York to London

 Wednesday 21st April, 1982                  camping York             fine and sunny

Lazy morning - up into town - some to see the museum and Minster.  I walked around shops and visited the museum.  The camp is right near town on the banks of the “Ouse” so it's only a short and pleasant walk to town centre - pity the new owner wasn't as pleasant - he wouldn't let the kids play ball, gave them lectures - no washing.  The camp looked like an army camp -all lined up like tanks - patrons comfort forgotten.  Glad to see last of him.  Across country, past Selby to Lincoln where we found the Caraville which has about six plots for transits - the funniest washing facilities - one toilet - the slowest washing machine, but quickest dryer.  The people were nice - we had drinks and Sandra went to bed - we all read for awhile then followed Marie and Lee, having to wait for the slow washer, walked up to pub.  Sandra not too well - Sean improving.

Thursday 22nd April, 1982                 camping Lincoln                     overcast

Slept in till 8:30 a.m. then up and off this a.m. early, as water was too cold to shower.  On past the Boddington airbase were lots of activity spells possible war.  Then on through Spalding where acres and acres of tulips lined the road side - more than we saw in Holland.

We lunched in Spalding - a nice town - then on through St Ives where Oliver Cromwell was born, past another airbase and on to Cambridge.  A lovely camp, the nicest facilities we have seen - in a huge paddock - kids are running wild.

Friday 23rd April, 1982               camping Cambridge                fine and cold

Up and lazily packed ready to leave.  We hate to leave this Caraville - lovely facilities, washing machine, dryer - small personal cubicles.  On to the War Museum at Duxford - too early so we went into a nearby village of Thriplow - a lovely little one-shop village with lovely people.  The 10 of us took it over, the Post Office wasn't big enough to take parcels.  Back at 11 a.m. to Duxford War Museum - very well done.

Luxford air museum, UK

We inspected the Concord - won't be flying in one.  Too narrow!  Spent two hours there - loved the old posters put out during World War II.

Arrived at Saffron Walden for lunch - lovely little village - sent 2 parcels - books, crochet rug, tablecloths and Koblenz in one and a Cuckoo clock in other £32 - wow!  

Saffron Walden, UK

Off then down to Audley End to view the Castle which belonged to Lord Audley who was given it by old Henry VIII -a lovely old home and the gardens were magnificent with a tree 440 years old - beautiful! 

Audley End, UK

On then to visit Trudy and Brian - we had passed Beckett's farm when Brian jumped out on Lee so we had to backtrack.  Live in a lovely area.  Anhesden, in Saffron Walden spent a pleasant couple of hours, then along through lovely country to Duddenhoe End where we spent the night at the "Woodman" camping behind a pub.  Had a nice evening in the pub.  Rae lost watch - the ablutions were clean but antiquated - the doors were like stable doors.  Two weeks to D Day.

Saturday 24th April, 1982            fine but cool

Up and on winding country roads through small villages - Linton - brought food - had a lovely pub meal at  "The Duck and Dog" on then to Bumpstead - lovely but no Park - on to Bumpstead South - no Park - so through green country to Finchingfield a village with a village green, a typical one that you read about in books, a pond with ducks, the bridge, children playing on the green and people picnicking.  

 

Finchingfield, UK

We had lunch, then walked around and then headed for Thaxted - a nice little town with an old Guildhall built in 1300 and a mediaeval church being restored to its beauty.  

Thaxted, UK

Sandra saw a lovely set of Punch Books for £18 in Mary Poole's bookstore, a lovely windmill.

Essex is lovely, so green.  We came to Dunmow and spent a bit of time browsing through antique shops and lovely streets.  They have a pub called " Kicking Dickie", lovely English name.

Then through High Roding, Anythorpe Roding - where windmills lined the road side, then Leaden Roding on then to Chigwell and Grange farm camping area.  Next door is Spanish Circus the first one to visit -English - washing on after a lovely hot shower - a wind blows over the green.  Sandra found Rae's watch.

York to Chigwell UK

Back to London

Sunday, 13th September, 1981                    fine with showers

Slept in.  We cleaned the van, all the cupboards and washed.  Boys took Rae into London to see some sites.

We had a lovely day without the hassle of up and moving.  We read and rested after cleanup.

Monday, 14th September, 1981

We left early to collect much looked forward to mail.  Sat in coffee shop and all read.  Rae got one from Jenny, Sean from Brett, San from Bob, Harry & Hazel and Marie and I had birthday cards and three letters from Karen.  Each one with sad news.  One feels so useless and despondent when a loved one is hurt by loss in Australia.  First reaction is one of fleeing home when one realises this is purely selfish.  Despite feeling sad, I travelled along all day as Sean had arranged our day.  John went off on his own, and we took a bus to Madame Tussaud's - very interesting, but I expected more. I didn't like the dark rooms.  Then on to bus and off to Hampton Court.  We changed buses at Hammersmith flyover and on to Hampton.  It took 40 minutes in the first bus and one hour in the bus to the castle.

Hampton Court, London

It was raining as we alighted from the bus - we were dying of thirst - so first stop was the coffee shop.  The weather was terrible and wet, but we then went on to the maze.  Had a fun half-hour there.  An old man tickled our sense of humour - he had had enough and wanted to get out, come hell or high water.  Then off to the castle where Henry VIII and all the wives lived.  A huge lovely 16th century castle with beautiful gardens.  Lord Woolsey built it and dirty old Henry took it off him.  Then back home on over three buses.  It is about half an hour on a bus from Crystal Palace to London.

Tired and into bed.  In the bathroom I was sharing heard male voices in the bathroom came to see two Frenchmen merrily washing in basin - mixed bathing in England?

Tuesday, 15th September, 1981                  overcast but fine night

Up casually and off to town again on another Sean prepared day.  He spends hours mapping over routes, and has never lost us yet.  We have had a little Frenchman living in a tent behind us.  Very friendly - John said "looks like we've got rid of Pat" but he only had a bicycle not a tandem.  He is 71 years old and doing England on his own, just his little tent and bike.  

St Paul's Cathedral, London

Went off to London to see St. Paul's Cathedral.  I rang Karen before our tour, great to hear her voice and good news after all tragic news in mail.  Walked through St Paul's - I like it - Rae, John and Sean climbed up the dome and as Sandra and I walked in and waved from way at the top.  During the war all the area around was razed with bombs and St Paul's suffered very little damage.

Whilst there a priest gave us all a blessing, when he told us to keep quiet - we thought bomb, because everywhere you go in London they search your handbag or bags.

We had lunch in the square outside and an added bonus, kids playing basketball, then we walked down to Australia House to read the latest news.  We were news starved - haven't heard any Aussie news for five weeks.

We strolled off down to NSW house, past the gift shop but Vegemite was expensive - three times dearer than home £1.90 a pound, so we go without.  Decided to vote for NSW polls seeing we do have a stake there.  Pick up mail - letter from Tony and Billy - much excitement -Amber going to preschool.

Caught the London Tube from Piccadilly to Kensington South to visit the museums.  Hate the tube but love the museums.  Geological was very good.  A simulated earthquake kept the kids amused.  Then we went next door to the Science Museum, one needs a week to see everything - very well done!

We have decided to stay in town to see the lights of Piccadilly Circus, so we strolled back to town via Hyde Park watching the world go by.  We found a nice clean Pizzaria and had tea.  Very nice and we were starving.  Strolled around till lights came on about 8 p.m.  We were disappointed as Coca-Cola didn't come alive.  Home by bus and into bed.  Well done Sean -a good day!

Piccadilly Circul, day and night

Wednesday, 16th September, 1981               spitting

Shopping this a.m., then wrote letters. 7 of them and five cards.  Had a quiet afternoon - the little Frenchman said goodbye, off to Kent on his bike.  Late afternoon Sean came in on his own to our surprise.  John and he had gone to Greenwich on their own and to the Cheshire Cheese pub - a little old pub in Fleet Street.  John had put him on the bus and he came home on his own all the way from London - he is a good little navigator.

Thursday, 17th September, 1981                   cool and showery

Into London after a morning organising boxes to send parcels home.  Just to look at shops in Regent and Oxford streets.  What had started out as a casual peaceful day ended in a mean horrible way.  Sandra had cashed her travellers cheques and luckily put most of it and her passport into the money belt.  The kids have fits when we pull our jumpers up and unzip our belts but after today that is the best place for them.

On way home we hopped on the bus home and were jostled by two young men nearly pushing Rae off.  When we got upstairs and settled Sandra found one bastard had unzipped her purse and pinched her money purse with credit cards - to our utter chagrin.  We were so wild, Sandra nearly busted the phone up here ringing through to American Express.  Cost her nearly £3 in this phone system.  Had a happy letter from Karen yesterday.  Made us laugh -picked up photos today.  Very good!

 Friday, 18th September, 1981                        wet and fine

Day home washing, packing presents.  The kids stayed with me as Sandra and John were busy following up stolen credit cards etc.  They had a nice day without the kids and me to disturb them.  Found out 10 kg box to send home by post cost ₤36 so we are looking for an alternate way.  Sent Karen's birthday present by padded bag.

Saturday, 19th September,1981                    fine and cool

I do declare winter is here!  A bad storm rocked the van all night.  We were dry, but woke a few times.  We felt sorry for the little tents - don't see big tents like ours - just two men mainly young people.  We had to run for the bus, it waited.  The bus crew have been very kind to us expatriates.  We went into town - let the kids roam wild in the world's largest toy department store.  We strolled round on the perimeter of the grounds.  We then found a little park and had our brown homemade roles, very nice.  The pigeons thought so too.  Had T-shirts printed for all the little ones at home.

Went down to the embankment to see the Abbey, Thames national show, barge races, rowing aerobatics and carnival plus millions of people.  John lined up to buy a beer - found himself on a Fosters line and he received it free - all beer free to Aussies but Foster's only.  All along the embankment there were stalls with free Coca-Cola and Orange aid.

 Sunday, 20th September, 1981

Packed a lunch and off to see the Tower.  We alighted at Victoria and walked about 2 miles to the Tower, only to find we were too early.  It didn't open till 2:30 p.m.  So we ate a lunch on the Embankment attracting a hive of bees and fat pigeons.  Then walked to Westminster and on to Hyde Park.  Visited Westminster Catholic Cathedral  - a beautiful construction built in 1880.  From there we walked to Hyde Park to hear speakers Corner - lots of people seem to make this their Sunday afternoon entertainment, both participating and listening.  Sean and Rae had a mad race across the park.  London is full of entertainment.  People preaching, anything from politics to religion, people saying rosary and at night the Salvation Army marching up the road at Crystal Palace with a string of traffic some miles long, with only one car objecting.  This is a free country like Australia.

Monday, 21st September, 1981

Rest and cleanup day.  Met an American family of five travelling to Europe by tent and Eurail.  If it rains things will be uncomfortable!

Tuesday, 22nd September, 1981

Off to see the Tower, very impressive but depressing - saw changing of the guards of the Tower which I liked.  We walked through the bloody Tower where so many tears and heads must have been shed.  There is a walk where Sir Walter Raleigh walked in the sunlight for 12 years whilst imprisoned.  We strolled through the Crown Jewels departments.  The first section holds pure gold wine caskets, tureens, serving plates dating back to Charles 1 and William and Ann. 

Tower of London, crown jewels

Then you go downstairs into a huge Chubb strongroom box and here lies royalty’s wealth - crowns and staffs and robes, diamonds and rubies adorn all.  Queen Elizabeth II’s crown is very impressive. From there to visit St Johns Chapel a Normandy built church with winding stone steps going up the equivalent of three stories.  We lunched, then into town to the Spanish Consul to pick up our visas for when we go into Spain.

Wednesday, 23rd September, 1981

Went for a picnic down to the park and sat amongst prehistoric monsters, a lovely park in the heart of London's suburbia.  Tomorrow we leave for Dover.

 

Happy Birthday, Pat travelling to Crystal Palace

 Friday, 11th September, 1981         happy birthday, Pat            fine and sunny

We awoke to a lovely morning after a raging night.  No one settled too early with the heavy rain and wind.  Sean had done a good job guiding us into a corner, out of the mainstream of wind but we still rocked occasionally from the force.  On the road to Burton-on-Trent we aren't going to Derby.  I rang Margaret's brother - very nice people but as we were going through Derby early morning they would all be at work so on to the brewery town.

John and Sean enjoyed a morning in the Bass brewery.  We walked around town, filled the larder and read.  Had lunch in town Park then headed for Ashby-de-la-Zouch, a town with such a grand name derived from Danish settlers.  Behind Georgian and Elizabeth homes - a ruined castle stands, which once belonged to la Zouche.  The walk revitalised us so we proceeded to Bosworth to walk around the perimeter of the battle of Bosworth where Richard III was defeated by Henry VII in 1485.  A white rose blooms where Richard is said to have died.  He was the last of the Plantagenet - so began a Tudor line down to our present Queen.

Richard 111

John took some video shots.  We ran around the grassy slopes relieving our pent-up energies.  And here we are in Shakespeare country at Stratford upon Avon.  Everyone has shot off in a new direction.  Tonight we are having a birthday tea - salad and ham.

We passed through Coventry where Lady Godiva rode the horse bareback in the 11th century to protest against her husband's oppression of the people of Leofric.  There is a clock in the marketplace of lady Godiva riding past and a peeping Tom peeping out.  In real history the peeping Tom is the only one who did see Godiva nude.

Had a lovely birthday with presents, kisses and cuddles.  My choice of tea - ham and salad and scones jam & cream for sweets.  We lit one match on centre scone and sang happy birthday.  Besides the kisses I received a Wedgwood jug from S and J, a little plate and stand from Rae, jars of tasty jam from Sean and a plate stand all made a nice day with the presents I had enough from home from………..

 Saturday, 12th September, 1981        Fine

Awoke to a sunny day after a stormy night.  Three nights in a row we have had rain and wind then lovely days.  Still in summer night wear.     

We were up early and off to town.  Stratford upon Avon to beat the traffic for a parking spot.

We had been into town the night before for a walk.  It is a pretty town on the Avon River but like elsewhere very commercialised.  

We had paid 80 p to see Shakespeare's cottage - there was really very little on his life to see.  Anyway we can say we were there - a mediaeval Tudor cottage, Ann Hathaway’s is thatched roof.  They have both been preserved by Shakespeare birthplace society.

Then off to the Cotswolds.  Lovely countryside, down Dales and up hills, passing through villages completely built from sandstone from the Cotswolds mountains.  Quite showpieces but difficult to find common food.  All the villages once again, cater for the thousands of visitors.  I walked nearly 1 1/2 miles to buy bread in Chipping Broadway, sufficient tea shops and gifts shops but where the population buy their provisions I couldn't find out.

We drove in to Stow-on-the-Wold for a drink.  Visited a little pub and got quite a bonus.  There was a group of Morris dancers practising in the pub.  We spoke to them and they put on an impromptu rehearsal dance for us.  It is an old Cotswold custom revived for a year now and becoming quite popular.  There were 8 dancers, two musicians {one fiddle and one accordion) and a joker - very entertaining, all male too from middle aged to two young teens.

At Market on Marsh we stopped and picked our own blackberries and apples.  Huge orchard and an hour’s fun.

We decided not to stop at Oxford (no parks) and came straight on to the Crystal Palace, London and here we are recovering from trip number 1 and deciding on trip number 2.

 

Burton on Trent to Crystal Palace, London

Part 2 - London

 We arrive in London

We were met at Heathrow by a Walkabout Club member Philip an Australian who gave us a description of each suburb on our way into Paddington W2 to Royal Eagle Hotel at Craven Place. 

Our bedroom was not ready so we settled into one room with all our baggage and then went down to breakfast where for five days the poor little Spanish waiter trembled each time he saw us advance.  Then after refreshments we went to find our way into London.  Our first ride in the tube - took the Bakerloo line into Oxford Circus where John left us to inquire about the van and we just wandered through Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square - names I had heard of but couldn't believe really existed but here we were in the midst of the throbbing pulsating streets of London.  

Piccadilly Circus  1981

Piccadilly Circus - at night 1981

It is August and what with school holidays and holidaymakers from the royal wedding, London is crowded.  The streets are lined with remnants of bunting, photos of the wedding couple and every window is decorated.  Souvenirs line every shop window and every vendors stall.  Can't grasp the cosmopolitan population of London.  Punk groups rub shoulders with white garbed people from the Middle East.  Black taxis drive side by side with the black limousine.  Shop names known for years are now for real - Tiffany, Hamblin’s, Liberty.  After lunch we headed for home as overtired bodies pleaded for rest.  All laid down at 1 p.m. and slept till 1 a.m. next morning, awakening starved and bright.  San and I dozed on till 5 a.m. but now all three bright sparks Rae, Sean and John stayed awake and went walking in Hyde Park at 4:30 a.m.

 An early breakfast with our little Spanish waiter.  Did he get our order right?  Not yet!  Breakfast is inclusive.  Bacon, eggs, cereal, tea and toast - then off for a tour of London by Walkabout bus - a double-decker yellow and green (Aussie colours) providing a good tour to places where we may never get to, like the tower, dungeon, lots of places we will revisit later at leisure like St Paul's Cathedral, the Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Wellington's Palace which has the smallest police station in the world.  London fascinates me with its cultural population its buses, cars, Christopher Wren's architecture standing out to fascinate the visitors.  It's streets are very grotty but that could be the holidaymakers.

 After lunch went for a walk through Hyde Park to stroll through Harrods - its food stalls are terrific.  

Every country is represented, grapes from Spain, oranges from Italy, tomatoes from America, cheese from every country in the world.  Marvellous!  Browsed through shops looking at crockery and antiques.  

Tomorrow we are off to inspect the van.  Have hardly seen John since we arrived, poor darling has to find us a good van to last us 12 months to get us safely through Europe.  To bed very tired.

I love the names of pubs. The lanes are so clean -Pudding Lane, the Bald Head, such musical names.  Also the streets are so well -kept, main roads and side streets and lowly, narrow lanes are all beautifully paved.  A lesson Australia!