So I think the last time I left you I was somewhere in Scotland about to head to England to see my cousin.
Sunday June 19
I took the train to Stirling to go to Stirling Castle - which had been under renovations and restorations for the last four years. It is supposed to be one of the best castles in Scotland to visit, and it has tons of history as it was the main castle of the ruling members of the Scottish monarch. It was gorgeous and a good quick trip. Provided with entrance was an audio tour which was really good.
After a few hours of wandering around the castle and taking in the gorgeous scenery I took the train back to Edinburgh and decided to skip town early and go down to my cousin's place that night. Through a series of emails, tweets, and facebook messages I let my cousin know I was coming early and boarded the train. The process was mostly smooth except that the connecting train I was supposed to catch didn't actually exist making me about an hour later than I had intended. No harm done. I made it and my cousin collected me at the station.
Monday June 20
It was nice to have a full day instead of the half day I had initially planned. It was also nice to be staying at my cousin's house - which was considerably nicer and more comfortable than the hostel in Edinburgh. It was also really nice to be with someone again. I don't mind traveling alone, but hanging out with someone else is way better - especially when that someone is your cousin.
Monday my cousin showed me around her town - Shrewsbury - which is totally adorable and the perfect size. I really like it. We wandered around the streets, stopped for lunch in the dingle (ya, that's a thing), walked some more through the shops, I got to see the castle, stopped for tea. It was really just lovely.
I was spoiled by having dinner cooked for me my entire stay.
Tuesday June 21
We decided to take a short trip to Ludlow - a town quite close to Shrewsbury - for the day. Ludlow is supposedly the 'cutest' town in the area - or something to that effect, but I have to say I'm partial to Shrewsbury. Ludlow, though cute, was considerably smaller. It also just so happened that on Tuesday's in Ludlow most things are closed. There is a market in town every day of the week except Tuesday. So we wandered around, went into the church, stopped for lunch, went through some charity shops before grabbing the train back.
When we arrived in Shrewsbury we quickly made our way over to the river for some Pims. I understand it was a rather disappointing glass of Pims but it was alright by me. From there we headed back to my cousin's flat to make dinner and watch some tv before heading to bed.
Wednesday June 22
My cousin had to work on Wednesday so I decided to take a little day trip down to Oxford. It was just under 3 hours on the train, one way. When I arrived it was pouring rain but it took all of about 20 minutes for it to stop. Oxford is quite adorable with many interesting buildings, most part of the university, and lovely streets. Most of the university buildings were closed to the public because school was still in session and there appeared to be some graduation ceremonies taking place. I basically just walked around the streets, enjoying the scenery, stopped in a few shops, and finally made my way to Corpus Christi College which is an interesting building because it is both a college building and a church that was commissioned by Queen Mary - but I could be wrong on the particulars. It is also interesting because there is a dining hall which was the inspiration for Hogwart's dining hall and there are steps that were in the movie - I believe.
I took the train back around 4pm making it into Shrewsbury for about 7 - at which time my cousin had supper ready - see, so spoiled.
After dinner we both decided it would be a good idea to go to a few local pubs. In the first one I tried a lemon beer and we met a man who lived in Calgary for seven years, in the second pub we had a cider which was very tasty as well. It was a great last evening in England.
And I will leave it there and give you more details tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment