United kingdom Archives

Inverness turned out to be a very easy small town to get around by foot. The driver, dressed as an 18-century gentleman for the Happy Tours tour, was kind enough to pick me up from the hotel. Initially, I was unsure where the pickup place was to be found. After a very nice continental breakfast, it was off to see Lochness, of the Nessie fame! It turned out to be a pretty lake with the Urquhart Castle on its shores. The castle was closed for the day so we missed out seeing it up close.

Further on was Fort George, again from a distance. Apparently, dolphins can be seen in the waters nearby but not for us. Lovely to see the Culloden (Clava)Viaduct

on the way to see the 4-5, 000-year old Clava Cairns. As an Outlander fan, I found them interesting, seeing them just as the sun was setting, the rays through the trees almost eerie. Battle of Culloden territory was a bracing experience, with time spent on the moors. I felt the chilly winds making themselves felt through every layer of clothing. One could only imagine the horrors of such a battle over 200 years ago. While not a whiskey drinker I did enjoy stopping into a distillery and being offered a “Wee Dram”. Memories of stopping in Edinburgh in 2006 to do the same, it’s a wonder I have not become a connoisseur.

After the full and busy day visiting many places, it was back to the Inverness hotel. I had a very small room and spent time rearranging the furniture to get some comfort. I was glad to be leaving the next day, the two flights of stairs and a tiny room reminded me of the old-fashioned box room at the top of some scary stairs. Meals were taken care of with the variety of eating establishments in the close vicinity in the town. The big supermarket a joy to see and experience, I love the new and interesting English selection of foods.

As always a lovely train ride down through the English country side ,and a short hour or so later reaching the Oxford Station. I love my railcard for the savings its given me. A thirty pound trip for just 20 pound paid for half the original cost of the railcard.
It would have been nice to have spent more time in Oxford ,but at least I was able to spend the day there. Living just outside London I had the opportunity to reach places easily. Oxford was one of them. A long time fan of Morse and Lewis I was itching to see where they filmed the series.
A day really wasn’t long enough to do the city justice, so it was on to the Op on Hop off buses for the day. The main bus stop was outside the station ,so it was a quick start as well.

As always when you first see a place it is confusing, for me any way, but this time it didn’t take too long to get orientated, thankfully. As the bus drove past the Christchurch College it was instant recognition as also the Trinity college. I find it better to go right round the tour area to get a handle on where things of interest are, the the second time getting off to see the important items of interest to you.
After deciding on first the Christchurch college, it was off the bus and into the lovely grounds of the College. A more perfect English day I could not of wished for, with clear skies and the magnificent views of the college ,a tourists dream. I headed towards the ticket seller, but oh dear the queues were something awful. Time was something I had little of ,so decided against queing and walked on up to the shops to get a bite to eat and hopefully a place to surf on the internet while doing so. Walking up to the shops through history like this I find satisfying to say the least.

After lunch I returned to the Trinity College where I was delighted to go through some of the rooms,and chapel . The grounds and buildings stirred memories of both Morse , and Lewis but I understand some of the Harry Potter series were filmed here as well. It was easy to understand why.
The buildings and grounds all fitted the story lines of each. The gardens were a treat, particularly the lavender garden. The flowers all in bloom and a definite lavender aroma to the area.

Back on the bus again only to get off soon after to see the museums .
The one I found interesting was the astrological museum with all the old artifacts from years gone by on things astrological. I looked in vain for some mention of Mirko Ulugbek , an Astrologer I had had the pleasure of seeing the excavations of his work while in Samarkand. There was little to be seen about his work , which I found disappointing but realised they couldn’t cover every thing. It was a great museum with a lot of interesting items.
From there I wandered through some of the other old buildings. A display of Charles Dickens works and items of interest including some music that he apparently would have played was delightful and quite charming. The world famous Bodleian Library,one of the worlds oldest, just amazing. It was first opened in the 1600’s, and holds over eleven million books, for a book addict it is a must!

Hopping back on the bus I went with it back to the station as the day was gone. Enjoying the commentary of the tour as we passed huge old houses, statues, there was one of three priests who had been burnt alive for their christian beliefs. Too horrible to even contemplate, but nice ro see the statue in remembrance of their bravery.
Time for the train again into London ,before heading back out to the hostel for another night .close to the floor.