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Published: September 1st 2011
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Camp is over and I am a free roaming traveller again!
The last week of camp was just as busy as the previous 5 – activities, duty and a day off a bit different from the rest! While the kids were off-site for the day, the staff rostered off made the most off an empty camp site. We played on the Outward Bounds course (high ropes & leap of faith) and had a taste of the fun the kids have each day!
The last day of camp involved a 2.5 hour bus trip to Heathrow to farewell the last lot of kids and upon return to camp, we had a staff party to let our hair down and celebrate getting through the past 6 weeks.
Out of the camp bubble it was time to adapt back to the travellers way of life – that is the continual planning of where to go, how to get there, what to do, what to eat and what currency will allow me to do all of this and for some of you, you will know that it’s not all a walk in the park. At least I don’t have to deal with the
language barrier just yet but it will come very soon!
One of the girls from camp was kind enough to let me stay at her place in London for 3 nights after camp. Over the few days I managed to tick off the big sites that I missed before camp;
St Pauls Cathedral (I made the steep stair climb of 510 steps to the top and what a view!), London Bridge, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Big Ben (tick tock, it’s a big clock).
Continuing on celebrations of finishing camp, I joined some other staff to see ‘Wicked’ the musical at the theatre and managed to get a nice gash on my foot which probably could have done with some stiches but it’s now on the mend.
I then said ‘see you later’ to London and caught the train 4.5 hours north to Carlisle to stay with Pete & Paddy (old work mates from Ozjet Boating) for 2 nights. I was treated to lovely home cooking and a day out exploring the scenic Lakes District with them + their 2 kids, which was just lovely!
Moving further north I crossed the border to Scotland and hit Edinburgh
just in time for the end of the famous Fringe Festival – hundreds of theatre, dance, music and comedy acts from around the world in town for the month of August. I had 3 days to spend in Scotland’s capital and soon realised that there was so much to do in so little time and at least 5 days would have been better!
The weather in Edinburgh was as unpredictable as England’s, so on day one when the sun was shining I made the most of the morning sun with a free city walking tour (the guide was Australian, from Penrith!) and climbed 251 metres to the summit of Arthur’s Seat. I noticed my footy fitness had well and truly faded and the 45min hike to a magnificent 360 degree view of Edinburgh was a challenge, but well worth it!
By the next day, the weather was so cold, windy and wet I had to buy myself a warm jacket and opted for some indoor festival fun - I saw Circolumbia, a high energy, risk taking, acrobatic act from Columbia which was amazing and a short theatre act to fill in some time in-doors. I also attended an evening
church service and was pleased to know one of the songs!
I had one day left and one big castle to explore.. and thankfully it was sunny!
One could spend hours exploring Edinburgh’s castle and rich history and I did exactly that! I had an audio guide to help me find my way around and enjoyed my last day in Scotland’s capital city.
Apparently they call this time of year summer, though there seems to be more summer rain than sunshine rays. I can now see why international travellers fall in love with Australia’s weather!
Venturing only an hour away by train, Glasgow isn’t quite as scenic as Edinburgh but this time I only had one day to jam pack all the sites into. I hopped on the big red bus for a city tour and hopped off at points of interest. I found a museum that I actually liked – the River Clyde Transport Museum (check out the photos) and had a sneak peak at Brad Pitt’s new movie ‘World War Z’ that was being filmed in the city.
England, Ireland and Scotland are now ticked off the list and Europe is just around the
Transport Museum
My kinda wheels! corner - so for now it’s goodbye Glasgow and bonjour Paris!
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