Holiday Pics (2) - England

Some more pictures. These ones are from England and "frame" the trip to Wales, which will come later. Maybe.

To be honest, I have no idea what this means. I just think it is funny. So sue me.

Nothing special about this address. It is just a nice picture of the two of us, taken on top of a double decker bus.


While in London we did all the usual touristy things. This is the day we walked from the Tate Britain (in Pimlico) to Tate Modern (in Southbank). It is quite a long way. (Yes we should have taken the ferry, but we were saving money)


At the extreme other end of the transport sector to a double decker bus, a tube station. Notice how incredibly narrow the platforms are. It is obvious why station entrances are sometimes 'closed' during peak hours to control crowds to safe numbers





Bath is a quite delightful town. The scenery is beautiful and with pedestrianised streets remarkably little traffic. This is a general view across the gardens to the East. The River Avon flows through the shadows at the right of the picture.

Useless fact: did you know that "Avon" is a Celtic/British word? It means "river", which is rendered in modern Welsh as 'Afon'. It is one of the few bits of Celtic that is found across (English) Britain.



Of course, Bath is better known for its architecture. I was stuck with a suitcase so I didn't get to go into the eponymous roman baths. I did get to see some of the famous buildings, including this magnificent Georgian work of art.

And off to Wales :)

---

The next shot is taken in Manchester. Not the most exciting picture, I will admit. I do want to draw your attention to one thing: the "50p Fallowfield to Piccadilly" sign on the bus. This bus stop was outside a laundromat and as we waited for our clothes an endless parade of buses passed by. They all had pretty much the same route destination but waiting passengers were very picky about which bus they got on. I suspect that this is British bus deregulation at work: there were different operators and each had their own fare rules. I have a feeling we ended up with a more expensive bus, as it cost us £1.30 each to get back to the city centre.
Classic "mill" country. Taken from the train somewhere near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire.


Train buff heaven. The National Railway Museum in York. I have more shots of the museum but I will spare you.

And back to London. This time on GNER. I would have to say that the service was not quite up to the standard that I expected. Despite travelling in First the seats were very much due for maintenance and the ride rough at times. I did visit the restaurant for a cooked meal - the meal was fine (salad followed by venison sausages) - but the car itself was a bit of a let down, as it was just a 1/2 carriage of regular First class seating with place settings at the table. I must be getting picky!

That's it for this quite flip through England. Next time some shots of Wales (which I reckon are fare more interesting!)