The British Isles by Coach

It's hard to find time to blog during this coach trip but today we had a day-off so I'm taking the opportunity. I've been keeping a travel diary so here's a few excerpts from the trip so far...

25/9/13
Arrived in London last night after a six hour train journey from Frankfurt. The transfer in Brussels included a British customs clearance, bag scan and passport check...the tunnel under the English channel only took 20mins....I was really looking forward to experiencing the tunnel crossing but was quite dissapointed as it was pitch black outside the train window and even squinting with my head right up against the window all I could see was a concrete wall runing alongside the train. First day of our tour was eventful as the driver managed to reverse the coach into a street sign which smashed right through the back windscreen...the tour director who we call Hilda because we can't remember her name but know it starts with a 'H'...she has a strong Irish accent and instead of swearing says phrases such as 'oh crumbs!' and 'jenny mack!'



Inside Canterbury Cathedral

George IV's house in Brighton

26/9/13
Our first coach stop was Stonehenge. I was pleasently surprised by how close we could get to the stones as I'd heard that with new heritage conservation restrictions that we would be so far away we might need binoculars....I am not used to having only a limited amount of time in one place during my trip and I must say that is a downside to group coach travel. I do enjoy taking my time when there's lots to see and on the other hand, leaving abruptly when I don't like a place.

27/9/13
Visited the south coast today including the southern most tip at a place called 'Land's End'....our lunch break was at St Ives which is a touristy 'beach-side' town...Walking through the cobble stone streets was really nice and we were lucky to get a bit of sunshine but the relentless blowing wind (which the locals called 'only a breeze') was exhausting so we were happy to move on.

Looks pretty but bloody windy

Chimneys on top of chimneys

28/9/13
Bath is a really nice town and the ruins of the Roman baths themselves are really cool to see in person as I had seen them on telly several times...we actually had trouble finding a pub that had three chairs free as Bath was chockers with people (being a weekend didn't help). The food in England is a crack-up, the lady beside us was eating beans on toast, literally baked beans on two slices of white bread with lashings of butter, no bells and whistles...that night we stayed in a hotel over the Welsh border and went out in Cardiff for dinner and drinks...we started walking around Cardiff centre at around 7pm and it was clear that already plenty of people had had a lot to drink...the city was very lively. Apparently almost a fifth of Welsh People still speak Welsh as a first language...some locals taught us to say 'cheers' in Welsh but I've forgotten already.

Bath's bath

29/9/13
Got on the ferry from Wales to Ireland but after sitting on it still docked for three hours the Captain informed us the journey was cancelled due to mechanical issues so we slept in Bunks in the ships claustrophobic cabins until they fixed the boat and we departed at 3:30 in the morning...the Welsh countryside impressed me, lots of green rolling hills and flowing rivers, reminds me of home in NZ...the accent is funny and makes me think of a combination of Wallace and Gromit and my father-in-laws previous two wives rolled into one...

1/10/13
Tonight will be our second night in Killarney, Ireland, last night we stumbled on a wonderful live Irish band and who were a lot of fun and made all the Aussies in the crowd cry when they played 'Waltzing Matilda'...spent the day today strolling through the Killarney National Park which is right near our hotel enjoying the beginning of the beautiful Autumn colours...can't understand what the Irish are saying when they're talking amongst themselves and everybody seems to be a comedian

We're spending another six nights in Ireland then heading back through the top of Wales to Scotland. Hopefully I'll get another chance to blog again soon so as not to keep my fans waiting...