Before we start, I’m aware the heading is somewhat exaggerated, we weren’t even close to half of England, but bare with me.

Our journey started, as mentioned in previous post, in Manchester. Something we realized was somewhat unnecessary when the itinerary was final. But as said, Manchester is grand and a trip there is not time wasted.

“Don’t be defeatist, dear, it’s very middle class.”
From Manchester we (or mainly I) had set our focus to Newbury. One could wonder why. But I‘ll tell you- a railway station close to Highgclere castle. The location Downton Abbey was filmed. A series I avoided for a long time and after watching a Christmas special fell deeply in love with.

It was magic. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the castle (it’s someone’s private home) and it’s brilliant as it makes the visit more unique and makes you much more attentive to the guides. The Mr was together with five other gentlemen the only ones visiting who hadn’t watched the series prior to the visit.

We stayed at the local arms. Named after the family who resides at the estate Carnarvon. Perfect, just how we expected it to be. The room was not equipped with AC, which would have been nice since our visit cosided with a heatwave.

Overrated Stonehenge before Bath
We left Newbury for Bath, with a stop at Stonehenge. Now that’s done. I guess a more wholehearted interest would have made the visit more special.

Bath was amazing. Don’t we just LOVE Georgian architecture? We spent our first full day walking a 11 km trail of Bath. To be fair, my husband’s inability to read maps and obey instructions made it a little longer. But after a fantastic salmon and creme cheese sandwich and a pint (or two) he was forgiven. What was harder for me to let go of was his new attempt to cheat while playing cards. We had a similar incident in Italy a few years ago… I asked Sam to look up some good restaurants (as he was extremely good at this in New York). He tipped about a Greek restaurant Opa. Pub food is good, in moderate measures, and as it was so warm that a salad was all I wanted to eat. We ordered a Greek salad and some minor dishes to share and had a fab meal to a very reasonable price.

Before heading south we went on day trip to Oxford. Here, I wished we had planned for a guided tour as it’s hard to know what to see. And the weather was hot, so we didn’t have too much energy, but we saw some sights and our visit happened on the Encaenia ceremony once again wishing I was 20 again and back in school.

West Bexington by the sea
We left Bath for West Bexington, Dorset. Once again the trains went smoothly and we also took a bus to get to the closest stop to our next accommodation The Manor house.

What a haven! All we heard was nothing. Then we live in a very quite town. Once again we went on a hike in the somewhat dramatic landscape. Fog on the hillside and full sun by the sea. Naturally we looked at a map down by the beach the day before (looked, not taking a picture) and were convinced that we will remember the route… and it’s not as we are going to get lost or anything, we could see the sea at all times. We didn’t get lost, but we had no idea where the trail went. After I tripped on my not so optimal hiking linnen trousers (and impressed how well I could bear my own weight in a spontaneous push-up), we asked a meeting couple who had a gps map. After a steep descent we sat down very warm at the beach looking over the channel and later went for a pint at the other restaurant in West Bexington.

London Baby
After some lovely quiet days by the sea, we went to the huzzle and buzzle of the of the British capital. London baby! London was extremely warm, but we still decided to walk to the Natural History Museum from our hotel at Earl’s Court, to have a look at one of the the latest dinosaur finds “Enigmacursor mollyborthwickae“. We also went to see the Royal Albert Hall (from the outside). I was very impressed by all the music students rushing to their classes and pursuing their creative dream. Once again wishing I was 20 and talented in something.

With the ‘”tube” we went to the city centre having an an ice-creme while walking to Buckingham Palace, found our way through St. James’s, stopping by an art gallery where we encountered a marvelous photo of Freddie Mercury, which I’m going to purchase as soon as I have a penny over. We had “lunchen” in St James Square, next to Sacha Baron Cohen’s little brother. A pint at the Red Lion and continued to Piccadilly Circus for a traditional photoshoot. We stopped for another pint in the shade at Leicester Square, where a big screen TV showed the first game of Wimbledon (could it be more British?).

We were on a quest to find inexpensive tickets to a musical or theatre show in the West End. We ran into a poster of Imelda Staunton and said – “we know her”, let’s go! Mrs Warren’s Profession by George Bernard Shaw. Just as relevant as it was written in 1893. And when Kevin Doyle unexpectedly entered the stage, my circle was closed.

We had a fantastic holiday. We usually have. Lot’s of laughter and new experiences. Our final experience of this trip was that the train from Copenhagen taking us home. First it was delay to later be canceled in Helsingborg … Sam had to drive down and pick us up… But in the UK everything worked perfect. I strongly recommend you to go interrailing in England.