round-the-world in 2005
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Oct 2 - Oct 31, 2005
We are back in the UK to do a bit more exploring this time. See our short previous stay here.
02 Oct 2005 Cambridge, UK
Getting oriented
Our friend from Perth, Peter Drew, now lives in Cottenham, a village a couple of miles out of Cambridge. After lunch Pete drove us into Cambridge for our first look at the town. We had our traditional first stop at the tourist information centre, asking the usual questions about maps, what’s on, and where to find cheap food and internet. Then we explored the streets getting ourselves orientated. A university town, Cambridge has some beautiful old buildings and will be a nice relaxing place to hang around for a while.
03 Oct 2005 Cambridge, UK
Emergency Treatment
We went to the local hospital A&E looking for someone to give some advice on Rob’s back injury. As usual, being a non-urgent case, it required waiting around for a couple of hours, and the advice we finally received wasn’t too helpful as it contradicted some of what we have been told previously!
04 Oct 2005 Cambridge, UK
Home Cooked
Today we had a rest day at home. Clare has been loving the opportunity to have control of the kitchen. We are paying our way here by providing Pete with some quality home cooked meals each night. The TV has been keeping us entertained. Pete has cable TV with hundreds of channels, and we have been starved of English speaking entertainment.
05 Oct 2005 Cambridge, UK
Happy Anniversary
We watched the Aussie cricketers clean up the World team in the morning. In the afternoon we did not do very much, just a short walk around the neighborhood. Today we celebrate our eighth year anniversary from our first date – with a typical budget special meal of takeaway Chinese.
06 Oct 2005 Cambridge, UK
Op Shopping
We made a list of the op shops in town, and noticed that many were along Mill Rd - so that is where we headed. Drewy dropped us off at one end on his way to work, and we walked along looking for some cheap warm clothes. Clare bought some trackies, and Rob some gloves and beanie. Rob had his second physio session in the afternoon - she did not do too much, but hopefully at least something to help his back heal.
07 Oct 2005 Cambridge, UK
The world is not good enough
We spent the morning watching the cricket again, and watching the Aussies clean up the world team again. All this sport watching inspired Clare to go for a bike ride. She got a little lost in the unfamiliar streets of Cambridge. It was a lovely day for it anyway!
08 Oct 2005 London, UK
Perth Derby
Clare started this sporting day with a jog around the streets of Cottenham. It has been a long time since either of us have done anything more than a walk. We caught a train into London for the annual AFL challenge match at The Oval, this year between our home teams the Eagles and Dockers. It was comforting to be in familiar surrounding of lots of Aussies drinking beer and watching our home sport. The Dockers won, and we went to celebrate at a Walkabout Bar full of more Aussies. We had had enough by 9pm, so headed back to Cambridge on the train. From there Rob drove back to Pete’s house in his car, driving on the left side of the road for the first time in a long time. We were feeling hungry, and in the mood for some greasy English chips.
09 Oct 2005 Cambridge, UK
Cambridgeshire
We woke early again, and watched most of the last one day cricket match between Australia and the rest of the world. For the afternoon, Pete took us for a drive in the surrounding countryside. We visited the village of Ely and its magnificent Cathedral, and the smaller village of St Ives, and had a relaxing pint on the banks of the river.
10 Oct 2005 Cambridge, UK
TV surfing
Nothing much of note to report today. Clare rode Pete’s bike into town again. Later we did some food shopping for another home cooked meal, but mainly Rob rested with the TV remote in his hand.
11 Oct 2005 Cambridge, UK
Songs of Joy
We took a walking tour of Cambridge old town, including a detour to the Fitzwilliam Museum, which had a special exhibition of Illuminations that was very interesting. Rob had another physio appointment, then we visited a nice old house, Kettle’s Yard, full of artworks, and back in time for evensong choir service at King’s College. The choir singing was beautiful, and the church very nice.
12 Oct 2005 Cambridge, UK
Walk in the Park
We caught a bus to a small village the other side of town, called Grantchester. We had a quick look at this nice sleepy town, and then walked down to the canal for a picnic lunch, and then continued our walk back into Cambridge. Fortunately we have had some great weather for this time of year.
13 Oct 2005 Cambridge, UK
Not meant to go
What a nightmare day. Clare got a lift by Drewy to the airport for her 8.40 am flight to Glasgow. As Rob wanted to head into London while she was away and get our Indian Visas, Clare left her passport behind and took other forms of photographic ID that we were sure would be OK. But it wasn’t. She was not able to board her flight, and she was stuck at Stansted airport an hour away. Eventually she made her way back home a couple of hours later, not sure if her trip to Scotland had been ruined. After some ringing around, checking prices for other flights, trains and buses, and not finding anything reasonable, we checked the internet and fortunately came across a £9 bus leaving tonight. The only problem was that it takes 12 hours, but it gets her there with only one day lost. Thinking that nothing else could go wrong, the bus to take her into Cambridge arrived with an ‘out of service’ sign on it. With time running out to make it to the main bus station, Rob went to order a taxi just as a replacement bus arrived. This bus only just made it in time after the driver detoured to chase some delinquent youths. Then the bus heading to London for her connecting bus to Glasgow broke down on the way, and its replacement bus only just made the connection on time.
14 Oct 2005 Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Braveheart
The bus made it into Glasgow on time, much to Clare’s relief. Her friend Lorraine was there to pick her up, and take her to Sterling, where she works – Braveheart country. While Lorraine was at work, Clare ventured on foot to the Wallace Monument, Stirling Castle (the best in Scotland), including the beheading stone in the nearby hills, and took a walk around the cobblestone old town. It is a lovely medieval town that has not succumbed to modernization. Rob spent the day reading up on India and planning our itinerary for the next part of our trip.
15 Oct 2005 Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Saffron Town
Rob and Drewy went for a drive to Saffron Walden, a village south of Cambridge. It was an interesting town full of medieval buildings and a couple of mazes. Clare walked around Glasgow, visiting a couple of museums, which were all free and very good quality. In the evening, Lorraine and her friends showed Clare a bit of Scottish culture with some highland traditional dancing. What a blast!
16 Oct 2005 Glasgow, Scotland, UK
More castles
Clare went for drive with Lorraine to hike around a nearby lake with some castle ruins, to enjoy the surprisingly beautiful weather. Rob sorted out his receipts to claim back all his medical expenses. We need the money to continue our trip in the black. He also went for a long walk through the sleepy village of Cottenham where we have been living for last couple of weeks.
17 Oct 2005 Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
No Queen
Rob went to the doctor to get some medication to last through India, and had a physio appointment in the afternoon. Clare spent her last day in Edinburgh, touring the gorgeous town, visiting a few museums and hiking the hills behind the Queen’s summer residence. A long but very enjoyable day. She tried unsuccessfully to get an early night for the early flight back tomorrow.
18 Oct 2005 Cambridge, UK
Back together
A super early start for Clare to get the train to the out-of-town airport (only with cheap airfares) and returned back to Cottenham at lunchtime. We had a call from Shaz and mum back in Perth to catch up on all the news. Later in the afternoon we went to the doctor to get some medical advice for our upcoming travel to India.
19 Oct 2005 London, UK
We I’ll be darned
We had to make a trip to London to get our visas for India - a very expensive exercise, costing over $70 each just for transport. You would not believe who we literally bumped into of all the millions of people on the tube in London - the elusive Neil Scothern (an old friend from Perth who we have lost contact with). It took a while for recognition, now with glasses and a little less hair, but he still sounds the same. After a quick chat we headed to ‘little India’, their London embassy, to get our visas. In the afternoon we visited a travel agent to amend our flights to India ... again! We can’t afford to stay in the UK much longer. We also went to the National Portrait Gallery and the Science Museum. After the tube, train and bus we arrived quite late back at Pete’s house.
20 Oct 2005 Leeds, Yorkshire, UK
Leeding the way
We managed to get an earlier flight to India, consequently we are leaving Drewy's for good today. He has been a great host, and great help providing a place to stay and recuperate. We quickly packed in the morning to catch a bus to Leeds, to visit Rob’s dad’s cousin, Keith and family. We were a bit confused as the bus we were on did not seem to be heading to the correct destination. After a couple of hours we checked with the driver and found out we were 50 km off course as we had boarded the wrong bus back in Cambridge. Luckily we were at a hub, and they were able to get us on another bus to Leeds. However, we were running late for poor Keith who was waiting for us at the bus station.
21 Oct 2005 Leeds, Yorkshire, UK
Rained all day
We caught a local bus from Keith’s house into Leeds city centre. It is a nice old town blighted by rainy weather. Some of the architecture from the boom days of the Industrial Revolution still stand - the corn exchange, town hall and the market building. We visited the art gallery, and an outdoor photo exhibition, and had a quick look in the library to search for some ancestors. No luck. We are staying out the back of Keith’s place, in a ‘granny flat’ all to ourselves. We went down the local (50m away) with Keith’s daughter Ali to watch a bit of the local derby on TV and have a few pints with the locals.
22 Oct 2005 Yorkshire, UK
Family History
Being a Saturday, Keith had the day off, and was happy to take us on a tour of the local area and visit some of the important sites in the history of the Woods. We went through Shipley, Saltaire, and Bradford. At Saltaire we visited the old Salts mill building where grandma Hilda used to work, now converted to a cafe, museum and art gallery. We also wandered around the Nab Wood cemetery looking for Rob’s great grandfather, but to no avail. In the afternoon we went with Ali and her boyfriend Darren to watch Bradford City football team play. Keith’s wife Cath served up some Yorkshire pudding for ‘tea’.
23 Oct 2005 Leeds, Yorkshire, UK
Tour of the dales
Again Keith was kind enough to drive us around the Yorkshire Dales, which are just the hills and valleys surrounding Leeds. We visited Keighley, a small canal side village with a lovely castle, and an old Abbey in ruins in the gorgeous green countryside. Luckily it was lovely weather and we could enjoy the outdoors. We also went to an industrial museum in Eccleshill, which gave us an insight into how Rob’s grandmother and others used to live and work in the weaving mills in early 20th century. Back at Leeds we took a walk along the canal running past Keith’s house before heading back for another home cooked Yorkshire meal.
24 Oct 2005 York, Yorkshire, UK
Walk the walls
A short train ride away is the lovely historical town of York. After a walk around the city walls, giving us an overview of the town, we visited some of the main sites. We did a tour of the huge York Minster (cathedral) which contains the largest amount of Mediaeval stained glass windows. We also went on a city tour, all free of course, learning lots about the local history. Our plans to go to Ireland are shot - our passports are in London at ‘little India’ and we are running out of time to retrieve them and make use of the cheap fares available.
25 Oct 2005 Bradford, Yorkshire, UK
Pain in the arm
A trip into the neighboring town of Bradford enabled Clare to get an immunisation jab for India - the only doctor that would see her at short notice. While we were there we also did some shopping and post office business. Bradford city seems like a nice town with some beautiful big old buildings. We tried to catch up with some other relatives of Rob’s, but alas we couldn’t get in touch.
26 Oct 2005 Whitby, UK
Cook’s town
We said goodbye to the Lamberts who have been wonderful hosts, cooking for us and imparting all their local knowledge on us. We took a walk along the canal again, but in the other direction, before taking a bus out to Whitby, north-east on the coast. It is famous as the home of Captain James Cook. On the way we passed through the famous North-Yorkshire Moors. It was raining which gave it a slightly authentic feel, gladly though we were on the bus! The hostel in Whitby is perched on a hill with magnificent views of the town and harbour, and views of the Abbey ruins out of the window. We sampled some of England’s finest cuisine, fish and chips, and what better place to do it than on the coast.
27 Oct 2005 Whitby, UK
Goth week
It is an absolutely gorgeous day, atypical for the season so we took advantage of this and walked along the Cleveland track along the south coast to the dramatic cliffed Robin Hood’s Bay, which was 7 miles away. We walked back along a disused railway track amongst the cows and sheep. In Whitby it is ‘Goth week’ so the streets are filled with loads of black clad Gothics. Apparently the town has some links with the book Dracula.
28 Oct 2005 Whitby, UK
The sound of the ocean
It is great to wake each morning to the sound of seagulls and the ocean. We stayed in town today to do a walking tour of the historic centre. The weather was a little damp and quite windy, good for going in and out of buildings. The highlight was the Whitby museum, which contained some history of the town with information about Captain Cook. It contained lots of interesting artifacts including the largest complete fossilised prehistoric alligator skeleton! It also had ‘the hand of glory’ cut off of a hanged man, supposedly giving good luck to burglars.
29 Oct 2005 Oxford, UK
Back to uni
We got up early in the cold and dark for the 7.30 bus - 4 buses later we arrived in Oxford at 4.30pm. Unfortunately, Clare’s travel pillow was stolen on the bus - can’t even trust English folk. We took a quick look around town, but it was quick getting dark. It will be even worse tomorrow as all the clocks go back an hour for the finish of daylight savings.
30 Oct 2005 Oxford, UK
An extra hour
We cruised around the city today, checking out the highlights of this university town. We visited many of the colleges, which have lovely old buildings always with greenest of green quadrangles, and of course steeped in history. We went to the Ashmolean museum for a bit of a mix of new and ancient culture. We stumbled across a game of Royal (Real) tennis, the precursor to the modern lawn tennis, played indoors. We sat and watched for a while, totally confused about how they keep score. Oxford is a lovely town, with a similar feel to Cambridge, the rival university town. We are also busy getting ourselves mentally and physically prepared for India in a couple of days.
31 Oct 2005 London, UK
Last day
We caught the cheap megabus to London and tubed out to Hampton Court to our hostel. We had a few last minute chores to do before heading to India tomorrow, and these ended up taking up most of the day. Again the Indian embassy did not let us down, and took an extraordinary amount of time just to give us our passports back. We also sent another package home, lightening the load on our backs for our trekking around India. We finished the day with our last self-cooked meal, as we will be buying all our curries on the sub-continent.
Next we fly to India.