Two Month Journey Across England, Wales and Scotland

Bath

Starting our United Kingdom driving adventure in Bath, we drove directly from Heathrow airport after landing from our Milan flight midday. White knuckled, holding my breath and leaning in to squeeze by the narrow streets we arrived in 2 hours.

It’s was early spring, mostly sunny with a slight chill in the air. The low crowd levels and mild weather made it perfect for hiking and walking about the towns. The blue bells were out in full glory along with bright yellow daffodils and lavender rhododendrons. We started out with a virtual walking tour from VoiceMap through the town of Bath learning a touch of its deep and rich history. Before heading out we started with some delicious fish and chips. Midway through the day we took a detour into a book store, and made our way downstairs only to discover shelves of board games. What fun it was to explore what was in stock.

Cheddar Gorge

Driving out into the country side to the quaint town of Cheddar we planned a day of hiking. The town was bustling, people visiting the specialty shops such as a cheddar store and the cider shop. There was a small stream running through the town and park benches to sit and soak in the energy. We started the hike counter-clockwise and ascended and descended twice along the trail, ending back in the town. Lunch at a local restaurant was our first stop, ordering a tall glass of the most delicious apple juice. They actually had the apple juice on tap and it started a long lasting apple juice addiction that has continued throughout our UK trip. The cloudy apple juice has become a daily indulgence. After a cone of apple pie ice cream we headed home feeling very accomplished.

Hiking the hills of Bath

What started out with a morning hike across the outskirts of Bath, turned into an all day adventure across the hillsides and towns around Bath. On our way to the trailhead, we ran across a Cricket match and had to stop to watch. Having no knowledge on the rules of the game it was entertaining to try to figure it out. We ended our 7 mile hike with a delightful Nepalese dinner back in town.

Stonehenge

We opted for a guided sunset tour at Stonehenge which allowed us to walk within the ring and around the outside freely while the sun was going down. Highly suggest this experience, we learned a great deal about the site. There was palatable energy from the excitement and awe from the entire group.

Wales

After checking into our Airbnb in Wales, we ran into several problems with the home, primarily, the internet was not working and was not going to be resolved for days. After hours of back and forth, we were released from our rental obligation, found a new Airbnb about an hour away, and were able to check in around 9:30PM, exhausted.

The next morning we awoke to a hidden treasure of a garden with a babbling brook just outside the back door. An afternoon of sitting on the boulders in the brook under the shade of large branches, listening to song birds, we reset to our tranquil-relaxed state of mind.

The following 4 days consisted of soaking in the natural surroundings and a few hikes in the mountains of Snowdonia.

Keswick and the Lake District

With a bit of reluctance, we departed Wales off to the Lake District of England stopping through the Cotswolds along our drive. The Lake District is located in Northwest England, is the country’s largest National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Famous for its dramatic fells (mountains) and 16 glacial ribbon lakes. Looking back on our visit, it felt like a vacation town, a place families come out to relax and enjoy the outdoors.

Spending a day in the town of Keswick was a delight, rows of shops to stroll by and restaurants all on the edge of Derwentwater, the third largest lake in the district. Tourists, hikers and locals out walking their dogs, everyone out soaking in the sun.

The local town we stayed in was having a Scarecrow trail which is a UK tradition where you try to find them all, solving clues and puzzles as they hunt. We joined in a bit as we returned home from Sunday roast.

Buttermere Lake hike

Oban, Scotland

We came to Oban to make use of the ferry service to the outer islands. We had a boat tour leaving from the Isle of Mull. We boarded the ferry in Oban at 0630 and arrived on Mull at 0730. We took a 45 minute taxi across the island that turned into a wonderful experience as the driver shared interesting stories about his childhood in Lithuania.

A few months back we had booked the “Big Bird” tour with Turus tours, they take the group to Isle of Lunga in the Trishnish Isles and is the only tour that gives you 4 hours to spend with the puffins.