Well the alarm is ringing for 7 am but it is pitch black outside, to dark even to see the clouds. Today we are on the rails to Reims, the 11:07 train to Tergnier with a connection to Reims. We arrive at the station early so as I can make reservations for the fast train to Paris For tomorrow.The train leaves on time a small single carriage sprinter, the surrounding country side is flat and the fields are full of busy farmers getting in the harvest. We pass through Villers-Bretonneux and can see the war memorial on the hill in the distance. Lots of windmills are dotted around the landscape…

Well today will be an interesting day, a lot of train connections to catch and not a hugh amount of wiggle room.The day starts out well with our first train being cancelled, one minute it was on the board then it had disappeared. After searching for another train we finally find one that turns up, so it is off to Moescron, where we can catch a train to Lille, the trip goes smoothly and we catch our connection to Lille, thankfully we arrive ahead of our connection to Amiens, so it is a 3/4 hour wait for our train, we board the train and head out across the french fields,…

The sun is showing signs of making an appearance today and we are heading on another day trip, this time to Amsterdam.The train leaves the station on time and this time we are heading north through the field, crops of all sorts are being grow, some in hugh glass houses. The fields are all surrounded by drainage ditches all leading back to main canals.The journey will take 2 1/2 hours but there is a lot to see along the way.There is a definite change in the soil as we cross the border into the Netherlands, light loamy soils of Belgium are replaced with the rich black soils of the Netherlands.We…

Rain rain go away, not perturbed we are heading off on our first long train trip to Ypres.The trains today are on time and it is not long before we are cruising through the country side on our way.As we arrive in Ypres the rain eases and as we make our way to the market place the rain has stopped. As I look at the guild hall I can just see the golden dragon on top of the main spire through the low hanging cloud.We make our way to the remembrance gate, so many names, we find out that the last post is played at the gate every night. Climbing…

Drizzle is the best way to describe the weather today, and it looks like it will be with us for awhile. We start the morning with a wonder around the streets of the inner city, as we approach the grand market place we see that there are several weddings going on, and the square is full of cars and people.After a look around we attempt to head out to the EU center but the trains are being cancelled and so we decide it is better to go for a beer instead, so off to my favorite pub we go.A warm welcome is received and after several beers we return to…

Well the last day of driving around Britain is upon us, only a 1 hour drive back to the airport to drop off the hire car is left. The day is quite good as we head down the motorway, the traffic is playing ball and no delays are experienced as we arrive at the airport. With the hire car safely back it is a small bus ride to terminal 3 to get the underground to St Pancreas station.The train trip up the piccadilly line is a bit slow in parts but the train is not crowded and we arrive with 1 1/2 hours up our sleeve. The tickets that I…

Well yesterday I bought a nice scottish woolen scarf and today the icy winds arrived.Today we head to Winchester via the long way, and the first stop is the Avebury barrow, a earth barrow that would be at least 20 meters high quite amazing to see in a flat field.Next is Stonehenge, the icy wind is blowing as we make our way around the henge and I am glad to have my new scarf on. Lots of people are also doing the anti-clock wise walk around the stones, audio guide to ear. A warming cup of coffee and a bite to eat later and we are on the road to…

Bath is covered in cloud this morning, we are heading to Bristol today, followed by an afternoon in Bath.The traffic is a bit heavy as we head to Bristol, our first stop is the Clifton suspension bridge, we are lucky and get a park at the start of the bridge, we head to the observation point to get a few snaps before a walk across the bridge, the drizzle comes in and it is a wet trip across the bridge, next it is off to the SS Great Britain, for a visit, we spend an hour exploring the ship from top o bottom.Next it is back to Bath, for a…

Sunshine greets us and it is a short trip to Pontcysylite which is the home of the longest aqueduct in Britain, it is 1007 ft long and 127 ft height and is a one lane river in the sky. A very impressive sight all made from cast steel and sealed with lead. The wind is blowing and the drizzle hits me square in the face as I start out across the Aqueduct, there is a single path on the left side, it is quite interesting in the middle but there is no going back now. Safely across I look back to see my first long boat heading across, a very…

Well today we are off to Wales, Wrexham is our final destination today.Due to the bad weather our first stop today is a bit of a back track, we head out of town bound for Hadrian’s Wall, and it is a trip down tight windy tracks, hopping for no farm vehicles coming the other way. We finally arrive at the wall and are greeted with showers, but thankfully they don’t last to long. The wall is amazingly intact in some parts despite it’s age.Next it is off to the Lakes district, the rain is persisting as drizzle as we drive along towards Windermere, a few breaks of sunshine allow for…