[Worldtrippers home] [2025 Crystal-Viking]
When we saw that we had two weeks on our own in the UK, Gail developed some wonderful plans for how to spend our time. She had three goals:
When we saw the reality of driving in the UK, Gail realized she had to drastically change her plans. The drive from London to Salisbury was estimated at two hours. It took us four hours. Our planned drive from Salisbury to northern Scotland is estimated at eight hours. We figure it might actually take us 16 hours.
This was reinforced by our current host, fellow lecturer (and Viking Resident Historian) Kathy Stearne. Kathy said that Americans constantly underestimate how long it takes to drive on winding, narrow British roads. She advised that even if we made it all the way up to northern Scotland, we would not enjoy the drive. And we would then have to turn right around and drive back down.
Reluctantly, Gail has decided to forego visiting Scotland this trip. This means missing the Isle of Skye, Glencoe, and two sets of friends we were hoping to visit. It might have been different if we had a smaller car and a working GPS system, but it is what it is.
Fortunately, Kathy is an absolute expert at everything around this area. So she helped us craft an alternate schedule that involves staying in the south of England. And she graciously offered to host us at her house for an additional night.
We are now staying with Kathy for a total of three nights, from May 9-13. From there we will drive southeast into the New Forest, a relaxed and scenic area. Then we will drive back to London.
In the meantime, we are having a wonderful time in the Salisbury area. On May 10, we went to nearby Bradford on Avon for the “Green Man Festival.” The “Green Man” is an ancient mythical figure that dates from the Roman Empire. He represents rebirth and the spring season. The festival was full of food, vendors, music, Morris dancers, and people wandering around dressed up in strange costumes. It reminded us of American “Renaissance Faires,” and was a lot of fun.
On May 11, we visited the Caen Hill Locks. This is part of the larger Kennet and Avon Canal, which totals 107 locks. The 29 locks on the Caen Hill flight represent the canal highpoint. Just as there are motorhome nomads who live completely on the road in the USA, there are canal nomads who live completely on barges in the UK. At the canals, the sluices and lock gates are hand opened and closed by the folks passing through. We were fascinated to see children jumping off of and onto their family barges to make this happen.
On May 12, we droved to the small village of Lacock (pronounced “LAY-cock”). Lacock dates to the 1200s and is owned by Britain’s National Trust. Its unspoiled historic buildings have been featured in numerous films, including “Pride & Prejudice,” “Harry Potter” and “Downton Abbey.”
Between excursions, we enjoyed our time with Kathy. Gail was able to do some cooking, and we had several meals out in nearby pubs. Kathy even treated us to a 9:00 am lecture! (She had a prepared lecture about the New Forest, our next destination.)
