As Time Goes By: Pre-Scotland Historical Experience

Thursday 12th July, we left the Mediterranean coast of Malta to go back to the United Kingdom. Our trip started with the Air Malta flight from Luqa Airport all the way to London Heathrow Terminal 4. It was a three hour flight. The plane was flying so low that we could actually see the French Alps below us!

View of the French Alps

Snow on top of the French Alps

Chunk of snow on top of the French Alps

Outline of the French Alps

Village and River on the French Alps

Village on the French Alps

Meandering River on the French Alps

Upon reaching Heathrow Terminal 4, we took a coach to the outskirts of Heathrow Terminal 3, where the rental car company is situated. We rented a car - a blue Peugeot five-door hatchback, then proceeded to our first stop - Cambridge, passing by the vast English countryside in the meantime.

En route to Cambridge

Evergreen trees on a hill

The lolling plains of England

Strong winds in the English countryside

Upon reaching Cambridge, we checked into the guesthouse which we have booked beforehand. It is the Ashtrees Guesthouse, a little cottage off the town of Cambridge. It is supposed to be a bed and breakfast lodge, but our package was only for accommodation as we had to pay an extra five pounds per person for breakfast.

Our room at Ashtrees Guesthouse

Room 6 on the second floor (our room)

The nice kitchen of the guesthouse

The quaint dining room

The front of Ashtrees Guesthouse

The stairs of the guesthouse

Little English cups and saucers

On "my bed"

Dining setting opens out into the garden

After checking into the guesthouse, we proceeded to lunch at The Master Mariner, a restaurant down the street. I had mash potatoes, pot roast and french beans. By right lunch was up to 2:00pm, and we arrived at the restaurant at about 2:10pm, but the chef was kind enough to let us eat in there, even though he had cleared the buffet dishes. Nice guy!

The restaurant where we had lunch

Our car - a blue Peugeot

After lunch, we went on to tour Cambridge University Town. We went to King's College, Queen's College, St Catherine's College, St Margaret's College, Trinity College, Corpus Christi College, even went outside Cambridge University Press and the River Cam.

Cambridge is such a beautiful place! No wonder people like to go there to study, imagine having lessons right by a lake, surrounded by ducks and swans and greenery around.... How conducive! I should have made Cambridge my first choice instead of Oxford (not that I went in anyway!).

The signs at the town centre of Cambridge

King's College, Cambridge University

Statue of King Henry VIII on one of the walls of King's College

St Catherine's College, Cambridge University

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University

The crest of Queen's College

Queen's College, Cambridge University

River Cam behind Queen's College (linked by an old wooden bridge - Cam Bridge)

Graceful swans of River Cam

River Cam flanked by Cam Bridge

Cambridge University Press Building

Lone gargoyle on top of one of the buildings

St Margaret's College, Cambridge University

Bridge leading to Trinity College

River side of Trinity College

Trinity College, Cambridge University

Grounds of Trinity College

Entrance of Trinity College

Another college of Cambridge University

The Round Church

There are quite a number of churches in Cambridge, mostly for the students. But this Round Church is more interesting, as the entire structure is round, with a small round door, which somehow reminds me of the Hobbit's home in Lord of the Rings.

A hostel in Cambridge University

After the tour of Cambridge University, we decided to have dinner at the Ugly Duckling Restaurant, a Chinese restaurant located just opposite Cambridge University itself. We had rice, vegetables, soup and omelette. At least my parents got their craving for Chinese food satisfied!

The Ugly Duckling Restaurant - where we had dinner

I could not resist taking this!

Model of Cambridge University Town

The next day (Friday the 13th), we went up north to Yorkshire, to tour the city of York, supposedly England's most medieval city. The old city walls and gates are still standing, and they really give me a rather ancient feel to the city.

Just a pity we did not have enough time to tour the Yorkshire countryside, I would have so loved to see the inspiration for Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights and imagine Heathcliff and Catherine running around in the moors!

Part of the old city wall of York

The old city gate of York

An old York train

We went for lunch at Pizza Hut, then to the Viking Museum for a historical exhibition on when and how the Vikings came to York. Apparently the Vikings were the earliest settlers in York, and many of the street names still bear the trade the Vikings were in (like Copperstone Street).

It was a very enriching exhibition. I learnt so much about how the Viking remains were discovered and excavated. A pity I was not allowed to take any photos inside the exhibition hall, but managed to take quite a few outside the exhibition hall itself!

Me as a Viking

Timeline chronicling the Viking Age in Britain

A real Viking skeleton

Viking skulls

Close-up of the old city wall

After the Viking exhibition, we went to York Abbey, supposedly the biggest and grandest church in Britain. To me, all churches are grand (as in the churches overseas, not our local churches).

York Abbey

Since it was raining quite heavily, we decided to go to our next destination - Harrosgate, about an hour away from York. Since our accommodation for the night was at Harrosgate, we decided to go there earlier and check out the place.

We checked into The Fountains Guesthouse, which is again like an ancient cottage, with a homely feel. I love the room! Victorian and quaint! If I could, I would want my room to be just like that!

Harrosgate used to be the place where the rich and famous would go to for a spa or bathing session, so we explored the Royal Pump Room Museum at Harrosgate, where Queen Victoria and even Charles Dickens ever went for a spa session. The Museum itself displayed many items from Victorian times.

The history of the Pump Room

List of Visitors to the Spa (can you see Charles Dickens on top?)

A pennyfarthing

After seeing the Pump Room Museum, we went back to our accommodation to spend the night, before embarking to Scotland the next day.

Staircase of the Guesthouse

The cosy homely room

"My bed", yet again

Decorations at the garden of the Guesthouse

The Fountains Guesthouse

Front of the Guesthouse

The dining room

The well-stocked larder (how I wish I can have one too!)

Awaiting breakfast

I love the homemade jam by the owners of the Guesthouse, so we bought a few for people back home. After breakfast, we went up North to Scotland. We went to the town of Carlisle first, at the border between England and Scotland, past Hadrian's Wall (separating England and Scotland), then into Scotland itself. And this concludes the first part of our England tour!

On the way to Scotland

Fooling around in the car

Sheep grazing in the English countryside of Northumberland

Here, we actually passed by Sherwood Forest and Robin Hood country in Northumberland, and a diner called "Robin Hood Good Food". I wanted to go down and explore the place, but my parents wanted to rush into Scotland, so I was not able to even take a proper picture! What a pity! :-(