Tuesday 5 May. Whitby

A bigger day of driving than I expected today. I didn’t want to travel on the motorway and miss the scenery so I set my GPS for a morning tea stop at Ripon. I might have avoided the motorway but I didn’t avoid the traffic. My route skirted around the outer suburbs of Bradford and also Leeds, I think. It was bumper to bumper for well over an hour. 

Eventually I made it to Ripon, where I had planned on a cuppa by the canal, only to find there was no loo there. Eventually, and with great relief, I found one near the cathedral. Nearby was a nice little cafe where I enjoyed a cream tea - with clotted cream. Yum!

My second reason for coming north was to visit Kilburn and add to my collection of white horses. This one was very big and easy to find. It was cut in 1857 and is 314 ft long and 228 ft high. The horses in the south are cut into chalk but this one is cut into limestone so it was artificially whitened, first with whitewash and now with chalk chippings from the Yorkshire Wolds. During World War II it had to be covered so that it wouldn’t be a target for German bombers.

The drive today took me through typical English rural scenery, all very green except for fields of rapeseed. There have been some big climbs and steep descents and most striking, a sudden change from farms to heather-clad moorland which felt desolate and made one think of Cathy and Heathcliff.

My final destination was the coastal town of Whitby. Fun and games getting to my hotel as I kept missing the turnoff. It seemed too small to be a road. Over the road from the Pier Inn is the mouth of the Esk River and on either side there are attached buildings. So where was the parking they provide? I soon found out.  Drive to the end of the road, follow it around and up the hill and look for the W parking spots on the side of the road. That is Cliff Rd, way above sea level. I had to put a parking permit in the car and make my way down a narrow alley. Fortunately I had already dropped my case at the hotel.

Anyway I have a nice little room with a view so all’s well.

Monday 4 May. Halifax

Today I visited the place that I really came to the UK to see - and it exceeded my expectations. In fact, I felt a bit emotional when I first entered. The Piece Hall was built in 1779 for the trading of pieces of cloth (30 yard lengths of woven woollen fabric produced on a hand loom). This trading of cloth was hugely important, not only to Halifax, but to the nation over a period of 600 years. The Piece Hall is considered one of Britain’s most important Georgian buildings.

Wandering around Halifax it’s obvious that this was once a very wealthy city. There are many beautiful old buildings, including my hotel. It’s also obvious that those times are gone, with many shuttered shops and no sign of luxury goods. Mind you as today was a public holiday some of those places might have been closed for the day.

After spending the whole morning at the Piece Hall I collected my car from the parking place and went in search of the Salterhebble Locks. That was a bit of a challenge as the GPS wasn’t interested in locks. I finally got there only to find that the car park was full, so I continued a little way and parked on the side of the road. I was in luck as just near my car was a little bridge across the canal and a track down to the canal path. It was lovey down there and so vividly green. I found the two upper locks and also a little lock keeper’s cottage that was available for holiday rental.

My next stop was supposed to be Shibden Hall, once home to Anne Lister, a very interesting but somewhat scandalous character. However the car park was full and the area further up the road that cars were in was also full and the road was way too narrow to park on. So I skipped the house and returned to town. 

Had a wander round the centre and made my way down to the Piece Hall once again for a cuppa before returning to my hotel and finishing my book, “You are here” by David Nicholls. I really enjoyed it, especially as it was largely set in Yorkshire.  Dinner was a tasty steak and ale pie in a pub that needed a good scrub. It too has seen better days. 

Oh, how glad I am to have seen that wonderful Piece Hall.

Sunday 3 May. Halifax

Well, it’s been quite a day. Up and out nice and early, and a taxi close by which took me to Euston Station. I was an hour early for my train to Manchester but luckily found a seat, as the number of people was growing. Thought I’d grab the opportunity for a WhatsApp call to Anne. I had to suddenly break off the call as the platform number for the Manchester train came up on the screen and hordes of people, virtually everyone in the station started running for that platform.

I joined them at a more decorous pace. The hordes were scrambling onto the train so I went quite a way along before climbing aboard, only to discover that every seat I passed had been booked. This was at 9.00 on a Sunday morning! I hopped off the train and continued even further along and had just about decided to wait for the next train when one of the people told me that all the trains would be booked out because Liverpool was playing Manchester in Manchester that afternoon. The hordes were going to the football!

So I climbed aboard and found a spot near a door, where I was helped to put my case under the luggage rack. There I was with three blokes, two standing and one sitting on the luggage rack. He made room and I was able to sit beside him with my feet dangling. There were others in the aisle and more in the area where the carriages join.

It turned out to be a most entertaining journey listening to hair-raising stories about the experiences of the chap who had been in the police. The guy next to me was just a nice bloke from Guildford and the third was a young man from Gundiwindi. He works for the Queensland Government in business promotion. 

I saw no scenery on my “quiet” Sunday ride to Manchester but had a great, though less than comfortable, time. Once there I changed platforms and caught another train to the airport, then spent quite a while finding the shuttle bus for the car rental park. Eventually I was in the car and on the motorway heading for Halifax. It felt like it took hours but was probably not much more than an hour to go 45 miles. 

The hotel I’m in has no parking so after dropping my luggage off I was directed to the local shopping centre car park. Finally in my room, only to discover that my gorgeous, huge bathroom had a leak in the ceiling and water was dripping into a puddle on the floor. Back to reception and changed to another room with a tiny shower in the bathroom.

By now I was exhausted and a bit lightheaded, I think from the motion of the train and also lack of food. I went around the corner to a peri peri chicken place and had a very ordinary meal. It’s cold and damp here and I’m very happy to be tucked up in a much better bed than I had in London.

Saturday 2 May. London

For my last day in London I decided on an excursion to Ham House in Richmond. This entailed a train to Ealing Broadway and a very long (30 stops) but enjoyable bus ride to Sudbrook Lane, passing Kew Gardens, Richmond and who knows where else. Once off the bus it was more than a kilometre walk along a lovely, tree-lined path to reach the house and gardens. My National Trust membership got me in free so that was a nice bonus.

Had a pleasant walk around the gardens before a cuppa in the Orangery Coffee Shop. Luckily for me the lavender was not quite flowering in the Cherry Garden. I liked the Wilderness, with its hidden summerhouses. I can imagine a lot of assignations there when the Duke and Duchess were in residence. There was also a huge kitchen garden.

Ham House was built in 1610 and is a rare survivor from that time. Charles I gave the house to his friends William and Catherine Murray . Catherine and her daughter, Elizabeth, kept the house safe during the Civil Wars, with the help of Elizabeth’s husband, Sir Lionel Tollemache. After the restoration of the monarchy Elizabeth and her second husband, the Duke of Lauderdale extended the house and collected spectacular art and furniture. the house stayed in the family until 1948, when it was donated to the National Trust.

The return home was to be the same as the journey there but in reverse. However it proved to be a bit less comfortable. The bus was very crowded and I had to stand until quite a few people got off. Then when we were almost there we were told that the bus was terminating at that spot, so I had to get off and find my way to the station. Finally I was on the Elizabeth line train heading for Paddington, but once again standing as it was packed. Paddington was the second stop but it took about an hour to get there due to an electrical fault which stopped all trains on the Elizabeth line. The driver was very apologetic and kept us informed about what was going on. I got chatting with a young women sitting in front of me and she insisted I have a turn of sitting for a few minutes. I was very grateful after my big day. Soon after I gave her seat back we were on our way again, feeling hot and bothered after no ventilation when the power was off.

 Apart from the last bit, it was a great day.

Friday 1 May. London

A lovely day today and a much slower pace. A large part of the morning was spent doing a small load of washing and drying. As this apartment has a washing machine I thought I should take advantage of it. This meant I could sit and read my book while all that was happening.

It was quite a warm, sunny day so I was glad I’d packed one short sleeved top. A bus took me to Marble Arch and from there I walked along Oxford St to North Audley St, a very special street for me. It was where I first found a number of special coal hole covers, depicting the businesses that had once lined the street. I only saw two of them today as there has been a lot of building and there are ranks of bikes for hire covering the pavement.

Anyway my reason for going there today was to have lunch in Mercator Mayfair, a deconsecrated church that now holds a sort of food court. The place was packed but I found some yummy dumplings and a place to sit and enjoy the atmosphere.

On my way to meet my friend Kim, I found the site of Tyburn Tree, once the main place of execution for criminals. It’s virtually in the middle of the busy Marble Arch intersection and I was amused to find two chairs there, so you could sit and ponder the rights and wrongs of capital punishment.

The next hour or so was spent with Kim at “Frameless”, where famous paintings come to life. There were four or five rooms, each with a different theme and too many paintings to count, let alone name. 

We then wandered down to Selfridges for a very pleasant afternoon tea. I can definitely recommend the pistachio layer cake. It was so nice to catch up with Kim in such an enjoyable way.

Thursday 30 April. London

 Yesterday I was mostly in the West End so today I headed east. Coming out of Monument Station I was immediately confronted by the monument, squeezed in amongst tall buildings and a tube station. It commemorates the Great Fire of London in 1666, which devastated two thirds of the city. The allegorical sculpture shows Charles II coming to assist the slumped figure of the City of London.

I think this visit to London has been about small things, because a short distance away, on the corner of Philpot Lane, I was hoping to find London’s smallest public sculpture. Just when I found it and was about to take a photo, a rubbish truck pulled up and  blocked my view. However there it was when he pulled away. Success! Legend goes that workmen put it there to honor two 19th century workmen who died in a fall while fighting over a missing lunch. The mice had actually taken the lunch.

A little further along the road was St Dunstan in the East, a ruined church which has become a peaceful garden, except for tourists like me.

After that peaceful interlude I returned to Endell Street as I now knew exactly where the nose should be. But the building was now a beauty shop and there was a sign attached to the wall right where the nose would have been. I guess it’s too much to expect them to have remained in place since 1997.

By 2.30 I was in the queue outside the King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace, waiting to see “Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style”. Once inside I checked in my handbag and took the opportunity to go to the loo. The lady behind me also wanted a posh pee. It was a terrific exhibition, covering babyhood right through her life. It was a bit special to see her wedding dress and Coronation gown. I took heaps of photos, which I know Anne will enjoy when I get home.

Back to Paddington by bus, a method of travel I much prefer to the tube.

Wednesday 29 April. London

In 1997 an artist named Rick Buckley decided to stage a humorous protest against the CCTV cameras appearing all over London.  His comment on this “ Big Brother-like”  nosiness was to place plaster models of his own nose in many locations. Theoretically there are only 7 left and they are located in Soho and Covent Garden.

Finding the noses was my special project for this trip to London, a project I had little success with.

My first port of call was Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the largest public square in London. The park has been enjoyed by Londoners since 1376. Back then they even used it for jousting. Today there are tennis courts and a cafe as well as the paths and gardens. This was my morning coffee stop and would have been delightful if the wind hadn’t been blowing a gale and covering one and all with pollen. Not the day to sit outside with my cuppa.

Lincoln’s Inn is one of four Inns of Court ( professional societies of barristers) in London, so I was probably having coffee with a few of them. No sign of Rumpole though.

Next stop was a sculpture called “The World Turned Upside Down “ and from there I headed to Floral Street and my quest for noses. There were also supposed to be some ears there.  I must have looked very suspicious loitering in the street and searching up and down the buildings. No luck though. I had a map of approximately where they should be and I checked both sides of the street and often backtracked as I made my way around the trail. 

By about 1 o’clock I was exhausted so I stopped at a pizza place for some lunch and a much-needed rest. Found a couple of more specific directions about the nearby noses when I was Googling while the pizza cooked so after lunch I retraced my steps and found 2 of them. A third just couldn’t be found and I think the building it was on has been renovated. Either that or I’m just not good at finding noses.

So 2 out of 7 is all I could manage. On my way to the station I came upon another pretty park, Soho Square Gardens. It was packed with people enjoying the sun and, as the wind had died down, it was enjoyable. My trip back to Paddington was on the new Elizabeth line - very modern and similar to our new Melbourne stations.