Mumsy and Guvna take on Europe: A 2016 Europe Trip Report! updated 5/29/2017

[annegirl]

I last left off with us staying the night in York.
The next morning we will see anything in York that we missed the day before and then we will head out for another LONG drive North.
The destination for today.
Alnwick Castle.
My mom and I are both big Harry Potter and Downton Abbey fans.
This castle, besides being historic and beautiful, has been featured in both shows. It was used for some scenes as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies.

We will plan on a few hours here to really get to take it all in and then we will be heading a couple hours southwest to the beautiful Lake District.

Our home for the next two nights is the Oakfold House bed and breakfast in Bowness-on-Windermere.

I am SO excited for this place. I have dreamed of going to the Lake District for SO LONG!!
When I was looking up places to stay in the area I originally wanted something closer to Ambleside but this place just spoke to me.
So I booked it.
Since then it has started winning a few awards. So I am just so glad I got it when I did!

We don't have any other plans for this day. Depending on how early we leave York, how long the drive ends up taking (you can never count on road trips taking exactly the amount of time it tells you on google maps), and how long we stay at the castle, we could arrive here anywhere from late afternoon to early evening.

So we just plan on checking in, relaxing, and if we have enough time going for a walk and getting to know the area. ​

 

[Denovagirl]

OMG!!! SQUEEEE!!!

Okay this is my FAVE day so far!! I don't think anything can top Alnwick castle yet!

I also share your love of HP & Downton!!!

This is just fantastic! I can't wait to see it in your TR!!

Also, the B&B looks absolutely stunning! How awesome you booked before it was really "discovered", I bet rates will be increasing!

 

[Chicago Mo]

you have me so excited for your TR!!! castle! HP CASTLE!!! how much longer?

 

[annegirl]

OMG!!! SQUEEEE!!!

Okay this is my FAVE day so far!! I don't think anything can top Alnwick castle yet!

I also share your love of HP & Downton!!!

This is just fantastic! I can't wait to see it in your TR!!

Also, the B&B looks absolutely stunning! How awesome you booked before it was really "discovered", I bet rates will be increasing!

YAY! Love finding out others are obsessed with the same things I am. I am REALLY excited for this day.

you have me so excited for your TR!!! castle! HP CASTLE!!! how much longer?

Me too! Unfortunately we are still about 9 months out. But I think it will fly by!

 

[annegirl]

I last left off with us arriving in Bowness-on-Windermere at our B&B, Oakfold House

The next day we will be staying in the Lake District area.
This day is actually something I have dreamt about since I was young.
I love the Beatrix Potter books.
You know, like Peter Rabbit.

(this is my collection of the complete library and my little Peter stuffie)

As a child it was just about the books. I found the stories and pictures charming.
As I got older I learned more about Beatrix Potter herself and became very interested in her and her life.

Then I saw the movie, Miss Potter, when it came out.
I love it so much. It is one of my favorite movies.
Since then I have said that if I ever went to England I wanted to go to the Lake District and visit Beatrix Potter's home, Hill Top, and the other areas that inspired her life and her books as well as the locations used in the movie.

So, this is the day we will be doing that.
Our first stop will be to Hill Top Farm.

I can't wait to ramble around her house and gardens.
We will also be seeing (can't go in because people live there) the house that she lived in later with her husband William Heelis, Castle Cottage.

Then we will just spend the rest of the day exploring the area and seeing many of the sites that I have read about in her stories and places I have heard about online.

If we can I would like to take a boat ride on Lake Windermere and see the castle.

We will make stops at Yew Tree Farm (used as Hill Top in the movie)

We want to stop in Grasmere for some of the well known gingerbread.

Make a stop at the Tower Bank Arms and possibly have lunch at the Giggling Goose Cafe

I have a book that details a few walks to take through the area so we will probably do one of those at least and at some point I just want to find myself here....

where I just want to sit and 'be' for a while.

When we have done all that we want to do we will head back to our B&B for the night. ​

 

[Denovagirl]

Love it!! How exciting!! I am so happy for you and this day!! To be at a place of someone you truly admire, it's such a surreal honor, how cool you get to do that!

I love reading your reasons for wanting to visit each place, this really is a trip of your dreams, so cool!!

 

[Chicago Mo]

OMG this is just heart warming! so so so beautiful.

 

[missangelalexis]

Alnwick Castle looks beautiful! And the B&B looks so cute!

Your time in Lake District sounds like it's going to be really special!

 

[annegirl]

Love it!! How exciting!! I am so happy for you and this day!! To be at a place of someone you truly admire, it's such a surreal honor, how cool you get to do that!

I love reading your reasons for wanting to visit each place, this really is a trip of your dreams, so cool!!

Thanks! I am really excited about it. It does feel so surreal. Every time I do any planning or talk about it I think is this really happening..

OMG this is just heart warming! so so so beautiful.

Thanks! It is so beautiful right? I just want to live with that view all of the time. I mean, we have a pretty awesome view of the mountains every day here in Utah but I still am just so drawn to this area of England.

Alnwick Castle looks beautiful! And the B&B looks so cute!

Your time in Lake District sounds like it's going to be really special!

It will be really special!

 

[Chicago Mo]

but I still am just so drawn to this area of England.

America so so new.. England and all it's wonder and beauty? UGH! I would kill to go!

 

[annegirl]

America so so new.. England and all it's wonder and beauty? UGH! I would kill to go!

I think that is part of the draw. There is a lot of our history here in the USA but there is SO much history in Europe. Everything has such a story and history to it.
Plus my ancestry is mostly European- English, French, Welsh, German, Norwegian, Swedish... so that part of the world is in my blood. And I think we can feel that sometimes when we look at pictures and hear stories. If that makes sense...

 

[Chicago Mo]

And I think we can feel that sometimes when we look at pictures and hear stories. If that makes sense...

It absolutely does!!!

 

[annegirl]

*Question:*

For those of you reading this that have been to England or live in England... I could really use some help with a question I have.
I have googled endlessly but keep coming up short on something I am trying to work out. It is, so far, the only thing I have had trouble finding out online.

About a week out from where I am on telling you about the trip we will be in London about to leave to head to France.
When I originally had begun looking up transportation issues I had found a perfect ferry time and train to get there but now neither is showing up.

We are thinking about taking the Brittany ferry from Portsmouth to Caen. We wanted one that was from Portsmouth to Cherbourg but apparently that route doesn't start up until a week after we need it. Darn.
So we have a few options but the two I am looking at the most right now are:

the ferry from Portsmouth to Caen
or
the ferry from Poole to Cherbourg.

This is the problem I am running into: Both ferries leave at around the same time. The one in Poole leaves at 8:30am and arrives in Cherbourg at 13:45. the one in Portsmouth leaves at 8:15am and arrives in Caen at 1500. Based on that alone I would rather take the one from Poole because of the arrival time. But based on what I can find online, to get to Poole in time to catch the ferry we would either have to leave London at 1am and have a bunch of transfers or take a direct train and get there with only 30 minutes to spare before the ferry leaves... which makes me nervous since this is not something where we can just hop on the next one.
The Portsmouth one gets there later but I can't find a train that actually gives me a time that goes from London even though I know there have to be some that do. Or they leave to late to get there by 8:15.

So I don't know if anyone can help me with this or not. But if you know of any tricks or schedules, please let me know.
I would love to know if anyone has experience with taking trains out of London to either of these locations.

Thanks!​

 

[mariezp]

I am going to apologize in advance for all my randomness. So much to respond to. I had gotten so far behind before I finally made it back over here to comment but here goes....

I love the sounds of all your plans so far! If you are a Pooh bear fan a visit to the Hundred Acre Wood is fun. I hope you have better luck than I did making it to the gift shop! Was so sad that I missed them. We had called to confirm the hours and she was just closing up so there was no way we could make it in time. Guess that's just a good reason for us to go back again some day.

A stay at the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge sounds wonderful. I love all the places where you can explore the grounds. Even if it is after hours for entry to the cathedral just being able to take a look around will be interesting. Looks like a beautiful church. I hope to attend an evening song one of these days. I hope you make it in time!

I have, of course, always heard of the white cliffs of Dover but never really actually given them much thought. Yours is actually the first photo I have ever even seen. I am impressed and would have to say that it actually looks like something I'd love to see. Beautiful. And, a lighthouse to boot! Both right up my alley so you will have to let us know what you think after you have actually seen them.

Nottingham and Sherwood Forest both look amazing. I seem to recall my husband's niece's husband telling me that his favorite place to visit in the UK was Lake District. I love the look of Hill Top Farm! It looks so charming. The whole area looks absolutely lovely from your photos.

After seeing all your plans it is very clear that on one of our future trips we are definitely going to have to dedicate more time to visiting the UK! Honestly, I did not do a lot of research because for us London was just kind of a launching point for the rest of our trip in other parts of Europe but after seeing just the things you are mentioning I can tell I need to do a lot more research and see what I am missing. The only thing I really looked into was a visit to Hadrain's Wall near Hexham at my son's request. And, when I was researching that I ran across the Beamish Museum which looked so interesting so that it is also on my to do list. Both are north of York and possibly not too far out of your way if you need something to add to your trip. lol! As you can see my UK list is short so far so there is plenty of room to add some of the places you have mentioned.

When we departed London we debated about taking the train but since we wanted to stop over in the Hundred Acre Wood it was just too hard to synchronize without it ending up taking a ridiculous amount of time to get down to the harbor. We ended up hiring the driver/guide we'd used in London when we arrived to drive us again but out of London with a stop over to visit Pooh and then take us on to drop us off in Portsmouth. Looking back now it was probably quite a bit overpriced but she did pick us up, provided us with commentary on the entire drive, escorted us through the Hundred Acre Wood and then deposit us at the port. At the time and even now we felt she was worth the expense since we were all new at this international travel and she felt like a complete lifesaver. Anyway, we paid something like 600 Euro but I do remember her saying she had someone she could recommend that could probably do it cheaper. We opted to use her because we were already comfortable with her and enjoyed her company more than we wanted to take a chance with someone else. Anyway, it might be possible that you can find someone to shuttle you as I am sure there must be more people who offer the service. If you would like I could try to contact her to see if she might still have someone to recommend.

I am so excited to see all these things. It still feels surreal that it is really going to happen!

SURREAL is absolutely the best word to describe how I felt too when I was making all our plans for our trip last year. The feeling carried over when we finally got there and even now it still almost seems like it all was a dream. Best trip we've ever had!

I think that is part of the draw. There is a lot of our history here in the USA but there is SO much history in Europe. Everything has such a story and history to it.
Plus my ancestry is mostly European- English, French, Welsh, German, Norwegian, Swedish... so that part of the world is in my blood. And I think we can feel that sometimes when we look at pictures and hear stories. If that makes sense...

EXACTLY. The USA is amazing! However, there is just something about all the history Europe has to offer. So many buildings are practically ancient compared to what we have here. There's just something in the air that makes you smile and makes for the most amazing adventure. I was so glad that when we got there that everything was just as awesome and beautiful as I had imagined.

And finally, that was a nice story about Uncle Wiggly Wings. My husband is a private pilot so I will have to be sure to tell him about it. I know he will get a kick out of it. Also, lovely pictures of your family and all the fun you have been having.

 

[ford family]

We are thinking about taking the Brittany ferry from Portsmouth to Caen. We wanted one that was from Portsmouth to Cherbourg but apparently that route doesn't start up until a week after we need it. Darn.
So we have a few options but the two I am looking at the most right now are:

the ferry from Portsmouth to Caen
or
the ferry from Poole to Cherbourg.

This is the problem I am running into: Both ferries leave at around the same time. The one in Poole leaves at 8:30am and arrives in Cherbourg at 13:45. the one in Portsmouth leaves at 8:15am and arrives in Caen at 1500. Based on that alone I would rather take the one from Poole because of the arrival time. But based on what I can find online, to get to Poole in time to catch the ferry we would either have to leave London at 1am and have a bunch of transfers or take a direct train and get there with only 30 minutes to spare before the ferry leaves... which makes me nervous since this is not something where we can just hop on the next one.
The Portsmouth one gets there later but I can't find a train that actually gives me a time that goes from London even though I know there have to be some that do. Or they leave to late to get there by 8:15.

So I don't know if anyone can help me with this or not. But if you know of any tricks or schedules, please let me know.
I would love to know if anyone has experience with taking trains out of London to either of these locations.

I'm not sure how you plan to continue your travels once you get to France. I presume that you will be hiring a car to go somewhere other than Paris.
Anyway, try thetrainline.com, put in London (any) and Portsmouth & Southsea. I looked at a one way journey on August 3rd and came up with a 5 am departure from London Waterloo that goes direct and arrives at 7.16 am. This would give you an hour to go by taxi for the short journey to the Brittany Ferry Terminal.

ford family

 

[annegirl]

I am going to apologize in advance for all my randomness. So much to respond to. I had gotten so far behind before I finally made it back over here to comment but here goes....

I love the sounds of all your plans so far! If you are a Pooh bear fan a visit to the Hundred Acre Wood is fun. I hope you have better luck than I did making it to the gift shop! Was so sad that I missed them. We had called to confirm the hours and she was just closing up so there was no way we could make it in time. Guess that's just a good reason for us to go back again some day.

A stay at the Canterbury Cathedral Lodge sounds wonderful. I love all the places where you can explore the grounds. Even if it is after hours for entry to the cathedral just being able to take a look around will be interesting. Looks like a beautiful church. I hope to attend an evening song one of these days. I hope you make it in time!

I have, of course, always heard of the white cliffs of Dover but never really actually given them much thought. Yours is actually the first photo I have ever even seen. I am impressed and would have to say that it actually looks like something I'd love to see. Beautiful. And, a lighthouse to boot! Both right up my alley so you will have to let us know what you think after you have actually seen them.

Nottingham and Sherwood Forest both look amazing. I seem to recall my husband's niece's husband telling me that his favorite place to visit in the UK was Lake District. I love the look of Hill Top Farm! It looks so charming. The whole area looks absolutely lovely from your photos.

After seeing all your plans it is very clear that on one of our future trips we are definitely going to have to dedicate more time to visiting the UK! Honestly, I did not do a lot of research because for us London was just kind of a launching point for the rest of our trip in other parts of Europe but after seeing just the things you are mentioning I can tell I need to do a lot more research and see what I am missing. The only thing I really looked into was a visit to Hadrain's Wall near Hexham at my son's request. And, when I was researching that I ran across the Beamish Museum which looked so interesting so that it is also on my to do list. Both are north of York and possibly not too far out of your way if you need something to add to your trip. lol! As you can see my UK list is short so far so there is plenty of room to add some of the places you have mentioned.

When we departed London we debated about taking the train but since we wanted to stop over in the Hundred Acre Wood it was just too hard to synchronize without it ending up taking a ridiculous amount of time to get down to the harbor. We ended up hiring the driver/guide we'd used in London when we arrived to drive us again but out of London with a stop over to visit Pooh and then take us on to drop us off in Portsmouth. Looking back now it was probably quite a bit overpriced but she did pick us up, provided us with commentary on the entire drive, escorted us through the Hundred Acre Wood and then deposit us at the port. At the time and even now we felt she was worth the expense since we were all new at this international travel and she felt like a complete lifesaver. Anyway, we paid something like 600 Euro but I do remember her saying she had someone she could recommend that could probably do it cheaper. We opted to use her because we were already comfortable with her and enjoyed her company more than we wanted to take a chance with someone else. Anyway, it might be possible that you can find someone to shuttle you as I am sure there must be more people who offer the service. If you would like I could try to contact her to see if she might still have someone to recommend.



SURREAL is absolutely the best word to describe how I felt too when I was making all our plans for our trip last year. The feeling carried over when we finally got there and even now it still almost seems like it all was a dream. Best trip we've ever had!


EXACTLY. The USA is amazing! However, there is just something about all the history Europe has to offer. So many buildings are practically ancient compared to what we have here. There's just something in the air that makes you smile and makes for the most amazing adventure. I was so glad that when we got there that everything was just as awesome and beautiful as I had imagined.

And finally, that was a nice story about Uncle Wiggly Wings. My husband is a private pilot so I will have to be sure to tell him about it. I know he will get a kick out of it. Also, lovely pictures of your family and all the fun you have been having.

I love lighthouses too! We are very excited about all of those places.
I have thought about the personal car too but I think we have it finally figured out!

 

[annegirl]

I'm not sure how you plan to continue your travels once you get to France. I presume that you will be hiring a car to go somewhere other than Paris.
Anyway, try thetrainline.com, put in London (any) and Portsmouth & Southsea. I looked at a one way journey on August 3rd and came up with a 5 am departure from London Waterloo that goes direct and arrives at 7.16 am. This would give you an hour to go by taxi for the short journey to the Brittany Ferry Terminal.

ford family

Yes. We will be renting a car in Cherbourg for a few days in the Normandy area and Giverny.
Thank you for the info! I hope that they will have a journey like that one when we go. I looked at the trainline website but unfortunately they won't show this far ahead yet. So, I am assuming that something will open up.
We decided to just go ahead and book our ferry because we wanted to make sure we could get a cabin and then we will check back for the actual transportation from London when it is much closer.

 

[annegirl]

Hey everyone!
Okay, so after touring the Lake District and spending another night at our cute B&B we will sadly be saying goodbye to the Lake District area and making a long drive south.
BUT we have so many awesome things to go to so it will not be all bad!
This day is a long drive but we will be making frequent stops along the way.

As you can tell or already know, my mom and I are big literary nerds and BBC nerds. We both love Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters novels, etc... and most of the adaptations that have been made of them.

Today we will first be making a stop in Haworth to visit the parsonage of the Bronte's.

We are very excited about this. I love Wuthering Heights (by Emily Bronte) and Jane Eyre (by Charlotte Bronte) is one of my very favorite books. This year I will finally be reading a book by Anne Bronte so hopefully I will enjoy her writing as well.
We plan on spending a couple of hours here in the morning and then getting on our way again.

Our next stops have everything to do with Pride and Prejudice, the movie adaptations.
We will be making stops at Chatsworth House (used in the 2005 movie as Pemberley)
It is almost unreal in its beauty isn't it?

And at Lyme Park (from the 1995 version)

As well as some of the other areas that are featured in the films such as Stanadge Edge ...

We are planning on having a picnic lunch somewhere near Stanadge Edge in between the two big houses.

Then since it is close by we will be seeing Haddon Hall which is used in all of the Jane Eyre adaptations as well as MANY other movies.

We know we won't have time to go into all of these houses to tour them so we are still deciding which one we want to see. It will probably end up being Chatsworth House.

Most of them we will just go and see them up close, get tickets to their gardens and wander around for a bit to stretch our legs.

At this point it should be mid afternoon and we will finish our long journey by driving to the norther part of the Cotswolds to our cottage in Chipping Campden.
Pictures of our cottage in the next update!​

 

[Chicago Mo]

O.M. GOODNESS! i am flipping out over all these pictures!!! I want to be there!!!

 

[mariezp]

Loving your itinerary for this day. I love those type of old estates so a day spent just checking out the houses would be right up my alley too.