Brussels is a city which wakes up late, I think this is due to the fact that the sun is not up until 8.30 so by 9.30 when I venture out into the cool, overcast day the shop keepers are still opening there shops. I find a local coffee shop and breakfast is, in true Belgium style, chocolate and almond croissant, kreikflap (cheery pastry) and a coffee. it all works out at about 6 euro which is cheaper the 26 euro at the hotel. I suppose it is because of Brussels and its eu nations standing but there are a lot of Romanian gypsy’s begging on the street, in fact…

Well no photos for today, after returning my rental car at the airport, having done a full tour as there are no signs to tell you where the rental cars are, it is off to the terminal to do a reverse run so as I have an idea of what I need to do when I fly home. The trip from Heathrow to St Pancreas takes about 1 hour on the Piccadilly line, upon arriving I find the euro rail ticket office and by my ticket to Brussels, I had the choice of a rush to catch the 12:54 or get on the 2:45 so I take the later giving…

After taking one last stroll around the Ely Cathedral it is back in the car for my second last day of touring the UK, and today has the promise of being a great day, no rain, warmish and Duxford, yes it is one for the boys, Duxford is the premier aviation museum, so it is planes, planes, and even more planes. In fact the place is so big you could easily spend 2 days here. The main plane that I was wanting to see was the Lancaster Bomber, and Duxford has 1 of the 4 in Britain, and the display is amazing, the only criticism is that there are to…

It is a sunny day that sees me venture off towards the midlands, in anticipation of visiting Stonehenge. The road out of Bath winds into the hills and it is not long before the farmland fields open around me. After about 1 1/2 hours of driving I have reached my destination with Stonehenge looming large in the field on my right as I make my way into the packed car park. The entry fee give me access to a free audio guide which is very informative, the first pearl of wisdom is that henge in old english means hanging so really Stonehenge is the hanging stones. Unfortunately the crowd is…

Below is a video of some buskers i came across in the bath mall, they are playing hang’s there flyer was portraying them as ancient instruments but a little bit of investigation reveals they they were developed in 2000 in Switzerland and there main influence is the kettle drum. Anyway enjoy i found them very intriguing and had to take a video. Bath Hang Buskers

Well after another rainy night and morning the sun has come out and allowed me to stroll the sandstone streets of Bath, the afternoon has warmed to about 14 deg and with the sun breaking through the clouds it is perfect weather for exploring. So with map in hand I head out and navigate my way to the central mall area, being Sunday lots of people are about and buskers line the corners all trying to out do each other, the quality is really good and most are trying to sell you there CD’s. Turning the corner I am confronted with the magnificent Bath Abbey, this is a very impressive…

A sunny day greats me as I head out to explore Cardiff, as I am staying directly opposite the castle it is here that I go first, the castle has been changed multiple times and has become a bit of a folly but it is still an interesting building to walk around. It backs on the Byte park which is a lovely expanse of open grassy spaces and tall trees, this park use to belong to the castle and it is nice to see that it has been retained. It is lovely walking around looking at the changing colours of the trees and flower beds as squirrels scamper about hiding…

Today is the first of October, it started raining yesterday and hasn’t slowed up all night, this is a pity as Tenby is a pretty place and would be lovely with the sun out. The hotel I am staying at has been flat out with bus tours of German tourists proving the popularity of this seaside town. Tenby has a wall that was built by the Normans to keep the Welsh at bay, it is a very impressive wall and has 5 entrances into the town which is a typical medieval layout of small twisting streets, the town is laid out around a beautiful harbour. So with raincoat and brolly…

A sunny start to the day as i head out into the Snowdonia national park, as I climb into the mount though the clouds roll in and the showers become intermittent. The countryside is very spectacular though the valleys are lined with pines, elm and oak and the mountain tops are windswept and covered in grass and ferns, the steep sides are the playground of fluffy white sheep who appear on every exposed slope.  Today’s drive is long and passes through many towns whose names I will never be able to pronounce, there is castles and picturesque seaside towns and green fields full of sheep and dairy cows. If you…

Today is the worst start to a day I have had so far the rain is bucketing down, it was only a matter of time before I had real English weather. Today finds me making my way to Wales, but as per usual it will be a windy path to get there, first stop is Blackpool, the illuminations were switched on about a month ago so i was expecting to se some lights, I didn’t think they would be lights for 2 klm along the beach front. It is an amazing sight and would be wonderful to see at night, but i can imagine the queue of families cruising the…