On the home stretch

The weather settled down last night so I was up early to see what the lake would offer me this morning. She didn't disappoint. I could have spent hours taking photos as the light changed. 

But I had an appointment with a train to London. Before leaving, I took some photos of the light from the skylights in the hotel. 

The trip was a little convoluted due to maintenance work. I had a bus trip from Windermere to Oxenholme. Another from Oxenholme to Lancaster. Then finally the train to London. It was express for more than half the journey and very comfortable. The scenery was a mix of what I've seen so far. I took this photo on the bus.

The train was operated by Virgin. Nice to see Virgin still have a sense of humour over here. I think Virgin Australia have lost that, which is a shame because I feel it gave them a point of difference to the competition.

My final hotel is in Earls Court. Very handy location. The room is tiny, but very funky and cosy. Will do nicely for the end of my trip. 

Not a lot to report

The weather was looking a bit grey when I got up and it started to rain around 10:00. Luckily I only had one thing I really wanted to achieve today. Not that I couldn't do lots more, but I want to make sure I keep time to wind down - the last 4 1/2 weeks have been non-stop. ​

On the last leg of the train journey from York I noticed scenery that was a little different to what I had seen elsewhere. But the train was so packed that I couldn't get a good enough vantage point for photos. To fill in the missing part of my photo journal I wanted to retrace the steps. I won't be able to do that on the trip back to London because I will travel that part by bus.

So I caught the bus to Windermere. There is a bus stop right outside the hotel but busses aren't all that regular so I had to plan my journey. I walked around Windermere a little. As with the other towns around here, so many of the buildings are faced with slate.

Then I took a return train ride to Oxenholme. In order to get back in time for the bus back to the hotel I had to travel there and straight back. 

Elsewhere I've travelled in England the fields are all neatly (or not so neatly) outlined with hedges and the occasional dry rock wall. But around here grey (slate?) walls are everywhere and hedges are rare.

As the train came into Windermere two airforce planes came in low over the lake.  Along with the fly pasts the other day I'm surprise how visible and active the airforce is in this really touristy area. 

I caught the bus back to the hotel. By this time it was only 2:00 and the sun was actually shining. I was feeling guilty for not finding something else to do. Doing nothing while on holiday is a skill I'm yet to master. But I don't want to get home and feel that I still need a break. So, a quiet afternoon it is.  

The forecast for tomorrow is rain all day. That would be a recipe for guilt-free slothfulness. Fingers crossed. 

Further north (norf)

Today it was time to leave York and head to my final destination before returning to London then home. It had rained quite a lot overnight and was still drizzling in the morning. It would have been an inside kind of day anyway. 

I got to the station early and my train was in time. 

The first train was to Manchester. Then a change to Oxenholme Lake District. Finally a change to Windermere. The first train was relatively empty. The second was busier. The last train was packed. We passed a beautiful selection of countryside.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get shots of the last leg because I wasn't by a window. The landscape was distinctly different. Hopefully I can get some photos later.

Windermere was packed with people. Much busier than I'd expected. The taxi driver told me this is nothing compared to mid summer. My hotel is out of Windermere and nicely secluded. It reminds me of a hotel Emily and I stayed in in Ireland. I have a window with a fantastic view of the lake.

The hotel is a converted manor house.

After having a sandwich in the Drawing Room (take note Emily) I got my things together to start exploring. I walked to the nearest town Bowness-on-Windermere. It took just under 45min. It was getting late when I got there, already 4:00pm but they were still running lake cruises. The weather had improved greatly so I seized the opportunity to do a short one.

The light on the walk back to the hotel was perfect for taking some more pictures. 

Just enough time to freshen up and have dinner with the lake as backdrop. Sun very slowly fading. Occasional swan gliding by. Amazing food and wine. A lovely end to the day.

Part of my plan for coming here was to wind down. I'll probably do a little exploring tomorrow, but then I think some lazing around the hotel will be in order.

Goodbye Plymouth

Today it was time to move on to my next destination in England. My train from Plymouth to Cheltenham Spa departed at 11:25 which meant I could have a slow morning. After essentially repacking my suitcase I made it to the train station in plenty of time. Luckily the train started from Plymouth so it was already waiting for boarding. 

I haven't travelled with this particular train company before. The seats were very comfortable and I was very happy with the location I had chosen. 

The journey took 2.5h through the variety of scenery I have come to expect and enjoy. 

The most populous area we went through was Bristol toward the end of the journey. 

Parked in Bristol station was a steam engine with these carriages. Maybe that's what I should book on my next trip? 

By this time the weather was looking quite grey and wet. 

The train arrived on time and I got a taxi to the hotel. 

Penzance, and no sign of pirates

It was odd sleeping in a single bed last night. It's been along time. But this guest house is very comfortable and it was lovely to have a home style breakfast this morning. 

I managed to get out by 8:30am which gave me plenty of time to get on the 9:10am train to Penzance. As I walked to the station I heard the bird call from Kate Bush's album Aerial. It was note perfect! 

I bought the 1 day Ride Cornwall ticket which allowed me to travel on as many trains and busses in Cornwall as I like in 24h for £10. I definitely got my money's worth today.

As I was waiting for the train I couldn't help notice all the locals in their t-shirts and shorts while I was rugged up in jeans, t-shirt, jumper and jacket. 

The journey down there took about 2.5h but was full of interesting and beautiful scenery. These rows upon rows of houses as we left Plymouth were so striking. 

Then it was into the open countryside dotted with towns and rivers.

This scene caught my attention with multiple generations of industry. 

And of course we passed many stations. 

Then more rivers and inlets. 

When we reached Penzance it was clear that the tide was out. 

I wandered around. It's quite a grey looking town but you can just feel the history of it. 

The weather was very blustery and there were numerous flocks of seagulls circling around. 

I stopped at a little caravan cafe on the foreshore for a ginger beer scone with lime curd and coffee. 

After wandering around some more I made it back to the train station to catch the train back to St Erth. From there I took a short train trip to St Ives.  

As the train came around the corner and St Ives came in to view my breath was a little taken away. It looks so pretty even with the tide out. I can't imagine what it looks like when the tide is in. 

All around St Ives are some very un-English-y sandy beaches. 

I wandered along the promenade. There were so many people out and about. Must get crazy here in summer. I stopped for a Cornish pasty (naturally) which I devoured looking out to sea. This guy was hoping for a bit but it was too good to share. 

I finished off by wandering through the back streets and checking out some of the many galleries. 

By the time I got back to Plymouth it was dinner time so I regrouped and headed out to the area where most of the restaurants are. I'm not so good at solo dining but I was determined to get out there and overcome my fears. Good news is I had a great meal and nobody died. 

London to Plymouth

In some ways, flying from Bergen to London was the easy part of today. My final destination was Plymouth which will be my Cornwall base for the next 4 days. All I had to do was catch the Gatwick Express to London Victoria station, the Victoria line underground to Kings Cross, the Hammersmith line underground to Paddington then the train to Plymouth. Easy. The underground part of the trip was particularly convoluted because of maintenance - ordinarily I should have been able to catch the Circle line straight from Victoria station to Paddington. 

Anyway, I'm pleased to say it all went without a hitch. There were a few steps I had to navigate with cases, but overall it wasn't too bad. And once I finally made it to the train I pampered myself with a first class ticket to relax and take in the view. 

The train trip took 3.5 hours and I even managed to get to Plymouth a couple of hours earlier than I'd expected.

And the view was stunning. Third day in a row of incredible vistas. I feel so fortunate.  

Around Reading I saw lots of canals with barges. 

Then endless fields and towns. 

For a little while we tracked the south Devon coast. 

Before returning to green fields. 

When I arrived in Plymouth I just needed to walk 15 min to my accommodation.  Plymouth isn't a particularly picturesque town/city, but it will be a good base. As soon as I arrived I headed out to explore. I made my way to the shore and discovered you could walk up the old lighthouse. That was a good way to get a sense of the place. But then my camera battery died (and I hadn't swapped over my spare from the other bag) and it started to spot with rain. I decided to call it a day.​

This time I'm staying in more guest house-like accommodation. Small, cosy but very well presented. I wasn't quite sure when I first arrived but I've warmed to it already. I'm sitting in the little bar sipping a beer while writing this blog. Nice.

Expectations well and truly exceeded!

The Scandinavian leg of my holiday was inspired by a segment I saw on TV about the Oslo-Bergen rail line. Today I made that journey. Wow! 

There are a few things to share like the friendly Australians and Americans I met, or the excitement as the snow got deeper and deeper, or the packed train. But I think this is an occasion where I should just let the pictures tell the story. 

What more can I say? 

Goodbye Stockholm

I slept OK other than my mind racing while processing the ideas I encountered at Dark Mountain last night. When I awoke at 5:00am I wanted to write down the thoughts that had coagulated overnight. I'm feeling much better today (and thanks so much for the "get well" wishes Robyn, glad you worked out how to post a comment).

My train to Oslo was at 11:06am so I had plenty of time. After breakfast and repacking I checked out and made my way to the metro. I decided metro to central station would be easiest and by 9:30am it shouldn't be too busy. I was right. Got on and off really easily.

My train ticket for Oslo was first class - not as expensive as you might think and much more comfortable - and it meant I could wait in the SJ Lounge. It had a good view of the main station concourse.

The train departed on time and I had booked a single window seat on the right hand side. That was a stroke of luck because the sun was mainly on the other side and photos would have been more difficult. This is the route we took.

I pre-purchased lunch with my ticket.

The landscape from Stockholm to Oslo was surprisingly constant. Pine forests, birch trees, rivers, lakes, fields, wooden houses and the occasional town or small city. The main difference was that the first half was flatter and the second hillier. Actually, in parts it reminded me of British Columbia and Ontario in Canada.

We arrived in Oslo on time. I'll write about that in the next post.