Views from the train as we travel from Newquay to London
Our neighborhood in London
Our Tube stop
More neighborhood
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Pics May 19, 20, 21
Views from the train as we travel from Newquay to London Our neighborhood in London
Our Tube stop
More neighborhood
Trip Wrap-up - Newquay to London and Our London Stay - May 19, 20, 21
We left Newquay with no regrets as it is an odd little town - we did learn from our innkeeper (and some of the guests) that Newquay is the surfing capital of the UK. It hosts the biggest championship competitions and draws surfers from all over the world.
We found this a little hard to believe as we had seen the waves and they didn't seem very impressive. But of course, we come from the land of Mavericks, so we are not easily impressed, wave-wise.
The train to London was, as expected, a pleasant and relaxing trip. On two hillsides (near Stonehenge?) we saw giant white horses carved into the chalk. A trainmate told us that they were supposedly done around the same time as Stonehenge and are now maintained by the National Trust as items of historic importance. I'll say. A beautiful site to see them set in the green, green, hillsides.
The weather improved as we travelled through the countryside towards London, and by the time we arrived at Paddington station, it was fairly clear.
We were booked into the Holiday Inn Forum, Kensington, as part of our excellent British Airways flight package (cheap flights and two nights free at a hotel in London). Chain hotels in the UK/Europe are, in general, nothing like chain hotels in the States. This Holiday Inn was almost luxurious (almost) and had a big beautiful lobby with an extremely helpful concierge and a bustling, international clientele.
Our room (on the 17th floor) had great views to the east - looking at The London Eye and Big Ben. Not too shabby. Included was a continental breakfast that went way beyond the normal cold cereal and juice. On the 25th floor, the hotel had a kitchen with microwave for guests. Each room had a fridge. Around the corner was a Waitrose (big grocery store) and the Gloucester Road tube stop was two blocks away. The neighborhood was safe and very walkable. I would definitely stay there again.
We walked a bit in the neighborhood, stopped at Waitrose and bought a roasted chicken and a good bottle of wine - from Sonoma, on sale! - and had a terrific little dinner in our room looking out at the London night.
Next day, we bought a one-day tube ticket and set out.
This is not news to anyone who travels, but the public transportation systems abroad are sooooo much better than ours (with the exception of the subways in NYC and the Metro in DC.) They are clean, fast, efficient. Everyone rides - business people in suits to tourists in sneakers. Lots of tourists along with moms with babies in carriages (buggies, prams.) The trains run often and everything is color-coded so even a directionally challenged person like myself can figure it out.
Brilliant.
Our first stop was The Cabinet War Rooms - actual rooms below ground that Churchill and his staff used to run WWII.
On the way there, though - another serendipity site. Hundreds of uniformed Queen's Guards (the red coats and the crazy tall black fur hats) were marching from Buckingham Palace over to the Horseguards parade grounds (right next to Whitehall and The Cabinet War Rooms). The street was barricaded but a friendly Bobby told us that we would still be able to see plenty behind the barriers just down the street - which we did. Regiment after regiment marched by - some rode by on horses - there were even band units and a bagpipe regiment. Quite a spectacle, to say the least. And why all the whoopla? They were practicing for the Queen's birthday celebration, to be held at the end on this month. It's good to be the Queen.
The War Rooms were (again, for me; first time for Rick) at the same time creepy and awesome. Giant maps covering complete walls with pins in them to show warships and troops movements. Typists' room. Churchills' private quarters. Rooms for phones. Rooms for sleeping. Very good audio commentary explaining everything. Enjoyed it very much and would recommend it as a London "must see".
Then, a nice stroll over the Westminster Bridge, beside Big Ben, to the London Eye. We were there at a perfect time - no lines. no waiting. Another London "must see/do" - an engineering feat, to be sure. When we first saw the Eye, it was on its side over the Thames - it had not been raised yet. We were in London in 1999, walking the Thames Path, and the Eye was just being finished in prep for The Millennium. Now it is one of the iconic London sites and well worth the admission price (17 pounds.) Views are 360 degrees from a height of about 450 feet. The cars move so slowly so movement is almost imperceptible. You can move around comfortably inside and everyone has an opportunity, at some point, to stand wherever they want as the ride lasts 30 minutes.
Brilliant.
Our afternoon was spent at The Imperial War Museum on the south bank. It is housed in the impressive and aptly named former Bedlam Hospital. Similar in feel to our own new Air and Space Museum outside of DC. Not as big, of course, but still with all kinds of tanks and bombs and planes and submarines. Also, very good exhibits of all UK wars with special "experiences" of the Blitz and the Trenches. Good for war buffs, but towards the end I was getting a little tired and too saddened by all the death. Passed on the special Holocaust exhibit - that would just have been too much.
On the way back to our hotel, we got off one tube stop early and walked back through the neighborhoods. So fun to be walking around in a world class city. People coming home from work; a good look at mews and at squares. Many squares have their own gated garden/park in the center and we could hear kids playing inside. Lovely homes - Kensington is a nice district.
Another stop at our friendly Waitrose, and supplies for dinner in the room again. Easy and cheap.
Our flight the next day was at a very civilized time, so no rushing around. Taxi to Paddington, Heathrow Express to the airport, then a very long, but smooth and comfortable flight back home. (Love the new personal entertainment thingies at each seat.)
Nightmare shuttle ride (welcome back to the States) from SFO, then a dreamy night's sleep in the best bed in the world.
There's no place like home.
We found this a little hard to believe as we had seen the waves and they didn't seem very impressive. But of course, we come from the land of Mavericks, so we are not easily impressed, wave-wise.
The train to London was, as expected, a pleasant and relaxing trip. On two hillsides (near Stonehenge?) we saw giant white horses carved into the chalk. A trainmate told us that they were supposedly done around the same time as Stonehenge and are now maintained by the National Trust as items of historic importance. I'll say. A beautiful site to see them set in the green, green, hillsides.
The weather improved as we travelled through the countryside towards London, and by the time we arrived at Paddington station, it was fairly clear.
We were booked into the Holiday Inn Forum, Kensington, as part of our excellent British Airways flight package (cheap flights and two nights free at a hotel in London). Chain hotels in the UK/Europe are, in general, nothing like chain hotels in the States. This Holiday Inn was almost luxurious (almost) and had a big beautiful lobby with an extremely helpful concierge and a bustling, international clientele.
Our room (on the 17th floor) had great views to the east - looking at The London Eye and Big Ben. Not too shabby. Included was a continental breakfast that went way beyond the normal cold cereal and juice. On the 25th floor, the hotel had a kitchen with microwave for guests. Each room had a fridge. Around the corner was a Waitrose (big grocery store) and the Gloucester Road tube stop was two blocks away. The neighborhood was safe and very walkable. I would definitely stay there again.
We walked a bit in the neighborhood, stopped at Waitrose and bought a roasted chicken and a good bottle of wine - from Sonoma, on sale! - and had a terrific little dinner in our room looking out at the London night.
Next day, we bought a one-day tube ticket and set out.
This is not news to anyone who travels, but the public transportation systems abroad are sooooo much better than ours (with the exception of the subways in NYC and the Metro in DC.) They are clean, fast, efficient. Everyone rides - business people in suits to tourists in sneakers. Lots of tourists along with moms with babies in carriages (buggies, prams.) The trains run often and everything is color-coded so even a directionally challenged person like myself can figure it out.
Brilliant.
Our first stop was The Cabinet War Rooms - actual rooms below ground that Churchill and his staff used to run WWII.
On the way there, though - another serendipity site. Hundreds of uniformed Queen's Guards (the red coats and the crazy tall black fur hats) were marching from Buckingham Palace over to the Horseguards parade grounds (right next to Whitehall and The Cabinet War Rooms). The street was barricaded but a friendly Bobby told us that we would still be able to see plenty behind the barriers just down the street - which we did. Regiment after regiment marched by - some rode by on horses - there were even band units and a bagpipe regiment. Quite a spectacle, to say the least. And why all the whoopla? They were practicing for the Queen's birthday celebration, to be held at the end on this month. It's good to be the Queen.
The War Rooms were (again, for me; first time for Rick) at the same time creepy and awesome. Giant maps covering complete walls with pins in them to show warships and troops movements. Typists' room. Churchills' private quarters. Rooms for phones. Rooms for sleeping. Very good audio commentary explaining everything. Enjoyed it very much and would recommend it as a London "must see".
Then, a nice stroll over the Westminster Bridge, beside Big Ben, to the London Eye. We were there at a perfect time - no lines. no waiting. Another London "must see/do" - an engineering feat, to be sure. When we first saw the Eye, it was on its side over the Thames - it had not been raised yet. We were in London in 1999, walking the Thames Path, and the Eye was just being finished in prep for The Millennium. Now it is one of the iconic London sites and well worth the admission price (17 pounds.) Views are 360 degrees from a height of about 450 feet. The cars move so slowly so movement is almost imperceptible. You can move around comfortably inside and everyone has an opportunity, at some point, to stand wherever they want as the ride lasts 30 minutes.
Brilliant.
Our afternoon was spent at The Imperial War Museum on the south bank. It is housed in the impressive and aptly named former Bedlam Hospital. Similar in feel to our own new Air and Space Museum outside of DC. Not as big, of course, but still with all kinds of tanks and bombs and planes and submarines. Also, very good exhibits of all UK wars with special "experiences" of the Blitz and the Trenches. Good for war buffs, but towards the end I was getting a little tired and too saddened by all the death. Passed on the special Holocaust exhibit - that would just have been too much.
On the way back to our hotel, we got off one tube stop early and walked back through the neighborhoods. So fun to be walking around in a world class city. People coming home from work; a good look at mews and at squares. Many squares have their own gated garden/park in the center and we could hear kids playing inside. Lovely homes - Kensington is a nice district.
Another stop at our friendly Waitrose, and supplies for dinner in the room again. Easy and cheap.
Our flight the next day was at a very civilized time, so no rushing around. Taxi to Paddington, Heathrow Express to the airport, then a very long, but smooth and comfortable flight back home. (Love the new personal entertainment thingies at each seat.)
Nightmare shuttle ride (welcome back to the States) from SFO, then a dreamy night's sleep in the best bed in the world.
There's no place like home.
Monday, May 18, 2009
May 18 - More Photos
Those wonderful wildflowers
Walking into Newquay
Windswept Rick
The view from our Newquay B+B
May 18 - The Last Day of Walking
The "snow"
Some serious angry waves
A beautiful scene
Our view today as we ate our packed lunch along the Path Monday, May 18
Today was the last and the longest of our walking days - 12.5 miles. I wanted it to be a stroll through the beautiful Cornish countryside, but it ended up being an endurance hike because of - you guessed it - the wind.
The freakin' wind. Not gale force today but still annoying enough to take the pleasure out of much of the walk - at least the first half.
One good thing about the wind is that it blows the clouds away quickly. So, if there is rain, it's gone fast and if there is cloudiness it's gone fast.
One other good thing - today we saw a beautiful site at most of the rocky inlets (and there were several) - the wind was whipping the waves and water into such a frenzy that it actually created sea foam - and it looked like snow. Magical. It would wisp up in spirals and cover the sky like a snowstorm. (Hopefully, my pics of it came out well enough for you all to get the idea.)
This part of the path (and Cornwall) is not nearly as pretty and quaint as the more northern part. As a matter of fact, Newquay (where we ended our walk and where we are tonight) is a tacky beach "resort" - lots of surf shops and T-shirts shops and ticky-tacky gift shops and bad hotels on a main drag. The people look hard and we wondered what kinds of places they were coming from if this is where they come to get away from it all.
Oddly, for a resort, the town closes up at 6. We had a heck of a time finding a place to eat dinner. We asked a waitress at a beach snack shack where she would go if she wanted a good meal out - she recommended a Greek restaurant so we high-tailed it there. A great meal with good atmosphere and good wine. It saved Newquay for us. Still, we're both looking forward to getting the train out tomorrow morning and heading to London.
Our B+B tonight is on the quirky side - our room is up under the rafters, funky shower/bathroom set-up (no doors anywhere) and situated in the middle of a working class neighborhood. Plenty roomy, as long as we remember to watch our heads around the edges of the room.
So, some general trip stand-outs:
*When the days were clear the scenery was spectacular
*Best meals at PotWallopers in Westward Ho! and The Bush Inn in Morwenstow
*Most amazing wildflowers I have ever seen anywhere
*Best castle - Tintagel
*Best bed - The Avalon in Tintagel
*Best town - Port Isaac
*Best breakfast - The Avalon in Tintagel
*Best host - Wendy at the Cyntwell in Padstow
This was a challenging walk - so many assents and descents made an average hiking day seem much longer than it was (and, of course, the wind didn't help.)
Probably won't come back but happy and proud to say I walked a good portion of the wild Cornwall coast.
The freakin' wind. Not gale force today but still annoying enough to take the pleasure out of much of the walk - at least the first half.
One good thing about the wind is that it blows the clouds away quickly. So, if there is rain, it's gone fast and if there is cloudiness it's gone fast.
One other good thing - today we saw a beautiful site at most of the rocky inlets (and there were several) - the wind was whipping the waves and water into such a frenzy that it actually created sea foam - and it looked like snow. Magical. It would wisp up in spirals and cover the sky like a snowstorm. (Hopefully, my pics of it came out well enough for you all to get the idea.)
This part of the path (and Cornwall) is not nearly as pretty and quaint as the more northern part. As a matter of fact, Newquay (where we ended our walk and where we are tonight) is a tacky beach "resort" - lots of surf shops and T-shirts shops and ticky-tacky gift shops and bad hotels on a main drag. The people look hard and we wondered what kinds of places they were coming from if this is where they come to get away from it all.
Oddly, for a resort, the town closes up at 6. We had a heck of a time finding a place to eat dinner. We asked a waitress at a beach snack shack where she would go if she wanted a good meal out - she recommended a Greek restaurant so we high-tailed it there. A great meal with good atmosphere and good wine. It saved Newquay for us. Still, we're both looking forward to getting the train out tomorrow morning and heading to London.
Our B+B tonight is on the quirky side - our room is up under the rafters, funky shower/bathroom set-up (no doors anywhere) and situated in the middle of a working class neighborhood. Plenty roomy, as long as we remember to watch our heads around the edges of the room.
So, some general trip stand-outs:
*When the days were clear the scenery was spectacular
*Best meals at PotWallopers in Westward Ho! and The Bush Inn in Morwenstow
*Most amazing wildflowers I have ever seen anywhere
*Best castle - Tintagel
*Best bed - The Avalon in Tintagel
*Best town - Port Isaac
*Best breakfast - The Avalon in Tintagel
*Best host - Wendy at the Cyntwell in Padstow
This was a challenging walk - so many assents and descents made an average hiking day seem much longer than it was (and, of course, the wind didn't help.)
Probably won't come back but happy and proud to say I walked a good portion of the wild Cornwall coast.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
The last of Sunday's walk - May 17
More wildflowers and long views
Surfers in UK waiting for waves - we really never saw any waves that looked very worthwhile, but as R says - You have to be an optimist to live in Cornwall.
Apparently, golfers are to be feared here in Cornwall
Still smiling, after all this wind
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