Tuesday 24 October 2024 Kew Gardens are a must see for visitors to the London area. I am fortunate that there is a #65 bus that regularly runs up to Kew and back. I easily spent 4 hours walking around the gardens and there are various eating places providing sustenance as required. And as luck would have it, I asked a man to take my photo for me in front of the Palm House: he turned out to be a New Zealander living not far from where I was staying in Richmond and when he came back to NZ he … [Read more...]
Richmond-upon-Thames
Sunday 22 October 2024 My intent when I came to England (following a couple of weeks in France and a few days in Scotland) was to visit my godmother in Hinchley Wood again. Unfortunately a hospital stay meant that this wasn’t possible but her brother and his wife very kindly volunteered to host me at their lovely home in Richmond-upon-Thames in South West London. Richmond upon Thames is well known for its beautiful green open spaces and history as a favourite retreat for Royalty, … [Read more...]
Day 5: Falkland Palace, Kingdom of Fife
Friday 20 Sept 2024 Today Andrew and Doreen take me to Falkland Palace on the other side of the river from Edinburgh - somewhere they haven’t been before either. It is a very grey and drizzly day but we set off mid-morning heading back to the Edinburgh bypass and then to where there are three bridges in a row across the river: a rail bridge, the old road bridge and a new road bridge with 3 huge white ‘sails’. Unfortunately it is so miserable that we can’t really get a good view (but we do … [Read more...]
Day 4: Peebles, Scottish Borders
Thurs 18 Sept 2024 We decide on a much quieter day today with an afternoon drive to the small town of Peebles, on the river Tweed in the Scottish Borders area. We also want to get back reasonably early as Andrew and Doreen’s good friends John and Jenny are coming for dinner tonight. It is another beautiful sunny day - to get 3 sunny days in a row has been unheard of this summer - it has been particularly wet and cold. And I’m told we have also had the warmest temperature! It is great to … [Read more...]
Day 3: Edinburgh Walking Tour
Wed 18 Sept 2024 Today we catch a double decker bus from the end of the road into Edinburgh and Andrew and Doreen take me on a walking tour of the old town areas. On the bus journey, I delight at all the stories of ‘that was where I used to live’, ‘that is where I went to school’, ‘there are the playing fields’, ‘that’s where we had our wedding reception’….etc. It was lovely to get such a good feel for where they spent their childhood (although much has changed since). It is a … [Read more...]
Day 2: Around Roslin Village
Tues 17 Sept 2024 Today we explore the village of Roslin, Rosslyn Chapel, and the picturesque Roslin Glen Country Park. We start with a tour of the Rosslyn Chapel complete with a talk about some of its history and features. No photos are allowed inside the chapel but there is a Rosslyn Chapel App that takes you on virtual tour of the inside if you are interested in seeing more. Rosslyn Chapel was founded by Sir William St Clair in 1446 as a family chapel. He had grand plans for a huge … [Read more...]
Scotland Short Break (Day 1)
Monday 16 Sept 2024 After a wonderful two weeks in France exploring my friend Dominique’s home town of Angers, I travelled on to Scotland to catch up with friends Andrew and Doreen who I had met on a trip to Nepal & Bhutan back in 2019 before all the craziness that Covid19 has brought us. Despite France being relatively close to the UK, it still took me an entire day to get there with a 2.5 hour train trip from Angers to Paris, a ridiculously long time (1.5 hours) to get through … [Read more...]
Day 15: Visit to Slate Museum, Trélazé
Sun 15 Sept 2024 Sadly today is my last day in France and being Sunday most things are closed. We have a very leisurely start to the day and enjoy croissants and coffee for brunch. In the afternoon we head to the Slate Museum (Musée l‘Ardoise) in the town of Trélazé not far from Angers. Earlier when Dominique had said that was where her mother had worked I had misunderstood - her mother was a nurse and had worked at the slate mine itself. Accidents in slate mines are quite high. Slate … [Read more...]
Day 14: Le Thoureil, Ackerman Winery & Dolmen de Bagneaux
Sat 14 Sept 2024 Saturday is Market Day - we start to feel like locals as we head to the markets and visit our favourite stalls to pick up local produce for lunch and dinner. After lunch we head south-east again toward the city of Saumur. Dominique finds us another beautiful scenic route to follow, this time along the south bank of the Loire. We stop at the village of Le Thoureil - listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its emblematic Loire Valley Landscape. It also has a Small City of … [Read more...]
Day 13: Puy du Fou Historical Theme Park
Friday 13 Sept 2024 Today we head quite a way south past the town of Cholet to Puy du Fou, a theme park that brings history to life through its amazing reenactments of key periods of history. My first impression when we arrived was how huge and well-organised it was with massive carparks and great signage. Once inside, I was even more impressed. It is set in a beautiful park-like setting with huge trees providing shade, and well tended gardens. The site is separated into areas … [Read more...]
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