There's still so much to see

This list on Buzzfeed is a brilliant collection of beautiful places in England and Wales that make great day trips from London.

Last but not least

Well I’ve now finished my last Helpx before my move to Scotland, and it was really good. The train journey up from Wales to Eden Valley in Cumbria was really good, especially on the final leg from Leeds to Kirkby Stephen. It turns out this journey forms part of a famous scenic train trip called the Settle to Carlisle line. There are even a few steam trains that go up and down it so it becomes a tourist attraction as well as a main train route. I think it’s a little like the Transalpine trip back home. Anyway it was definitely very beautiful as it went up the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The landscape changed pretty dramatically from what I had just left in Wales – it went from heaps of gently rolling hills, bright green and covered in trees, to an almost barren, yellow grassed large hilly area with very few trees. It was like the difference between the Canterbury foothills and the Mackenzie country at home (but nothing like these).

I especially liked the stone walls that were everywhere, marking out little paddocks right up into the hills. There were a lot of low stone walls in Wales too but there are way more through this area. It was really pretty to see, especially with the little stone barns that had all fallen into ruins. Apparently the small stations along this line are maintained by volunteers, and they are kept really well – all looking freshly painted in cream with dark red trims. So a very pretty train journey overall, although I think that first part was a lot more stunning than the second half which I travelled up on the way to Edinburgh after my helpx.

My hosts, Heather and Duncan and their three kids, live in a little village called Crosby Garret, not far from Kirkby Stephen where the train station is. They live in an almost finished barn conversion right next to one of the big viaduct bridges for the train line. 

It’s a beautiful area – about one minute’s walk away was some farmland on the ‘fells’ (hills?) with public footpaths all over it. It took about 15 minutes to walk up the first hill and then turn around to see the brilliant views. It was really nice to be walking alongside all the stone walls and looking in to fields full of buttercups!

I only stayed here from Monday to Friday but it was fun; I could definitely have stayed longer if our schedules were a bit more open. They are new hosts and I was their first helper! So I think it was nice for them to be able to have someone stay for a short time to see if they wanted to continue with Helpx. I was helping to get their new deck started by digging some holes and clearing some space, but it was a bit wet for a few days so I ended up being inside most of the time, prepping the hall for plastering, hanging pictures and stuff like that.

View from the house

View from the house

View from the church on the hill

A house in the village built in 1712

Stonehenge - Been there...

I decided to make the expensive trek out to Stonehenge since I was so close in Bath. I booked a half day tour for £17.50 which also included a drive through some villages on the edge of the Cotwolds area. I didn’t have time for a full day tour but it would have been really good. So, it was about an hour’s drive to Stonehenge and the guide got us fast entry through the gates, but I was quite surprised that the guide wasn’t allowed to come in with us – everyone just gets an audio tour handset and wanders around the path by themselves. Also, it costs £8 to get into Stonehenge, which is not included in the tour price. It only takes about ½ an hour to slowly wander around the little path. 

It was quite impressive to think about the sheer effort involved in getting the stones here and of getting them standing up; and it was quite pretty I guess. Apart from that though I just enjoyed being one of the sheep tourists; standing stupidly and silently listening to the audio tour every few steps; in the middle of nowhere but 30 seconds from a highway; and at least 20-50 metres away from the actual circle.

Sheep...

Ancient artefact: meet highway

The drive through the little villages on the edge of the Cotswolds on the way back was pretty good; we stopped at one called Lacock village (somehow didn’t realise how funny this was until later on…) which is quite famous for its use in film s and TV productions. It’s been used in the Harry Potter films, BBC’c Pride & Predjudce and a bunch of other BBC period dramas. All the signs of modern life like satellite dishes, aerials, power and phone lines have all been hidden out of sight – paid for by the production companies – so that with a bit of set dressing (like covering the road in dirt), camera crews can pretty much just turn up and start filming in an authentically old village. It’s been kept so well that it really is like stepping back in time when you go there – so pretty!

Part of Hogwarts Village in Harry Potter

Used as Harry Potters' parents' house

Overall, the tour was pretty decent, a good way to see lots. The villages and the Cotswolds area were very nice and I’ll definitely try to come back to this area to explore a bit more. Stonehenge though, a bit meh. Purely just a been there, done that, checked that off the list kind of thing. Maybe I should buy a T-shirt?

A trip to beautiful Bath

I couldn’t get a HelpX to fit around the dates when I would be in the Bath area so I decided to just book a hostel and stay there for two nights to check it out (2nd - 3rd May) since I was on the way up the country. I’m so glad I stopped there; it is a stunningly beautiful place. I arrived late afternoon and found that my hostel, Bath Backpackers, was a two minute walk away from the centre which was fantastic. I spent a couple of hours just walking around and soaking it all in – This is a must do in Bath! The architecture is simply amazing, and seeing the pale yellow Bath stone lit up in the afternoon light is fantastic. I especially loved Bath Abbey - it’s one of those sights that stop you in your tracks.

The Pump Room at the end of the Roman Baths, complete with a busker playing the tin whistle. His dog was wearing a plastic Roman gladiator hat as if he didn't even notice it...

The river Avon

I found that there are free two hour long guided walking tours and was very lucky to see that one was leaving at 7pm, the first evening one of the season. It was a great tour – the guide was super knowledgeable and even went over time a bit as he had so much to tell us about. I saw a lot of the sights that I had already walked around but I didn’t mind as it was so much more interesting to hear about the history or stories or gossip (e.g. which famous people are currently living in the Royal Crescent etc – (John Cleese is one)). 

The next day I spent the whole morning looking through the Roman Baths. This is a massive place, and really beautiful. You used to be able to swim in these baths but at some point someone had to catch something and die, just to ruin it for everyone else…There is now a super modern complex for the public, even more pretentious and overpriced than Hanmer Springs (£28 for two hours!!!) – I was going to stump up and pay but ran out of time in the time. Oh well, my wallet thanked me haha.

Anyway, the Roman Baths were really interesting. Part of it was walking through a museum and part was walking on top of and through an archaeological site, as well getting right up close to the actual baths themselves. A lot of it is underground as the Bath street levels gradually rose a few metres over the years; so you are actually walking around under the streets of Bath as you look at all the artefacts they’ve found. I was especially surprised by being able to walk, on a path, right through where they’ve uncovered the large Roman temple area that was part of the complex. You could actually tell that you were standing in the entrance way or on steps leading to the main building. It was quite a bizarre feeling to be walking through this rather than just looking at a recreation in a museum or something. It was also quite surprisingly calm and serene standing out on the balcony looking down at the main bath, or on the actual Roman footpath around it at water level; despite all the other tourists there it never seemed to feel really busy. It was as if the rock sort of absorbed any excess sound and it just made it fell really nice and peaceful.

Ducks thoroughly enjoying the warmth

That afternoon I went on a half day tour out to Stonehenge (next post) and after that I had a nice meal out and chilled out with a magazine, which was great to just have some time to not do anything. After Bath I caught the train to Oxford to catch up with my very good friends Louis and Claire for the night; then the bus on to Cambridge for one night to catch up with my friend Tom. On the way to Cambridge the bus passed through a town called Milton Keynes, which was interesting because it instantly gave off the impression of being a horrible, square box place. I found out later that everyone thinks the same – it is a new, purpose built town with a huge shopping mall and a huge business park, but it is just a big concrete nothingness with no character.

Cambridge was pretty, but I felt the same as with Oxford – I couldn’t live in either place. They are the two big prestigious university towns, and there is just an air of stuffyness and high class and a gated community feel.

King's College, Cambridge

King's College, Cambridge

Punting, famous in Cambridge