UK – English countryside, Scotland and Wales
We were very keen to see the English countryside and then make our way to the neighbouring Scotland and Wales before we ventured overseas to mainland Europe. Did you know that Scotland, England and Wales are not technically independent countries. The country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain (but don’t make the same mistake Pete made and tell a Scotsman that). We hired a car and spent the next week or so driving around Great Britain. Cambridge University was our first stop which was an hour and a half north of London…
A lazy day of punting. Students earn a few quid taking passengers around the exclusive and beautiful Cambridge University
One of the many beautiful buildings at Cambridge University. The town of Cambridge was built around the the University.
The drive was a great adventure and for us a lot more fun than getting the train. Unlike Mexico and the States at least the British drive on Australia’s side of the road. Albeit the roads are a lot more narrow and windy.
Exactly how we pictured some English roads.
From the prestigious University we drove onto into Yorkshire and stayed in a small quaint town called Harrowgate at The Yorkshire Hotel (see accommodation page). Yorkshire is a beautiful area of Northern England.
The stunning Yorkshire Hotel was the only one that had a spare room as we hadn't pre-booked and arrived into Harrowgate at 11.30pm. A little too expensive for our budget but really nice all the same.
The next day we arrived in Edinburgh in Scotland, which is a beautiful town to look around. It also has a fantastic Castle (Edinburgh Castle) that we visited (£14 entrance fee) and recommend any visitor to do the same.
Us out the front of Edinburgh Castle. Very popular to visit but pretty cool as far as Castles go...
The following day we drove to Callender, which is a small town west of Edinburgh and north of Glasgow, for the Callender Highlander Games. This was a huge highlight for our UK countryside adventure. Highlander games date back hundreds of years and some of the biggest men you’ll ever see, compete at them. Stay tuned for Pete’s webisode piece when he interviews a competitor (the Scottish guy in the photo below).
Caber tossing is an event at these primitive style Olympics. Only for the strongmen. Check out the stone ball and barrel too. Seven guys from the crowd (including Pete) tried and failed to get that ball off the ground, let alone onto the barrel. These competitors make it look easy.
The idea is to throw the caber and make it do a forward somersault. The straighter it lands in line with the throwers the better the toss.
The Highlander games are not just for men. The strong women of the land (overseas included) come to compete. This competitor hails from USA.
You can check more photos of these games in the photo gallery at the bottom of this post. These games go on all over the world and are so worth seeing if you can’t do it in Scotland.
The hotel we stayed at in the outskirts of Edinburgh in well worth a mention. Its called Craigiebield House Hotel and it’s comfortable, affordable and serves a cracking Scottish Brekky.
Craigiebield House Hotel Dining Room. Its not right in Edinburgh centre but its a really nice hotel to stay at if you have wheels to get you there.
A typical yummy Scottish Breakfast. In case you're wondering what the black round thing is, its called Black Pudding and it made from blood among other things. Pete sampled it but, well lets say it's an acquired taste.
Edinburgh has plenty of other things to see, such as palaces and other old building and monuments. We recommend spending at least a few days there to take it all in. Whilst walking along the famous Royal Mile we met the most pierced women/person in the world!!
Elane Davidson is the Guiness Book Of Records holder with 6,925 body piercings. Full on....
Glasgow, although really beautiful, didn’t seem to have as much to see and do as Edinburgh. We only spent a day there on our way south and although we enjoyed it, we didn’t feel we needed to spend more time there. Instead we were keen to get to the well known Lakes District, which is south of Glasgow about 2 and a half hours southeast, in England.
Lake District is a stunning part of the English Countryside and well worth a visit if you have a spare couple of days in the UK.
There are some really nice B&B's in Windemere (Lake District). Walk around and knock on doors to find a nice one, at a good price.
We stayed at Dunvegan B&B which was reasonably priced and a really nice homestay style experience.
A famous resident of the Lake District was Beatrix Potter, author of the Tales of Peter Rabbit and a more. A visit to her wonderful world is also recommended, allowing you to relive your favourite tales from childhood. It is located in Windermere and cost approx £7 entrance. You can also go and visit the house where the famous author grew up.
The World of Beatrix Potter is a fun 1-2hour experience. Expect a few Japanese tourist here though, they are mad for her work!!!
From the Lake District we drove south between Liverpool and Manchester and into North Eastern Wales. We then drove all down through Wales to Cardiff. Wales has some really nice countryside and lots and lots of Sheep. Its a beautiful drive. Much like we expected.
Check out the tails on these sheep!!!! Not something we see our on Aussie sheep that's all.
Cardiff is a cool city. It has a good vibe about it. Lots of life and culture, including a good night time scene. It also has really nice park (Cardiff Arms Park and Bute Park) adjoined by Cardiff Castle.
Cardiff Castle is smack bang in the middle of the city and is impossible to miss.
We ventured back to London from Cardiff which takes around 3 hours. Great to see the mother country and its surrounding neighbours before we visited Europe landmarks.
Please see more photos in photo Gallery below:
