My
friend Tim from the UK reached out last week.
Hi. Tim :-) And that reminded me
of all the great places in the UK that I have visited. So I thought I'd post some pics and share. This is Oxford. Unfortunately we did not run into Inspector
Morse while we were there. ;-)
Lucky
for us I was bitten by the travel bug at an early age, so we were able to
travel before places became so overcrowded and access to some became more
limited. This is of course Stonehenge. I don't think you can get this close anymore. Or be more or less alone with it as we were.
The
first time we visited Dover it was pouring so heavily that I ended up wearing
my umbrella as a hat. But it was dry on
our second visit. I don't know what we
enjoyed more, the remains of the Roman lighthouse, or the WWII tunnels.
Brighton
was a hoot and clearly this over-the-top confection known as The Royal Pavilion was the inspiration for
the It's a Small World exhibit at Disneyland.
My
love of English history began with the Henry VIII series on PBS. So Leeds Castle was on my "to visit"
list. (We went to Hampton Court on my
first trip.) It is easy to see why some
consider it to be Britain's prettiest castle.
Mostly I remember the exotic black swans. To this day, the only ones I have seen.
The
first time I tried to visit Windsor Castle, the Queen was in residence and we
were turned away. Luckily we caught it
on a subsequent visit because it burned down not long after. Ok.
Not burned down, but it was a massive fire and I am sure it took many
years to get it back on track.
Canterbury
is such a magical place. No wonder it
has been attracting pilgrims for centuries.
The narrow cobblestone streets are hugged by half-timbered houses that
transport you back in time. But for me
the most vivid memory was seeing the steps where Thomas Becket was
martyred. For some reason, I had thought
they were outside. So it was a shock to
see where they actually were.
If you
are a fan of Georgian architecture Bath is an awesome place to visit. But it's the Roman ruins that tend to capture
the imagination. It must have been some
heck of a place.
The
Cotswalds a series of small quaint villages are about as picturesque as it
gets. I think I even read that some are
too small for tour buses so you might still be able to enjoy them and get a
tourist free photo opportunity.
Last
(for now) but certainly not least is Blenheim.
That's Edward climbing the steps and heading in for a closer look. I had read a book about Queen Anne, which of
course included John & Sarah Churchill, so that put it on my "to
see" list. As did the fact that it
was rescued from bankruptcy by an American - Consuelo Vanderbilt. But the palace and the grounds are quite
lovely all on their own.
Cheers!
PJ
(c)
2018 PJ Lehrer
