ANZAC in York

Our accommodation in Bradford was amazing. We think it's because nobody really goes there... otherwise it would have been way above our price range!

Yep, that's where we stayed.

When we were ready to leave Bradford, we hopped back into the dreaded manual and headed to another address Paul's granny had lived at. Unfortunately we had trouble finding it, but we got to see some cute little Yorkshire villages along the way.

The dreaded manual.

York is meant to be one of the coolest cities in England, so we decided to go an hour or two out of our way to spend the last day of our roadtrip there. We weren't disappointed - it's a great little Medieval city, where you can see the former perimeter of the thousand year old castle.

It's home to Yorkminster, the cathedral Lonely Planet calls the best in the UK.

All the houses and shops look straight out of the middle ages.

One of the former entrances to the castle still stands over the road. It still has spiky gates too.

One of my favourite things after our afternoon in York was the parking officers. We were more than an hour late back to the car, and rocked up right as a guy in a funny hat was scribbling down our details. I smiled sweetly and told him we had gotten carried away because York was so beautiful. He smiled and said "orrite, orrite, yer on yur whey thun", or something to that effect. Naturally, I stalled when we tried to drive away.

All through the English countryside there are these yellow fields. I don't know what they are, but I loved driving past them.  

Almost halfway home from York is Nottingham. Our trusted Lonely Planet told us the oldest Inn/Pub in England was here, and Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem really was worth a visit! The back of it is cut into the stone hill behind it, which is below the castle. It's famous because the crusaders stopped here on the way to maraud and pillage the east. It was established in 1189. Kind of a bizarre feeling being in a place with so much history. I wonder if Robin Hood ever dropped in for a pint?

We couldn't afford to eat as well as drink, so on the drive back to London we munched on some ANZAC biscuits I had managed to find. It was a nice reminder of home.


AA

Easter at the Lakes

The main point of our trip to the Lakes was a nice walk. And, for once, almost everything went to plan! The weather was spectacular, and the 6km walk was amazing (thanks to the walk guidebook Paul had bought in Ambleside the night before).

The walk starts over mountains...

...continues into a wood...

...and comes back along a Lake. This is Wordsworth Country, so we read Wordsworth's poetry to each other as we walked. The best spot we found to read it was on a tree over the lake (below, centre).

Feeling very satisfied and lucky to have found a walk away from the crowds, we continued back into Ambleside, where we visited the house and garden of our resident poet, William Wordsworth.

We stopped briefly at a delicious bakery in Ambleside to feast on hot cross buns by a picturesque river, then left the Lake District and continued east.

We stopped briefly in Skipton to visit an old castle.

The reason we came to Bradford for night #3 was to see where Paul's granny (who passed away a few days before we left New Zealand) was born. That was a great experience.

Paul in front of the house where his granny was born in 1916.

Afterwards, we headed into Bradford town for a curry dinner. Apparently they're good here, according to the Lonely Planet.

AA

Onwards and Northwards

Our hostel in Manchester is in Castlefield, which is a really cool area right by the canal. Manchester somehow manages to pull off being an industrial graveyard and still be charming. We walked through the city to the Art Gallery in the morning and loved seeing all the train bridges and other signs of the industry that once existed here. Thomas the Tank Engine now makes even more sense to me.

Our hostel in Manchester on the right, the canal on the left.

After leaving the Art Gallery, we headed straight on the road North to the Lakes, wanting to make sure we got as much time there as possible.

We pulled into a quaint little town called Ambleside, and despite the greying weather (and bad pub food), loved it. The town was a welcome relief from stalling and bunnyhops! It felt like the sort of place they created the word "quaint" to describe... no surprise that it's where Beatrix Potter comes from.

A quaint little house on a bridge in quaint little Ambleside.

AA