This morning was a known, scheduled, early start. We had booked a full-day trip to visit Windsor Castle, the city of Bath, and Stonehenge, and because it the tour would take all day, it started bright and early - and on-time. The tour would depart from Victoria Coach Station (in the center of London) at 8:45am, so we needed to be there a few minutes before then. Erin woke up at about 6:45am, and then woke James up shortly after. While we were getting ready for the day, both of us were intermittently checking e-mails and using the internet to catch up on things a bit before we left. Last night we decided that if we left the flat at about 7:45am, we would be in good shape for getting there on time.
7:45 would have worked great. Unfortunately, we both ended up tinkering on the computer until about 8am. When we finally began walking to the underground train station we realized that we might be in a bit of a time crunch.We picked up our pace and began "power walking" to the train station. Luckily, we were able to squish ourselves into the very packed underground train that was pulling into the station just as we entered. Once on the train, we knew that we would have to change our plans a bit from last night in order to get to the bus station. The train we were on (the Northern Line), would not take us directly into the city center – which would have been fine as we had planned to walk about 10-15 to the bus station from one of the departure stops on the train. However, we no longer had time for this.
We also had no access to our subway maps in the packed car. We asked a couple of different people on the current train for assistance in transferring trains in order to get where we needed to go. By this time, both of us were a bit sweaty from our fast uphill walk to the train station and the anxiety of the situation – and, people around us were noticing (always a great feeling). After we determined which train to transfer to, we got off the train in a hurry and did our best to run through the train station as it was now about 8:30am and we had about 15 minutes to get there. We got on the second train, and had to go three stops – which seemed to take forever. We finally arrived at our final stop, Victoria Train Station – which was about 4 blocks away from Victoria Coach Station. Of course, the train station was congested with people, so getting out of the train station was difficult and Erin squeezed out a few steps ahead of James.
We hit the pavement and both running down the street as fast as we could because it was now 8:45am and we were terrified of missing the tour we had already paid for. We couldn't run down the sidewalks because there were simply too many people, so we had no option but to run down the streets. As we were running, we saw a tour bus from the same company as ours pull out onto the road and both of our hearts sank a bit. However, as we sped into the coach station, we saw a line of people outside our bus's departure area, and noted the buses were still there! We felt so relieved. We were escorted by one of the drivers onto our bus, and a few minutes later we pulled out of the station in route to Windsor Castle. Both of us were so hot and sweaty by this point, it took us about 10-15 minutes to decompress and allow our hearts to return to their normal rates.
7:45 would have worked great. Unfortunately, we both ended up tinkering on the computer until about 8am. When we finally began walking to the underground train station we realized that we might be in a bit of a time crunch.We picked up our pace and began "power walking" to the train station. Luckily, we were able to squish ourselves into the very packed underground train that was pulling into the station just as we entered. Once on the train, we knew that we would have to change our plans a bit from last night in order to get to the bus station. The train we were on (the Northern Line), would not take us directly into the city center – which would have been fine as we had planned to walk about 10-15 to the bus station from one of the departure stops on the train. However, we no longer had time for this.
We also had no access to our subway maps in the packed car. We asked a couple of different people on the current train for assistance in transferring trains in order to get where we needed to go. By this time, both of us were a bit sweaty from our fast uphill walk to the train station and the anxiety of the situation – and, people around us were noticing (always a great feeling). After we determined which train to transfer to, we got off the train in a hurry and did our best to run through the train station as it was now about 8:30am and we had about 15 minutes to get there. We got on the second train, and had to go three stops – which seemed to take forever. We finally arrived at our final stop, Victoria Train Station – which was about 4 blocks away from Victoria Coach Station. Of course, the train station was congested with people, so getting out of the train station was difficult and Erin squeezed out a few steps ahead of James.
We hit the pavement and both running down the street as fast as we could because it was now 8:45am and we were terrified of missing the tour we had already paid for. We couldn't run down the sidewalks because there were simply too many people, so we had no option but to run down the streets. As we were running, we saw a tour bus from the same company as ours pull out onto the road and both of our hearts sank a bit. However, as we sped into the coach station, we saw a line of people outside our bus's departure area, and noted the buses were still there! We felt so relieved. We were escorted by one of the drivers onto our bus, and a few minutes later we pulled out of the station in route to Windsor Castle. Both of us were so hot and sweaty by this point, it took us about 10-15 minutes to decompress and allow our hearts to return to their normal rates.
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| You can see the sweat dripping off James's face at the bus station....poor James! |
Windsor is only about 20 miles outside of London, so it didn't take very long to get there. Windsor Castle is the largest and oldest occupied castle in the world. (It is currently one of the residences of Her Majesty The Queen of England). Once we were inside the castle gates, we opted for the free audio guides, so we each put on a headset and pushed the corresponding numbers as we wandered about the grounds. Once inside the walls, the first feature of Windsor Castle is moat around the Castle's keep, and although the moat is not filled with water, it does surround the castle and is currently filled with some lovely gardens.
After some further meandering through the Castle walls, we went into St. George's Chapel, which was built in 1575 and has not been altered much since it's construction. Erin thought the chapel was one of the more embellished worship areas that we have seen, as there was an exquisitely-designed ceiling, lots of detailed woodworking, several tombs throughout the chapel (even Henry VIII), and a chamber area dedicated to the current and late knights involved in the "Order of the Garter" - an association James found especially interesting.
We left St. George's and headed over to the doll house and the staterooms to see where the Kings and Queens actually lived and worked. Queen Mary's cousin, Princess Marie Louise, knew that Mary enjoyed miniatures. Marie Louise worked with Sir Edwin Lutyens to craft the three-foot tall doll house using the best craftspeople in all of England, with a collection of miniature items that actually work, including electricity, working plumbing, and a flushable toilet. While we were not allowed to take pictures, it was the largest dollhouse either of us has ever seen.
As we continued on the tour, we entered the staterooms, where we saw pictures created by Leonardo DaVinci and (more) self-portraits of Rembrandt. The collection of art throughout the castle was quite extensive and fun to look at as we wandered about the castle. On our way out of the castle, we caught a few minutes of the changing of the guard before we headed back to the bus to eat our picnic lunch. Luckily, this time, we were not the last people to board the bus.
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| One of the Ornate Entrances to Windsor Castle |
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| Tabitha helps guard Windsor Castle's Keep |
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| An imposing Windsor tower points out the beautiful English day. |
Our next stop on the tour took us to Bath. During their occupation of the now-English territory, the Romans created the Roman Baths around 75 A.D.! This was after the Romans discovered that England was home to several hot springs, about 46 degrees Celsius, which allowed them to take hot steam baths. The Romans built a temple over the baths dedicated to Goddess of Minerva. Many of the Romans presented offerings or curses which they wrote to the Goddess and threw into the baths with the hope that the Goddess may help them with their problems.
We also took the opportunity to wander through the town of Bath. Our tour guide had pointed out where actor Nicholas Cage keeps a home, and we saw a number of small boutique shops, a picturesque bridge, and not one - but three guitarists in different plazas whiling away the afternoon while Bath residents and tourists took the chance to have a snack or a conversation. Our guide encouraged us to revisit Bath in the future, but in the present it was off to our final destination of the day - Stonehenge.
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| The ruins of the Roman Baths, on "cleaning" day. |
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| Some of the coins - offerings to the Roman gods - that were recovered from the Baths. |
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| An example of a Roman arch for the Baths' plumbing. |
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| Erin and James on the edge of the Bath's plaza. |
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| Tabitha curious about whether she'll get to take a Roman Bath. |
Today's tour took us further and further back in time - from Windsor Castle, about 900 years old, to the Roman Baths, which are nearly 2,000 years old, to Stonehenge, our final stop on the tour. Stonehenge wins the award - experts believe Stonehenge was built around 3,000 B.C., making it over 5,000 years old! Sadly, it was built by a culture that left no written records, and that left its own mysteries. In fact, it is a bit of a mystery as to how Stonehenge was built, because the limestone that used to create the group of large, heavy, rocks came all the way from Wales (a nearby country) – which means that the creators had to cross two very large bodies of water in order to place the rocks. There is also no obvious reason why it was built, although many have speculated that it was a place of worship or burial. Despite the fact that it wasn't much more than a large grouping of rocks, it was still fascinating to see and learn about.
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| Erin poses outside Stonehenge on a beautiful, windy day. |
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| James demonstrates a Stonehenge pose of confidence. |
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| Tabitha gets in on the Stonehenge action with the best shot of the day. |
Our trip concluded back at Victoria Coach Station, the very place we were so eager to get to this morning. Tomorrow is our last day in England, so we'll be packing things up tonight and trying to get some rest before our early morning departure. We certainly don't want to be running behind tomorrow morning as we have an international flight to catch!