2011-09-11 Sunday Bike adventure

We (Caroline, Barb, Tim and I )decided to rent bikes to ride along the Avon –Kennet canal which runs alongside the Avon River. We took a taxi to a little village outside of Bath to rent our bikes. The cab driver stopped en route to show us his favourite view of the valley, which was very beautiful.    

After having our bikes fitted for us, we set off in sunshine. The canal was full of canal houseboats, which are long and very narrow in order to fit through the locks and the canal bridges, which cross the Avon in places. We found it really interesting that the canal was built on high ground above the river and that along the bike path you could look at the canal on one side or the river down a long slope on the other side. We biked to the town of Bradford-on-Avon, a town which had caught our eye from the train as we passed. We even biked a few kms further as we were enjoying the ride so much. We returned to Bradford for lunch and browsed through the town, which was another pretty spot.

Canal Boat

On the way back, I had the unfortunate luck to tumble sideways off my bike as I was coming to a stop. I did a fairly soft landing but somehow managed to cut my leg either on the pedal or the fender. It was a long and deep cut which landed me by ambulance in Bath hospital needing 28 stitches to close it up. As a result, I am now on crutches until next Wednesday when I have my stitches removed. We had to cancel our trip to Germany unfortunately.

Charlotte, a friend of Caroline’s, has lent Tim a bike so that he is happily riding each day. I stayed put with a good book for the first 4 days but am now venturing out for short trips.

2011-09-10 Saturday: Trip to Bath

Roman Bath

Pulteney Bridge

Bath Abbey

Clapham Junction Rail station is the busiest in Britain – it seems every train going South from London stops here.  So 5 minutes from the door we were at the station and on the 9:30AM train to Bath.  Bath was a Roman Spa around 4AD and parts of it still remain today.  We toured the archaeological dig and ended up in the original spa area.  The tour was very well done with great audio-visual support.   Walking around Bath was a revelation.  The architecture is Georgian and whole city blocks have been done in the same style.  The Avon River runs through Bath and the bridge over the river is lined with shops on both sides. The city has many green spaces all with lovely gardens.

2011-09-09 Friday travel to London.

York Minster

The Shambles

We woke up to pouring rain but by the time we headed to the train it had stopped.  We decided to stop over at York since it had received rave reviews in the guide book.  We got off the train and walked into town.  Within 200meters we had passed through the city gates and the Minster (Cathedral) was in sight.  The history of the Minster goes back to 900 AD, but when you see the window that has been there since 1150 you realize how old it is.  There is more stained glass then I have ever seen before.  The size and height of the Minster impressed me. I walked around looking up.  Barb and I walked up the 280 steps to the top of the tower.  We only had to pay £4.50.  The narrow steps went up in 2 sections.  My legs were a bit rubbery when I got to the top.  The view was worth it. After the Cathedral we wandered the streets of York.  There is a large area of pedestrian traffic only. The lane called The Shambles was very appealing with old half timbered houses over-hanging the narrow street.  

 

2011-09-08 Thursday: Edinburgh

< span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">We started the day by climbing the Scott monument in the middle of Edinburgh.  We needed to by fresh since we climbed over 200 steps to go up.  The steps are so narrow in places you cannot pass people going down – so someone has to back up.  At times I had trouble making it through the narrow tunnels and my backpack was rubbing against the roof.  We went up in three sections so we could stop for a breath and sightseeing every 65 steps.  The views were magnificent due to excellent visibility.  We have been blessed with good weather in Scotland – any rain has been followed by sunshine within the hour.   After the Monument we split up - Tim to visit churches and the girls to shop.  We met for lunch in the Princes Street gardens and ate in the warm sunshine.  The girls then did a marathon walk to Holyrood Castle and the Scottish Museum before our next reunion.  Holyrood was very interesting but the Gardens and ruined Abbey behind Holyrood were impressive.    We reunited in the halfway house pub  and after dinner we walked the university district, which showed us another side of the interesting architecture in this city. 
We all agree that Edinburgh is a dramatically beautiful city.

2011-09-07 Wednesday: Stirling

We started our day at a very tiny breakfast place owned by a delightful grey haired lady in tartan skirt and long white apron. Her room is long and narrow and filled with tea cosies, Scottish mugs, pictures, copper etchings etc. The food is good and she is interesting company.

We set off around 11 by train for the town of Stirling to visit Stirling Castle. The castle is spectacularly located on top of a crag with a view in all directions for miles. The castle was interesting to visit - as we were walking the walls, we could picture ourselves as guards keeping watch for, or archers firing on, approaching armies. But it was the beautiful views from the castle that we were most enthused about. Tim was fascinated with the ceilings with painted heads