We wound our way through the markets situated on the boardwalk before the sun disappeared. As usual we found ourselves feeling tired by about 8pm so we hit the sack and had an early night.

Next day we decided to pay a visit to the number one tourist attraction in London - the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Tower Bridge is the iconic bridge across the Thames which is often mistaken for London Bridge, but it was not the main purpose of our visit. The Tower of London dates back to the 11th Century when William the Conqueror ordered its construction as a palace. It served for as a palace (among other things) for some time but was soon turned into a prison. Additional buildings were added over time and it soon became quite a formidable structure, although it is not actually a tower, rather it is more like a castle. We were met at the front gates by a Yeoman Warder, or Beef Eater for a guided tour. To become a Beef-Eater you must have served 22 years in the services with good behaviour - and apparently service in Commonwealth Forces is also included. Unless of course you are in the Navy because you swear allegance to the First Sea Lord (or some other Pansy) rather than the Queen, so poor little Fi will never be able to become a Yeoman Warder.

The tour was absolutely fantastic though - the beefeater was very theatrical and bought the history of the place to life, and a very gruesome history it was indeed. Many executions were held at the Tower including three Queens, the most famous of which was Anne Bolyn - Henry the VIII's second wife. All executions were carried out by 'Axe and Block' and the severed heads were displayed on Pikes on London Bridge (which was the only bridge across the Thames at the time) to try to discourage further traitorous acts. There were many sad stories, including the execution of Lady Jane Gray who was a pawn in an unsuccessful play for the throne and ended up being executed at the age of 16 after ruling as Queen for 9 days. This tragic history really came to life in one of the towers where prisoner graffiti carved into the walls of the prison cells has been preserved. Much of this grafitti could actually be considered works of art. Family shields, mottos and pictures had been intricately carved into the walls including dates and personal comments from the prisoners. It was really a direct link to those who had been held in the tower, some of whom had been forced to watch the construction of their own execution blocks through the windows in the cell.

The next day we managed to do a good job of sleeping in, and by the time we were ready to go anywhere, we'd pretty much lost the morning. Today we were meeting up with Neil 'Shithouse' Peake (an Army mate of Fi and I) and his fiance Amanda. They had been posted to the US and spent Thanksgiving with us, and by coincidence happen to be in London at the time. We met up with them and had a quick look at a view of the sites before finding our way to a comfortable pub and settling in for a few beers. Now the Poms are famous for their warm and flat shithouse beer, and I must say they didn't disappoint! I very much have a philosophy of that when it comes to drinking beer and wine......when in Rome do as the Romans do, so Peaky and I tried a couple of the English Ales on tap and what can I say.....they were crap. The beer isn't really warm, rather it's kept in the cellar at room temperature, so it's cool but not cold, but yes it is flat. So really it's like drinking a pint full of dregs that have been nursed for way too long, you know, the part of the beer that you hate! In other words...rubbish, but I must admit if they put it in the fridge and carbonated it a little bit then it would be ok. We persisted for a while, but we both reached the point that if we were going to pay four quid for a beer we may as well enjoy it, so we switched onto the Guinness.

Next morning we had to leave London nice and early because of the new congestion zone rules they have. If you bring a car into a defined area within the centre of the city you have to pay a 10 pound congestion tax. This tax only applies after 7 am and is not extant on weekends, and seeing as we'd arrived on a weekend we needed to be out by 7am. So with a bit of a headache we managed to get out of the congestion zone with only minutes to spare. It was Christmas Eve so we were heading for Kat's place for Christmas Day. Kat works on a vege farm so Christmas Eve is one of her busiest days meaning we had to arrive late in the afternoon - so we had some time to kill. On the way up we stopped over at the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, famous for being the birthplace (and death place) of one William Shakespeare. Stratford is also a classic Tudor style town full of those unique white and black striped English buildings. Fi and I strolled around and found Shakespeare's house, his grave and his birthplace before heading off to Warwick Castle.

The Castle is an excellent example of a Norman style 11th Century Castle as is one hundred percent complete and in excellent condition. Unfortunately it was a little like seeing a castle Disney style as it was done to be very 'family friendly'. Fake snow was falling from the windows of one of the keeps and staff were running around dressed up as elves and other mythical Christmas creatures like eskimos and dwarves. The living area of the Castle was incredibly impressive though - part of it had been maintained in the conditions of the Norman times, while all the stately rooms had been maintained in the condition they were in during the Victorian period. The rooms had pretty high quality mannequins which were modeled on the family which lived at the castle in 1898. They occupied every room to show how they would have been used during this time period. It sounds pretty cheesy, but it was actually quite good. We were able to climb the keep and towers of the castle and walk around the walls, so it was really quite impressive. After we finished exploring the castle we followed the directions of the GPS to Kat's place.

It was really great to see Kat and where she lives as she's been in England for 8 years and we hadn't gotten across to visit her yet. She lives on a small vege farm in the Midlands of England where she and Jay run a small farm shop selling vegetables and other farm produce. They have free range chickens, pigs and a huge vege patch, and the shop front looks fantastic. It's was really great to see Kat really happy and doing great. Christmas Day was spent as it should, lazing around and grazing on food which was fantastic, and much of what we were eating was produce from Kat's farm or other locally bought stuff - cheeses, dips, spreads, and relishes. Jay is a pretty amazing cook and dinner was a feast of Goose and pheasant with just about every vegetable under the sun. It was amazing. So after a day of drinking and eating we retired to bed early to catch a good night's sleep.

We weren't really up for much at Kat's, so we spent a lot of time just hanging out with her and relaxing which was really great after traveling pretty solidly for the last two weeks. We enjoyed a nice day trip out to a couple of small English Market towns, and enjoyed the English countryside on the way. Where Kat lives feels like living in a an English stereotype; the sunken roads edged with hedge-rows criss cross the rolling green hills which are divided into paddocks with miles of dry stone walls. Sort of looks like a hobbit town out of Lord of the Rings. The dry stone walls were a constant means of amazement for me. They are constructed using no bonding agent, and are literally rocks packed together like some sort of Tetris puzzle yet they are standing hundreds of years later. Pretty amazing workmanship. After our visit to the Market Towns we decided a pub crawl on the way would be just the ticket - Bravo, Pip Pip and Cheerio! We stopped in little English pubs that were sitting in the middle of nowhere - not a house to be seen, yet they were all full of people! The pubs themselves were great too, full of character with low roofs and open fires - really homely and welcoming.

Unfortunately our time at Kat's ended sooner rather than we'd like, but she and Jay will be visiting Australia sometime in 2009, so we'll be able to see her again. We waved our goodbyes and guided by our trusty GPS we headed for the next part of our adventure - Scotland.

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Photos

Big Ben, Houses of Parliament
'Look Kids, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament....Can't get left.' (for all of you who've seen National Lampoon's European Vacation)

The Roman Baths
Fi and I standing in front of the main bath which dates back to about 100AD.

Stonehenge
England's coldest and most underwhelming tourist attraction.

HMS Victory
Here's Dan standing in front of Nelson's Flagship at the dockyards in Portsmouth.

Warrior Fiona
Fi trying on some replica Tudor armour at the Mary Rose exhibit. Very attractive!!

Windsor Castle
Dan standing in front of one of the Castle's Keeps.

The Red Phone Booth
Fi inside one of England's great icons. They don't smell like pee when you see them on tv though....

War Cabinet Rooms
Here's Dan standing in front of the Chief of Staff conference Room.

Westminster Abbey
Fi and Amanda out in front of Westminster Abbey.

Tower Bridge
Here's little Fi checking out the view of the Thames and England's iconic Bridge.

Three Beefeaters....
Chewing the fat with the Beefeaters...

The Bridge at Night
Here's the Bridge from just outside the Tower of London

Big Ben
Catching up with Peaky and Amanda in downtown London.

Stratford-upon-Avon
Here's a great example of the old Tudor styles homes which are everywhere in Shakespeare's home town.

Christmas Feast
The huge array of food Kat and Jay put on for us.

Hanging out with the Princess of Derbyshire
Here's Dan hanging out with Kat and Jay after stuffing themselves stupid at Christmas dinner.