Tag Archives: England

Castles, Dogs and Roundabouts

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We are just back from a trip to the United Kingdom and Ireland, and my non-scientific observation is that there are more castles, dogs, and traffic roundabouts in the UK by a huge margin compared to Australia.

Traffic roundabout at Tenby in Wales

The purpose of this trip was not to make comparisons at all but to make a personal pilgrimage to our ancestral origins. After years of family history research, I had found the places that our relatives lived prior to their immigration to Australia (and the USA in one case).

Susan outside ancestors home in Newton Stewart, Scotland

We had a couple of actual addresses and we visited these houses, knocked on the door, and had lovely conversations with the current residents. They were very interested to hear about the lives of people who once lived in those places.

Michael outside ancestors home in Sandwich, England

We also wanted to see as much of the UK and Ireland as we could in about six weeks, because the trip from Australia is awful, and a real deterrent and we doubt we will do this trip again. So, it really was a once in a lifetime journey for us. Well, second, as we had flown in and out of London back in 2008.

We spent a few days in London at the beginning of this trip and visited some places we had not last time. We had done the actual version of my armchair travel exercise and we were keen to get out of the city.

Michael at the Sky Garden in London.

I had formed a loose itinerary, noting the places we wanted to see. We aimed to visit possibly two castles; however, it is hard to avoid castles, and we ended up visiting eleven up close. The most impressive to us is Arundel Castle in England.

Arundel Castle in England

Here is a list of the castles we visited in the order that we were there: (Learning about the history of these castles is something else and I have provided the links for more information:

There were other places we wanted to see motivated by those gorgeous photos seen online, such as the Harry Potter train and bridge known as the Jacobite Steam Train and the Glenfinnan Viaduct, a particular curved street in Edinburgh, Portree and the Old Man of Stor on the Isle of Skye, Eilean Donan Castle, the Dark Hedges in Northern Ireland, to name just a few.

Jacobite Steam Train traversing the Glenfinnan Viaduct, Scotland

And while we did make it to see these places and to take another iconic photo, there is a lot the camera does not pick up. Such as full car parks, queues of gridlocked traffic, crowds and queues of people, bad weather obscuring the view, no place to stop the car, and other things.

Driving through the Scottish Highlands

And while those places are not to be missed, and we chased the touristy things like everyone else, we also found lots of beautiful places and experiences in other areas that are not earmarked for the tourists. Ballintoy Harbour in Northern Ireland is one of those, and we enjoyed scrambling around on the rocks looking out towards the Atlantic Ocean and the Isles of Scotland. By chance we discover that this is where they filmed the scenes for the Iron Islands in Game of Thrones.

Ballintoy Harbour, Northern Ireland

We were blessed with beautiful Autumn weather. The sun shined, the skies were blue, and we often wore tshirts. I imagined striding across the Battlefields of Culloden with icy rain beating our faces, but it was a gorgeous stroll along the paths beside the grassy fields, under a blue sky.

Gravestone at the Battlefields of Culloden, Scotland

These are some of the highlights of our trip:

We loved meeting and talking with local people, everyone always friendly. Although we were often mistaken as ‘British’ until we clarified that we are Australian.

I never got tired of the green fields and lush forests.  

Susan walking along the Beech tree lined road of the Dark Hedges, Northern Ireland

Seeing squirrels in the beautiful city parks.

Hearing bagpipes in unexpected places in Scotland is a treat.

Looking for the Loch Ness Monster while aboard the cruise boat and hearing their theories.

Seeing the bold Harry Potter train chug happily across the Glenfinnan Viaduct.

Driving through the Scottish Highlands is breathtaking and tempts you to hike and explore.

Looking for quaint fishing villages and finding many.

Tenby Harbour, Wales

The Isle of Skye is reminiscent of New Zealand.

Walking up to the Old Man of Stor and not making it, but seeing the sea and lakes appear below the morning fog, reflecting the blue sky.

View from the trail to the Old Man of Stor, Isle of Skye

The beauty and smallness of Ireland and Scotland.

Michael and Susan at Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland

The sea ferry journeys between Scotland and Northern Ireland, and then Dublin and Wales.

We spent 37 nights staying in 28 different B&Bs or hotels, using Booking.com as our guide.

Michael planning the day ahead, Belfast, Northern Ireland

In Blarney Ireland we met a formerly unknown distant cousin who had reached out via Ancestry DNA Matches, and we spent a lovely time with him, sharing our stories, and chatting about history.

Distant cousins at Kanturk Castle, Ireland

We are exceedingly happy to be back home in Australia, glad of the experience, and we are still processing all that we have seen and what this means to us. We have so many photos and I am still sorting through them. I will probably make a few photo stories for our own reminiscing.

Stonehenge, England

As a personal pilgrimage it was invaluable and gives more meaning to our own family histories. I will add a chapter to my story.

Map of trip route 2024

A Walk in London

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My daily walk looks like this:

Rosebud Pier, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, Winter 2024

My virtual walk took me to the other side of the world, to London. We had visited London in 2008 and visited the well-known tourist spots such as Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, the Tate Modern, Tower Bridge, and other places.

Mick and Sues in London 2008

So today I aim to wander, virtually, in another part of the city. I begin at Old Street Station north of the city.

Southwards down City Road I come to Bunhill Fields which is an old burial site. Therein lie the graves of William Blake who wrote Robinson Crusoe and died in 1827. Also, Daniel Defoe who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress and he died in 1731. It no longer serves as a cemetery and is now a public green space, and home to grey squirrels.

Cutting through the pathway of Bunhill Fields I head north to the City Road Basin in order to pick up the canals. The paths beside the canals are popular and wide and once were the pathways for horses that drew the barges along the canals ferrying goods to and from London. Joolz points out the evidence of this in his entertaining trip along the canals that he has published on his YouTube channel.

Nowadays many barges line the canals as living quarters and a lifestyle choice. No permanent mooring is allowed, so every two weeks the barges must move to another spot – a never-ending game of musical moorings.

I continue to follow the Grand Union Canal enjoying the city sights all the way to Camden Market. Here I spend hours looking at the diverse variety of goods for sale. I buy some local fare for lunch.

I hop on the tube at Camden Town and make the short trip to Kings Cross Station. Here I take in all the activity of the Coal Drops Yard, before admiring the stunning architecture of the new structure sitting alongside the old building. The new structure is over ten years old now and this informative video explains design and building process of the architecture.

Locating the site for the fictional Platform 9 ¾ I pass by the long queue of Harry Potter fans. What is there to see after all, but a brick wall with a sign on it?

Outside I walk next door to St Pancras Station This heritage building has been preserved, the highlight being the huge metal arches that form the structure for the station. I watch the interesting presentation with Tim Dunn speaking with Josie Murray about the history and architecture of the building.

Next along Euston Road I visit the British Library, a must for any authentic Librarian of course. By comparison, the modern brutalist external façade pales beside its railway neighbours.  It is a relatively new red brick building opened in 1998 and houses many collections of National importance. Beyond the open courtyard, the multilevel interior space is light inviting exploration and browsing. Of course, most of their collected items are stored in a robot-controlled warehouse in another part of England. If you want one of these items you need to give 48 hours’ notice, then you can read it in one of the Reading Rooms of the British Library.

Ancient texts and rare illustrations are on display, providing insight into how some of these precious ideas were created.

Further south I visit the British Museum that once housed the library collections. We had visited this place back in 2008.

Me at the British Museum, London 2008

This museum opened in 1759 welcoming visitors from around the world. “The Museum is driven by an insatiable curiosity for the world”, and the collections and displays support our vast human history.

Inside the Great Court of the museum is light filled atrium that surrounds a central circular domed Reading Room that was built from 1854 – 1857. Unfortunately, this room is now closed to the public.

Exploring some of the many galleries, the Egyptian history exhibition never disappoints. A virtual tour provided by Google Arts & Culture takes me back to my visit in 2008 and is a fantastic experience for the Armchair Traveller.

Screenshot of the Egyptian Collection at the British Museum from Google Arts & Culture experience

With a head full, stimulated by visual and mental images and information I complete this virtual wander through part of London. In researching this virtual wander, I enjoyed being taken along with Joolz and A Lady in London. Hopefully this virtual walk will become a reality soon.