January 8-11 - London & Birthday Celebrations

Greetings All,

We are all off to London via the train for Amy to hook up with friends and for us to explore new sites and celebrate my birthday.  We take the bus into town as the Mersey rail is on strike and Amy discovers how friendly and chatty Scousers are. Our train ride is non eventful and we take up the tube up to our hotel and wait for Karen as Amy is spending her last 5 days with her and her hubby who have recently moved to the UK from Vancouver. Fred and I arranged to meet up with Amy and Karen   tomorrow and they head off. We spend  the evening in the hotel taking full advantage of the hospitality suite that they have for Marriott members which has free wine ,food and other snacks.

We are up and out relatively early as we head up to Leicester Square to see what shows are available for the evening . We purchase tickets for Dream Girls which is at the Savoy. From here we walk to the Sky Garden. Better know as the Walkie Talkie building given its distinctive shape. Located in the City of London's Financial district, it is a sky scraper , 34 storey building that was designed by architect Rafael Vinoly , it cost over 200 million pounds to build. It was designed to be much taller but concerns over the visual impact on the nearby Tower of London and St Pauls Cathedral lead it to be scaled back. Completed in 2014 and the Garden opened in 2015.Viewing for the garden on the 34th floor is free though you need to book. The day we went is was very overcast and foggy so the views were not that great. Pictured on the left is the misty Tower bridge and the gardens that have been planted inside . It was awarded the Carbuncle Award in 2015 as the worst new build in London in the previous 12 months. We spend a good hour there taking pictures and checking out the gardens before saying our good byes to Amy and Karen.

Fred and I head down Fleet Street and then to the Strand . Pictured on the right is the clock ringers in the Law Courts. We stop for a late lunch at a pub before heading into The National Portrait Gallery. It was the first portrait gallery in the world when it opened in 1856. It now houses the portraits of Britain's historically important and famous people. Fred and I are most interested in the portraits from the Tudor Era done by the old masters like Hogarth.
Sadly pictures are not allowed. The portraits are amazing and in extremely good condition especially when you consider how long ago they were painted  and the products they used in the late 15th Century between 1485 and 1603.

We head back to the hotel to freshen up before heading back to the Savoy to see Dreamgirls.  Fred orders us drinks and they bring them right to our seat before the show and at the break. The picture on the left is of the Savoy  box seat taken from our seat 10 rows from the stage and right in the middle.
We really enjoy the show and once back at the hotel we enjoy a nightcap. It has been a full day of exploring and we walked just over eight miles.



January 10th my Birthday and we head off to St James Park on of my favorite parks in London. On our way to
The National Gallery we are lucky to see the changing of the Horse Guard

as pictured on the right. We visit the National Gallery a art museum in Trafalgar Square founded in 1824 and houses over 2300 paintings dating from the mid 13th century to 1900. We visit the old masters before checking out a building in the area which turns out to be The National Ballet building then heading off to Covent Gardens.We then go back to old walking grounds and the Cask for my first birthday drink of the day.
I enjoy a Pheasant Plucker Cider and we split a burger and fries to tie us over till Supper.  We head back to the hotel to freshen up as we have booked into The Shard for cocktails .

The lounge is on the 52nd floor and offers spectacular views of the city. When you first arrive you are seated at a wall seat then after about 20 minutes you are moved to a window seat. While we are enjoying our drink when we first arrive we are entertained by a young man who is full of himself very loud entertaining a young lady who it appears he is trying to do some type of investment with.
When we are moved to our window seat we are sat beside the guy we have been entertained by.  It turns out he is a diamond merchant and introduces himself to us. Wahid asked to buy us a drink which Fred refuses. I say thanks buy we are going out for dinner for my Birthday and have a place booked. Wrong thing as he insists he must buy us a drink. So we have a free drink and learn a bit about him.
His family is in the restaurant business while he went into the diamond business because of his interest in gemmology . We are invited to his country home in the fall . We finally say our goodbyes as its seems he is happy to buy more drinks but we lie and say we have to get to our reservation. To me it seems he is just a very lonely guy especially when he wants to chat up to old farts like us. We know well enough it was a chance meeting and we will never see him again but he did make the evening entertaining. The picture on the left is of the Tower Bridge taken from our window seat at the Shard. We decide to have dinner at the hotel as it has been a full day. We have only walked 5 ½ miles today but it feels like so much more. I have really enjoyed this visit to London as we have explored new places and seen new things. The City never fails to offer up new things to see and do.

Our trip home we take the train First Class. Great way to travel and I think how we should go in the future. I hope you have enjoyed this segment of our travels.

Ta rah for now,
Sandy & Fred

January 4-6,2018 - Williamson Tunnels,The Game & York

 Greetings All,

We are up and out relatively early as we want to explore The Williamson Tunnels. The tunnels were built between 1810 and 1840 by a eccentric business man Joseph Williamson. There have been many theories on why the tunnels were built but the most prevailing one was to give the poorer residents a paying job with the quarrying of the sandstone and building of his home and gardens. The work on the tunnels continued until his death in 1840. We have not been to the tunnels in at least 7 years and there has been a lot of major development in the area and we have a bit of difficulty finding the entrance. Once parked it seems we have perfectly timed our entrance as they are about to start a tour. We hook up with 2 older couples.The tour takes about 45 minutes in the areas that have been excavated. Pictured on the left part of the tunnel that shows upper tunnels space and well as the curved sandstone ceilings.. Once done we head into Liverpool City Centre  for Amy to shop.

January 5th is Game Day for us . Fred has managed to get tickets for Amy and me in the main stands. We are quite high up and have a very good view of the game. The first half is rather boring but thankfully the second half picks up and we win. Great result for Amy as the standing order from the guys is if L'Pool lose the visitors are not allowed to return .




 January 6th we are all up and out early as we head to York. Thankfully the weather has cooperated and though it is cool it is dry. Our first stop is York Castle Museum. The buildings in which the museum is located were once a Georgian prison. The museum is quite quirky as you travel back in time . With a complete Victorian street  with its shops and residents, to toys, clothes, appliances , chocolate , the First World War and the sixties.  Fred and I recognise may things we grew up with. Check out my Facebook  wall to see pictures from the museum.

Next Stop is Clifford's Tower  pictured on the left. The tower  or keep is all that remains of the medieval Norman castle . Built originally on the orders of William I to dominate the former Viking City of York. It had a tumultuous  early history before developing into a major fortification with extensive water defences. A major explosion in 1684 rendered the remaining military defensive uninhabitable. The castle continued to be used as a prison and jail until 1929. By the 20th Century it became a well know tourist attraction and national monument and is owned by the English Heritage .  Once our exploring is done we head into the Shambles a part of the city that has over hanging timber-frmaber building dating back to the 14th century. Check out my Facebook wall for pictures.

Amy and I head into the York Minster the largest medieval Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe. The current building is around 800 years old and is at least the second minster to stand on this location.

History on this site dates back 2000 years as the remains of a Roman barracks were uncovered beneath the Minster in the 1960-70's with the excavation and the reinforcement of the undercroft due to structural damage and the threat of collapse .
Pictured on the right is a 1000 year book. The Gospel of York that tells the story of Jesus. It has survived fires, uprisings and the ravages of time. It is still used in the Minster today and is a powerful symbol of continuity .

While Amy and I explored the Minster Fred stayed outside to sort a way home that would take us to the Assheton Arms a Inn in Lancashire on the way home. It is very busy but they do seat us and we have a enjoyable supper. We have had a full day and are all looking forward to our trip to London on the 8th.

Ta rah for now

Sandy & Fred

Dec 30,2017 -Jan 2,1018- Amy Arrives & A None Existent Castle

Greetings All,

Our daughter -in-law Amy arrives from Vancouver around 10:30 AM at Manchester and we pick her up and head back to our place to get her settled in for a week with us before heading down to London for her to visit with friends. We spend the balance of the day relaxing catching up on news and planning the balance of the time she will be with us.  The 31st we take down the Christmas decorations and prepare for our New Years Eve dinner as the weather is wet and miserable.

We have a meat fondue of beef,pork,chicken and shrimp with veggies for our New Years Eve Celebration with Prosecco and copious amounts of red wine. Dessert is odds and ends from Christmas as our meal takes a relaxing 3 hours or so. We manage to stay up for the fireworks from London and there is also a decent display by someone in the neighbourhood.

January 1st find us chilling as nothing is open  and again the weather is wet and miserable. Lunch is various cheeses, smoked salmon,fruit, sausage rolls and Italian salami's.   Dinner is a Parkins standard for the New Year. Virginia baked ham , scalloped potatoes and peas, again with a fair share of red wine. We are all off to bed at a decent time as we head into Cheshire to explore  Congleton Castle tomorrow.

We are up and out by 10:00 AM as we want to explore Congleton Castle which Amy has found in Trip Advisor. We drive to Congleton and arrive at the address which Fred has put into the Nav chick which takes us to somebody's home . We stop in a Tesco parking lot so Fred can see if he can find further instructions and I go into the store to use the facilities. While coming out  I ask a gentlemen if he has heard of Congleton Castle and he informs me there is no such a castle in Congleton. There is a Folly which is a attraction in the area which he gives me directions to. A Folly in case you are interested is a building built primarily for decoration but its appearance suggests its use was for something else. We never to find the Folly so we head into Chester stopping for lunch at a pub along the way. Just turns out that the trip to Congleton was a folly itself .

We have a explore around Chester and then head to the Cathedral . The picture on the right is of Fred and Amy in front of a star at the Cathedral. Inside the cathedral is still very Christmassy and we spend a good ¾'s of a hour exploring. So the day has not been a total loss as we head back home after a disappointing start.


Cheers,
Sandy & Fred

October 20,2017- Scottish Boarders and Home

Greetings All,
We decide to try and get one more historic site on our way home.The ride down the Scottish Boarders is my kind of drive. Secondary roads with little traffic to the last site we hope to visit. It is very over cast but Mother Nature co-operates and we get our last site in Jedburgh Abbey. Towards the middle of the 9th century ,when the area was part of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria there were two Gedworths as they were known then. The southern one has long disappeared and the only mention of it is with a burial  of a assassin of William Walcher a Bishop of Durham.

 In 1811 Prince David established a foundation of canons regular to
the order of St Augustine before ascending to the throne. It started out as a priory, then a monastery and in 1147 a full fledged Abbey to the Virgin Mary. The nave and choir were built in the 13th century and continued to grow in stature and importance.  During the Protestant Reformation the monks were allowed to stay  but the abbey became a Kirk (church ) to the reformed religion. We are able to climb up to what would have been the second floor of the Abbey and get a good view down to the ground floor.

In in its time it must have been a most impressive Abbey based on the ruins we see today. Sadly in 1671 the abbey started to fall into disrepair with the movement over to the western part of the nave. The situation continued until in 1871 the Abbey was no longer considered safe for worship. The Marquis of Lothian started repair work but in 1917 it was handed over to the state and is now in the hands of Historic Scotland.

We now are on our final journey home and I enjoy the rather quiet roads until we have to hit the motorway  on the last bit of our journey. Mother Nature finally gives way and the heavens open. We are

now on the motorway and I have quite a few "Holy Shit" moments. I feel for Fred as I am sure I don't make his driving experience any easier. We do stop at a Tebay a rest stop that has a shop that sells produce from the area. We pick up some venison and pheasant to enjoy at home.
If you do decide to visit Scotland and are in the area for a short time I recommend that you take advantage of a Historic Scotland Explorer Pass it is well worth the money and a great saving, we certainly got our moneys worth out of ours.
We hope you have enjoyed this segment of our travels . So till our next adventure,

Ta Ra

Sandy & Fred.

October 19,2017 - Exploring The Lothians - Scotland

Greetings all  ,

We have a good start after a nice breakfast so that we arrive when the palace opens.  Our first stop of the day is Linlithgow Palace. The palace was one of the principle residences of the monarchs of Scotland during the 15th and 16th centuries.The picture on the right is of the Gate Entrance to the grounds built by King James V around 1533. The engravings in the gate are the 4 orders of chivalry which King James V belonged to, The Order of the Garter, Order of The Thistle, Order of the Golden Fleece and Order of St Michael .

In 1424 a great fire partially destroyed the town of Linlithgow and King James I started rebuilding the Palace as a grand resident for Scottish royalty as well as the Church of St Michael. Over the following century the Palace developed into a formal courtyard structure with significant additions by King James III,IV and V . Mary Queen of Scots was born here in December  1542 and occasionally stayed here during her reign .
The Duke of Cumberland's army destroyed most of the palace by burning in January 1746. We spend only a hour here exploring a picture taking as it is a true ruin. We also have a quick look in St Michael's Church which is still used as a place of worship today.


Our next stop is Blackness Castle built by Sir George Crichton Lord High Admiral of Scotland in the 1400's on the Forth River. It served as a residence to Sir George as well as a prison until he handed the Crichton lands including the castle over to James II  of Scotland in
1453 and has been crown property ever since. Known as the Ship That Never Sailed because of  boat like shape. We spent a good couple of hours here exploring as the castle is largely intact.

 The picture on the left is of the great hall that was in the residence side of the castle. Strengthened in the mid 16th century the castle became one of the most advanced artillery fortifications of its time.
A century later it fell to Oliver Cromwell's Army . It again served as a barracks and prison and was a ammunition depot until 1912. During the First World War is was used by the army for a brief period of time.  From the pier we get a great view of the Firth of Forth Bridge as pictured on the right.

Our last stop of the day  is Craigmillar Castle. Building started in the late 14th century and continued into the 15th and 16th centuries. The castle was a prison for he younger brother of James III and is best known as a retreat for Mary Queen of Scots. A proposal to renovate the castle for the use of Queen Victoria in 1842 was put forth but nothing came of it. Victoria did visit the castle in 1886 were much restoration work has been done by the current owner Walter Gilmour. From the upper tower you get a fantastic

view of Edinburgh Castle as pictured on the right. This was taken with my camera on it telephoto lens .  Also they are building a movie set on site for the filming of a British production of medieval time but we do not find our what the film will be called. The last picture is one of the constructed peasant hut. It was interesting to watch as the workers used some of the old ways of building to make the hut and walls around the little village look authentic.

We have enjoyed a full day and head back to the hotel for some refreshment then dinner at the mall. Tonight we head out to Pizza Express  and enjoy a leisurely dinner before head back to pack for the trip home.

Bye for now,
Sandy & Fred

Oct 18-19,2017- Exploring Central & West Scotland

Greetings all,

We are having a mini  mid week break away to Scotland as we have points on our Mercure account the we want to keep current  and not lose  them for our trip to Spain next year. I have wanted to do Stirling Castle so we book a Mercure Hotel in Livingston which is central to what we want to explore. Our drive up is a mixture of secondary roads and highway and we check late in the afternoon and take a a stroll . It turns out our hotel is basically across the street from a large outlet mall that also has a number of eating places. Our first night we have booked our meal in which allows us to plan our two days of exploring.

We are up and out reasonably early as most sites do not open until 10:00 AM. Our first stop of the day is Inchmahome Priory on Lake of Menteith. A 7 minute boat ride to the island . Founded in 1238 by the Earl of Monteith, Walter Comyn for a small community of the Augustinian Order (the Black Canons) .  The priory has recieved many notable guests ,
King Robert the Bruce, Robert the II and Queen Mary. The decline of the monasteries and priory where hasten by the Scottish Reformation and land falling into secular hands. Much of the 13th Century  structure remains and this is what we visit today. We also walk around the island  taking in the sights. While here we purchase a 3 day pass which allows us to visit Historic Scotland  with a great savings.

Our next stop is Stirling Castle.Pictured on the left is Robert The Bruce that is just outside the castle walls. Stirling is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland both historically and architecturally . Sitting at the top of a crag it is surrounded by cliffs on three sides giving it a strong defensive position and until the 1890's was the furthers downstream crossing of the River Forth. Most of the castles primary buildings date from the 15th and 16th centuries with the outer walls dating from the early 18th century.  Before union with England the castle was home to many Scottish Royalty and served as  much as a palace as well as a fortress. Many monarchs were crowned here including Mary Queen of Scots in 1542. Many were born or died here as well. The castle also has a tumultuous history with war seeing it change hands many times between the Scottish and British. We spend a good three hours exploring the castle and palace.
They have volunteers dressed in period that welcome you and explain bit about what happened  during Mary Queen of Scots reign . The picture on the right is of the great hall in the palace. The roof  has been recently repaired due to wood rot and woodworm using the old ways of construction. It is a very impressive bit of construction  especially when you consider the time it was built. We have had a full day exploring and head back to out hotel for some refreshment and a bit of rest before heading out to dinner. A leisurely stroll over to Wagamama a Japanese restaurant.
To see more pictures of our day out check out my Facebook wall (Sandy) as I have posted many more here.

Cheers,
Sandy & Fred

Aug 4th - 13th - Exploring the North, Edinburgh Scotland and Home

Greetings All,

Today we headed off early to drive into Yorkshire to explore Fountains Abbey and the City of York. Construction of Fountains Abbey began in 1132 when a group of 13 disaffected monks from St. Mary's Abbey in York came to this wild wooden valley in search of a simpler and more devout life. Prayer alone could not sustain the newly founded monastic community so the monks sought out lay brothers skills as shepherds, tanners, masons and brewers to help build the abbey's wealth. By the mid 1200's the abbey became one of the largest and most powerful religious houses in the country. It was one of the leading producers and exporters of wool the main source of its wealth. So much for a simpler life style.

The abbey operated for 407 years until 1539 when Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monasteries.

We spent a good couple of hours exploring the Abbey and the grounds surrounding the Abbey. These grounds are part of Studley Royal an estate that John Aislabie, a politician that fell from favour, created. His son William managed to buy the ruins in 1767 so it became part of the gardens. William kept his fathers formal designs but added wild wooded and picturesque walks. Today, the Abbey is a Grade 1 listed building and is owned by the National Trust, it is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

From the Abbey we head into The City of York. The city was founded by the Romans as Eboracum in 71 AD. It is a historic walled city though we have never walked the walls and did not do it on this visit.

The picture on the left is part of the ruins which we passed on our way into the city proper. We head up to York Minster for a look inside but the kids pass on entering to explore as the charge is quite expensive. It has been a while since we have visited and I don't remember that there was a fee to enter. As we are walking around the grounds we come upon stone masons who are using the old way of making new gargoyles to replace those that are badly damaged or crumbing with age. Picture on the right is a new construction and below it

on of the weathered figures on the church itself. It is fascinating to watch them chip away at the stone but I am rather surprised that a couple of the masons do not have protective eye gear on. Health and safety doesn't seem to be a issue. We next entered an area called the Shambles the oldest street in York. The overhanging timber framed buildings date back to the 14th Century. Once know as The Great Flesh Shambles because of the butchers that lined the street. In 1872 there were 25 butchers along the street, sadly today there are none. The shops have been replaced with souvenir sellers, bookshops, treat, bakery and clothing stores. We found a quaint little pub off the main street down a little alley way and stopped for some refreshment and a bit of a rest before heading back home.



The morning of the 5th was wet so we relaxed at home. It brightened up in the afternoon so we headed into Crosby for a walk along the beach and to show the kids Antony Gormley's sculptures "Another Place". Iron Men have been placed along the beach at various different levels and mark the levels of tide when the water is in. Some men are completely submerged when the tide is in. The men on this visit have been dressed in shirts some with ties and hats. Check out my Facebook page for pictures.


The 6th saw us heading back into Wales. This time to visit a castle at Denbigh and Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Denbigh Castle was a fortress built following the 13th Century conquest of Wales by Edward I. Built in two phases the first in 1232 then the second after a attack in 1294 by Madog ap Llewelyn. There were redesigns made and the result was the most architecturally sophisticated gatehouse of the thirteenth century. Denbigh really is a ruin with little to see except the gatehouse is still in place. We opted not to pay the entrance fee as you can see what remains from the gatehouse. Another ruin for Mitchell though not very exciting and a one and done for us as we have said we should visit the site before. We now headed off to Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, a site we had wanted to take the kids to on our previous visit to Wales but ran out of time.

The 18-arched stone and cast iron structure took ten years to design and build and was completed in 1805. It is now the oldest and longest navigable aqueduct in Great Britain and the highest in the world. The aqueduct was built by Thomas Telford and William Jessop. Pictured on the left is Amanda and Mitchell at the beginning of the walkway along the aqueduct.

The next two days were spent getting ready for our trip to Edinburg Scotland. Laundry which takes forever and then packing for our two night stopover. The drive up is all motorway or highway and I sit in the back with Amanda. I hate driving on the highway and am a terrible passenger and as a result I make Amanda very nervous. We stopped in Gretna Green for lunch and to show the kids were young English people used to go to the get married without their parents permission. Sadly, it has lost most of its charm as it has become so commercial with bus loads of tourist stopping. While we are there there is a wedding at the Blacksmith Shop were in the past marriages did take place. 

Fred and I get a silly picture of us while at Gretna.

Mitchell has cousins in Edinburgh and they invited all of us for dinner on our first night. His cousin Marjorie had also got us tickets for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo something we could not get as they were sold out online.

We booked into a Marriott just outside Edinburgh city centre and while out to get flowers for the lady of the house we discovered the tram stop is a short 10 minute walk for our hotel.

We had a delightful evening with Stanley and Marjorie and our meal was delicious. Chicken and leek pie plenty of wine and the most amazing trifle. A light version that was made with yogurt and custard. Stanley insisted on picking us up so we could all enjoy some drinks and we got a taxi back to the hotel. We left with new friends who Fred and I feel we have known for a long time that was how welcoming they were.

August 10th we grabbed the tram into Edinburgh. It was very reasonably priced at £4.00 each for a full day pass which allowed us unlimited use of the tram and buses. The tram stopped at Princess street so it was a short upward walk to the castle. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival was also on and it was crazy busy on the Royal Mile. We recommended the kids explore the castle and arranged to meet them after a couple of hours. Fred and I wandered off to find a pub and a place to sit but were unsuccessful as everywhere is jammed packed. We checked out the whiskey store as I wanted to get some to take back and found the single malt that I enjoyed the night before at Stanley and Marjorie's. We then wandered though some shops but everywhere we turn there were the rudest Asian tourists. I feel for the shop workers as they literally destroy the displays and push themselves through everything. We headed back to the whiskey shop where I made my purchase then waited for the kids to return from exploring the castle. It turned out the lineup to get in was long but they did get in to explore. They sadly also had the same experience as us with the Asian tourists. We now headed down the Royal Mile and because of the fringe it was like running the gauntlet. It was crowded with buskers, people handing out flyers for shows plus people in general. We stopped and grabbed a quick sandwich then continued on to check out other sites. Once beyond the main area of the fringe it thinned out and the walk down the Mile was pleasant. We headed back to the the hotel for dinner and to get warmer clothes on for the Tattoo tonight as once the sun goes down it does get quite cool.



It has been about 40 years since Fred and I were at a Edinburgh Tattoo and this year the theme is all about the Clans. Our seats are fantastic we are right in the middle and at the bottom with only Amanda and Mitchell in front of us. The tattoo is fantastic. Guest performers are from France, Japan and the States.

The picture on the left is from the very beginning of the Tattoo when the clans and the heads are welcomed in with a dram of whisky. One of the clans was the MacDonald but I can't remember the other. We all throughly enjoy the show and the finale is awesome!!

It has been a great visit to Edinburgh and the kids have really enjoyed themselves. We took the tram back to he hotel and enjoyed a nightcap before heading off to bed. We were in no great rush so had a bit of a lie in and then breakfast before we headed back home. We stopped on the way to check out the Kelpies in Falkirk. Kelpies are a mythical creature of Scotland around bodies of water that can take on various shapes. The sculptures in Falkirk are 98 feet tall and represent the creature in its horse form. It is a cool wet day so the stop was a short one for photos.



The 12th saw the kids organising their bags for their trip back to Canada. We had a quick stop at Fred's cousins so they could use the internet to make sure all was right with their flights and stopped to pick up some nice steaks from the butcher for our last dinner together.

Bedtime was relatively early as we were to be up at 5:00 a.m. to get them to the airport.

We have had a great time entertaining Amanda and Mitchell and hope they have enjoyed their short time in the UK.

Now we need to plan our next adventure.


Cheers All,


Sandy & Fred