Castlefield Roman Fort

Castlefield Roman Fort
Originally uploaded by ajcr41

While it may not quite be as authentic as the ruins I saw in Troy, Castlefield looks like an interesting part of Manchester to visit. The old Roman fort Mamucium is the reason to go. If nothing else it might be worthwhile to see how the Romans would've incorporated railroad technology into the structure of their forts ;)

Info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamucium

Oysters and Swans

I doubt that we'll be fishing for things to do, but if looking for a change of pace and a bit of time near the water there are options!

Whitstable will be hosting their annual Oyster festival the week I arrive. The even purposely coincides with St. James Day, he being the patron saint of oysters and oyster fisheries. I had no idea such a thing needed a patron saint!


And if we need to practice our maths we could always go and count swans!

"The Dyers and Vintner's Companies have the right, established in medieval times, to keep swans on the Thames River. Every year the Queen's Swan Keeper and Swan Markers from the two livery companies row in skiffs along the river to mark the cygnets (baby swans)."

Oh the possibilities! ;)

Haunted England?

Ghost stories are something that seem to continually pop up around me, and it seems that England is even more prone to claims of the supernatural. Perhaps it's because many of the buildings are so much older than what we have here (as was pointed out to me recently, tepees don't really stand the test of time the same way that, say, a stone castle would...) Anyway, if we get the chance I figure we might as well visit a couple of these supposed sites anyway and see if I can give myself a heart attack. So far it seems like Bath is the most popular destination for ghostly encounters, though that may also just be because they have better marketing for their supposed haunted locations. Derby is another possibility. Anyone have any encounters of their own? First hand reports would be helpful, and if we can find somewhere that's on the route any way even better. I suppose we could also see what the Manchester Ghost group is up to in July...

Urbis

photo by Steve Mayes
Originally uploaded by Urbis, Manchester

Am I a major dork for really wanting to visit this place in Manchester? I can't say manga is an exhibit I'm especially eager to see, but a museum of urban culture is quite an interesting idea indeed. And it's free! More info: http://www.urbis.org.uk/

Yee-Hah!???!

So there's no way I'm doing this, but when I stumbled across it I just had to point it out. Apparently folks with a passion for the old days of the Wild West and Clint Eastwood movies can get all dressed up and play cowboys and indians like they did when they were 7. That such a place exists doesn't surprise me. That it's not somewhere like New Mexico, or Texas, but instead in London leaves me scratching my head. Really guys? Come on, you can't be serious?! At £60.00, is it really worth it?

England's most patriotic town?

According to the BBC Morley may just be the must patriotic town in all of England. Whether or not this is the case I'm in no position to judge, but it does highlight an issue I've always wondered about: patriotism. Here in the states it's much more intense than I've seen in Europe. In Finland I always loved the holidays because it meant that flags would be flown and that was a rare sight. Here flags are out every day of the year and, provided lights shine on them, night too. You see it EVERYWHERE and patriotism has even more recently taken the form of a magnet people put on their car. So I'm wondering what I'll encounter in England. I somehow doubt patriotism will be as laid back as Finland, but don't think it will be as intense as it is stateside. Unlike Finland, England at least has international soccer teams that the country can rally for... So we'll see. Any predictions on what I'll find? And what's the fascination with St. George? Bulgaria was the same way...

Winter Arrives in England

Winter Arrives in England
Originally uploaded by nick.garrod

This has got to be the skinniest castle ever! Has anyone seen it? Does it look so skinny from the other angle? If we're near Worcestershire (how do you pronounce that?!) we're gonna have to track this place down!

The REAL 2nd leg of the journey

Well we did get a little bit further last night than James suggests in the initial plans of his visit! (He just likes maps far too much!) So the REAL initial plans at this moment in time....

Wednesday 23rd July: Drive straight back up to Wigan from the airport and crash out! We just figured it was the best option for both of us.

Thursday 24th- Sunday 27th July: Around home. Meet up with friends in Wigan and Leigh. Maybe go to Barnoldswick/Manchester/Liverpool/Blackpool- just take it easy those first few days basically and not too anything too taxing while body clocks adjust to UK times and no 6am starts for school!!!

Monday 28th July: Make our way up to Durham. Possibly stopping off at the Cheese Factory en route! And spend a few days seeing the North East and then across to the Lakes on the way back. Been looking at staying at St Chad's or a travel lodge. There was also speculation of going up to Edinburgh for the day in this time.

Saturday 9th August: We know we need to be in London now so we figured we'd head up north first and then head down to the other side of the country and spend some time down there.

And that's as far as any sort of plans have gone so far (see I do have ideas - of a sort! they're just open to negotiation) But that's where we are now :-) with 91 days to go!!!! :-)

Beamish

The RE department were talking about a posisble day trip to Beamish today!! Martin went last November and told us all we HAVE to go. Apparently it's brilliant (and only a matter of minutes from Durham...hmmm!no excuses for never going!) So a bit of background about it...

Welcome to Beamish, The North of England
Open Air Museum, where the past comes to life. Beamish is unique. We're no ordinary museum but a living, working experience of life as it was in the Great North in the early 1800s and 1900s.
Beamish, Britain's favourite open air museum, set in over 300 acres of beautiful countryside, vividly recreates life in the North of England in the early 1800s and 1900s. Winner of both the British Museum of the Year and European Museum of the Year Awards, it demonstrates the recent history of the region in a "living" way and provides entertainment and education for visitors of all ages and interests.
People from the past welcome visitors and interpret how the people of the North of England lived and worked.
Step on board our trams and we'll transport you into the past. Click on the links to the left to visit the different parts of the site.

and the website.. http://www.beamish.org.uk/

Looks like something else a bit random, and fun to do! :-)

Map for the 2nd leg of the journey

Ever making progress, I think we've figured out the first leg of the trip (aka where to go from the airport). After this things get more tricky!

Manchester by night

Manchester by night
Originally uploaded by stevacek What a view!

Wensleydale!!

Gromit became a very important part of our life in Helsinki. I know...it's sad, but he travelled everywhere with us! Here you can see him helping James with his economics revision just before the hockey finals- Finland-Sweden in the winter olympics. It was a day I will ALWAYS remember. But it was only the start for Gromit. He continued to follow us around Finland then, and even took a trip across shore to Estonia for the day.
Now as we all know- Wallace and Gromit live in Wigan, and naturally James will be shown the delights of Wigan over our four weeks in summer. But I think the Wensleydale Cheese Factory and Museum is also going to have to be a must for us too!! Once again, a random day out, and something I'd not normally think of on normal day excursion, but the roadtrip would be incomplete without it I feel....just don't tell Gromit we're going :-p
p.s. apparently we've to ring and check they are making cheese that day before we go!!!!

Trekking in Guilford

Try as I may I've not been able to find a map of Guilford. It's a moot point though because I've found that they have the most random adventure ever, perfect for a muppet's day out.

Have you ever wanted to ride a llama!? Me neither, but it turns out that you can and what a photo op that would be! There's a company in Guilford that arranges llama treks for 30 pounds a head (dinner included), and will tailor the trip to your desires. Honestly, how many people can say they rode a llama through the Chilworth Gunpowder Mills? Or picked up there pizza on llama-back? The very thought of how preposterous it would be is the main appeal here.

Site says the place is about 40 miles SW of London, and the can accommodate from 2 to 30 people. You know you want to join ;) More info here: http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/experiences/summer-evening-llama-treks-info-626.html

And speaking of llamas...

EDIT: Found it on the map!

Camera

I know this isn't directly related to finding our way about the UK, it's important that I am able to document the trip so that we can publish photos here and share our adventures with you all! To do so, I'm looking to buy a new camera as my 4 megapixel Kodak easyshare just doesn't cut it. I'm looking at buying the Canon PowerShot SD1000 (7.1 megapixels). I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this particular camera and what you think. I'm not completely inept when it comes to purchasing electronics (only mostly so), but so far as I can tell the reviews are favorable and most people seem pleased in the end. I'm not a professional photographer, just looking for something to be able to throw in my pocket and take quick candids when the time is right.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

I have a friend who has made it his goal to see some obscene percentage of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and yet without trying I've managed to see more than him so far. So I figure if I'm to continue my lead I'm going to have to put some effort in to this. As far as I can tell, the sites in the UK are (according to wikitravel, a site that will probably pop up here frequently as I post):

United Kingdom

• Dorset and East Devon Coast, West England
• The Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland
• Durham Castle and Cathedral
• Ironbridge Gorge near Telford
• Studley Royal Park near Ripon and Harrogate
• Stonehenge
• Caernarfon Castle, Conwy Castle, Beaumaris Castle & Harlech Castle in Wales
• Saint Kilda, Outer Hebrides
• Blenheim Palace near Oxford
• Bath
• Frontiers of the Roman Empire: Hadrian's Wall
• The Palace of Westminster
• The Tower of London
• Canterbury Cathedral
• Edinburgh, Old and New towns
• Gough Island Wildlife Reserve, a South Atlantic Island
• Maritime Greenwich
• Neolithic Orkney
• Blaenavon Industrial Landscape in Wales
• Derwent Valley Mills, Derbyshire
• New Lanark near Glasgow
• Saltaire, in Bradford
• Kew Gardens
• Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City
• Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape

Now I'm not sure which of these are not to far off the path we'll be taking any way, nor which are actually worth seeing (not all UNESCO sites are created equal, after all). But I was hoping you all could chime in on sites you've visited and your impression.

Durham Cathedral I know we'll see. The Tower of London is the one I'd probably push for second on the list. Stonehenge, touristy as it must be, is probably something I should see if we're in the neighborhood (perhaps we can make it a middle of the night destination so there won't be people around to ruin it?). And that's where my knowledge ends. So what's the verdict? What's worth taking the time to see and what's not? Any interesting stories or histories around these places that I'm ridiculous not to know?

The Globe Theatre

This is following a conversation a few weeks back...


We mentioned going to the Globe Theatre in London and watching a performance (anyone welcome to join us by the way). Just been on the box office website and these are the choices we've got:
A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM
SATURDAY 10 May 2008 to SATURDAY 04 October 2008
KING LEAR
WEDNESDAY 23 April 2008 to SUNDAY 17 August 2008
THE FRONTLINE
SUNDAY 06 July 2008 to SUNDAY 17 August 2008
THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR
SUNDAY 08 June 2008 to SUNDAY 05 October 2008
TIMON OF ATHENS
SATURDAY 26 July 2008 to FRIDAY 03 October 2008

so anything take your fancy?! Why do I get the feeling our reading list is going to extend extensively in the near future?!?!?! :-)

23rd July

don't say I never do anything....
just been looking at the night you arrive j after our conversations this week. We can get accomodation for about £20 each for the night...although not sure whether parking's included in those!! but I'll keep looking see if I can find out. It's fairly easy to find, and for one night it's not too important how nice it is- right?!
OR
according to the bible of multimap, it would take us 3hrs 42mins to drive up to Wigan, meaning we'd probably get in about 1am-ish (English time ;-)) and like you said, there's then no pressure on us, and your jetlag, the next morning then.
So it depends whether you want the extra travel that night, or if you want to crash out when you arrive and have a more relaxed journey up north the next day.....

And we're off

Right, so the page isn't perfect but it will do for now. We've set this up in preparation for the tomfoolery that is going to be this summer. Basically we'll put up the wacky ideas and oddball schemes we come up with for the summer tour and it's up to you to tell us we're crazy or help us develop our genius (whichever the case may be).

And the countdown is on!

14 weeks...2 days....20 hours....40 minutes. :-) x