York is the city in the middle of Yorkshire and, in fact, that’s how the Shire got its name. Like other Shires (Buckinghamshire, Worcestershire, Nottinghamshire, etc.) Yorkshire is the Shire in which York is found but Yorkshire is a very large shire and York is only part of it. It’s worth the time to visit some other areas in Yorkshire, not just York.
Yorkshire is divided into ridings—“Riding” is a word taken from Viking term …
Assuming you have read the other two parts of this topic <<Part 1>> <<Part 2 >>, this part will take on the much more mundane topic of traffic signs and roads. The number and type of signs in the UK is large, so there is no way to cover all of them. This government website covers the ones the government thinks are the most important. Generally, triangular signs with red borders are …
Ok, so we have our rental all checked out. But before you fire it up, do a thorough checkout so you know how to operate it—handbrake, cruise controls, gearing, instruments, fuel filling locations (and what type fuel it takes), options on the dashboard, heater, etc. Driving is going to take a lot of your attention, so having to figure out how to get the cabin temperature where you want it while trying to figure …
The Borough Market, on the south side of the Thames River, was established in 1756 and has been in operation ever since. The area is near the river, the Shard, and the London Bridge. The first time we visited, the weather was rainy, actually it was pouring down rain. As the market is mostly covered, it was crowded with intrepid visitors and shoppers from all over the world.
The market is made up of …
There is nothing quite as alluring to the woman known as the “Tea Lady” as the words, “Afternoon Tea Week in England.” Yes, sweet words indeed to these ears! Our week in London couldn’t have been timed any better for that reason alone. Fortuitously a couple of Tea venues were booked in advance of our arrival and we have hopes of sneaking in at least one more before the week ends.
Our first Afternoon Tea …
Let’s get serious here, traveler. It rains in England. Often. In fact, if you look at London climatological data, it rains in London every other day, on average. So, if you plan to be in England, you can assume it will rain sometime during your visit.
What do you do when it rains? I have three words for you: “Brolly,” “Mac” and “Wellies.” Now before you go off in a huff because I used foreign …
In Part 1 we covered some of the history of York and so here in Part 2 we hope to entice you to explore many places that are well-worth your time, for so many reasons!
In addition to the Roman walls, medieval towers and the incredible history of the area, inside the Roman walls is a fascinating city center. The major, and highly visible, object of interest is Yorkminster, the huge cathedral that towers …
About 200 miles north of London is the city of York which, not surprisingly, is in Yorkshire. (Actually, the Shire got the name from the city, so I guess one should really say that Yorkshire is around York.) We’ve been there three times, and we plan to go again. Why, you ask? Because York is a fabulous place to explore for so many reasons, that’s why!
York was founded by the Romans in 71 A.D. …
When we stayed at Updown Cottage in Shaftesbury, we were with dear friends who were on their first visit to England, so we wanted them to experience as much of the “real” England as possible. After picking them up at Heathrow and allowing for a bit of rest from the overnight flight, we loaded up the rental car and set out for Shaftesbury where we would be staying for a week. By the time we …
On one of our earlier journeys in England, we were testing to see how a GPS system worked. This was before smartphones, in the early days of GPS or, as the Brits call it, SatNav. The system was a GPS receiver connected to my PDA running a navigation program. Back in those days you could never tell which way the SatNav was likely to take you, so it was a bit of an adventure.
In …