Category: Train

My Classic Farewell Embrace of London

Post author By TravisGood
Post date September 9, 2010
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Tomorrow I fly home. So how do I typically spend the day before leaving London? Walking my feet off, of course! Today I covered the core of London from the Tower of London and London Bridge on the east to Buckingham Palace and Covent Gardens in the west. In addition I spent two hours in to the excellent London Transportation Museum. After 10 hours on my feet, walking and listening to audio tours, I was quite happy to collapse into a chair at a coffee shop. Ahhhhhhh …

Ever looking for interesting pictures to take I decided to take advantage of a special perspective: elevation. The Monument is a memorial of the 1666 fire that destroyed London and a celebration of London’s reconstruction. It stands 202 feet tall, the distance from it’s base to where the fire began on Pudding Street. I climbed the 311 stairs to a viewing gallery hoping that I could get some good shots and I think I did. While the subject matter isn’t novel I’m hoping you agree that the lighting, context and angles are special.

Another excellent trip to the U.K. complete!

How long till I return? 🙂

Historical Museum Train Travel

Now THAT’s a castle! Windsor

Post author By TravisGood
Post date September 9, 2010
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I’ve probably visited between 40 and 50 castles in the past five years. Often they’re an exercise in using your imagination. You know there will be a defensive outer wall, a mote, a keep, a place to live and usually you have only a vague outline of stones and a structure or two to guide you. If you’re lucky you’ll have a fairly-well restored castle where a reconstructed version of all the pieces are there to be seen. Certainly Sterling, Edinburgh, and Cardiff were excellent structures to visit but every castle I visited prior to Windsor Castle lacked heart.

Windsor Castle is the U.K.’s largest castle. It’s not only the weekend residence of the royal family but also a place where official U.K. state business is conducted. However, most important to my sentiment of it having heart is that it’s a home, it feels lived in and has been for 900 years. Windsor Castle’s scale, importance, use and lived-in status help set it apart from all other castles I’ve visited. Today I was impressed anew with castles.

From one amazing place to another.

Hike Historical Ocean Train Travel

Run Away from Tube Strike

Post author By TravisGood
Post date September 8, 2010
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The White Cliffs are famously called “of Dover” probably because of the busy port the town has. However, the cliffs extend far beyond as evidenced here in this picture of the town of St. Margaret.

If the Underground’s transportation workers were going to strike for 24-hours then I was going to spend that time out of town. The weather looked good so my plans were to visit Dover and Canterbury. Both these places were rained out when last I visited and again my BritRail pass was burning a hole in my pocket.

As good planning would have it, my high speed train out of town left from the St. Pancras station just across the street from my hostel. I was on the 8:11 and in just over an hour I was in Dover having raced along at speeds up to 140 MPH. While there are many things to do in this town located only 21 miles across the English Channel from France, there was only one thing I really wanted to do. I wanted to walk the White Cliffs of Dover and I did.

Historical Museum Train Travel

Churchill is my Hero

Getting reoriented was the basic plan for today so, as millions of others do, I started a walking tour at Big Ben. Rick Steves narrated my stroll which included Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, and so forth. I then consulted his list of most recommended sites and found the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms highly rated. “Why not?” I thought.

What a fabulous museum! Actually it’s two-in-one museums.

Family Historical Train Travel

A Wonderful Family Interlude

Post author By TravisGood
Post date September 6, 2010
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My sprints around the U.K. greatly benefit from visiting family. Going north I spent two days with Twila and Tracy and going south I visited another day. Given how intensely Tracy is working the final stages of his PHd program it was generous of them to take me in, especially the way they did. They’re going on four years in Leeds and their proud and knowledgable of their adopted English home. This came through when they gave me an intense and thorough tour of the city center where we walked everywhere, snuck into places, and visited museums. It was great and I really appreciated the personal touch.

From Leeds I headed to London for the last transition of this trip. My plan was to take in bits of London which I didn’t know already while mixing in a few day trips to places I’d previously visited but in awful weather. Dover and Canterbury in particular were high on my list. This was a wind down phase to another awesome U.K. trip.

Historical Museum Road Train Travel

Around and Around Glasgow

Post author By TravisGood
Post date September 3, 2010
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Amazingly after climbing Ben Nevis I wasn’t sore but my legs certainly were tired. So walk around Glasgow for the day? I thought not! Instead I chose an option for site seeing that I’ve come to trust and enjoy: the hop-on, hop-off bus tour of the city.

Not only did it choose the City Tour bus, I chose to ride it twice.

Hike Lake Mountain Train Travel

Ben Nevis Pulled Me In

“Serendipity” is a word I think of often. Many of my happiest moments in travel happen by chance because I notice things. Here in Fort William I came across a train of interest ... turns out it was the Hogwarts Express. For real! This is the train they use to portray it in the movies.

First, at 4,409 feet Ben Nevis is the U.K.’s highest mountain. Second, I’ve climbed it before. So as I hauled myself out of bed to catch the train to the north of Scotland I found myself asking, “Why was I doing this hike again?” Fair question! I didn’t know the answer myself until today.

While planning this trip to the U.K. I know the hike was a high priority for me. When deciding the day to hike I know the weather was a crucial factor. Only after discussing the hike with staff at the Visitors Center did I figure it out. I had hiked Ben Nevis before but on a day when the top third of the mountain was enshrouded in clouds. I hiked to the top but was never rewarded with the breathtaking views. I wanted that closure so the hike was a priority.

Historical Museum Train Travel

Edinburgh Overwhelms … Again

Post author By TravisGood
Post date September 1, 2010
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A few cities just bowl you over and Edinburgh is one of them. With the cliff-top Edinburgh Castle connected to the Holyrood Palace by the gently descending Royal Mile you form the backbone of the Old Town. Near by is the Georgian flavored New Town and the heart of transportation, Waverly Station. This description sounds too detached from reality and I was intent on remedying that.

Seems I had done a pretty good job when last I was in Edinburgh. Every place I revisited rang with familiarity. Many places I saw from afar today I knew I had visited before. It sounds like conceit but I impressed myself! My energy level is always high when visiting this city of art, culture, and commerce. Though poking my fingers into old familiar places is how I started my day, I did visit three new sites.

Bridge Historical Museum River Train Travel

Two Engineering Wonders and a BritRail Pass

Post author By TravisGood
Post date September 1, 2010
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Falkirk Wheel — Enter below and exit above or vis versa, this amazing combination of art and engineering reunited Scotland’s canals systems east and west. Great care was paid to how it appeared and the result is a world-class mechanical sculpture.

My primary goals today were to visit two extraordinary structures: The Forth Bridge, a rail bridge inextricably linked with Scotland’s identity, and The Falkirk Wheel, a boat lift which united east and west Scottish canals for the first time in centuries. However, if I was going to be out-and-about on a BritRail pass then I could do more.

Choosing the loosely defined theme of “bridges” I looked in to where else I could go. Perth offered three(!) bridges with pedestrian paths I could cross. Adding this to my first two choices could result in a loop … and what more could be found on the loop?

Bridge Historical Lighthouse Museum Ocean River Train Travel

Two Loops Around Newcastle

Post author By TravisGood
Post date August 31, 2010
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Spire — Atop a government building was this tower but far from unique, this city expressed it's artistic character in many way.

After a day’s rest from my 84-mile walk I was feeling somewhat regenerated. My ambitions were small for this transition day. I thought a walking loop around town would be just right after which I’d hop a train to Edinburgh. I never should have talked with the hostel staff. I never should have learned about the £4.80 Daily Saver. I never should have been tempted to go on a grander Newcastle adventure.