Roundabout Great Britain

Our Spring 2014 multi-generational tour of the British Isles

After Pop retired from Kennedy Space Center, he and Mom spent the next 23 years exploring Europe, South America, Central America, and parts of Asia on package tours. He always said he liked that he didn't have to handle his own luggage, but in truth it was a great break for Mom from homemaking too.

They were into it not to be entertained, but to learn. When they went to Macchu Picchu, they were among the oldest in their group. And on this 2014 journey we took with them, they were absolutely the oldest. It was also their last trip, as Mom's mobility was an issue.

Originally Pop wanted to take us to Russia, but the laundry list of what was required for a visa to that country was suspicious, as it tallied up to "easy way to impersonate someone and break into their accounts." So we chose this Insight Vacations tour instead. Mom and Pop had done this same route twice before, but they were happy to share the experience with us and had an enjoyable time.

Our coach and our tour guide, John, who would break into song upon occasion

Itinerary

London, England

A taxi strike was underway, which made roaming around on our own before the tour started tricky. Mom couldn't go. Pop wanted to see The British Museum, but it was a very difficult walk there and back from the Thistle Marble Arch, the hotel the tour company had booked us into. Without the parents, we roamed on our own.

Our tour bus arrived to convey us to the Regal London Walking Tour, which included a walk by Buckingham Palace along with Big Ben and Parliament.

Stratford-On-Avon, England

Leaving London, we headed north to Stratford-On-Avon for a touch of Shakespeare and met up with a Florida Trail thru-hiking friend "Biscuit" who introduced us to his wife.

York, England

Our tour coach continued on to York, where we were prepared a proper Yorkshire Pudding at the hotel and had a tour of the city with an opportunity to roam around ourselves.

Yorkshire, England

On to Hadrian's Wall and the wide open spaces of rural Yorkshire to experience the misty moors firsthand.

Scotland

After a brief break at Whitley Moor at the border, we continued on to a tour of the Lochcarron woolen mill in Selkirk. Our evening's destination? Edinburgh.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Like London, this was a fascinating place to simply roam around on our own. The only tour the coach took us to was at Edinburgh Castle.

Our lodgings were in New Town near Calton Hill

Exploring the Old Town including the Royal Mile

Unlike London, we had Jennifer Young, a fellow author we'd met through mutual friends, meet up and show us around her Edinburgh. She included all the inspirations for the Harry Potter series.

Kingdom of Fife

Onward to Fife! What a delight to intersect with one of the walking trails in this part of Scotland while on our own ramble through St. Andrews. Although we aren't at all into golf, we had to get a family photo at this historic seaside course.

Crossing Fife by coach, we stopped in Pitlochry for lunch. Popping in a bookshop, we picked up a handful of trekking guides for destinations across the U.K.

From there, we entered the Scottish Highlands, the land of sheep. After stopping to see the well-trained Lealt Working Sheepdogs go through their paces, we reached Inverness for the night.

Inverness

The River Ness flows right through the city. Unsurprisingly, its source is Loch Ness. The surprise for us was the number of rabbits on the hillside on the opposite side of the river from our hotel. Aha! The inspiration for Watership Down.

The Scottish Highlands

Inverness was our gateway to a loop through the Scottish Highlands, a region we wished we'd had far more time to explore. So many trails! So many hikers!

We saw Loch Ness from overlooks and crossed it on a bridge over a canal. No time taken to search for Nessie, however. On to Loch Lomand.

Slipping through Glasgow without a stop, we left Scotland at Gretna Green.
On the border of England and Scotland, it was a long-time getaway for elopements. We did not, but we talked about it! Later this year, we made plans to marry.

England

The Lake District
Continuing through the moody landscape of Cumbria, we arrived in the Lake District for a two-night stay at the MacDonald Hotel at Bowness-on-Windemere, with short ambles in Thirlmere and Grasmere, with an obligatory tramp to Wordsworth's grave. It remained wet and moody.

Cumbria, just inside the Scottish / English border

Chester

After an architectural and historical walking tour delving into the deep Roman and Viking heritage of this Cheshire city, we settled into the Queen Hotel for the evening and did a little rambling around on our own.

Wales

Entering northern Wales en route to the ferry to Dublin, we stopped at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch - the town the longest name in the world - because that's what tours do. Also, a quick spin past some stunning architecture in Conwy.

Ireland

We've been on ferryboats many times, but not on one with such an intense crossing as the Irish Sea. In both directions, it was somewhat rough, especially on the return, when blue skies quickly turned dark. The downside of booking a shoulder season tour in the UK: weather is especially unpredictable.

Dublin
Landing in Dublin, we were treated to a coach tour around the city before settling into our hotel. A visit to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells was a highlight, as was a walk through their incredible library.

A driving tour followed the next day, with visits to the Irish Stud farm and gardens and a stop in Cashel before crossing County Kerry for two nights in Killarney.

Killarney
Killarney is the jumping-off point for exploring the Ring of Kerry. Our coach made a counterclockwise loop with stops to let us admire the views and lunch in a small village where trekking paths crossed.

In the evening, we rambled the town on our own and hiked a bit in Killarney National Park, which was literally just up the street from our hotel.

Waterford
The coastal town where our ferry would depart from was today's ultimate destination, but of course we were ushered through scenic County Cork to two very touristy stops: Blarney Castle and the Waterford Crystal factory tour.

Wales

Returning on a ferry from Waterford to South Wales brought us across new landscapes. The mining towns are somewhat reminiscent of western Pennsylvania.

Cardiff
Reaching Cardiff, we had time on our own to visit the city and tour showy Cardiff Castle. Lodgings were at the Radisson Blu.

England

Returning to London via Warminster and Somerset to complete our circuit of the British Isles, the tour saved the best for last. It was a busy day, packing in visits to Bath and Stonehenge, two UNESCO World Heritage Sites we were extremely grateful to visit despite the hectic pace.