Last Monday through Friday we did our last big trip as a group. We loaded onto the Westbus coach bright and early with our chatty driver, Tony, who likes to point out interesting sights and divulge little factoids where he can along the way. This time we were headed up north. This was the schedule for the week, plus some highlights from what we did during free time in each of the cities:
Monday:
- Lincoln, England
- Lincoln Castle; Lincoln Cathedral
- York, England by evening
Tuesday
- York
- City Wall walk
- York Minster Cathedral tour
- Edinburgh, Scotland by evening
- Elephant House Cafe for dinner -- birthplace of Harry Potter!
- Calton Hill at sunset; graveyards
Wednesday
- Edinburgh
- Edinburgh Castle
- Walked along the city's Royal Mile
- Saw the Palace of Holyroodhouse -- the Queen's official residence in Scotland
- Hiked Arthur's Seat, overlooking all of Edinburgh
Thursday
- Leave Scotland for Lake District in Northern England
- Pretty drive through the countryside/Lake District
- Boat ride on Lake Windermere
Friday
- Hiked in the Lake District near Coniston Lake; summited Holme Fell
- Drive back to London
And now for the picture dump :)
Lincoln Cathedral
Piety
The cool gate into the city of York that we walked through to get anywhere.
I think it's one of the only cities left in England that still is surrounded by a city wall
Oh the ghost walk.
York Minster:
My favorite cathedral we've seen, rivaled only by St. Paul's. I'm telling you, taking a tour makes all the difference when visiting cathedrals. Otherwise they're all the same all over Europe, one flipping cathedral after another!
York Minster has the largest amount of original medieval stained glass in England, possibly Europe; I can't remember for sure. But I thought this one was interesting because it's not traditional brightly colored Bible scenes like the rest.
Beautiful ceiling!
Along the York city wall. Such a beautiful city!
The river that ran through the city was also beautiful
EDINBURGH
(not in chronological order)
Andrea, Taylor and I at Edinburgh Castle
Alison, me, Taylor, Nick, Cara, and Andrea atop Edinburgh Castle
This is the cafe where J.K. Rowling spent a lot of time writing Harry Potter books. The back room overlooks Edinburgh Castle, which sits on a cliff and looks a LOT like Hogwarts.
In the women's restroom, there is this HP-decopaged toilet, but make sure to sign up for Dumbledore's Army on the door jamb! I'm number 179!
We hiked up to Calton Hill after dinner to watch the sun go down (at 10:30 pm!). Great views of the whole city!
Looking back at Calton Hill from the cemetery we explored afterward
A view of Edinburgh by night from a cemetery on a hill
Another HP pilgrimage was another graveyard that had Tom Riddle's grave! Ok, it's actually Thomas Riddell, but there was also a McGonagall and Moody in there too, so J.K. must have come here and gotten inspiration!
Just me and a fake bagpiper at Edinburgh Castle!
And a real bagpiper performing on the street! We're not in Kansas anymore, folks.
At the top of Arthur's seat, a beautiful hike up above Edinburgh! A must do if you're ever there.
Awesome panoramic views.
Lake District
View from the boat ride in the Lake District. There were TONS of gorgeous lake houses too.
The view from our hostel up in the hills above Windermere in the Lake District. No bigs.
So beautiful and picturesque.
Andy Goldsworthy nature sculpture that was part of our hike in the Lake District. He does a bunch of this type of thing all over! Look him up!
A pile of rocks: the end goal of a most heinously muddy and wet, but easy, hike. Now I know what it's like to be a hobbit and trek through a veritable quagmire, albeit a gorgeous quagmire!
At the top.
The Toms sacrificed for that view. This wasn't even the worst they got. Think caked on mud all over. But don't worry, a quick trip through the wash and they're pretty much as good as new!
Oreo cow!
Those are the highlights from the trip! I wish I could explain more, but it's au revoir to London and bonjour to Paris in ten minutes!
