The Rowan Tree bed and breakfast was excellent beginning to end. The breakfast was lovely and we looked out over the garden as it started to rain.
The coffee served was in a french press and it definitely hit the spot. With our bellies full and ready to go, we checked out. We had a mission to complete before leaving the area of Whitby. Victoriaās mum wanted some Whitby jet. We searched in the jewellry shops (there is a Jet District) but we found some for free on the beach! And we bought a small polished piece.
This is the most important day of the trip for Victoria. Sunderland was her ancestorās home so she wanted to really be present and see what Sunderland had to offer.
When we had set down the pin in Sunderland in Google Maps, it had landed on a vape shop. Everyone who knew anything about England told us that Sunderland was a hole.
That knowledge in tow, we set out for Sunderland from Sleights. We drove for quite a while and then reached the beaches of Sunderland which are, of course beautiful. The town itself feels a little more city-like and less pretty than many places in the UK, but still quite nice.
We picked up rocks and shells along the beach and soaked up the sea air. It was lovely on the beaches.
When it started to rain, we ducked into the Scullery Pier Point restaurant across from the beach.
The roast beef meal (with mushrooms, tomatoes, peas, chips and gravy) was substantial and somewhat tasty. We also ordered dessert and it was quite decadent.
While we were eating, Victoria figured out a route to take in all of the family name related places in Sunderland, and the Angel of the North finally to arrive at our AirBnB in Bamburgh.
The route figured out, we set about executing this plan as best we could. Let me tell you, Sunderland has streets like a dropped plate of spaghetti. There are endless round-abouts with streets unlabelled, labelled by the largest destination in that direction, or something else generally unhelpful.
So we took quite a while actually getting a 5 minuteās drive across Sunderland to each destination. Maybe thatās why people donāt like it very much.
The last destination was an important one for Victoria. She wanted to take a selfie under the āDavisonā sign, but refused to because the middle two letters had been worn so faint as to be almost invisible. She was a bit upset about that.
Now that we had all of the important check marks on our list, we headed out of Sunderland around Newcastle and toward Bamburgh.
On the way the Angel of the North is a pit stop at the side of the road. Where we were told there is no parking lot, it appears one has been created. We parked and took a really terrible all-chins selfie looking up at the angel itself, and several other neat shots.
Yay! All of our important places were found! Well, some were a little tarnished, but we did what we came to do. So all that was left was to go onward to Bamburgh.
Bamburgh unveils itself before you as you descend hilly roads with a large castle on a peninsula of the beach.
The town is quite a sleepy little place and when we tried to park in the castle parking lot, it appears to have been closed. We wanted to figure out where we were going, so we stopped in the driveway there for a moment and realised we had only a little further to go.
Once we pulled up to the AirBnB, we met the owner who was already there. Sheās a lovely lady and showed us our comfy room. This one had no TV, but thatās great for me getting this blog done!
We woke up in York
and it was already a bit late. Sleep was okay, as it was a bit cool
in our room. I turned the new-ish style radiator heater on in the
room while we awoke and made some coffee.
I didnāt have time
to type my notes, and we were supposed to have a whole day set aside
to be in York, so I figured I could at least get an hour to type the
blog for yesterday and upload some images.
We found what looked
like a delightful all day breakfast place for Ā£4.95!
What a nice sounding deal! So we went in. There really wasnāt
anyone around. Every table was deserted and the staff were nowhere to
be seen. We waited around a while and eventually tentatively dinged
the bell at the counter.
We were served by
what seemed like the only staff there.
We set ourselves up
on a table at the window. The full English breakfast was actually a
decent size and we ate and I typed up yesterdayās blog.
I had finished
typing my blog in about 10 or 15 minutes and turned around my
computer to let Victoria read it. Great! Time to upload images!
Well… that didnāt
work well. This breakfast place had no WiFi. No free WiFi in any
nearby place, and my mobile service had 1 bar. This is in the middle
of York, by the way.
So I tried for a few
minutes and gave up, frustrated. We quit the restaurant, me in a bit
of a huff, and proceeded to enjoy the city of York instead. I would
upload the images later.
Well York was pretty
indeed, but nothing was particularly interesting. It was a lot of
prettied up common brand stores with some individual shops as well.
Maybe we just needed a real coffee. The downtown didnāt seem that
interesting.
We headed into the
Cathedral and absorbed the views. There were many great photo
opportunities here. Victoria took my camera to make sure we captured
some that were important to her. Some duplicates as well.
We entered the crypt
and saw the underground sights as well, which were kind of neat,
including some kind of markings on the floor. [Victoriaās note: the
rubber markings indicated the location of the old Roman and Norman
walls that predated the cathedral.]
When we felt
satisfied that our Ā£12
admission was worth it, we left and found a Cornish pasty shop!
Finally one that had them in stock! We bought one just in case we
wouldnāt have the chance.
Deciding it was
important to have a bit of it warm, we had a bite in front of a
monument in a small park and then headed on, checking out shops and
alleyways here and there.
Iām sure downtown York is lovely on a nicer day, when you feel better, but we had neither of those advantages. I did take quite a few photos however.
Once we had our
fill, we went toward the car park, as I had not asked Victoria how
much time she wanted to spend downtown, and I picked 2:30pm as our
cutoff point. Seemed reasonable as we arrived at 11:30am downtown.
The train museum was
the next destination. We headed toward that, through the windy
streets of York, and found that there is free admission to the train
museum, and only Ā£10 to
park for the day at the museum parking lot. That sounded like a great
deal! Kind-of like a Ā£5
admission to a huge area with many trains, demos of equipment, cross
sections of steam engines, and examples of all kinds of trains.
We had a coffee and I spilled that, all over the service counter. Then Victoria checked out the gift shop looking for something for her dad and spilled toy trains all over the place. We were getting very spilly so we decided to leave. They were closing soon, anyway.
We left York and
finally set out for our bed and breakfast, this time not an AirBnB
but a proper B&B reserved through Expedia.
The trip took us
through the Moors, and it was positively stunning. We were not at all
prepared for the sights we saw, and I promise to share the footage
once Iām back. Youāll definitely want to see it.
The car crested
hills and the whole landscape unfolded below us, with rolling hills
of heather and sheep. Some of them quite steep with the road winding
back and forth down the hillside.
The views were just breathtaking and when the car finally passed the RAF base, we came to a junction and Google Maps told us to go left. We parked immediately after the turn where a small ice-cream truck and a few drivers were parked.
We grasped this opportunity to take some panoramic photos of the vistas. Hopefully those will come out nicely when stitched together. Since we saw someone else having ice-cream, we walked over to the truck, which had been idling for a few minutes now.
We had a lovely
rhubarb and custard ice-cream as well as a 99 with a flakie in it!
They were both wonderful ice creams! Such lovely, creamy and unique
flavours. Even something as simple as vanilla can be so different.
It was at this point
that a few sheep crossed our paths! Hi sheep!
After watching one
of the sheep just squat and pee on the road in front of us. Gee
thanks! We headed onward through many more twists and turns, and came
out above an old railway, which Victoria photographed while I parked.
The landscape just
kept showing us new wonders. We rolled into the Rowan Tree in
Sleights and I parked the car. We met the owner of our B&B and
apparently weāre the only ones staying here right now.
After dropping off our things we headed into Whitby proper this time. We had to get Victoria some Magpieās famous fish and chips! They came highly recommended and they were certainly worth the trip!
On the way we saw a
monument Canada had donated! It had a plaque in English and French
which looked out over one of the most stunning sea views we have seen
this trip.
Now Iām back in
the B&B and writing this up before bed, actually on the day!
(Iāve been a night behind for the past few.)
Our next destination
was York! A university town that we were informed would be lovely,
and that we should spend a whole day there.
The roads were treacherous outside of Kingās Lynn. Once on the highway the rain fell in sheets on the windscreen, making visibility pretty low at some points. Some areas of the road were flooded out. At one point we tried to pass a truck which had been spraying us with fine mist for a half hour, with a wide gap in the oncoming traffic lane, I made an attempt but quickly gave it up when a large lorry emerged from the mist in front of me.
Victoria choked back
her heart while I re-took the left lane and continued on behind the
mist-slinging transport truck. After a while it turned off while we
continued on.
There was a very
beautiful bridge near Hull where you could see for miles around, if
not for the mist. We captured a bit of this on the GoPro while
driving. We also came up to our first toll booth. It only cost 1p50
to cross, and we were amused to try it out the first time. I
confirmed the price, tipped my hand into the hand of the booth
attendee, and thanked him while driving off.
First we had to
check out Lincoln which had some of the steepest streets in the UK.
They were indeed very steep and itās hard to show in pictures just
how steep they are. I found it quite easy but on previously injured
knees, Victoria may have had a hard time. She didnāt complain at
all, but she was huffing lightly each time we stopped.
There are so many pretty shops in Lincoln. I took a lot of photos but if you find yourself in the UK in a similar situation, I definitely recommend stopping here.
The place is just
steeped in history, with winding cobblestone roads and beautiful
vistas atop the hill. The roads seemed to have each brick laid with
the striations in the stones perpendicular to the slope, which helps.
It didnāt feel slippery at all and it had been raining the morning
when we drove in.
After exploring the
hill, we headed down toward the famous house-on-a-bridge, which is a
historical landmark in Lincoln. Winding through the streets we found
our way there while stopping into a few shops with curiosities and
delights to take in.
We continued onward and the rain picked up again. It had been raining on and off all day. I tried a few photos of the canal in the rain when we finally arrived. Turning around, we were able to see the famous house-on-a-bridge. It now contained several small businesses such as cafes and other eateries.
We passed a lady in
a traditional maid outfit on the way in. This place was going to be
something a little different for sure.
The houese inside
was very well kept up, and included custom made brass fireplaces, and
some simple chairs. The trims all painted black with light walls.
It seemed pretty
posh and Vitoria and I were in the mood for a coffee. A real
coffee. We suspected this place had the real goods. So we went to the
top floor to order one from a delightful little cafe with a view of
the canal.
Let
me tell you, the coffee was fantastic. We ordered a Kenyan roast
coffee served in a french press, which came with an hourglass I
couldnāt help fiddling with. (Actually a 3 minute glass? What do
you call an hourglass that only does 3 minutes?)
Having
enjoyed our coffees, the host who was in a crisp outfit with a
waiterās apron picked out a brochure about the building from
amongst the things under the cash and pointed to a picture asking us
whatās remarkable about a picture inside.
Victoria
and I sat for a moment or two and then I said, āItās this room,
isnāt it?ā
We
looked at the historical photo and the waiter told us all about the
place, and how people want to buy the custom fireplaces from the
owner. Also how the owner chose to polish them, which I agree with,
rather than preserve the patina.
After
that we had to get to our car. Our parking pass was running out and
we had to make it to York before it got too dark.
The
drive to York was lovely and the rain started to subside. At one
point our rental car from Europcar started beeping every 5 miles.
Back
at the rental counter they
had told us the car had been topped up with AdBlue and it would be
fine until our destination. It seems they were flat-out lying to us
as the car was telling us now that it would simply not turn on in 90
miles.
So
we stopped outside of Lincoln at a gas station and I asked if someone
could help me with it, because I wasnāt even sure how to verify
what the Europcar rental agency representative had told us. It turns
out the only way to verify it is to turn on the car and actually heed
the warnings on the dash. Thanks for nothing, Europcar.
I
paid 10.99p or about 18.10
CAD to buy a 5 litre jug of
the AdBlue and filled up the tank. The car ran much better
afterward. Apparently without AdBlue, your diesel car will start to
run poorly to preserve the emissions goals of the car. (Some cars
apparently limit you to 20mph when you run out or turn right off!)
As
we drove into York the hilly, sleepy university town revealed itself
before us and it was lovely. Today we get to explore it in the
daylight and I can already tell itās going to be a nice time.
We awoke the the
sounds of birds singing and sun beams peeking through the cracks in
the shuttered windows. The shepherdās hut was a fantastic idea! We
sat out on the porch and really caught up with each other. We talked
for a while eating our porridge and having a coffee from the Nescafe
machine.
We were so very
comfortable and at peace that we didnāt want to leave! But we had
to get to Kingās Lynn for our next AirBnB reservation. To the car!
We took off in the
direction of Blyford not really knowing that it was the right one,
and happened uppon a small store called K&C Northgreen Farm Shop
and an antique emporium! The store had a fenced in area with horses
beside it, so we walked up to them and they walked up to us. I tried
to pet one, but the moment they discovered we had no food the horse
was disinterested.
We ate a chocolate
square with many land mines (raisins) that was nonetheless delicious,
and had a coffee and chatted a bit. The store owners were friendly
and spoke with us a bit about the horses and apparently some cows
that had been sick. Something about collick?
We continued onward
toward Norwich to see the castle there. Our one castle for the trip!
We usually make a rule about keeping castles to a minimum. This comes
from Victoriaās dad providing a list of almost exclusively
battlefields and castles when asked what he wanted to see in Japan.
Norwich is a
beautiful town with a large town centre with tents and old buildings.
We walked through Norwichās āRoyal Arcadeā and across the
street to Norwich Castle. The castle is fairly well preserved and
came recommended for its cafe in the bottom level.
What we found inside
was actually pretty neat. There is a lot of stone work intact and
some of it seems to be missing in other parts. The museum inside
explained the many uses of the grounds over time. There was some
speculation and more historical accounts as we approach modern times.
It had been
converted into a prison at one point and we agreed that we were glad
they had kept that area off limits for study. We didnāt need to see
an old prison anyway.
Some of the areas
were missing displays as they are apparently in the middle of a big
renovation. Some school children were making their way through while
we went.
I took a lot of
texture and archetectual shots while inside to maybe use as reference
for modelling later.
The tour group of
children were told to check out some intact ancient toilets, so we
followed them in after to see what they looked like. Basically just a
circular hole on a bench, with a bench across from them for someone
else to join you on your royal throne.
The next set of
toilets had two circular holes per bench, with two benches on either
side of the room, and a sound accompaniment when you approached,
sometimes.
Many of the smaller
rooms had been covered in graffiti by children when they visited, a
history of their own.
We headed for the
cafe which had been suggested to us for lunch and they supposedly
served Cornish pasties, but did not have them either. Every place we
go they are missing the pasties! Victoria says I really should try
one. Some day…
We checked out the
wildlife and Anglo-Saxon parts of the museum and headed toward our
AirBnB in Kingās Lynn. Not content to simply drive straight there,
we decided a day along the coast would be fine.
So we went north to
Cromer, along Westgate Tollbar, then to Hunstanton. We made a stop at
the coast to take photos and walk along the beach. It was lovely, and
we could see a wind farm off the coast in the distance.
Satisfied with our
day, we headed for Kingās Lynn and ended up in front of a plaza
with restaurants. So we decided that Frankie & Bennyās would be
a good place to try. Apparently itās reviewed as equivalent to the
nearby Pizza Hut. Inside it was decked out in 50s/60s decor and
played old music. We both had their signature burger and talked a
bit. It was a perfectly acceptable burger. I rate it ? / ?
Our AirBnB was in a
sleepy part of town in an old converted church. What could be very
generously called a parking spot was blocked, so the owners came out,
moved their car because they had to leave early, and let us in.
It was a fitful
nightās sleep (thatās right, Iām writing this the next
morning), but Iām ready to see what the day has for us. Oh… itās
a little rainy. Welcome to the UK.
We hit the road in
the middle of London. Our goal: to make it to Colchester from London
with our car, our wits, and no damage to either.
We started out just
after lunch and instead of doing the sensible thing and getting
lunch, we hit the road straight away.
Driving in London is
obviously done on the other side of the road from what weāre used
to. So thatās a thing. Itās also all listed in miles instead of
kilometers. Stops for pedestrians are different. There are some
differences in street signage, etc.
All of this might
make you wary of driving in London, but as someone who only drives
maybe twice a year when I rent a car, I can tell you now itās no
big deal. Sure, you have to reverse a lot of things. Keep left if
youāre a slower vehicle (but itās still to the outer edge of the
road rather than the inner edge for faster vehicles, same as North
America.)
Traffic tends to
actually let you merge, which is nice. In Toronto you have to really
want it. Wedging your car in between two others and hoping neither of
them want the trouble of a fender bender. In London thereās none of
that. First of all the congestion charge seems to keep traffic away
except in some circumstances. Secondly, it seems like theyāre a bit
kinder to everyone on the road.
Once we were out of
London, the highways to exit the city were all marked with speed
limits and cars seemed to roughly stick to them. Once outside of the
greater London area, it seemed to be a free-for all. When getting
onto the biggest part of the major highway it said it was a speed
variable zone, and I did not see a single other speed posted until I
arrived at another town.
I simply did what I
always do and followed the flow of traffic. Itās the safest thing
to do, and I have yet to find an officer to give me grief over it.
Victoria had a
message from her mother about a farm where they had stayed, so we
took a little detour to go see that. It was down some single lane
roads where you have to pull off to the shoulder, or back up to the
next spot where you can if traffic comes the other way. Thankfully
this didnāt happen, and we soon found the farm! It was just on
the other side of a railway crossing. When trains cross here, it
seems like they get their moneyās worth for putting the sign down,
about 4 trains, maybe more, passed us by before the gates came back
up. At this point there was a big line of cars behind us. I pulled
off left to let Victoria take some pictures. After that, we hit the
highway again.
We drove for quite a
few miles and went through many round-abouts. The rules seem simple.
There are lights at bigger ones to tell you when to join the circle.
The signs tell you which exit is which. If there are no lights,
thereās a line where you wait until thereās a gap and then you
join the circle, and exit whichever branch you need to.
Closer to Colchester
there were tons of
roundabots. Every junction was a roundabout. They must be cheaper to
construct and maintain than a typical north american overpass highway
crossing. Maybe not cheaper than a regular stop light, but apparently
this idea is better somehow. Iām not seeing it.
That said, round-abouts are nothing to be afraid of. The one at
Trafalgar square was nothing special and the ones on the distant and
unknown highways seemed more daunting.
My whole day was spent driving, which is why this log is and probably
will be heavily focused on driving, unless we stop for quite a while
somewhere. Today it was lightly raining and there was nothing
interesting to do that we knew of, except…
We
had a message from Victoriaās mother about the house she lived in
when she [Victoria] was
4 years old! So we had
to make a detour to find out what that looks like now.
The town definitely had a slower pace than London, but still seemed
built-up in some ways. We found ourselves down an increasingly narrow
and precarious drive until we reached a tiny car park, where I tried
to turn around.
A lady who lived there told me how difficult it was going to be to
get out of there, and gave us step-by-step guidance in getting out.
It was a huge help in getting out of there quickly. I would have
figured it out eventually, but she knew the size of the space and
exactly how to turn to get a sedan out of there. Apparently she had
helped many people out of that same situation.
We told her Victoria had possibly lived in one of the houses on that street and they talked about that for a minute and we said thank-you and left, looking for a car park, which ended up being right at the end of the street. The Butt Road car park. BUTT. ROAD.
We put in 2.45 pounds and were given until 6PM to park, which we knew
would be plenty of time to get something to eat. It was now just
after 2 and we were getting peckish.
We
found a corner store which seemed familliar to Victoria and bought a
sandwich combo, just one, to share for the both of us. Iām still
not really sure why we went with that when we had only had a bit of
oatmeal for breakfast, and nothing for lunch, but here we are.
We then checked Victoriaās messages and her mother had clarified
the street where she had lived when Victoria was 4. This was not 100%
consistent with what she had said before, but it was more of an
omission. We took this new information and headed for the old
homestead.
Itās now painted purple and seems to be under a bit of renovation.
The cute little street seemed like a nice place to live with a young
kid. We were satisfied with our photos so we headed for the town
centre to see what that was like and find a place to eat our
sandwich.
Once in the town square, we found many cute little shops, and a
larger area with some name brand stores. Here there was also a Crepe
stand.
We had our sandwich and decided that was clearly not going to be
enough, so what else to do but buy crepes!
They were delicious and probably not the most nutritious choice, but weāre on vacation so we get to indulge, okay!
We took our crepes and walked along the streets and admired the
stores when it began to rain. I had a hooded rain jacket from Muji
with me, so I flipped up the hood and kept mostly dry until the rain
picked up. Then my jeans started to get a little damp, but not much.
Victoria only had a hoodie on, but since we had a car, we just
returned to the car and were able to be dry again.
This is where the trip gets a little freaky. The roads as we neared
our cabin got windier, stranger, and narrower. Each turn seemed to
bring a new challenge and the distance to our next stop was actually
about as much as the distance between the edge of London and
Colchester. Maybe more. We seemed to go on so many winding paths
through round-abouts and wavy roads, over a huge bridge, it seemed to
never end!
We
finally arrived at the cabin, where I sit now, and Victoria decided
we had better go out and get dinner. I think she was getting hangry.
I was ready to just relax. I had been driving all day in a foreign
country, on tiny rain-slick roads, and I just wanted to have whatever
we had on hand to eat and rest.
We
walked about a mile down the road before we realised there was no
sidewalk and the cars were passing awfully quickly. The walking was
my idea, but I didnāt fully grok what 1.8 miles on a strange
country road with no shoulder looked like.
We
would have had to walk basically on
the road
so we turned back.
Along the way we had found many neat little bits and bobs, and many
blackberries which were ripe and ready for the picking. Victoria
picked them as we walked along. Some of them were very sweet.
When
we finally had walked the mile again back to the car we were ready to
go inside and cook soup or something because we still had some from
the grocer in London, but I headed for the car. I gave in and drove
us back along the road we had used to get to the cabin to Halesworth.
We found some public parking and right beside it was a pub called
the White Hart
with wonderful food.
I
had sausage and mashed potatoes and Victoria
had fish and chips. Her meal was huge and mine was pretty big, but
the right amount it seemed. We had a half pint each of a Southwold
cider that was quite sweet and tasty and their stout.
Once
we had sat and talked a while and had our dinner, we headed back to
the cabin. A shower under the rain shower head was wonderful and
weāre now both tapping away our adventures and relaxing. A rest
well earned, I think.
