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Two Aussies Touring England

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Two Aussies Touring England

Post by mzawf » Tue Feb 11, 2020 4:44 pm

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Two Aussies Touring England
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Sunny Hunny

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Well G’day,
Having travelled over much of this world we thought it was about time we saw the bits of England we have never visited. I was born in the UK, and then came to live in Australia in my 20’s, having ever hardly travelled past London. And well you take for granted what is on your doorstep don’t you?
Here are a few highlights of our trip around this amazing, interesting, beautiful country. So off we go leaving sunny Sussex, it’s autumn and we are heading northward in the hire car, not having too great expectations weather-wise, (it is England after all.)
First stop… Cambridge and the sun was shining! Never been there before, we stayed in an amazing B&B called Anstey Hall, a stately home in a village called Trumpington. This B&B is quite grand, a bit different and full of old antiquities; it is very relaxed and casual.

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Anstey Hall B&B

After a 15 min bus ride into the centre of Cambridge our first outing is a spot of punting on the river Cam. The young chap punting us was a student at one of the colleges and he gave us a pretty good commentary, very interesting and I highly recommend it.
The next day we walked the town and visited The Kings College Chapel, which was pretty amazing, you can still see graffiti on the walls drawn by Oliver Cromwell’s soldiers during the civil war in 1642.
Next stop Norfolk, thought we’d pop to Sandringham to see if her HRH was home, no luck there, she had been there at the weekend and gone back to the palace (probably to let the corgis out).
Shame, I’d combed my hair and put some lipstick on just in case!
Seeing as I’d glammed up a bit, I resorted to chatting up the gardener who lives on the estate, he told us some royal gossip like Phil drives like a maniac (surprise, surprise) and Elizabeth can barely see over the steering wheel (a bit boring I know, but better than nothing).
So onward to Hunstanton in Norfolk, also known as “Sunny Hunny” and it lived up to its name; what a beautiful place, the sunset was amazing.
It is famous for its striped cliffs and you can forage for fossils apparently if you’re so inclined. There are lovely beaches to stroll along to Old Hunstanton, where, if I went again I would stay (We stayed in new Hunstanton).
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Hunstanton, Norfolk

Driving around Norfolk we managed to kill a pheasant, not on purpose of course I have to say they are dumb! They sit on the side of the road, one slows down because one thinks they are going to cross, but no they walk into the middle of the road, turn and look at you, then run and fly into your windscreen.
He didn’t live through the experience, and it was very traumatic! We visited lots of little villages and towns, such a lovely county, shall definitely visit again.

Further north to York, interesting place and they make their Yorkshire puddings big, up this way! York minster is wonderful; you can walk around the minster on the city walls. We then moved onto the Yorkshire Dales…I’m going to run out of adjectives describing The Dales. It is so beautiful, why haven’t I been here before I ask myself and to top it all, the sun is shining! I’m feeling really lucky as it is early November.
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Yorkshire Dales

Travelling west onto the Lake District staying at Ambleside on Lake Windemere. The boat trip on the Lake Windemere was beautiful and once more I have to mention the weather, a sunny day! The next day was wet, but in true pommy style it didn’t cramp our style and we got out and about walking and stopping at Grasmere, a lovely village where the poet William Wordsworth and family are buried.

Next day it’s a 3 hours drive down to the peak district, a tad foggy, in fact we can’t see past the car bonnet! I’m loving it. :kiss
We stayed in an air B&B for the first time, a farmhouse that felt like we were in the middle of nowhere; nice owners living next door, but couldn’t see much past the end of my nose for the whole two days.
But when the fog lifted the day we left I could see that we weren’t so alone, other houses nearby, we were quite happy with the air B&B.

Then onto to Buxton, an interesting spa town with its famous Buxton bottled water which you have probably supped upon sometime, very pretty town but, have to mention the weather, it was raining. Historically it has the first hotel in England, we shook the door handle, (don’t’ ask me why.)

The Cotswold next and we stay in one of the most prettiest villages I have seen. Bourton On The Water. A stream runs through the village with several little bridges crossing it. Nice pubs, restaurants and little shops. We visited many villages in the area, Stow-on-the-Wold and Broadway for example.
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Bourton on the Water, Cotswolds

From the Cotswold we head to the famous city of Bath, I guess not much explanation is needed here of course the Roman baths are top of the list.
On the move again, I’m really beginning to feel like a gypsy traveller and quite enjoying it, must have been a gypsy in a past life I reckon.
North Devon next and to the village of Clovelley was worth a visit, just gorgeous, bit of a hike down on pebble streets, no cars allowed or able due to no road. I had a Cornish pasty in the one pub on the waterfront to sustain oneself for the walk back up.
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Clovelley, North Devon


We stayed in Bude, very windy and nice beaches, stayed in a quirky B&B that had a surfy theme with lots of lovely fish tanks full of tropical fish. The drive over Exmoor was nice, lots of Exmoor ponies wandering around, am feeling really in touch with nature these days.
Another highlight in the area for me Tintagel, because we were traveling in November there are not so many tourists around, so we got to wander around the castle and we were the only ones there! Another plus was that we didn’t have to pay! It is an amazing castle on the cliffs.

Port Isaac was next to see Doc Martin who wasn’t home, but did a selfie in front of his house. I’m a big doc martin show fan, so it was nice wandering around seeing where they filmed.
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Doc Martins place, little one in the middle

Off to Saint Ives and next to St Just in Cornwall. It is a little village that hasn’t quite jumped on the tourist train yet, artists have taken up residence there for a different more calming lifestyle; we stayed in the B&B at the pub. The Commercial, there are three pubs in the small village square. Of course we went to St Michaels Mount, once again we almost had the island to ourselves was great and...The sun was shining.
Now we are moving east towards South Devon stopping at Torquay for a night, I haven’t been down this way since our Pontins holiday at Brixham some 50ish years ago (are Pontins still in existence?). The Eden project was pretty interesting but was like walking around my garden in Sydney, we have a lot of the same plants.
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Eden Project


Winchester, a great place, we went to a cinema to see the new James Bond movie Spectre. It was a cinema with a difference the building was a converted chapel, didn’t sell Mars Bars much to my dismay, I needed an English Mars, no one does confec better than the Poms, except of course the Swiss. They only sold choc buttons made up in a little box which hit the spot I guess. It was called Everyman cinema, was a nice experience. Just to mention the weather again we went to the cinema because it was raining!
Back to Sussex and it is almost all over. We have been on the road for three weeks and there are so many places I still want to visit next time. England is such an amazingly beautiful country, we met so many nice people, and I’m proud to be a Pom and I’m also lucky to be able to say I’m proud to be an Aussie too!

two Aussies in the Dolomites

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