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Southern EnglandWednesday, August 26, 2009 - En Route to London GatwickHaving been to London (for business) on three other occasions, when pondering doing a "big" trip somewhere England certainly wasn't on my planning-radar. However, money talks: in May, I stumbled-upon a deal (from US-Scare) that was simply too good to pass-up - so I bought the tix, then set-about planning a two week holiday (with a goal, at the outset, of steering-clear of London - deciding to spend all of my time in the southern third of the country... and doing a LOT of driving!). I also wanted to play some really premiere golf - without letting it get out-of-hand (similar to my all-golf, all-the-time trip to Scotland back in the mid-90s). So, with plans set, the GPS fully-programmed, and both dogs kenneled (because I wasn't about to go halfway across the globe, at the height of hurricane season, leaving them to their own devices in the house) - I had a friend drive me to the airport for a noontime flight to Charlotte on US1972... then, after a few-hours layover, continued across-the-pond on US732 - arriving London Gatwick a little before 7 o'clock the next morning. |
Thursday, August 27, 2009 - Gatwick to Weybridge to EpsomPrior experience with the five-hour time difference has taught me the best way to adjust is to sleep on the flight-over, then keep yourself busy (preferably moving-around busy) on the first day. So, my plans had me hitting the ground running on this day! After a scare (thinking the airline had lost my golf bag - in fact, it had appeared on a conveyor on the opposite side of the baggage area), I made-way to Budget Car Rental for my teeny Ford Fiesta ("teeny" being desirable in the UK, given so many very narrow streets!) - then popped-onto the highway for a 30-35min trip to Windsor... and a three-hour tour of Windsor Castle: I left Windsor a little before 1 o'clock - so there'd be no problem making my 2pm tee-time at the St Georges Hill Golf Club, in nearby Weybridge: St Georges Hill has three-nines - I played Red-to-Blue, carding an 11-over-par 81 from the White (back) 6,526 yard tees. This wasn't an overly difficult golf course - but you need to have played it at least once so as to not make stupid mistakes (e.g. on the second hole, I didn't realize a burn ran across the fairway - proceeding to hit a long-and-perfect tee-shot right down the middle... into the water... for a penalty stroke). From there, I drove to the Holiday Inn Express, in Epsom - literally across the road from Epsom Downs: Feeling a little ragged - but not downright exhausted - I decided that a relatively early dinner would be a good idea... so I drove the mile-or-so, into town, to dine at Jimmy Spices (with buffet Indian, Thai, Chinese, and Italian - how's THAT for an interesting combination?!). After dinner, I wandered the streets for a bit - then went back to the hotel where a solid internet connection let me pass the time until I finally ran-out of steam a bit after 11pm that night. |
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Friday, August 28, 2009 - Epsom to Dorking to Walton On The Hill to PortsmouthAfter sleeping later than I could've possibly hoped-for, I checked-out and drove to nearby Dorking - not only for some light sightseeing, but to pay a visit to Weller's Tobacconist (the nearest spot for some Cuban cigars). Besides being a quaint little town (as evidenced by the pics below), I also availed myself of the town Subway for an early lunch. Despite the photos you'll see from this day, weather was actually quite spotty. I arrived at the Walton Heath Golf Club, in Walton On The Hill, well in advance of my 1:36pm tee-time... but it was raining quite miserably as I practiced putting. Thankfully, showers were hit 'n miss - simply torrential when they came, but then lovely a few minutes later. Walton Heath was the site of the 1961 Ryder Cup competition, and deservedly so: THIS was a very heady golf course! I played pretty well, shooting a nine-over-par 81 from the 6,836 yard medal tees (about half of which were the Ryder Cup tees) - having squandered at least three strokes on otherwise good shots (had I known the layout of the holes in question). C'est la vie... I'm really happy to have had the opportunity to play it! Finishing-up about 5pm, I got stuck in some pretty good traffic as I drove south to Portsmouth - and my accommodations for the evening at the Westfield Hall Hotel. After settling-into my room and changing clothes, I drove a mile-or-so to Gunwharf Quays where I enjoyed the maritime sunset and then a wonderful French meal at Brasserie Blanc. |
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Saturday, August 29, 2009 - Portsmouth to Hailsham to ChiddinglyI arrived at 10am-sharp for the opening of the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard - and proceeded to be blown-away by tours of the HMS Warrior, HMS Victory, the Mary Rose, the Harbour Tour, and the various museums (in fact, my original plan had me only spending about four hours, then moving-on for a couple of hours at the D-Day Museum... in fact, I spent six, and could've stayed longer): Trust me when I tell you that these pics don't even begin to convey the magnificence of these tours! If you're anywhere near Portsmouth, and enjoy all things maritime, you won't go wrong spending the day here! BTW, that last picture (in case you're wondering)? On this day, Mike Perham (age 17) returned from a solo eight-month voyage around the world... making him the youngest person to ever do so. There was a GAGGLE of news crews and well-wishers to greet him! I finally had to tear-myself-away from this area - as there was a 90min drive ahead of me to get to the Boship Farm Hotel in Hailsham. After a quick check-in, I drove the scant few miles to meet and visit with Graham, Tom, and Steve - also known as Noddy's Puncture. Their first of two shows that weekend took place at Keith Emerson's old pub: The Six Bells, in Chiddingly. Yours truly even sat-in on a number with the band! :) |
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Sunday, August 30, 2009 - Brighton/Hove & ChiddinglyWhile it was tempting to sleep-in, instead - after a hearty full-English breakfast at the hotel - I drove down to Brighton, and spent a few hours touring The Royal Pavilion and the beach/pier area. I truly wish I could share some interior photos, but - sadly - they're prohibited throughout the UK (where historical buildings are concerned). After walking 'round town for a bit, I drove northly to meet-up with my online (and now real life!) recording buddy Graham and his wife Sandra (who graciously photodocumented this epic meeting): After returning to the hotel for a bit of tidying-up, I was back over at The Six Bells - not only for a bite of dinner but for the second show: It was particularly fun meeting and getting-to-know Jo and Aaron Emerson (Keith's son)... with special thanks to Jo for carting-me in near darkness so I could have a quick look at "The Barn" (fabled in the lore that is ELP-fandom :). Hope I can return the hospitality if you guys are ever in my part of the states! |
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Monday, August 31, 2009 - Hailsham to BathAfter one more full-breakfast, I hit the road early for one of my longer drives of this trip - some 3-1/2 hours due west to Bath - where I spent the lion's share of the afternoon touring The Roman Baths & Pump Room: It was still a very lovely day when I emerged from The Baths, so I decided to do some extensive walk-touring of Bath... including the downtown area, Jane Austen's home, and some of the residential areas alongside the Avon: Late-afternoon, I checked-into the Travelodge Waterside (GREAT location, btw!) - then met-up with my friend and colleague Philip Vaughan-Fowler and his lovely wife Emma. The three of us decided to experiment a bit, opting to dine at Yak Yeti Yak... food from Nepal. It was spectacular! Afterwards, Philip & Emma gave me a quick nighttime driving-tour of the town; when they dropped-me back at my hotel I grabbed my DSLR and headed-back-out for some night photography - eventually calling it a night about 11:30pm. As with Portsmouth, I would LOVE to return to Bath with the luxury of a bit more time! |
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Tuesday, September 1, 2009 - Bath to Wadebridge to St. Ives to Penzance
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Wednesday, September 2, 2009 - Penzance to Marazion to SalisburyWeatherwise, this was to go-down as the worst day of my holiday - as the coast (and, soon, the interior sections) of the country were to be pounded by the remains of Hurricane Edward. Seems I can't escape hurricanes even when I travel almost 5,000 miles! In any event, after my (now) traditional (and complimentary) full-English breakfast, I loaded-up the rent car and drove a few miles north to Marazion - to tour St Michael's Mount: On any other day I likely would've stayed for at least another hour-or-two; but, on this day - where it was frequently difficult to see the town from atop the mount (because of the driving rain), I opted to continue my lengthy drive up to Salisbury - where I first checked-into the Cricketfield House Hotel (perhaps my favorite hotel of the entire trip), then drove into town to tour the Salisbury Cathedral (and see the Magna Carta!): I had planned on having dinner this evening at Thai Sarocha - interestingly, it came highly recommended when I checked-into my hotel... and, having been there, I agree (of course, I won't subtract brownie points because they didn't make the food spicy-enough for yours truly... NOBODY makes food spicy-enough for me! :p). Upon returning to the hotel, I crashed fairly early - both from the day's long drive - but also because tomorrow had a very early wake-up-call! |
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Thursday, September 3, 2009 - Salisbury to Amesbury to Winchester to SandwichThe internet is a wondrous thing: after doing a little research, I uncovered a private tour that lets twenty visitors onto the grounds ofStonehenge from 630a-730a. And, as fantastic as that sounds, still better was that the weather turned spectacular! Enjoy: BTW - in case you're curious: the private tour is called "Stone Circle Access"... and I HIGHLY recommend it! After returning to the hotel - to change-out my wet socks (they get that way trapsing-around pre-dawn grasslands) - I enjoyed another full English breakfast (mind you, I gained no weight on this trip... probably because I was walking so much), checked-out, then drove the 45min east to Winchester... so I could tour both the town and the famed Cathedral. A bit after noon, I departed Winchester for the two hour drive to Petworth - where the plan was to tour the House and Park. Alas, here lies my one planning snafu of the trip: somehow, I overlooked that it was closed on Thursdays... so the drive was for naught. Realizing my mistake, I made-way to Sandwich (in the space of a day-and-a-half going from the west coast to the east coast) - and would've checked-into the Kings Arms Hotel... except they weren't yet open (it's more of a restaurant/bar with some rooms for let above - an nobody arrived until sometime after 6pm). In any event, I was able to do some exploring of the entire town - both by day and by night: Whilst wandering, I opted for dinner at a little place called Dee's Bistro - a quaint little father/daughter establishment with a melange of culinary choices (mine was a beef dish spiced rather forcefully with both fresh chopped and dried red peppers... tasty!). A bit more night photography, then I returned to the motel to watch a little TV (this hotel - and much of the town - had no internet) then sleep. |
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Friday, September 4, 2009 - Sandwich to Dover to CanterburyThe golfing crown-jewel of my trip was my 9:20am tee-time at the Royal St Georges Golf Club - site of the 2011 Open Championship: In retrospect, I'm kicking myself for not reserving a caddy - because (like so many links courses) you stand on the tee and have no clear idea where you're supposed to hit the ball... or, if you have an idea, you don't know how far. I ended-up shooting a seventeen-over-par 87, playing from the 6,630 yard medal tees - in moderate wind conditions - but probably squandered five, perhaps six strokes from simply misplaying the shots. Oh well... it's not the most scenic course you'll ever play, but if you go into one of the bunkers then God help you! =:-o The slogan for the PGA is "these guys are good" - but, until you play the same courses they do, you really don't realize just how good they are! Once I was packed-up, I drove about twenty minutes so I could spend a couple of hours looking-at / photographing the famed White Cliffs of Dover: In retrospect - the White Cliffs (along with Dover Castle, seen in the background above) - were not properly researched. I would've liked to have spent more time walking the Cliffs... and made time to tour the Castle. Oh well, I now have a reason to return! From Dover, it was about a 30min drive north to Canterbury... once parked, I opted to take the Canterbury Historic River Tour - after which I visited the Cathedral: By about 5pm I decided it would be best to check-into my accommodations for the evening (another Holiday Inn Express) - after checking email and making a couple of phone calls I returned to town for some dusk photography... followed by a 90min Canterbury Ghost Tour. While I'm not sure how much of what I heard was fact - and how much was embellishment - it was still an enjoyable hour-and-a-half. I concluded my evening with a wonder North African meal at Café Mauresque (where I live is terribly boring, from a dining standpoint - so one of the highlights of this trip was getting to enjoy some really world class cuisine!). |
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Saturday, September 5, 2009 - Canterbury to Sandwich to Edenbridge to LondonThis last full day of my England holiday did not begin very well. As I was now finished golfing, I decided to repack my bag for travel - only to discover that NOWHERE in my possession is my Callaway uPro GPS. I said a quiet prayer, then phoned Royal St Georges and spoke with the Caddie Master. Thankfully (see, prayers are sometimes answered!), some kind soul had found it in the car park and turned-it-in... so I backtracked about 35min to the south to retrive it. Stupid, stupid on my part... but disaster averted! Since my schedule was now completely out-of-whack, I scrubbed my visit to Leeds Castle - instead, driving directly to Hever Castle & Gardens (Anne Boleyn's family home) in Edenbridge. Of all the Castles I saw during this trip, this one was my favorite - simply because it was liveable. I loved this place! Having come full-circle, I returned my rented car a bit after 3:30pm, then checked-into the Hilton London Gatwick. Grabbing a quick shower, I actually donned a jacket for the evening - then hopped the Gatwick Express into London Victoria... from where I took a leisurely walk to Her Majesty's Theatre in Haymarket to see 'Phantom Of The Opera' (at the place where it all began): LOVED the stage production, and found the theatre more intimate than I was expecting. Highly recommended! I meandered-back to London Victoria, enjoying my last Cuban along the way (I'm no longer nervy-enough to try sneaking-them-back into the U.S.) - taking-in the ambiance that is my favorite world big-city (yes, I could live in London if you told me that I had-to). And my last meal of this trip was surprisingly mundane: I had a Thai-chicken sandwich from Burger King (I had to give it a try, since it's not something we have on the menu stateside). It was then time to hop the train for the 30min ride back to my hotel... I stayed-up a bit surfing the net, then called it a night a little before 2 o'clock |
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Sunday, September 6, 2009 - En Route home to Southwest FloridaNice thing about staying on-site at Gatwick is that it's very easy (logistically) to check-out of your hotel, and check-in for your flight. I wandered the duty-free area for awhile, but just couldn't find any deals sufficiently appealing (once you factored-in the exchange rate). Soon thereafter it was time to board: US Air flight 773 departed for Charlotte just after 10; I then connected to US1697, which found me back home in Florida right at 6:30pm. All-in-all, a truly memorable experience - I'm so very glad I did this!!! |
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