Leeds to London

Monday 13 May Kirkby Stephen and Barnard Castle

A day just wandering through a couple of towns. We started the day heading over to Kirkby Stephen, going the opposite way to the other times we'd been there. The day was bright and clear, allowing us to get some even better views than we had the previous times, when it was either drizzling or overcast.

Stunning scenery abounds.

A wander around the main street ending up at the market square.

Kirkby Stephen Market Day

 It's Market Day, so we purchase some local fruit slice for afternoon tea. Back up the A66 toward Barnard Castle, we decide to grab some local cheeses, and together with a nice Bramston Pickle we'd already bought in Reivaulx Abbey, we are heading to the front lawn of the Bowes Museum for an afternoon tea (without the tea).

Bowes Museum

After a stroll around the gardens it's back home to our beautiful cottage for our last night.

Tuesday 14 May Goodbye Barny and the car. Hello Leeds.

We are heading back down to Leeds to hand back the car, stay overnight prior to heading to London tomorrow. After a fantastic time at Avelin Cottage, we spent some time saying goodbye to our wonderful hosts. We could have driven down the main A1 motorway and taken about an hour or so, but have decided to take the less direct route that takes twice as long. The drive today is going to take us over to Hawes, across the top of the northern moors, and onto Skipton. At Hawes we stopped to get some local snacks for the drive - it's Market Day. The same people who were at yesterday's Market Day in Kirkby Stephen! Then we have a cheese tasting at the local diary. Since Hawes is in Wensleydale, we had to have some Wensleydale cheese. It was delicious and Wallace and Grommit would have loved it too.
Heading south we pass directly through the middle of the Yorkshire Moors National Park. It's hard to describe how overloaded you become with incredible view after incredible view. Every view is worthy of stopping and taking a panorama of pictures, but as the road is only one lane wide it's rather dangerous to contemplate.

Between Hawes and Skipton

We finally reach Skipton, a pleasant town on the main Liverpool to Leeds Canal. We had some lunch by the canal, watching the local 'wildlife' pass us by. The was also some birdlife on the canal as well.
After this we headed toward Leeds and our overnight stop. We eventually find it. It an Ibis right in the middle of the city, and Leeds' roads system is difficult. Chuck the luggage into the room, then back in the car to handover to Hertz. It's only a short walk, so we walked back into the centre, passing through the main thoroughfares. After so much time 'isolated' in the country, the brights lights and noise gives us some preparation for our next destination tomorrow, London by train.

Wednesday 15 May Take the fast train to London.

A slow start to the day for our trip to London. After checking out we stroll down to the station, to wait for a couple of hours in the busiest station we've seen for a while. Our train is about 30 minutes late, but it doesn't matter as we don't have a connection to make or somewhere else to go. We pass through rolling farmlands completely different from the farms and dry-bricked walled paddocks we'd seen in the moors. Rick turned on our GPS to get an idea of where we were in relation to London. It was funny to see the speed reading showing over 200 Kph, and the info line advising what was coming up. Occasionally, it would flash a warning, telling that we were exceeding the speed limit, or too take care with an upcoming railway crossing. We're glad we did take the train to London. It saved a whole heap of hassles with traffic and saved time.
Our digs for the next few days are in Cartwright Gardens Bloomsbury, near the King's Cross Railway Station. They are called Studios,( read bedsitter) but are really a converted slighter larger than small bedroom. They have all the conveniences you could need except space. It's lucky we are only in here for 3 nights.

Karen took this while leaning on the opposite wall.

Thursday 16 May Free time wandering around London.

After about 5 weeks of living in each others pockets, we decided to have some time wandering around by ourselves.

Rick: While looking for something to do I came across a 'Harry Potter' walking tour. I picked out some sites, worked out a route and off I went. Just around the corner is St Pancras station, where the scene of the flying Ford Anglia was filmed.             

Just missed the Ford Anglia...

About 50 metres away is King's Cross station, home of platform 9 3/4. This is actually a heavily populated store, even early in the morning. Onto the tube and over to Leadenhall Markets - the site of the Leaky Cauldron and some of the Diagon Alley shots in the first movie. Unfortunately, there was scaffolding all around so I couldn't get too good a look. Wandering down to the river, I crossed over London Bridge to the Borough Markets. Again this is another location for the Leaky Cauldron in the later movies, but as it's a working market it's hard to get clear photo's. Crossing back over London Bridge I walked down to the Millenium Bridge, where the Death Eaters attacked it in the Half Blood Prince.

From Millenium Bridge up to St Pauls.

They've done a really good job fixing it. Back up passed St Pauls Cathedral to the underground for a trip to Leicester Square station, exiting on Charing Cross Rd. A few streets down is Cecil Court, supposedly the inspiration for the film-makers version of Diagon Alley. Guess what, more bloody scaffolding. I wandered through the alley anyway and I get the connection. I next wandered down through Leicester Square itself, and took a deviation to the M & M's store. Karen rang while I was in here so I waited for her, then together we went down the short distance to the last destination, Piccadilly Circus. The circus featured in the Deathly Hallows (part 1). Throughout the walk I was passing lots of other landmarks and taking them all in. It was a long walk but an extremely enjoyable one. By the way, my ankle is now almost all better. Thankfully.

Karen: As we'd been quickly through Covent Garden market yesterday I thought I'd start there, even after taking a couple of interesting rabbit-holes along the way I was still a bit early for the market so kept walking past Australia House again down Fleet St, past the Royal Courts of Justice, where I had a peek inside ( I wasn't bothered to go through the security check) to St Paul's Cathedral.

St Paul's

Already there are masses of people waiting to enter for their tour. Groups of bus tours and school kids and even a couple sunbathing on the grass ( well, the sun is out!).

Sun lovers

 So I decided I'd just take a walk around the outside, who knew there was a garden behind the cathedral? It's quite small but empty and I have some alternative photos of St Paul's now.
By the time I made my was back up Fleet St ,via a few more rabbit-holes, the Market was in full swing. This was a place I went to often when I was here in 1970's. There's been some great reconstruction on the site since then but I'm please to see it's still a market much as it was quite a bit of tourist tat but also some lovely pieces of handmade jewelry, art, clothes etc.
As I walked back up The Strand, I pass the entrance to the Savoy Hotel,

Love the elegance of this entrance

and have a look in  couple of the shops along the way. It's nearly lunch time by now so I call Rick and we meet up at Leicester Sq, which hasn't changed a bit. Off to Trafaflgar Square

Together: We spent the rest of the day walking and walking and walking. After lunch, we took in the portraits in the National Portraits Gallery, then strolled down Whitehall past The House Guard and

 Downing Street and The Cenotaph to the park opposite the House of Parliament. Big Ben has scaffolding all around it.

Big Ben (behind the scaffolding).

I'm starting to think that scaffolding is the business to be in.
St James's Park is packed with tourists as we head down to Buckingham Palace. A few obligatory photo's out the front and a visit to the shop later, and we're off to catch the tube back up to Euston station, and home for the night.

Friday, today is our last day in London and it's time to find something of Dad's family in the UK.
So, hi ho hi ho it's off to Sussex we go. It's an hour on the train from Victoria Station to a little town apparently frequented by Aussie soldiers in WW1 as they have a pub called The Dinkum. We are not far from the south coast here and I think there was a convalescent hospital in the area.
Willmington, where we are headed is 2 miles along the A27, thankfully there is a footpath all the way as it's a really busy road this morning. There are a couple of manor houses back from the road along the way, but not much of anything else.

One of  two thatched cottages in Wilmington (41 cottages altogether)

Wilmington is a village of some historic significance. It is Saxon in origin and was mentioned in the Doomsday Book. More recently and up to mid 1900's it was a self sufficient farming community.
The Crowhurst family and many of their relatives lived in this village for many years. Our ancestor, William left here in about 1850 to come to South Australia.
(Family tree notes :I know that his Father, Mother brother and 2 sisters also lived here until 1851 census as by the 1861 census all the children have moved (or married) and here are only William's father (also William), mother (Mercy) and an Uncle Samuel,who I believe had been a sailor and was now 'retired')
Anyway, back to the village. IT"S GORGEOUS! As it's Heritage listed all the old homes and cottages have been restored and have to be kept to a certain standard.
At the end of The Street (That is its name and its the only street) looking out across the farmland is a chalk likeness of a man carved into the hillside.

Long Man of Wilmington, (origin unsure)

This alone makes Wilmington a significant historical landmark.
We spent time here taking photos, looking at headstones at the church and enjoying our sandwiches looking out toward the Long Man.

This tree is in front of the church and is said to be 1600 years old.

Instead of taking the highway back to Polegate we took a gamble and set out along a Byway ( that's what the sign said) My god how much nicer it was walking through woodland and farmland to the next 'village' Folkington'.

Walking to Folkington along the byway.

Off the path is a Fairies garden.

Like Wilmington, it has no services or shops and in fact even less houses.
Both have ancient churches and Folkington has a large manor house that's still a private home.



We had a drink at the Dinkum (as you do) while waiting for the train, then it's home for tea and re-packing as tomorrow we go to France.