En-route back home

We are very much enjoying lounge H at Heathrow prior to our departure:

Isaac looks askance at me with the iPad.

Leslie is sending texts using the last bit of our pay-as-you-go money:

We have about an hour until boarding and we will be away.

Surrey - Day 2

This is the last night in the UK as we will be on a plane out of Heathrow tomorrow in the early afternoon.  It was a gloriously beautiful day today and we got to spend it with Stephanie and Luka at some interesting sights nearby.
Waverley Abbey and Manor House:

Waverley Manor House is reminiscent of Jeeves and Wooster.

This ancient ruin was the monk's refectory:

Monk's Dormitory

Luka doesn't want his picture taken.

Stef is 22 weeks pregnant with a baby girl!!!

Luka and Isaac chilling on the knotted roots of a very old tree that reminds Isaac of Old Man Willow.

Old Man Willow from a distance.

Luka Hood - courtesy of the Sherwood Forest fair.

Farnham Castle Keep:

Scotty is slacking off.  Isaac still has not been beamed up.

Inside the Keep.

After Farnham Keep we had lunch at Nelson Arms Pub, great food, good service, and very friendly and indulgent people.

Luka is in need of a nap, but is a trooper.

Final farewells.  Leslie wants to put them in her luggage and bring them to the US.

On our way back to Potter's Inn, a flying rock cracked our windshield.

Our last 2 nights have been spent at the Potters Inn. Their Pub has the best custard we ever tasted and some of the best service we have had since we have been in England.

 

The next installment will be after we are back in the USA.

Cheers!

Surrey - Day 1

We are a bit late with this posting.  The hotel only has WiFi in the bar and restaurant area, so we are posting during breakfast.

We awoke to a very nice morning in Nottingham. We first went to the Nottingham castle - which is a very different castle from the others that we have seen.  Naturally, lots of things focus on Robin Hood and his connections to the area:

The castle proper is more like a house within fortified walls:

Isaac found a horse to ride ("I'm on a horse!!"):

And Leslie found a place to keep Isaac and Rob "right where they should be":

From there, we went to the Nottingham City of Caves.  Nottingham has a long history of people using caves for living locations as well as workshops and storage areas:

During the 1960's the city was erecting a new shopping center and it was thought that they would tear down an old tenement that was on site and using the bricks to fill in the caves.  During a preliminary survey, they found the remnants of a series of caves used as a tannery and that was the only medieval tannery known in England.  As a result, they brought in archaeologists to preserve the sites:

From there, we went on to Sherwood Forest.  This week there is a large celebration going on at the forest and there were many, many people there.  It was a carnival atmosphere starting with Friar Tuck along with two likely lads:

Rob and Leslie as Robin and Maid Marian:

And Leslie with a medieval ratter:

Some new headgear was involved (naturally):

And the canonical Robin Hood figure in the greenwood:

Off to meet Stephanie and other cousins as we go through our last day in the UK.  More later.

Cheers!

Nottingham

We left our little bitty, Lilliputian B&B this morning in York and visited the
relics in York.  First was St. Mary's Abbey, or what is left of it.

Next we visited York Minster.  As you can tell, they are working on it.  A few years ago, they started noticing cracks in the walls.  They have been working from the foundation up.

The main chapel

One of the many pulpits

Isaac said this looked like Dumbledore's Pensieve.

Vestments and Hardhats?

Roman Fortification Walls:

Pianist in the middle of an intersection.  How did he get that piano in the middle of the street?  Why would somebody even think of putting a piano in the middle of the street?  Isaac was so jealous, he hasn't been able to play piano since we have been on our trip.

Another amazing day! Goodnight.

York

We awoke this morning in Stirling and had a very full day.  We first drove to near Carlisle to see the remains of Hadrian's wall.  Isaac walked on the Roman remains and Rob met a centurion who recognized our party as hailing from the undiscovered countries:

This tower is similar to the tower supposed to have been built on the nearby remaining foundations:

We then made our way to Alnwick Castle.  This is the home of the Duke of Northumberland and is the location where the first two Harry Potter films were made.  The grounds were very impressive:

There is a lot of Harry Potter cultural enrichment.  Here we see Harry and Hagrid doing some kind of embarrassing (to selected crowd members) magic show:

Leslie and Isaac held a wizard's duel:

And this is the Duke's carriage - last used on the occasion of his marriage:

Our hotel features the smallest sink possible:

Tomorrow we will visit the York Minster.  Good night.