I hadn’t really planned to head to the UK at this point in my trip. But my friend Browny and his wife Kat were heading to London for part of a holiday, and my mate Limmy from Katherine was going to be there too. Also, before I left Australia I went into the ballot to see the Ashes test at Lord’s. I won a ticket for day five. Given how Australia had been performing I was skeptical the game would last that long, but willing to go to London anyway on the off chance it would.
I had a plane ticket to fly to London a few days after my wallet had been stolen in Berlin. I’d arranged for a new card to be sent to Browny, who was flying in the same day I was. I didn’t know this beforehand, but when you lose your wallet overseas Visa and Mastercard will send you money through Western Union, and this is how I was able to buy important things like food and beer.
But it cost me a fee each time they sent me money, and as I was meeting Browny in London I was pushing it close so I wouldn’t have to pay another fee for more cash. What I hadn’t thought through is what would happen when I showed up at a UK border point with only €80 on me, no credit cards, no ticket booked out of the UK and looking like a scruffy Australian backpacker who wants to work illegally. I was taken aside at the passport checkpoint, questioned and asked to explain the circumstances. Fortunately I had a German police report and a German working holiday visa to show them. They were very concerned that my friend was bringing a credit card to me! Whilst the British Home Office is yet to embrace the spirit of the happy wander, they did let me in after some convincing, with a flag on my passport.
As I was waiting to meet Browny that afternoon I had £3.40 left on me – not enough for a tube ticket back to my hostel! It was at that point I started wondering what I would do if I had come to the wrong spot or Browny didn’t show. Fortunately he’s a pretty punctual chap and I was able to get my new card! Anyway, money issues were sorted out, and thank you beers were bought.
The next day it was time to meet up with Limmy. He had been travelling with a mate, and they were both staying with another mate who has been living in London for a few years. He gave us all a bit of a walking tour around the Thames (the funniest moment was when Limmy thought it was pronounced in a way that rhymes with James) from Waterloo Station along Southbank, to Tower Bridge and then up Fleet Street and the Strand to Trafalgar Square, Westminster and Buckingham Palace. All the sights in an afternoon walk!
I have to say that I felt very at home in London. Maybe it’s a colonial thing, maybe it’s a too-much-BBC-programming thing, maybe it’s being in an English speaking country thing. But I felt like I knew the city very quickly. Although it was interesting to see where all the different landmarks were in relation to each other. For example, I had no idea that Tower Bridge was so far away from Westminster.
Also most of the clichés I had in my head about London were spot on. The red buses. The bad food. The masses of drunken Australians. One thing that was off was the weather - it was beautiful, almost too hot. And of course their buildings just aren't designed for real heat, so the hostel I was staying in, and the tube was like a sauna.
The next day I went to the Tower of London by myself. It was pretty interesting, but as with most well known tourist sights, unpleasantly busy. But still, seeing the Tower of London was cool. In the building next to it (designed by Wellington of Waterloo fame) are the crown jewels (which you’re not allowed to take photos of).
And I really don't understand how these guys see where they're going.
I also went up the top of Tower Bridge (which is often mistakenly called London Bridge) and into the old Victorian-era steam engine room, which was actually pretty fascinating. Now the harsher amongst you might point out that I’m not the most mechanically minded person, but they had some really interesting displays which explained how it all worked, and even someone like me can appreciate the genius behind it. For instance, it’s not actually the steam engine which moved the bridge – it pumped a hydraulic system which was much more efficient of the small distance required. Clever.
You can see in this photo the Tower itself is just to the left of the bridge.
The next day I met up with Browny and Kat again to visit the War Cabinet Rooms, where Churchill et al directed World War II. It’s under one of the big old buildings in Whitehall and was super secret of course. Here’s the actually War Cabinet room.
There’s also a museum dedicated to Churchill which is really very fascinating. They detailed the different parts of his life, and also had some funny memorabilia; some of his hats and bow ties, as well as this. He called it his siren suit, which he wore during night raids instead of running out of his room naked. Apparently he thought it was so comfortable he wore it all the time. So there you go – Churchill popularised the onesie.
And apparently this is the genuine Number 10 Downing Street door from Churchill’s time!
I didn’t get to see day five of the Ashes test at Lord’s. Australia were batting fourth – an ominous sign – and were bowled out on the third last ball of day four. Frustrating. If it had gone to the fifth day it obviously would have been all over very quickly, but it still would have been great to see even just a few overs of the Ashes at that most sacred of cricket grounds. I went to have a look at the museum there a few days later, and there was a game between Marlyebone Cricket Club and Melbourne Cricket Club taking place. So I sat down and watched it for the afternoon. And no, Australia didn’t win that one either.
But here it is – the hallowed Ashes urn!
As it turns out one of the roads that runs past Lord's turns into Abbey Road. So of course there were obligatory zebra crossing shots. I do feel mildly annoyed that the South African tourist who took this photo for me wouldn't run into traffic to get the real effect.
I decided I want to head out of London and visit Stonehenge. I went first to Salisbury, the closest major town and stayed a night. It’s a nice little town with and olde’ English feel. Stonehenge is full of tourists, of course, but still fascinating to see. And as an aside, has one of the best audio guides I’ve experienced so far, and I’m becoming something of a connoisseur.
After Salisbury I went to Bath, which was close by. I’d just finished reading my first Jane Austen book, and Bath kind of suits that world. Visiting the Roman baths was interesting, but again it was so jam packed it was kind of frustrating.
I enjoyed more climbing the tower of Bath Abbey. The guide stopped half way up in the bell room and told us a bit about how bells are rung and the different mechanisms. I know that doesn’t sound very interesting, but I’ve climbed a few bell towers now and no one else has thought to explain that! I thought this was an interesting shot too.
From Bath I wasn’t really sure where to go, but realised I was pretty close to Wales so decided to head to Cardiff. I have to admit to not really connecting with the city. It seems perfectly pleasant, but the weather was terrible and there just wasn’t that much going on. The main tourist draw card is its old castle, which is right in the heart of town and has a good old fashioned keep.
From Cardiff I crossed to the north of Wales to a tiny little village called Llanberis. It was a really nice little town, catering to the ski and hiking market. It’s popular because it’s in Snowdonia National Park, home to the highest mountain in both England and Wales.
Now, before I left Australia I hiked the Overland Track in Tasmania, and did a fair bit of training for it. I wasn’t sure if it had much of an impact. But it would be fair to say that right now I’m pretty unfit. I do no regular exercise, and while I try to walk a lot, it’s not very strenuous. I did a 16 kilometre hike to the top of the mountain, and I went up a thousand metres and then back down. It nearly killed me. I went to bed at 8.30 that night and was extremely sore the next day.
I walked the main track up to the top, and then a quieter track with a bit of cross country on the way back. The weather was pretty crap, as you can see by the view from the top.
And yep, the Welsh countryside pretty well matches the clichés.
From Llanberis I decided to head back to London. I wanted to stay in the UK for longer, but I have a visa for the EU for one year which I figure I should make the most of first. If I have money left I will go back to the UK at the end. So I stayed a few days in London. I visited the British Museum, which is full of artefacts plundered from around the world. It was super packed, but there were heaps of interesting things to look at. Like genuine mummies.
And Aztec masks which use real teeth.
From London I decided it was time to head back to the continent, so I headed east to Canterbury. This city is of course home to the ‘mother ship’ of the Anglican Church, Canterbury Cathedral. It is a pretty impressive cathedral, and there’s lots of history to it, including one dead king interred there. It's kind of hard to photograph because there's a lot buildings surrounding it. Plus there was scaffolding on one side and it was a crappy day. So here's a random aerial shot.
I ended up going to evensong. While nowadays I’m not too religious, it was an interesting experience and the choir really can sing. The acoustics are pretty spectacular too.
From Canterbury it was a short bus trip to Dover, where I went pretty well straight to the ferry terminal to cross the channel to Calais. And the white cliffs of Dover really are pretty white!
And that’s where I’ll leave an already long blog post. But, coming up in Steven’s European Backpacking Adventure: a review on my favourite Belgian beers (the one’s I can remember…) and I decide that Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve visited. Coming soon.
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