Holiday Update - 2 & 3 July.
Day 1 in the UK. London - Rochester - Brands Hatch
We arrived at Heathrow without any problems, it was a long flight and went OK. The entertainment and the food were nowhere near Qantas standards though, which surprised me. The aircraft was showing its age. We got in at 5am.
First order of the day was to try to find the geocache called “Cranebrook Troll”, which came with a fantastic description of the habits of the local trolls, as opposed to the mountain trolls. After taking what seemed like ages, we found somewhere to park for the short walk in. There was a bit of English Wood to walk through and I saw a live squirrel! So, cache found, Norfolk Tom dropped off as arranged and we decided to head to Rochester, to see a castle there. A couple of hour drive.
Upnor Castle:
A castle we didn’t think looked like a castle at all, but from the inside it didn’t, but guide pictures show a different picture to what we saw. The street of Upnor was gorgeous and had a couple of little pubs. The houses can’t have been more than 18ft wide. We took a quick look around, but decided not to go in. Apparently it was built in 1559 as a gun fort on the orders of QE I to defend her warships at anchor in the reaches of the Medway River.
Rochester Castle:
This was awe inspiring - our first real castle, up close! Considered to be one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in England. We’re getting pretty tired by now (midday) and so head to our accommodation for the night. Near to Brands Hatch Raceway, which I never managed to see particularly well, but it was there! After a couple of hours rest, a swim and a spa, I convinced Alex that I needed to do a cache or two. I tried “Billy Goats Gruff” which like trolls, was under a bridge. A muddy bridge this time, and a micro. So I looked for a while and decided that it was not to be. It was a lovely walk in the woods though, and the rain let up enough for me to stay dry.
We headed out to a local Indian restaurant for dinner, and it was a lovely meal with great service. The funny thing was the young Indian waiter couldn’t understand us at all and had to ask another waiter to take our order!
Back to the hotel - time to crash. About 8pm for me.
Day 2
And guess what time I’m up? 5.30am. I grabbed my book and headed out to the common area, where I was surprised to find a couple of other guests stirring too. It gets light at about 5am, but not warm. The weather has been pretty ordinary - rain, tops of about 17 degrees - almost identical to what we left in Adelaide. I enjoyed an indoor swim before breakfast. We’re on our way at 8.
Heading to Brighton, we detour out to have a look at Bodiam Castle, which the guidebook suggests is one of the most romantic in Britain. Seems they are all a ‘most’ something… Beautiful though, with a real moat right the way round. We don’t stay overly long, it hasn’t opened yet and we decide to keep moving as there will be many more ruined castles to see inside of! Had a quick look for a cache, but couldn’t work out how to get to it, so we continued on.
We did a slight detour through a town called “Battle”, which is the site of the Battle of Hastings - 1066. Hastings is probably 20km further down the road, but I don’t suppose it would have made sense to call it the Battle of Battle. The Battle Abbey looked very impressive, but we’re trying to get to Brighton so chose not to stop.
Brighton, a seaside city, became popular when Prince George (later King) was in his early twenties. Its seawater was said to have health properties. He originally rented a farm house, and then over time built the Royal Pavilion over the top of it. We spent a couple of hours doing the tour of the Pavillion and it was superb and well worth the visit. He was a man of the arts and the pavilion is just incredible. Prince George became the Prince Regent at age 49, when his father was declared insane and unfit to rule, and King at 63 when his father died. Worth reading up on him, quite a colourful character who suffered Gout and Dropsy.
We also walked onto Brighton pier and I don’t think it has changed much in the couple of hundred years since it was built. It has amusements and games, and I was surprised to see many slot machines and gambling games where you could win money on full display. There seem to be quite a few cultural differences here, subtle though. Smoking is another one, everybody smokes - and they are reeling from an anti-smoking ban that says you can’t smoke in any public building as of 1 July, when previously they had very weak ‘eating area’ laws only.
We walked through “The Lanes” a few hundred year old series of shops in tiny lanes. Sometimes the distance between the lanes was little more than two shoulder widths. The quaint little shops reminded of Diagon Alley, although probably smaller. Kept expecting to see “Flourish and Botts” around the next corner!
Heading out of Brighton, we stop at a geocache, “Brighton Travel Bug Hotel” and I drop off and collect a couple of travel bugs. Then we start heading towards Stonehenge.
We drove past some magnificent castles, they are just everywhere, and every town brings more beautiful English traditional homes, which I guess they largely take for granted. I’m getting used to seeing three storey homes, which they all seem to be… We also love the little covered English Lanes, just amazed to see how many there are. And the roads - so narrow and many of them one lane wide, with little lay-bys so that you can move over to let people through.
We see the Salisbury Cathedral in the distance, the spire is the tallest in England and wander in for a look. It was built in the 13th century and contains graves dated 12xx, which was just fascinating. And those effigy’s of the guy lying down with his arms crossed over his chest, just like the movies. I need to find a new word for awe-inspiring. We probably spent an hour looking around here. And did a Virtual cache too.
It’s getting late, by now it’s about 8.30pm. We head towards Amesbury to try to find a room for the night, which proved difficult. Both pubs in the town were full, as was the roadside travellodge. By the time we find accommodation (Holiday Inn) and check in, it’s 9.45pm, and still light like 7pm. We grabbed KFC, which was surprisingly difficult, they don’t have potato and gravy or corn, but do have baked beans. The chicken tastes pretty much the same, the texture was a little different. Diet coke though, tastes quite different and I’m not fussed on it. Like Singapore, they have no idea what a ‘cold’ drink is, seems their fridges are set much warmer than ours.
As I write this, it’s probably made 6am by now, as I’m up at 5.30 again, and Alex will be up soon. First stop will be Stonehenge. It’s been hard to find internet access, and I have to pay 6 pound an hour for this connection, so won’t be on long.
We arrived at Heathrow without any problems, it was a long flight and went OK. The entertainment and the food were nowhere near Qantas standards though, which surprised me. The aircraft was showing its age. We got in at 5am.
First order of the day was to try to find the geocache called “Cranebrook Troll”, which came with a fantastic description of the habits of the local trolls, as opposed to the mountain trolls. After taking what seemed like ages, we found somewhere to park for the short walk in. There was a bit of English Wood to walk through and I saw a live squirrel! So, cache found, Norfolk Tom dropped off as arranged and we decided to head to Rochester, to see a castle there. A couple of hour drive.
Upnor Castle:
A castle we didn’t think looked like a castle at all, but from the inside it didn’t, but guide pictures show a different picture to what we saw. The street of Upnor was gorgeous and had a couple of little pubs. The houses can’t have been more than 18ft wide. We took a quick look around, but decided not to go in. Apparently it was built in 1559 as a gun fort on the orders of QE I to defend her warships at anchor in the reaches of the Medway River.
Rochester Castle:
This was awe inspiring - our first real castle, up close! Considered to be one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in England. We’re getting pretty tired by now (midday) and so head to our accommodation for the night. Near to Brands Hatch Raceway, which I never managed to see particularly well, but it was there! After a couple of hours rest, a swim and a spa, I convinced Alex that I needed to do a cache or two. I tried “Billy Goats Gruff” which like trolls, was under a bridge. A muddy bridge this time, and a micro. So I looked for a while and decided that it was not to be. It was a lovely walk in the woods though, and the rain let up enough for me to stay dry.
We headed out to a local Indian restaurant for dinner, and it was a lovely meal with great service. The funny thing was the young Indian waiter couldn’t understand us at all and had to ask another waiter to take our order!
Back to the hotel - time to crash. About 8pm for me.
Day 2
And guess what time I’m up? 5.30am. I grabbed my book and headed out to the common area, where I was surprised to find a couple of other guests stirring too. It gets light at about 5am, but not warm. The weather has been pretty ordinary - rain, tops of about 17 degrees - almost identical to what we left in Adelaide. I enjoyed an indoor swim before breakfast. We’re on our way at 8.
Heading to Brighton, we detour out to have a look at Bodiam Castle, which the guidebook suggests is one of the most romantic in Britain. Seems they are all a ‘most’ something… Beautiful though, with a real moat right the way round. We don’t stay overly long, it hasn’t opened yet and we decide to keep moving as there will be many more ruined castles to see inside of! Had a quick look for a cache, but couldn’t work out how to get to it, so we continued on.
We did a slight detour through a town called “Battle”, which is the site of the Battle of Hastings - 1066. Hastings is probably 20km further down the road, but I don’t suppose it would have made sense to call it the Battle of Battle. The Battle Abbey looked very impressive, but we’re trying to get to Brighton so chose not to stop.
Brighton, a seaside city, became popular when Prince George (later King) was in his early twenties. Its seawater was said to have health properties. He originally rented a farm house, and then over time built the Royal Pavilion over the top of it. We spent a couple of hours doing the tour of the Pavillion and it was superb and well worth the visit. He was a man of the arts and the pavilion is just incredible. Prince George became the Prince Regent at age 49, when his father was declared insane and unfit to rule, and King at 63 when his father died. Worth reading up on him, quite a colourful character who suffered Gout and Dropsy.
We also walked onto Brighton pier and I don’t think it has changed much in the couple of hundred years since it was built. It has amusements and games, and I was surprised to see many slot machines and gambling games where you could win money on full display. There seem to be quite a few cultural differences here, subtle though. Smoking is another one, everybody smokes - and they are reeling from an anti-smoking ban that says you can’t smoke in any public building as of 1 July, when previously they had very weak ‘eating area’ laws only.
We walked through “The Lanes” a few hundred year old series of shops in tiny lanes. Sometimes the distance between the lanes was little more than two shoulder widths. The quaint little shops reminded of Diagon Alley, although probably smaller. Kept expecting to see “Flourish and Botts” around the next corner!
Heading out of Brighton, we stop at a geocache, “Brighton Travel Bug Hotel” and I drop off and collect a couple of travel bugs. Then we start heading towards Stonehenge.
We drove past some magnificent castles, they are just everywhere, and every town brings more beautiful English traditional homes, which I guess they largely take for granted. I’m getting used to seeing three storey homes, which they all seem to be… We also love the little covered English Lanes, just amazed to see how many there are. And the roads - so narrow and many of them one lane wide, with little lay-bys so that you can move over to let people through.
We see the Salisbury Cathedral in the distance, the spire is the tallest in England and wander in for a look. It was built in the 13th century and contains graves dated 12xx, which was just fascinating. And those effigy’s of the guy lying down with his arms crossed over his chest, just like the movies. I need to find a new word for awe-inspiring. We probably spent an hour looking around here. And did a Virtual cache too.
It’s getting late, by now it’s about 8.30pm. We head towards Amesbury to try to find a room for the night, which proved difficult. Both pubs in the town were full, as was the roadside travellodge. By the time we find accommodation (Holiday Inn) and check in, it’s 9.45pm, and still light like 7pm. We grabbed KFC, which was surprisingly difficult, they don’t have potato and gravy or corn, but do have baked beans. The chicken tastes pretty much the same, the texture was a little different. Diet coke though, tastes quite different and I’m not fussed on it. Like Singapore, they have no idea what a ‘cold’ drink is, seems their fridges are set much warmer than ours.
As I write this, it’s probably made 6am by now, as I’m up at 5.30 again, and Alex will be up soon. First stop will be Stonehenge. It’s been hard to find internet access, and I have to pay 6 pound an hour for this connection, so won’t be on long.