Bristol

Bristol was probably the most unexpectedly interesting part of the whole trip through the South of England. Steve and I decided to go there as our last stop simply because neither of us had ever been. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Bristol is actually a very cool city. Not only is it the birthplace of the famous graffiti artist, Banksy, but it's also loaded with unusual history, unique street food and just a ton of cool things to see. Needless to say, our expectations were blown out of the water.



Speaking of water, that's where our visit began - on the Kennet and Avon Canal. It turns out you can actually take this canal from Bristol to London via Bath. We got on a boat tour that took us around the city using this waterway. Right at the start we saw a funny looking bridge which we later learned is called Pero's Bridge. Opened in 1999, this bridge has two funnel shaped sculptures on the sides that look like Shrek's ears. As it turns out, these "ears" are actually counterweights which provide balance and stability - who knew!



During the tour we also saw lots of colorful buildings, similar to one's I've seen in Scandinavia, and a number of really cool boats ranging from historic sailing ships to modern designer houseboats. After the tour came to an end, we grabbed a snack from one of the many tables selling homemade sweets, and stopped in at the tourism office for some information. From there we began what's referred to as the Curiosities Trail. One of our first stops was St Mary Redcliffe Church - referred to by Queen Elizabeth I as "the fairest, goodliest and most famous parish church". She was far less kind to the women of Bristol, saying to the mayor "Good Lord Master Mayor, how plain the women of Bristol be!"



The next landmark was the Temple Church tower which leans at a precarious angle and has done so since the 14th century. The army, clearing WW2 bomb damage wanted to pull the tower down thinking that a bomb had caused the lean. Only the entreaties of citizens saved this famous landmark.



We then passed through Castle Park and arrived at St Nicholas Church - the only public clock in England with a second hand. Behind the church we found a huge variety of tasty street food at the food market. After having something to eat, we stopped in front of the Bristol Exchange where four brass 'Nails' mark another 'curiosity'. Back in the day, merchants used to strike these nails when a deal was completed; hence the expression, "pay on the nail".



Next, we came to a neat little thoroughfare, which dates back to 1669, and followed it up to the top of the Christmas Steps. Near the top of the steps, we came across the Foster's Almshouses. Rebuilt in the present French style in the 19th century, the Foster's Almshouses were originally constructed as charitable housing with spaces for thirteen men and thirteen women. According to Steve, many of these houses are supported by trusts set up centuries ago and, if you belong to that trade or can prove your ancestors belonged to it, you may be able to live in one when you get old.



At this point, we had pretty much reached the end of the list, save for the burial place of the supposed inventor of the blanket. So, we pulled out the other list which directed us to a few 'Banksys' around town - little known fact: Banksy was born in Bristol. I guess that explains why there seems to be so many copycat graffiti artists running around.



At the end of the day, before heading back to London so I could catch my flight to Madrid the following day, we had a cup of tea and some cheesecake from the food stands. Then we sat at the edge of the canal for a bit while a historic sailing ship and some SUP boarders went by.

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The Jurassic Coast

As I mentioned before, the Jurassic Coast is really aptly named. Most places along the way have that cool Land of the Lost feel that you get when you see something preserved from another era. Some things are from ancient cultures and other things are simply prehistoric. The village we stayed at the night before itself was pretty old school. Most of the homes there have those really cool, and very expensive, thatched roofs.



We exited the town onto a path that lead from Lulworth Cove to Durdle Door. The name 'Durdle' comes from the Anglo Saxon 'thirl', meaning a pierced hole or opening, which is exactly what Durdle Door is. The hike there was about 30 minutes or so up a hill and down the other side. It was a perfect morning for taking photos and the temperature was ideal. Steve had been there a month before when it was a bit warmer and had decided to go swimming through Durdle Door to cool off. This, unfortunately, hadn't gone too well. It seems he had swum a little too hard in water that was a little too cold and lost all motivation to swim back - he almost drowned. Luckily, I think he said the current helped a bit so he was able to make it back; a little shook up perhaps but alive nonetheless!



We had a good look around before heading back to the village. From there we drove until we found a little farm shop where we could grab some breakfast. Steve got the last breakfast roll so I ended up having a Scotch egg - a hard-boiled quail's egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in bread crumbs and baked, or possibly deep-fried. Scotch eggs are served cold, but I couldn't help thinking that it would have been better warm. Still, not bad.



Our next stop was West Bay. This was a really cool place; the cliffs definitely had some serious stratification going on - reminded me a lot of something by Antonio Gaudí in Park Güell in Barcelona. This makes a lot of sense actually when you consider that his work is largely inspired by nature. As we walked along the cliffs, we also found lots of large broken-off chunks with tons of fossils visible on the surfaces. I even found a large coprolite... also known as fossilized dino poo.



We continued on from there to our quirky hostel in Moretonhampstead on the north-eastern edge of Dartmoor. The owner there was a funny cat lady who clearly wasn't too concerned about running a business. Not only did she allow her animals to roam around in the guest quarters but, the next morning, she was nowhere to be found. Lucky for her we had every intention of paying and would be mailing her the money later. I can imagine that some guests are occasionally a little less forthcoming though.



Covering an area of 368 square miles (954 sq km), Dartmoor contains the largest area of open country in the south of England. As one of several high moors in the area, including Exmoor and Bodminmoor, Dartmoor is known for its tors - hills topped with outcrops of bedrock.  As we passed through, we saw lots of these tors as well as some cool looking red cows. At one point we decided to stop and climb one of the hills in order to visit the tors. I was surprised at how much colder it was up in the moors. The freezing wind blasting us with an icy mist made it seem as if we had stumbled into a whole other climate. The whole hike was probably about 30-45 minutes, including our visit to the bronze age settlements on the adjacent hill, but in my memory it easily could have been twice that. Nevertheless, it was a fascinating environment littered with relics from prehistoric societies dating as far back as the Neolithic.



Later on I had a pretty amazing British scone with fresh cream spread. Then, that evening, we had chicken pie with chips at a local pub. This was also really good. Though, that's unfortunately more than either of us could say for the local cider... yuck!

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The English Countryside

The English countryside has really earned its reputation. I never really gave it much thought even when I was there back in 2010... and, unfortunately, you can really tell that by my lack of exposition. Well, I'm happy to say that my most recent visit has given me more appreciation for the this part of the world. I think it definitely helps when you have a good local friend to share the experience with. Also, as Steve once suggested, being more descriptive definitely makes a big difference as well.

I arrived at Gatwick, a cheaper airport outside of London, on Thursday, September 21st. Steve was there waiting with a rental car ready to start our journey. We didn't waste any time getting to our first stop - Beachy Head.



Beachy Head is located at the easternmost end of the South Downs in the South of England. It's a lot like the White Cliffs of Dover but, in my opinion, way better. This is because it's less touristy and, as Steve explained, you actually get to see more of the cliffs! I suppose for some the only downside of it being less touristy is that perhaps it has less security. Apparently, it's been a pretty popular spot for driving one's car off the edge. I don't know if that's still the case today but still it seems strange that they haven't done anything about it.

The cliffs themselves are really interesting as they're made of chalk, and the chalk itself comes from seashells. The story goes that the chalk was formed 65 million years ago (Cretaceous Period) when dinosaurs roamed the land. Although, I guess the actual dinosaur fossils themselves are a bit older as this stop is just 140 miles shy of the beginning of what they call the Jurassic Coast (80-130 mya). But I digress.



A few miles down from Beachy Head is a place called Birling Gap. Here we were able to take a large metal staircase down to the pebbly beach below the cliffs. The pebbles themselves are notable as they change consistently as you get further down the coast. In fact, thanks to this consistency, sailors of old were able to figure out their geographic location simply by looking at the pebbles on the beach! Steve and I stopped here for a pot of proper English tea and a cake. Maybe I was just hungry, but I thought it was all pretty exceptional.

Our next stop along the way was about 25 miles away, in Brighton. There, we took a walk down to the pier to visit with my friend Robert who I met back in 2010 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and again in Australia two years later.



Robert joined us for the next leg of our journey as we stopped to see Arundel castle. We didn't really manage to get all that close to the castle, but we did have a little walk around the town which was nice.

A little further down the way, we dropped Robert off so he could catch a bus back to Brighton. We then continued to Poole in order to catch the ferry there. The ferry was actually a bit different than any I'd ever seen before - this one was pulled across by a massive chain! It seems the tides are a bit strong for controlling the boat manually and, because it's such a short distance, the chain's weight doesn't create much of a problem. Once on the other side, we drove through Studland and Godlingston Heath National Nature Reserve to a small village called Swanage - famous for it's fish 'n' chips.



After enjoying our generous portions of the coastal delicacy, we made our way to Corfe Castle. Two things that really stood out there were, of course, the castle up on the hill over the village with its seemingly precarious Jenga-style build, and the ubiquitous stone slate roofing on all the buildings. This stone slate roofing is actually rather unique as it requires traditional materials and techniques to maintain.

We walked around this beautiful village (I highly recommend it) for a bit before finally calling it a day. And what an amazing day it had been! We definitely didn't expect the weather to cooperate so well and, as I mentioned at the start, the quality of this experience was well beyond what I had ever hoped for. A few miles down the road, we pulled up to our youth hostel in Lulworth - the first stop on our next day's journey down the aforementioned Jurassic Coast.

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Gibraltar

12/10/2010

Today I got on a bus and went to Gibraltar in order to get a couple days out of the Schengen area. When I arrived I bought a shwarma, bought my return ticket, and headed for the border. After dropping off some stuff at my hostel I went out exploring. At the Mackintosh Culture Center I met a guy who's family moved to Boston for a generation and then back to Gibraltar for some reason. After that I met some locals and we all went to a club called “The Rock on the Rock” where they play, you guessed it, rock.

People in Gibraltar are really friendly, a guy named Alexis bought me a couple drinks because I didn't have any British pounds on me. Out on the street one of the locals let me ride his £3000 motorbike. One of the guys offered to show me around the town real quick on it and I didn't think twice. Three things I neglected to find out beforehand 1) if he was sober 2) if he could drive 3) who he was. Turns out he was sober but as it turns out he's a street bike racer. He took me flying through the narrow streets at 75 kph, everything was a blur... would have been nice to know he wasn't just on a suicide mission. After the bike ride from hell, we all headed for a club, but I didn't still didn't have any money. No problem though, the biker kid knew the bouncer and got us in for free.

12/11/2010

Today I woke up and went to Alexis' house from the night before. Alexis took me to the top of the rock on his motorbike and showed me all the best views as well as the Barbary Macaque Monkeys. 

After playing with the monkeys a bit it started getting dark so we went back down to the border so I could exchange some euros for British Pounds. On the way we stopped to look at some cannons. 

Gibraltar is famous for the Straits of Gibraltar; the British used the ten and one hundred pound guns to control the sea lanes in and out of the Mediterranean. After I got some money we went to the Star Bar (recommended by Rick Steves) and I had and English breakfast which is a lot of food for only £5. Afterward I bought some tax free stuff at Safeway and we headed to the beach for a bit. Later I finally found free Wifi at a bar called Fresh right outside Castlemates Square.

12/12/2010

Today I missed my bus back to Granada… 20 euro down the drain. I had to catch a bus to Algeciras for 2.50 followed by a bus to Granada for another 22 euro. 

THE ROCK POI:


-People only really go out Friday nights.
-American stores (Safeway, Shell, etc.)
-They call themselves Gibs.
-Mix of people (English, Gibs, Spanish.)
-Apparently it's legal to drink up to two pints and still drive.
-It’s windy.

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Greenwich

09/18/2010

Today we all went to Greenwich (pronounced "Gren-itch") and saw the Royal Observatory where we stood on the world-famous Greenwich meridian line. Then we went back and all had dinner at Pizza Express after which I ran off to catch my bus for Paris!

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Bath

09/16/2010

Today Annie and I went to Bath where we saw the Roman Baths and I drank bath water. The Roman Baths seemed a bit more like a museum than the real thing, but I was still pretty impressed with the site and it’s scale. After the baths I ran over to the Royal Crescent and back to catch the bus.

09/17/2010

Today Annie and I went to the Globe Theater where I got “Picadilly Whip” Ice Cream and waited outside until we could get free tickets to see “Bedlam”.

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More London

09/12/2010

Today I walked to the National Portrait Gallery where they had photo, oil, marble, etc. portraits featuring many different types of subjects. Then I walked over to the British Museum and finally to Tate Modern.

09/13/2010

Today we went on the typical path of pilgrimage through London. We went to Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s and to the Priory Church of St. Bartholomew the Great where a few movies have been filmed for the dramatic environment. The Church had a wooden cieling unlike most that we had seen which have stone ceilings. On the way to Southwark Cathedral we stopped at a wall with obituaries of people who died saving others.

09/14/2010

This morning we went to St. Paul’s again, this time to go inside for a “super tour” (no pictures allowed). During the tour we heard a lot about the history and culture of the cathedral and the architect, Sir Christopher Wren. In the end I went up to the whispering gallery where one can be heard whispering from the other side of the dome.

09/15/2010

Today we went to the Sir John Soane Museum where we saw use of a lot of “light, space, and invention.” Soane is one of my favorite architects because of his dynamic use of light and his overall boldness and ecentricity. A lot of his architecture is playful with hidden displays and themes reminiscent of the Temple of Doom. Since Soane passed a bill to preserve the museum it has been left how he had it – with a few mysteries to be solved by visitors.

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Museum of London

09/11/2010

Today Ross and I went to the Museum of London, the Barbican Art Gallery, the Ten Bells pub, and ended up in Brick Lane - a place where a bunch of Indian restaurants bid for your business with discounts and other deals. We ended up getting two pints and a four course meal each for 10 pounds! After dinner we crossed the Millennium Bridge and went down to the river bank looking for souvenirs.

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Temple Church

09/10/2010

Today my group presented on St. Paul’s Cathedral and we went to the Temple Church. On the way we saw a bicyclist and his bike pinned fully under a bus. At the church we saw many interesting sculptures of goofy and tortured looking faces. The church itself is Gothic influence with rib-vaulting and was built for the Knights Templar in the late-12th-century.

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Oxford

09/09/2010

Today we went to Oxford where Morgan, a student and our guide, showed us around. We went to the world's first university museum, the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology followed by the Sheldonian where students at Oxford begin and end their three years of nonstop study.

Next we checked out Christ Church, home of the famous Harry Potter dining hall and the Tom Quadrangle.

Edited in the movie to look a lot bigger...

After we finished our tour of the college I went to Starbucks and took a nap on their couch. When that wasn't enough I finally decided to just get a coffee on which they spelled my name T-R-E-B-Y-S. I guess they don't have a lot of people named Travis in Europe.

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Spark of… something

09/07/2010

Today the tubes were down because of the strikes so we all had the day off for working on our stuff. I went to hang out with Bruce and we walked around London. We revisited many places I had already been such as Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, and the London Eye. We also went to The Churchill War Rooms and The Walkabout – an Australian pub where I had a Kangaroo burger.

09/08/2010

Today we went to Tate Modern and Tate Britain via boat. I liked the “States of Flux” and “Energy and Process” exibits at Tate Modern and I enjoyed the “Coral Reef” exibit at Tate Britain. The “Coral Reef” exhibit was especially strange with disorienting passages and a musty odor…

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Stonehenge

Today on the way to Stonehenge we stopped at Avebury and West Kennet Long Barrow where we saw standing stones and burial tombs. At Avebury many stones were missing because they were removed by the churches; this notably halted around 1300 AD when a surgeon was crushed to death by one of the stones. Surgeons were rare and very important, so it is assumed that they stopped because of this. 

We saw some houses with thatched roofs which last for up to 100 years and are very expensive – you have to win a lottery in order to live in them.

Arriving at Stonehenge we pretty much witnessed nature’s fury, but were able to find shelter behind some of its gigantic posts.

Apparently the site was constructed in three stages; the first in 3100 bc with a circular trench, the second in 2100 bc with a outter ring of posts, and finally the third in 2000 bc with an inner ring and lintels. It would seem that many people pilgrimage to the site just to make their mark, others were probably just passing by and thought some graffiti would be fun.

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