here's basically the last of my pics from my trip to the UK last summer; i've still got some pics from the trains i took, but i think i'm going to most of those places on foot, so i'll save 'em for later, since i leave to go back in a week and 12 or so hours.
here's the smaller towns i went to, each one a tourist attraction in its own right.
first off, Holy Island, site of the first Viking raid on Britain in 793 AD, which destroyed the monastery of Lindisfarne; now you can go walk among the ruins. however, it's also a kickass castle on the end of the isle that was turned into a private home about 80 years ago and is now a tourist attraction.
so...intriguing from the train a few weeks before i went on it
closer view
to get out there, you've got to drive out at low tide; otherwise, the road's submerged (i have a plan to get some people in kayaks, walk them out on the sand, have brunch, and wait for the tide to come in)
o.k.; dropped off by bus a mile from the castle
Lindisfarne ruins
before going in the castle, waiting for it to open, i checked around it; these lime kilns look interesting...
it takes more than a 2x4 to keep Lsyd out
o.k., now i've paid my $10 and i'm in the castle; too bad photography inside's forbidden
i sorta wish it was a clear day
now i'm in Lindisfarne
take note: if you're ever in a pub on Holy Island, for god's sake, don't get a crab sandwich; they leave the gills and other raunch tasting parts in. just get a shot of vodka and be on your way.
the next stop of the day with miserable weather was Alnwick, a small town notable for a large, kickass used book market and a castle used to film parts of the Harry Potter movies. once there, i realized it was such a miserable day i needed more vodka, so i got a 375, a bottle of vanilla coke and proceeded with my very hung-over friend across this town, while he remembered bits and pieces of the night before ("i can't believe i nearly made out with that old skank..." he said. like the locals, i just said, "aye, man.")
my instincts led me to a cool military store w/a badass window display
the castle; sadly, admission was more than i wanted to spend; **** you, harry potter
i'd pay for her though...if she was the guide
back to town
cool memorials
now the Lake District; north England's mega national park. one of my cooler cousins did summer school in Ireland, then jumped over to England for this spot, thanks to the importance in literature. so i went and hung out with her. mainly i recognized Keats, Woodsworth and Beatrix Potter as having been here and stuff. sadly, crappy weather kept us from canoeing or kayaking the lakes, and instead hiking the trails. in a way, it was a nice, but expensive change from the cities i'd been going to. the towns i stayed in were Bowness and Winderemere (aka Bowness on Windermere.) some of these pics though came via train.
from the train on the way out
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here's the smaller towns i went to, each one a tourist attraction in its own right.
first off, Holy Island, site of the first Viking raid on Britain in 793 AD, which destroyed the monastery of Lindisfarne; now you can go walk among the ruins. however, it's also a kickass castle on the end of the isle that was turned into a private home about 80 years ago and is now a tourist attraction.
so...intriguing from the train a few weeks before i went on it
closer view
to get out there, you've got to drive out at low tide; otherwise, the road's submerged (i have a plan to get some people in kayaks, walk them out on the sand, have brunch, and wait for the tide to come in)
o.k.; dropped off by bus a mile from the castle
Lindisfarne ruins
before going in the castle, waiting for it to open, i checked around it; these lime kilns look interesting...
it takes more than a 2x4 to keep Lsyd out
o.k., now i've paid my $10 and i'm in the castle; too bad photography inside's forbidden
i sorta wish it was a clear day
now i'm in Lindisfarne
take note: if you're ever in a pub on Holy Island, for god's sake, don't get a crab sandwich; they leave the gills and other raunch tasting parts in. just get a shot of vodka and be on your way.
the next stop of the day with miserable weather was Alnwick, a small town notable for a large, kickass used book market and a castle used to film parts of the Harry Potter movies. once there, i realized it was such a miserable day i needed more vodka, so i got a 375, a bottle of vanilla coke and proceeded with my very hung-over friend across this town, while he remembered bits and pieces of the night before ("i can't believe i nearly made out with that old skank..." he said. like the locals, i just said, "aye, man.")
my instincts led me to a cool military store w/a badass window display
the castle; sadly, admission was more than i wanted to spend; **** you, harry potter
i'd pay for her though...if she was the guide
back to town
cool memorials
now the Lake District; north England's mega national park. one of my cooler cousins did summer school in Ireland, then jumped over to England for this spot, thanks to the importance in literature. so i went and hung out with her. mainly i recognized Keats, Woodsworth and Beatrix Potter as having been here and stuff. sadly, crappy weather kept us from canoeing or kayaking the lakes, and instead hiking the trails. in a way, it was a nice, but expensive change from the cities i'd been going to. the towns i stayed in were Bowness and Winderemere (aka Bowness on Windermere.) some of these pics though came via train.
from the train on the way out
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