Blogs from Lancashire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 22

Yep it is! Had a wonderful day today. Went to York Minster Cathedral. What a fantastic building feat for people a thousand years ago. Not quite as massive as the Duomo in Florence, but impressive nonetheless. Tim is getting used to being a pseudo Pom. He even likes the local beer. (It all tastes the same to me) He is calling Accrington- Accy like a native. If you are interested Accrington Stanley won 2-1. We got mentioned 3 times by the ground announcer (I'm going to kill Alison) Tomorrow we will go to Burton Abbey and Skipton Castle. The relies are currently watching Corrie (Coronation Street) so have taken the opportunity to make myself scarce. They actually tape it and send it to Perth. There is no accounting for taste is there? Every night we get ... read more

Uppermill is the largest of the villages in the beautiful district of Saddleworth. It isn't far from Ashton under Lyne, where we live and we would often go at the weekend, especially in Spring/Summer time to enjoy its welcoming atmosphere and its lovely walks along the canal. It is a popular visitor attraction and is located in the valley underneath the Saddleworth Church. The town has a history of wool mills dating back to the late 18th Century and cotton spinning industries began to spread into the town. When we are in Uppermill, we have taken a canal boat trip and these are available going part way way up the Huddersfield canal providing beautiful views along the side of the canal of ducks and moor hens. Our favourite part of the walk by the canal is ... read more

I made it to England last week in one piece despite my giagantic luggage whie was inconvenient, but not as bad ad you would think. Wheneve I tried to handle it in the airport or the train someone ran up to me and helped me with one or both of the suitcases; probably because the suitcases were larger than I am which is obvious on first sight of me. From the Manchester airport I quickly learned that a 'lift' is not a ride for me and the overwhelming luggage, but rather the English word for elevator. So I made it to the train and eventually Lancaster, which is a beautiful place. When the train stopped I was hoping it would be Lancaster partly because I was tired of travelling and because the town was so amazing. ... read more

And the adventure begins…. The trip kicked off on a slightly sour note. While packing for the trip, I decided I didn’t want to check my baggage for fear of losing it. So I forced everything into carry-on luggage, at times leaving things behind that I would have normally brought along. I didn’t want to risk lost luggage with all the changing of cities I plan to do. Mission failure. Unknown to me, apparently the overhead compartment carry-on restrictions are much tighter on Air France. The same bag I always carry onboard domestic flights was too large for this flight, so alas, the bag was checked. Thankfully, upon reaching Manchester baggage claim, my luggage was right there waiting for me with open arms. As for the flight to Paris, it seems fortune smiled upon me. I ... read more

This is a bonus blog dedicated to some of the people I have met on my travels. The McBeath father and son van driving team who took my bike and me from Inverness to Wick. I was supposed to be catching the train on to Thurso, but John pointed out that Wick was closer to John O'Groats than Thurso and offered to take me along with him and his son in the van. I was happy to go along for the ride since it got me closer to the start line and lessened my journey time. The trip up to Wick was entertaining and informative, John proving to be a mine of information on the area we were passing through. He was born an Orcadian and has spent the bulk of his life in the north ... read more