Chapter 2 - DAY 22 _ Plymouth to London

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Last day today! After 5,600kms travelling through England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales today is the final day of our tour. We travel from Plymouth back to London with a stop at Stonehenge on the way.

STONEHENGE
On the way to Stonehenge we also saw a couple of the mysterious Crop Circles which was a bonus. Stonehenge itself was very impressive, it the middle of some fields there is this massive rock structure, so it really stands out against the land that surrounds it. There is much mystery around Stonehenge but it was built as a temple –a place of ceremony, of burial and of celebration. Given the size and weight of the individual pieces and the limited tools available during that time, the construction is an incredible achievenment.
The actual structure is roped off so you walk around the outside, again a very informative audio commentary is provided. Stonehenge is extremely imposing and well worth the visit. It was also a good break on the trip between Plymouth and London.
We had a good run and got into The Marble Arch Hotel (our drop off point) at 3pm. It was chaos with people and traffic going in all directions, somehow we got off the bus collected our bags and luckily stumbled into a Taxi on the kerb nearby. Neither of us could remember the address of Darlington Hyde Park but between us we found our accommodation with no major drama.

While wer were in Limerick we were all asked to do a bit of a ditti/poem/limerick - this is Jeanettes one which sums thing up nicely:

Thousands of clicks our cameras do take
While we discover the amazing history this country took over 5000 years to make
From England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales
We travel over the hills and through the dales
Beauty we have seen to take home and turn into a dream

LONDON
From there it was down to Paddington to pick up a few supplies and tea at the Victoria Pub before turning in for an early night.
It was a fantastic 22 days which gave us a snapshot of so much – we would never have been able to see so much in so little time under our own steam. We were lucky to have a very good tour Director Cheryl and a fantastic driver George.
Having said that we are very much looking forward to Chapter 3 -15 days self drive around the UK. No more Bags and breakfast at 7.15am Bus leaves at 8.15am!
Really looking forward to Manchester United v Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday and Ripon Races on Monday, but also being able to potter around Skipton and the surrounding areas with no fixed plans (other than the aforementioned).
We pick up our rental car and brave the UK roads tomorrow as we head up from London to Skipton (should take around 6 hours).Weather report not too flash but hopefully wont be too bad.

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Photos

Church Memorial
This bombed church is in the middle of a busy roundabout. It serves as a memorial to all those effected by the German bombings in WW2

Stonehenge
On of the UKs top tourist attractions

Stonehenge
Artists impression of what Stonehenge was likely to look like 1000s of years ago

Comments

[Melissa]

Lovely poem, Mum :) Enjoy the game and the races! Hope the journey to Skipton is a good one.

[GrantD]

Skipton
Thanks Melissa, settling in well. Weather pretty ordinary but we been off exploring a wee bit. Hopefully weather will come right soon.

[Nicole]

Chapter 2 - day 22 Plymouth to London
Hi Grant, What a great and detailed commentary on your trip. We toured NZ last Sept. and stayed a couple of days in Upper Hut. What a picturesque country you live in. We were six weeks there and thoroughly enjoyed both south and north islands. I took about 5000 photos! We are looking forward to doing Britain and Ireland in the fall of 2014, so all your photos and comments were very helpful. I too am a Grant (but my surname) and I am Canadian. Cheers, Nicole

[GrantD]

Hi Nicole
Great that you've had the opportunity to experience our little part of the world. We certainly love it here. Canada is very much on our 'to do' list. As I'm sure you would have picked up from the Bog we loved every minute of UK and Ireland Discovery - its a brilliant tour and covers so much in the 22 days - you'll have an awesome time I'm sure :)

[Jill]

Insights tour Britain and Ireland.
Great blog. We are looking to book this 22 day tour in June 2014. Thanks for all the good information.

[GrantD]

Thanks
Hi Jill Thanks for your comments, you'll have a great time 'm sure :)

[Sylvia]

Thank you
I am doing this trip in July and as a solo traveller and the first time doing such a big trip, I was getting little bit nervous. Your fun words have settled me down, so looking forward to this trip.

[GrantD]

You'll have a great time!
Hi Sylvia, Thank you for the positive feedback its very much appreciated. I'm pleased reading the blog has eased your nerves. I'm sure you will have a great time! Don't worry about being a solo traveller either, from our experience everyone is very inclusive and goes out of their way to make sure everyone is welcome:)