England and Scotland Day 3
England and Scotland
Day 3 - October 3, 2006 - Transfer to the English Lake District, Visit Chester and Grasmere
We heard the alarm clock go off at 6:40, even though I been awake since 4:00 AM - jet lag!!! We showered, packed and had our luggage out in the hallway by 7:45. We enjoyed a beautiful buffet breakfast with many fruits, preserves, muffins, meats, and cheeses. Some members of the group took advantage of the option of a cocked breakfast with eggs, meats, blood pudding, and potatoes. Many of our fellow travelers are also former teachers so we swapped school stories as we got to know each other.
There are only 13 of us on this adventure. Our trip leader, Simone, sat with us as well as Kenny, our driver. Simone is from Northern England and Kenny is from Scotland so we will have first hand information, knowledge and a good natured rivalry between the two. Both seem pleasant and very accommodating as we began our journey exploring northern England this morning.
At 9:15, the appointed time, we were all on the bus and headed out under gray skies and 50 degrees with a slight drizzle - yes, we are in British Isles.
Simone began our tour telling us about the obligatory Euro rules, seat belts are mandatory in all cars and coaches as of this summer.
This is a very prosperous area. Simone told us that homes in this village are over 100 years old and cost 1 to 2 Million dollars. We left the village of Lymm and drove southwest on the motorway on our way to Chester. The fields were very fertile and we saw corn, wheat, vegetables, and bright green pastures for grazing horses, cattle, and sheep, all partitioned by hedge rows to divide the properties. We saw many ring necked pheasants!
As we traveled, Simone gave us running commentary on local customs, the people, and the accents and dialects we would hear along our way through Great Britain. Our coach is a large mini-bus with 32 seats for the 14 of us so we have plenty of room. I got a map from AAA before we left and Simone also gave us a very good regional map so we are able to follow our route.
We arrived in Chester, the site of one of England's best-preserved walled cities. Begun by the Romans around 2,000 years ago to defend against the Welsh, about two miles of well-preserved fortifications encircle the town. We began our walking tour at the Chester Castle and walked along the city walls. The Castle itself was built by William the Conqueror and was rebuilt many times through the centuries.
Our walk on the top of the wall took us through the ancient and medieval city to the Roman temple and the amphitheater that is now being excavated. We finished our tour in a modern shopping area but we chose the route of back streets and used our time taking photos and bought a few postcards.
We watched the locals as it was getting to be lunch time and found Sayers for a quick stop lunch. We chose pasties, a very light pastry with a hot yummy filling. Gennie had a traditional meat and potato while I had a hot and spicy chicken tikka.
At 12:55 we met our group at the old medieval pillar and walked back to the bus where Kenny was patiently waiting for us. We retraced our route out of town and saw a gorgeous rainbow across our path. We all hoped it would be a positive sign for good weather, although the intermittent showers have not detracted from our walking.
At 2:45 we made a half hour stop at a Moto Café for our afternoon break. Ken told us there are strict rules in GB for rest breaks for the coach drivers. By 3:15 we were back on the highway and heading north to the Lake District. The terrain here is gorgeous rolling hills with green pastures divided by "dry stone" walls for sheep pastures. This is all a national park district and there are very strict laws about commercial development and maintaining the integrity of the stone and stucco buildings.
We arrived in Glasmere and Ken let us out of the bus for a walk to the village church yard and the burial grounds of the Wordsworth family, William being one of the most famous of the Lake District poets. We hiked to the top of the foothills to our hotel, found our room, and settled in before going to the dining room at 6:30.
After our set dinner together at the hotel, we moved into the lower bar area to hear a presentation and see a slide show by Donald, a retired national park ranger from this area. Through this talk we learned the geological and historical wonders of this beautiful land of lakes and mountains. We returned to our room to finish the journal and then upload our day's events.
Swan Hotel -- Glasmere, England - - - Meals: B, D
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