Where Sasha Went

Getting Around England

Going into my trip I was a little worried about getting around England. Which I admit is a little silly since most people there speak English, as I do, thus getting lost and needing to ask for help is significantly less of an issue. But evidently logic was not at play, and I was nervous all the same. We chose to not rent a car, and it turns out getting around England without a car is incredibly easy to do. Driving We chose not to drive the entire week we were in England. And if you are planning on doing so then that is awesome, you are braver then me. England is one of the few countries in the world that drives on the opposite side of the road (compared to the USA and all other European nations). So I chickened out and decided to do an immense amout of research to make sure we could get to where we wanted to go without trying to handle a car that operates directly opposite of what I am used to. Hired Tour We did however choose to ride along with a couple other intrepid travelers on a tour of the Cotswolds. I am not always the biggest fan of tours, often times they shuffle you around to large touristy places and never give you the chance to properly explore. But in light of not want to drive and there being no other public transportation option through the Costwolds we found a tour and wound up thoroughly enjoying ourselves. If you find yourself in a similar situation don’t discount the option. While it might not be your number of favorite way to get around, it can be nice to take a break from having to mange the entire day. Just sit back, relax and let someone else do all the work for you. Bus Buses are a very viable option for getting around, particularly when speaking of the express buses to and from the airport. When looking for ways to get from Heathrow to some towns across the country, all train options first put us on the underground to get to a train station and then often required switching trains mid way through the trip. One such route had us spending close to 6 hours getting from Heathrow to Bath. Rather the National Express provides somewhat direct bus lines from the airport right out to these smaller towns. We were out of the airport and disembarking in Bath in under two hours. Plus the buses are really very nice, with wifi to boot. Trains Trains are incredibly convenient in most places in Europe, at least in comparison to the US where they are mostly not even an option, unless of course you have a lot of time to spare and an endless supply of books to read while on board. One of my favorite things about trains that I discovered while we were there actually is that the ticket master can book you connections through his system. So we managed to get a single ticket that took us from Bath to Paddington Station to Kings Cross via the underground, then from Kings Cross all the way to Dover. Single ticket, all booked and times plotted out for you. And they even gave us enough time to get lost, which we didn’t because while it can be very intimidating to make exchanges at stations, everything is very well marked and easy to navigate through. Other added bonuses to traveling by train in England, they are quick, clean, they have food on board and wifi so you can keep in contact with your family or just post on social media about how cool the trains are. By Bike Biking is also a very great way to get around towns, or even get from town to town. Everywhere we visited had bikes for rent and even some of the places we stayed had bikes that could be used while staying there. Trains and buses also have rack options so that if you wanted to get from one town to another and then continue to explore by bike you could do so. Additionally a lot of the English Countryside has national trust trails specifically for biking and walking. Open fully tended paths ready and waiting for anyone willing to take a nice day trip with a picnic and even a bottle of wine out for a little explore. On Foot Lets not forget the cheapest method of getting around of all, on foot. While this might not be the most viable option when trying to cover a large distance in one day. It is a great way to explore a town. Slow travel is becoming more and more popular these days. A method of travel which doesn’t allow you to see all the big sights in a large area, but allows you to really experience a place as a true local. See the local shops, eat at the local restaurants, visit the local sights. Most people can walk about 8 miles over the course of a day without feeling it. So get out there and use those feet! Also don’t forget about trekking trips. I took one last summer in Ireland and it was one of my favorite trips of all times. England has loads of similar options like walking the Cotswolds Way. This allows you to really get off the main path and see some really incredible things that would be missed if you are busily popping from big tourist attraction to the next. You get to see locals, farms, country side and really connect back with nature. Added bonus, a lot of these trekking tours go from inn to inn so you don’t have to get THAT cozy with nature if you didn’t want to. In summary, getting around England is incredibly easy to do. And it is often easier without a car as you don’t have to worry about parking, gas or you know driving on the other side of the road. You can relax during the getting there phase of your trip and often stay connected or even plan the next stages of your trip. Public transport options also add an air of adventure and excitement, and of course it is much easier on the environment overall.
Continue reading

Dover England

Dover England was not the place I expected, it was both much worse and much more amazing than I was imagining. And even though every person who had been to Dover and who I had told I was headed to Dover exclaimed “Why on earth would you go there”, I am so glad we did in fact go there and I would actually go again. Dover is situated on the South Eastern shore of England and it is the point closest to mainland Europe. As such it has been a major port for most of England’s history and continues to be today. The main industry in the area is obviously the port and all the jobs associated with shipping, receiving and maintain the massive ferry port which bring both people and goods from Europe by way of Calais France. Despite the fact that it got heavily shelled from cross channel guns during WWII, it has some of the oldest complete buildings in the country. Including some excellent examples of early Norman and Tudor buildings. As well as a museum dedicated to a painted roman house that was unearthed in the area. As a large communication center for many wars there are a number of memorials and museums dedicated to its military history which is ultimately why we were there. That and we wanted to watch the boats come and go from the port. Dover sadly has a fairly high crime rate, though I don’t think this should deter people particularly interested in the unique sights of the area. The majority of the crime stats are sadly related to domestic violence, which sort of goes hand in hand with such an incredibly economically depressed area. The entire high street was boarded up and the streets were full of people on the down and out. Including several large groups lining up for soup kitchens from local churches. And even despite all this you can find numerous articles online talking about how much people love living in Dover and doing everything they can to turn the community around. We would later learn that the port manager changed in recent years and the first money saving action was to lay off all full time employees and only hire contractors, which normally come into town for work rather than live in the area. Leaving most people without jobs. That being said we were there for two days and had no issues. Our hotel manager was such a gem, he actually drove us around a bit because it was raining and we had about a mile to walk to Dover Castle which is what we were planning on touring while there. We had stellar food at The Allotment an art deco cafe serving up surprisingly fresh and healthy food. And had an absolute blast hiking the cliffs after touring the castle. I also really loved how international Dover England was, since it is only a couple hours via ferry across the channel the area was buzzing with German and French tours groups and hearing all the languages and sharing the local history with them felt very important, given in mostly cases the wars fought over the channel were England against one or both of them.
Continue reading

6 Hours in Bristol England

We spent a good deal more than 6 hours in Bristol England, but the majority of our time was spent in the harbor which isn’t for everyone. This post will cover the things we did on the main land portion of Bristol, for those less interested in boats.
Brandon Hill and Cabot Tower
Brandon Hill was originally grazing lands for the Earl of Gloucester’s livestock, granted to him in 1174. Over the years the land was often used as a local meeting place and in 1843 30 thousand people gathered to watch the SS Great Britain leave port for America. Today is a really lovely park, the tallest location in Bristol it provides views of the entire city, and your vantage point can be improved by an additional 105 feet by the Cabot Tower which sits on the highest point of the park.
The red sandstone tower was built in the 1890s on the 400th anniversary of John Cabot’s voyage to America. He made landfall in Newfoundland Canada a number of years prior to Christopher Columbus’ journey to Central America. Not much is known about his initial journey which is thought to  be the first European voyage to the American continent since the vikings. Other than it was before his second which was in 1497 and that Columbus references this initial voyage in letters of his own on his first voyage.

We had thought about climbing the town, but while I don’t mind heights I do mind places crowded with people. So instead we chose a nice sadly bench with a great view and bought ice cream from a truck that was perfectly situated as the first thing we saw when we created the hill. It was delicious.

In addition to views and delicious ice cream. The park also has a good number of walking trails which weaves around all sides of the park into different parts of town. We chose to follow a nice tree lined path and then followed a very impressive architecture tower in the hopes of finding out what it was.

Bristol Cathedral
The tower we were following turned out to the part of the University of Bristol, which is a very impressive grouping of buildings and includes Willis Memorial Tower attached to the facade of the Law School. Since school was in session we chose not to poke around the building and rather went down Park Street toward the water. We popped in a few shops on the way down the hill and then came across this beauty that is the Bristol Cathedral.

Like all churches in England built early enough, during the reformation they were stripped of all things making them Catholic and often fell to disrepair over the years. This church was handed over to the Church of England and was kept in relatively good condition. Having previously been  Catholic Cathedral it is quite large, and blissfully empty when we visited. If you are in the area you should definitely check it out. It is really impressive and really empty. They also have a cafe and gardens around back that looked really nice.

St Nicholas Market and St. Peters Church
Two things I knew I wanted to do in Bristol were to visit the St. Nicholas Market which is a very large outdoor market and the St. Peters Church which is right across the street. Unfortunately for me, while the St. Nicholas Market is open Monday through Saturday, it is evidently closed on holiday weekends so I did not get walk around as planned.

Rather we popped across the street to Castle Park which is home to St. Peters, one of the oldest churches in Bristol the foundation dates back to the 1100s. The building went through restorations over the years but sadly during the Bristol Blitz it was nearly destroyed. Today all openings to the church are understandably bared off but it does look as though a restoration organization is attempting to raise money to shore up the walls so the location can be used for other purposes, even though it would never have a roof again.
Temple Church
Our last stop in Bristol was not a planned stop but one we happened upon while heading back to the train station. A gorgeous little park that used to be the grave yard of the Knights Templar church that was build on the site of the church that stands today in 1130. The knights were suppressed by Henry the 8th and then finally bombed out again during the Bath Blitz. If we walk up to the side door you can peek inside and see the original circular church foundation which is very neat to see. Another charming fact about the church is that the tower leans at a 5 foot angle. Construction of the tower began in the 1390s and quickly started to lean, as such it was never fully completed as to the original plan.

Continue reading

The Floating Harbor in Bristol England

The Floating Harbor in Bristol England is a really nice day out, and very family friendly. We had a couple locations in mind we wanted to visit but didn’t realize going in exactly how expansive the area was or how fascinating the history. The area has been important to humans and prehuman people since the Neolithic era. It was founded as a permanent settlement in 1000 the port was developed in the 11th century and continued to play an important role in England’s economy through the exploration and immigration to the America all the way up to today where it continues to play a role in a variety of economic industries. The name Floating Harbor comes from the lock system that allowed the tidal section of the Avon River to remain full and thus allow the large sailing ships afloat even at low tide. Sailing ships as apposed to steam powered ships have a terribly deep keel and were often made of wood at the time. So if a ship came to port in Bristol at the time and the tide went out, the keel would get stuck in the mud, the ship would tip, often snapping keep, mast or simply crush itself ruining both ship and shipment. MShed The harbor today is still very active though less in shipping capacity and more in a tourist capacity. The MShed is a free museum right on the water front that hosts a variety of exhibits, including a section of a hull of a boat painted by Banksy, allegedly of  the rather unpleasant harbor master at the time. The museam focuses on Bristol, providing information about the history of the area, the maritime traditions, people, life and places significant to the area. There are also a number of ships that one can tour right outside the doors of the museum. Banksy To various degrees it seems that it has been confirmed that the famous graffiti artist Banksy was raised in Bristol. Most of the earliest work attributed to the artists exists in the area and there is a walking tour outlined that can help show you around if you are interested in viewing all his works in the area. I most wanted to see the Girl with the Pearl Earring, so locating that particular site was my main focus. It can be difficult to find given it is down a short ally way and you don’t really see it until you are right on top of it. But find it we did and I was very happy to see it in person. SS Great Britain Another family friendly activity on the harbor is touring the SS Great Britain. The SS Great Britain was designed by Isambard Burnel who was very significant to the area and to Britian. He combined a number of modern ship building methods and wound up with the first every steam ship to cross the Atlantic to America, which it did in just 14 days. The area around the ship is set up as it would be at the time with fun faux shipping containers, food, animals and all sorts of other things that would have been packed aboard for the voyage. It looked very fun, but we were short on time so we decided to pass. Underfall Yard Underfall Yard was probably the highlight of our time in Bristol. It is a working boat yard that you can walk around, it is also home to the original hydraulic system that operated the lock system. We met a very nice volunteer with the yard named Richard who used to teach history and told us all about the area, the history of the hydraulic system, the harbor, Bristol and all sorts of other things. We probably sat with him for at least an hour and loved every minuet of it. We walked away with a backpack full of information, a tshirt and two buttons. It was a blast. We also spent a good deal of time sitting outside watching two young brothers, who must have been a part of a sailing club, fight, shout, shove and nearly knock one another into the water more than once. It does appear that there are a variety of boat rentals in the area from the aforementioned sailing lessons to a water taxi that can take you up and down the harbor for very little cost. For those less interest in boating type things, the yard also hosts a couple cafe’s with outdoor seating and a wonder view of the harbor. Swivel Bridge and Clifton Suspension Bridge Toward the end of the harbor near the locks are two bridges of a very different sort designed by the same man, Isambard Brunel. When he was 23 he was appointed the project engineer, it took 33 years to complete but the Clifton Suspension Bridge is quite the marvel. We didn’t have time to walk up and cross it but the gorge that it dares to span (especially given it was built in the 1800s) is massive. The Swivel bridge was built in 1844 and designed by the same man. It is a large hulking mass of wrought iron and not nearly as elegant as the suspension bridge but it is a technical masterpiece. It is in terrible disrepair and money has been pouring in to study, evaluate and repair it. I found it interesting that the bridges were being built around the same time, by the same man, to solve different problems and look so very different. It was very cool to see in person. We sat at the edge of the harbor and had some snacks while we plotted our next move. We knew we wanted to make our way up to a few locations on the mainland portion of the Bristol but it took some serious examination of the map to figure out a way over all the bridges and roads safely. We did eventually manage it and wound up popping back down on the other side of the Bristol Harbor more than once throughout the day. So if you enjoy maritime type activities I would highly suggest spending the day at the floating harbor in Bristol England.
Continue reading