Following my week traveling I spent a week in London with my girlfriend Jess. I met Jess in Grasmere and we decided to spend some time together after we each finished in Grasmere. As Jess had not spent a lot of time in London I got to be the tour guide and show her the sights. We visited Brick Lane, Abbey Road as well as Hyde Park among other sights. Hyde Park had been transferred into winter wonderland. A contrast from when I working there in the middle of summer. The pedal boats and deck chairs had been locked away and rides and Christmas stalls had been set up.
Jess then flew to Germany to visit a friend and I decided to get out of London. I spent a few days in Oxford, disappointingly though the students had all left for their Christmas break. I spent the week walking through the colleges I was allowed into and visiting the museums. I walked through the Ashmoleon museum, one of the oldest museums in the UK. Although the most interesting museum piece I thought was in a smaller museum which featured a chalkboard on which Albert Einstein had taught a class while teaching at the University. After spending a few days at the Uni I am pretty sure I couldn't study there. Not that I would ever have the opportunity.
After a few days in Oxford I headed back to London in time for another BUNAC trip this time to Bruges.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Going south
Manchester was my first stop on my journey back to London. I stopped in Manchester overnight and spent my time visiting the sights, checking out the Christmas markets and people watching. Manchester is obviously a lot busier than quiet Grasmere. The highlight of my stopover in Manchester was a visit to Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United Football Club. I am not a huge fan of English football but I was enthralled as I walked through the museum admiring all the large trophies. I visited the ground on a game day which meant I was not able to take a tour, they did though allow me to take a quick look inside to see where fans pay thousands to watch players who get payed millions.
Leaving Manchester I caught a bus to Liverpool. I had paid a bargain price of £2 for a national express bus. The trip was due to take less than one hour. I arrived in Liverpool three hours after leaving Manchester. The bus broke down then we got stuck in heavy traffic. When we made it to Liverpool it was dark, cold and very wet and I had to walk through half the city to find a hostel.
I was visiting Liverpool for the same reason millions of tourists visit the city every year, to visit the sights made famous by the Beatles. I took a tour through the Beatles story exhibition which relives the story of the famous four before walking down Matthew St to view the Cavern Club where the band played hundreds of gigs.
My next stop after Liverpool was Birmingham where I stayed with a guy I met on a rainy day in Ambleside, the town next to Grasmere. He invited me to stay with him so I thought why not. He showed me the large German themed Christmas markets and the Aston Villa football stadium. I also spent an afternoon in Stratford Upon Avon. The birthplace and death place of William Shakespeare. I visited his grave inside the church before visiting the house in which he was born in the middle of town.
Leaving Birmingham I caught a bus back to London in time for another BUNAC day trip. This time we visited Leeds Castle and Rochester. I enjoyed the Castle visit but Rochester was the highlight. I did not realise the town was celebrating Dickensian Christmas. Actually I had never heard of it before. But one weekend every year locals dress in Charles Dickens themed dress and act out parts of his novels in the streets. The town was packed and a lot of fun.
Leaving Manchester I caught a bus to Liverpool. I had paid a bargain price of £2 for a national express bus. The trip was due to take less than one hour. I arrived in Liverpool three hours after leaving Manchester. The bus broke down then we got stuck in heavy traffic. When we made it to Liverpool it was dark, cold and very wet and I had to walk through half the city to find a hostel.
I was visiting Liverpool for the same reason millions of tourists visit the city every year, to visit the sights made famous by the Beatles. I took a tour through the Beatles story exhibition which relives the story of the famous four before walking down Matthew St to view the Cavern Club where the band played hundreds of gigs.
My next stop after Liverpool was Birmingham where I stayed with a guy I met on a rainy day in Ambleside, the town next to Grasmere. He invited me to stay with him so I thought why not. He showed me the large German themed Christmas markets and the Aston Villa football stadium. I also spent an afternoon in Stratford Upon Avon. The birthplace and death place of William Shakespeare. I visited his grave inside the church before visiting the house in which he was born in the middle of town.
Leaving Birmingham I caught a bus back to London in time for another BUNAC day trip. This time we visited Leeds Castle and Rochester. I enjoyed the Castle visit but Rochester was the highlight. I did not realise the town was celebrating Dickensian Christmas. Actually I had never heard of it before. But one weekend every year locals dress in Charles Dickens themed dress and act out parts of his novels in the streets. The town was packed and a lot of fun.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Goodbye to Grasmere
In my final week in Grasmere, my dad and his wife Marsha came to visit. Together we explored parts of the Lakes I had seen many times before as well as places I had not yet seen. As we drove around the Lakes it was obvious to see the destruction caused by the floods in the previous week. Many of the roads were still covered in water and many of the locals had started the clean up job.
The water in Windermere Lake had risen so much that shops beside the lake in Bowness were two to three foot deep in water. Many of the smaller waterfalls were also now raging waterfalls.
Friday morning dad and Marsha left so I said goodbye before starting my last day of work at the Glenthorne. Following a fairly straightforward shift we made our way to the pub to begin a very big night of drinking, partying and celebration. The Glenthorne shuts down over the winter month which is the reason for our party and the reason for my departure.
The party continued into the early hours of the morning and when I awoke the next morning I saw something I had not seen for some time in Grasmere, sunshine. I also got to see something I had not yet seen in the UK, snow. All the higher mountains around Grasmere were covered in snow and the view was rather spectacular.
A couple of lazy days and a few visits to the pub later and I was on a train leaving the place which I had called home for the last three months. I caught a train to Manchester and it felt good to be travelling again.
The water in Windermere Lake had risen so much that shops beside the lake in Bowness were two to three foot deep in water. Many of the smaller waterfalls were also now raging waterfalls.
Friday morning dad and Marsha left so I said goodbye before starting my last day of work at the Glenthorne. Following a fairly straightforward shift we made our way to the pub to begin a very big night of drinking, partying and celebration. The Glenthorne shuts down over the winter month which is the reason for our party and the reason for my departure.
The party continued into the early hours of the morning and when I awoke the next morning I saw something I had not seen for some time in Grasmere, sunshine. I also got to see something I had not yet seen in the UK, snow. All the higher mountains around Grasmere were covered in snow and the view was rather spectacular.
A couple of lazy days and a few visits to the pub later and I was on a train leaving the place which I had called home for the last three months. I caught a train to Manchester and it felt good to be travelling again.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Working in a lake district
During my time in Grasmere I have seen a lot of rain but never like last Thursday. Never before in my life have I seen so much rain. It poured all night Wednesday night then continued throughout Thursday causing much flooding. The guesthouse I work at began to get flooded, the dining room, kitchen and some of the rooms were getting deeper and deeper underwater. I spent a lot of time wading through the large puddles to try and clear the drains and build water blocks with used towels and sheets to divert the water.
The roads entering Grasmere were blocked from each direction all day Thursday and most of Friday. Our food delivery vans could not get through and many of our weekend guests could also not get to Grasmere and therefore we cancelled the weekend group and had a a few unplanned days off. The rain did not ease much over the weekend which meant there wasn't a lot to do. So I spent the weekend watching movies and drinking at the pub.
Grasmere actually fared quite well in comparison to neighbouring towns such as Cockermouth and Workington where many homes were destroyed and bridges collapsed. The clean up in some towns will take years to complete. According to newspaper reports only once every thousand years do you get such a large amount of rain in such a short period.
It rains here nearly all the time at the moment. It is very rare to see blue sky and now the sun also sets just after 4pm and it is dark enough to see the stars by 4.30pm.
I am now in my final week in Grasmere, the Glenthorne Guest House closes tomorrow and I will leave a few days later on Monday. I am still not really sure where I will go, I will just wait and see what happens. I have enjoyed my time working at the guesthouse and living in Grasmere but I am ready to move on and start somewhere new.
The roads entering Grasmere were blocked from each direction all day Thursday and most of Friday. Our food delivery vans could not get through and many of our weekend guests could also not get to Grasmere and therefore we cancelled the weekend group and had a a few unplanned days off. The rain did not ease much over the weekend which meant there wasn't a lot to do. So I spent the weekend watching movies and drinking at the pub.
Grasmere actually fared quite well in comparison to neighbouring towns such as Cockermouth and Workington where many homes were destroyed and bridges collapsed. The clean up in some towns will take years to complete. According to newspaper reports only once every thousand years do you get such a large amount of rain in such a short period.
It rains here nearly all the time at the moment. It is very rare to see blue sky and now the sun also sets just after 4pm and it is dark enough to see the stars by 4.30pm.
I am now in my final week in Grasmere, the Glenthorne Guest House closes tomorrow and I will leave a few days later on Monday. I am still not really sure where I will go, I will just wait and see what happens. I have enjoyed my time working at the guesthouse and living in Grasmere but I am ready to move on and start somewhere new.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Hadrians Wall and Vindolanda
Standing, staring at the ruins it was hard to comprehend this village was built almost 2000 years ago. I walked among the buildings or whats left of them and viewed the artifacts at Vindolana, a roman village built around AD100. Archaeologists are still excavating the site and one of their most important discoveries of late is that of a postcard style letter. It is on show at the on site museum along with clothing, jewellery and many other things.
I knew very little about Vindolanda before arriving there. I only stopped there because there was a youth hostel close by where I stayed the night while viewing Hadrian's Wall.
Hadrian's Wall was completed in AD122 under the orders of Roman Emperor Hadrian and spans from coast to coast across the top of England. Only some of the wall remains so I discovered the story of the wall while also seeing some stunning countryside.
I was riding the bus and left from Grasmere in the morning to Carlisle and wandered the streets there for a couple of hours before catching a bus to a Roman Army Museum. The wall was built to signify the most northern point of the roman empire and I was amazed at how well it had survived close to 2000 years.
My visit to the wall was restricted due to the minimal bus services but I still managed to see a lot of the remaining wall and have a good history lesson.
Beside my Hadrian's Wall trip not a lot has been happening. I have continued my work at the Glenthorne Guest House and taking my time off to visit the towns and lakes of the Lakes District.
I knew very little about Vindolanda before arriving there. I only stopped there because there was a youth hostel close by where I stayed the night while viewing Hadrian's Wall.
Hadrian's Wall was completed in AD122 under the orders of Roman Emperor Hadrian and spans from coast to coast across the top of England. Only some of the wall remains so I discovered the story of the wall while also seeing some stunning countryside.
I was riding the bus and left from Grasmere in the morning to Carlisle and wandered the streets there for a couple of hours before catching a bus to a Roman Army Museum. The wall was built to signify the most northern point of the roman empire and I was amazed at how well it had survived close to 2000 years.
My visit to the wall was restricted due to the minimal bus services but I still managed to see a lot of the remaining wall and have a good history lesson.
Beside my Hadrian's Wall trip not a lot has been happening. I have continued my work at the Glenthorne Guest House and taking my time off to visit the towns and lakes of the Lakes District.
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