By Nick, in which we embark on a magical mystery tour from Hove to Hammersmith and complete our ‘gap’ year, and this blog.
So, last post, we’d reached Hove, having completed our epic 360 degrees in 360 days without a hitch, to discover that our booked and paid for hotel had gone out of business, then booked into a guest house up the road instead.
The next morning, after a comfortable night, we eagerly opened our second envelope. It contained two bus timetables with instruction to make our way from Brighton, via Seaford (about 20 Km further east along the coast) to Alfriston (about another 6 Km north-east of Seaford). So after breakfast, at which we got talking to a young woman who had just completed her second round the world trip, we checked out and started walking along the sea front towards Brighton.
Our first bus went from a stop near Brighton Aquarium. We didn’t have to wait long for it, but still long enough to get sucked into conversation with two bus-stop-randoms complaining about the price of fruit or some such.
On route to Seaford, the first bus took us through some classic English seaside place names, such as Rottingdean, Saltdean, Peacehaven and Newhaven. As our second bus from Seaford to Alfriston wasn’t due for a while, we ducked into a small cafe just next to the bus stop. We were the only two customers and soon got talking to the owner. As you may or may not know, Juli has always wanted to run a teashop, and it turned out that the owner had only just opened this one: her first such business. Juli was soon pumping her for information. How much did it cost to set up? Where do you advertise? How can you arrange things so dogs are allowed in? With all the chat, before we realised it, we’d missed the second bus (or it just never turned up) and had to wait for the next one.
The second bus – a much shorter journey – took us up and over a steep bank to Afriston, an ancient and quintessentially English, chocolate-box-perfect village. Here we found another but altogether more traditional ‘tea shoppe’, ordered lunch and opened envelope number three, marked: “Open when you get there.”
Envelope number three contained another lovely surprise. Marion and Pauline had treated us to a night in a classic English country house hotel on the outskirts of the village, 14th century Deans Place Hotel, complete with extensive gardens, swimming pool and a croquet lawn. After checking in (and handing over the contents of envelope number four to the receptionist) we dumped our bags and headed out again to see more of this charming village.
One of the many reasons to visit Alfriston is the Clergy House, a mid 13-hundreds wattle and daub, thatched cottage with a sour milk floor (compacted chalk, hardened by milk) which was the very first property acquired by the National Trust, shortly after the trusts formation in 1895. Another good reason is to pop in to St. Andrew’s (more or less next door) for the unusual arrangement of bell ropes, which hang down – and are played from – right in the middle of the church.
The main street through Alfriston is chock-a-block with exclusive boutiques, artsy shops, smart restaurants and ancient pubs. Juli was keen to visit a book shop she’d spotted when we stopped for lunch; I was more keen to book into one the pubs for dinner. In the end, we did both: Juli bought a book on crafty things to do with old books (and was given a small pile of them to practice on) following which we made a reservation at The George, which dates back to 1397.
Back at the hotel, under the pretext of getting ready to go out for dinner, we shared a bath and our last complementary bottle of Champagne from the ship. Dinner at The George was just what we’d hoped it would be, and went down very nicely with a pint or two of Olde Trip.
Our fifth and final envelope marked “Make sure you have some breakfast,” contained the instructions “Put on your walking shoes and wait for news.” Putting two and two together, we immediately went in to the dining room and filled up with hot, hopefully sustaining, platefuls of British breakfast goodies, then checked out and waited in the hotel’s lounge bar.
While we waited, a group of people attending a conference at the hotel came into the lounge for their mid morning coffee break. It soon became apparent from their conversations that they were at a local education authority meeting there. It amused Juli to remember, had she been organising it as part of her old job, what she would be doing, thinking and feeling at this point in the day. Seems like such a long time ago.
Not long after that, Marion appeared with another long-time friend of Juli’s, Ali, who lives not far away in Lewis. The three of them met when they were all au-pairs in Switzerland together. Now that really was a long time ago. In fact, just before we went travelling, the three of them went back to Switzerland to explore their old stamping grounds and celebrate the 30th anniversary of their meeting.
After a coffee and a catch-up, lead by Ali, we headed off to walk the ten miles or so to Lewis. Our route took us up out of Alfriston and onto the South Downs Way. It was a beautiful, bright and warm day, which was just as well, as on top of the downs, the wind was fair blowing a gale. It was quite a steep climb up to the top, but we were rewarded with some stunning views out over the Sussex countryside.
Coming down off The Downs after a bracing walk, we arrived at a brand new YHA hostel at a place on the river Ouse about half way between Newhaven and Lewis called Southease. By this point in our walk we were about two thirds of the way and ready for some refreshment and to get out of the wind. We enjoyed some very reasonably priced light lunch dishes followed – continuing the best of British theme – by scones and jam and clotted cream. Finally.
Replete, we moved on along the Ouse towards Lewis and Ali’s lovely cottage. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening drinking tea at Ali’s home and beer in her local, quite a lively spot, where we also had supper. Ali’s son, Zack, very kindly gave up his bed for Ali and Marion to share so that we could have Ali’s bed, in which we had another good night’s rest.
The next morning, with no more envelopes to open, we were just told to wait and see and that something would happen by 11.00am. In fact, nothing much happened for quite a while until Ali had to go off to work. We said goodbye and thank you and promised to be back soon, now that we’re in the area again.
Eleven o’clock came and went, but still nothing happened except that, for some suspicious reason, Marion had to keep going out to check on her car. Then, at about quarter past eleven, I went upstairs briefly and returned to find my oldest friend, Richard, his wife, Gill, whose been running ‘Basecamp’ for us while we’ve been away, and their daughter Sophie, who also happens to be my Goddaughter.
After some catching up, they explained that their plan was to take us to Sheffield Park, home of the Bluebell Railway, for a ‘Steam and Cream’ teatime special. Another cream tea. Hurrah! However, by now, thoughts were more acutely focused on lunchtime, so, saying goodbye to Marion, who had to go off to work herself, the five of us walked into the centre of Lewis and had lunch at Bills, which wasn’t the amazing veggie restaurant we remembered from last time we ate there.
After lunch, and leaving Lewis behind, Richard drove us the short distance to Sheffield park. The bluebell line was the UK’s first preserved standard gauge passenger railway and opened 1960. Since then it has developed into one of the areas largest tourist attractions. They have just opened a new extension to the line, which now runs all the way up to East Grinstead, where they have their own platform (platform 3) along side the regular mainline station. Our journey today was a 45 minute round trip (well, out and back) through the beautiful Sussex countryside between Sheffield Park and East Grinstead, during which tea was served with scones and jam and proper Rodda’s Cornish clotted cream. (Hurrah again.) Soon the conversation turned to the eternal question: which way do you build your scones: jam first (Cornish) or cream first (Devonish)?
After yet another quintessentially English thing to do on a lovely summer’s afternoon, we drove back to Richard and Gill’s, where we were to stay for the next two nights. In the evening, after a delicious home cooked meal, we sat in their recently furnished lounge, and dished out some of the things we’d brought back from our travels, including the Easter Island head that Gill had asked us for just before we set off a year ago. At the time, she was just finalising the design of a custom-built shelving unit she wanted the head for, and no doubt it’ll take pride of place, just as soon as the shelves are finished. Well, you can’t hurry these things, can you?
The next morning, we totally missed the exact moment our trip began by sleeping in late. We didn’t, however, miss our included full English breakfast. There you go, Gill, that’s something I’ve learned: never skip breakfast, especially when you’ve already paid for it.
N
[Click here for more photos from the UK.]
Day 361 (Hove to Alfriston)
So, last post, we’d reached Hove, having completed our epic 360 degrees in 360 days without a hitch, to discover that our booked and paid for hotel had gone out of business, then booked into a guest house up the road instead.The next morning, after a comfortable night, we eagerly opened our second envelope. It contained two bus timetables with instruction to make our way from Brighton, via Seaford (about 20 Km further east along the coast) to Alfriston (about another 6 Km north-east of Seaford). So after breakfast, at which we got talking to a young woman who had just completed her second round the world trip, we checked out and started walking along the sea front towards Brighton.
Our first bus went from a stop near Brighton Aquarium. We didn’t have to wait long for it, but still long enough to get sucked into conversation with two bus-stop-randoms complaining about the price of fruit or some such.
On route to Seaford, the first bus took us through some classic English seaside place names, such as Rottingdean, Saltdean, Peacehaven and Newhaven. As our second bus from Seaford to Alfriston wasn’t due for a while, we ducked into a small cafe just next to the bus stop. We were the only two customers and soon got talking to the owner. As you may or may not know, Juli has always wanted to run a teashop, and it turned out that the owner had only just opened this one: her first such business. Juli was soon pumping her for information. How much did it cost to set up? Where do you advertise? How can you arrange things so dogs are allowed in? With all the chat, before we realised it, we’d missed the second bus (or it just never turned up) and had to wait for the next one.
The second bus – a much shorter journey – took us up and over a steep bank to Afriston, an ancient and quintessentially English, chocolate-box-perfect village. Here we found another but altogether more traditional ‘tea shoppe’, ordered lunch and opened envelope number three, marked: “Open when you get there.”
Envelope number three contained another lovely surprise. Marion and Pauline had treated us to a night in a classic English country house hotel on the outskirts of the village, 14th century Deans Place Hotel, complete with extensive gardens, swimming pool and a croquet lawn. After checking in (and handing over the contents of envelope number four to the receptionist) we dumped our bags and headed out again to see more of this charming village.
One of the many reasons to visit Alfriston is the Clergy House, a mid 13-hundreds wattle and daub, thatched cottage with a sour milk floor (compacted chalk, hardened by milk) which was the very first property acquired by the National Trust, shortly after the trusts formation in 1895. Another good reason is to pop in to St. Andrew’s (more or less next door) for the unusual arrangement of bell ropes, which hang down – and are played from – right in the middle of the church.
The main street through Alfriston is chock-a-block with exclusive boutiques, artsy shops, smart restaurants and ancient pubs. Juli was keen to visit a book shop she’d spotted when we stopped for lunch; I was more keen to book into one the pubs for dinner. In the end, we did both: Juli bought a book on crafty things to do with old books (and was given a small pile of them to practice on) following which we made a reservation at The George, which dates back to 1397.
Back at the hotel, under the pretext of getting ready to go out for dinner, we shared a bath and our last complementary bottle of Champagne from the ship. Dinner at The George was just what we’d hoped it would be, and went down very nicely with a pint or two of Olde Trip.
Day 362 (Alfriston to Lewis)
Our fifth and final envelope marked “Make sure you have some breakfast,” contained the instructions “Put on your walking shoes and wait for news.” Putting two and two together, we immediately went in to the dining room and filled up with hot, hopefully sustaining, platefuls of British breakfast goodies, then checked out and waited in the hotel’s lounge bar.While we waited, a group of people attending a conference at the hotel came into the lounge for their mid morning coffee break. It soon became apparent from their conversations that they were at a local education authority meeting there. It amused Juli to remember, had she been organising it as part of her old job, what she would be doing, thinking and feeling at this point in the day. Seems like such a long time ago.
Not long after that, Marion appeared with another long-time friend of Juli’s, Ali, who lives not far away in Lewis. The three of them met when they were all au-pairs in Switzerland together. Now that really was a long time ago. In fact, just before we went travelling, the three of them went back to Switzerland to explore their old stamping grounds and celebrate the 30th anniversary of their meeting.
After a coffee and a catch-up, lead by Ali, we headed off to walk the ten miles or so to Lewis. Our route took us up out of Alfriston and onto the South Downs Way. It was a beautiful, bright and warm day, which was just as well, as on top of the downs, the wind was fair blowing a gale. It was quite a steep climb up to the top, but we were rewarded with some stunning views out over the Sussex countryside.
Coming down off The Downs after a bracing walk, we arrived at a brand new YHA hostel at a place on the river Ouse about half way between Newhaven and Lewis called Southease. By this point in our walk we were about two thirds of the way and ready for some refreshment and to get out of the wind. We enjoyed some very reasonably priced light lunch dishes followed – continuing the best of British theme – by scones and jam and clotted cream. Finally.
Replete, we moved on along the Ouse towards Lewis and Ali’s lovely cottage. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening drinking tea at Ali’s home and beer in her local, quite a lively spot, where we also had supper. Ali’s son, Zack, very kindly gave up his bed for Ali and Marion to share so that we could have Ali’s bed, in which we had another good night’s rest.
Days 363 & 364 (Lewis to Bromley)
The next morning, with no more envelopes to open, we were just told to wait and see and that something would happen by 11.00am. In fact, nothing much happened for quite a while until Ali had to go off to work. We said goodbye and thank you and promised to be back soon, now that we’re in the area again.Eleven o’clock came and went, but still nothing happened except that, for some suspicious reason, Marion had to keep going out to check on her car. Then, at about quarter past eleven, I went upstairs briefly and returned to find my oldest friend, Richard, his wife, Gill, whose been running ‘Basecamp’ for us while we’ve been away, and their daughter Sophie, who also happens to be my Goddaughter.
After some catching up, they explained that their plan was to take us to Sheffield Park, home of the Bluebell Railway, for a ‘Steam and Cream’ teatime special. Another cream tea. Hurrah! However, by now, thoughts were more acutely focused on lunchtime, so, saying goodbye to Marion, who had to go off to work herself, the five of us walked into the centre of Lewis and had lunch at Bills, which wasn’t the amazing veggie restaurant we remembered from last time we ate there.
After lunch, and leaving Lewis behind, Richard drove us the short distance to Sheffield park. The bluebell line was the UK’s first preserved standard gauge passenger railway and opened 1960. Since then it has developed into one of the areas largest tourist attractions. They have just opened a new extension to the line, which now runs all the way up to East Grinstead, where they have their own platform (platform 3) along side the regular mainline station. Our journey today was a 45 minute round trip (well, out and back) through the beautiful Sussex countryside between Sheffield Park and East Grinstead, during which tea was served with scones and jam and proper Rodda’s Cornish clotted cream. (Hurrah again.) Soon the conversation turned to the eternal question: which way do you build your scones: jam first (Cornish) or cream first (Devonish)?
After yet another quintessentially English thing to do on a lovely summer’s afternoon, we drove back to Richard and Gill’s, where we were to stay for the next two nights. In the evening, after a delicious home cooked meal, we sat in their recently furnished lounge, and dished out some of the things we’d brought back from our travels, including the Easter Island head that Gill had asked us for just before we set off a year ago. At the time, she was just finalising the design of a custom-built shelving unit she wanted the head for, and no doubt it’ll take pride of place, just as soon as the shelves are finished. Well, you can’t hurry these things, can you?
***
The next day we started to work through a year’s accumulated post we’d had forwarded there and to plan how we were going to get from Greenwich – tomorrow’s starting point – back to Hammersmith and then on to Staines the next day. We looked at various options, including a combination of river buses and cruise boats. We discovered that it would be perfectly possible to take a sequence of three boats from Greenwich all the way back to Staines. The only problems being the timing of the various services and getting to and from Hammersmith in the middle of it all. Anyway, we settled on a plan that combined the river with some walking plus one bus and one train for the next day. All bases covered.
We’ve often been asked questions like ‘what was the best thing you did’ or ‘where was your favourite place’. The fact is, choosing one place or activity from a year of travel is really difficult, and I think to do justice to the question, we’re going to have to take some time to reflect on the past twelve months. My memory has never been very good, and I’m sure there are things we’ve seen and done this year that I’ve forgotten already. Its part of the problem with trying to pack so much into our time away.
Anyway what I’m leading up to is, tonight, Gill came up with a question we’ve never been asked before and for which we were completely unprepared: “What have you learned this year?” It’s an excellent question. I could have given a glib answer like, I really miss Marmite, or three pairs of pants is quite enough for any man, but the fact is, I couldn’t answer her. And that makes me a bit sad, because what was the point of giving up everything like we have if I can’t now think of a single meaningful lesson to take away from our adventure. I think I’m going to have to think about that quite a bit.
Changing the mood entirely, and just to round off the day, after dinner, we indulged in one of our favourite activities and settled down in front of Richard’s enormous TV and watched a good clean family film: Wreck-It Ralph. Tagline: “This holiday season comes a story for everyone who ever needed a restart on life.”
Day 365 (Greenwich to Hammersmith)
The next morning after breakfast, us two, Gill and Sophie (Richard had gone away on a business trip the day before) Gill drove us to the Old Royal Observatory in Greenwich Park, which is about ten miles from their home. This is something that Juli really wanted to do because the prime meridian that was defined at Greenwich – or rather being so many degrees (and time zones) east or west of it – is something that has been ever-present during our journey.
I can’t actually remember ever going to Greenwich Park, though I’m sure we would have been taken there or near there on some school trip or other. It has some excellent views out across central London, including the O2 Arena and the new cable car there, Canary Wharf and all its skyscrapers and the new, recently bettered (by a building in Moscow) but briefly tallest building in Europe, The Shard. (Still the tallest in the EU, though only until 2017, when the French are scheduled to complete a taller one. Pah!) Incidentally, The Shard, tall though it is at 310m, is only 67th on a list of the World’s tallest buildings on Wikipedia, number one being the stratospheric Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which stands at 828 m or 2,171 ft. Just for old time’s sake, the Empire State Building – one of the oldest on the list – is at number 23 at 381 m or 1,250 ft.
At the observatory, you can stand astride the meridian with one foot in the west and the other in the east. (Yes, of course we did.) I just couldn’t resist checking the line that runs through the courtyard there against the GPS app on my phone. Well, I’m going to assume the line is right and apologise now for giving out coordinates from all round the world that turn out to be over a thousandth of a degree out. I just hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me.
Incidentally – Oh here he goes again – the Prime Meridian of the World has only been such since 1851. For a hundred years before that it was 19 feet to the west and was only moved to its present position when a new telescope was installed in the building next door to the original one. I’d like to be able to say that this accounts for the error on my phone, but in fact it only makes it worse.
Inside the observatory buildings there was an exhibition about time, including the Harrison Chronometers. Harrison was a cabinet maker who taught himself to design and make high precision clocks that were able to keep as near perfect as possible time on ships to enable them to calculate their longitude. No easy feat considering the difficulties of changes in temperature and rough seas, and in 1714 the British government offered a prize of £20,000 (nearly 3 million pounds in today’s money) to the person who solved the problem. It took him 45 years to perfect his marine chronometer (known now as H4) which, on it’s first test voyage between London and Jamaica, lost just 5 seconds. Unfortunately for Harrison, the Longitude Board, responsible for awarding the prize, put the clocks remarkable accuracy down to luck and denied Harrison his just reward. He got his money (albeit in dribs and drabs) eventually, but only by the final decade of his life. The reason seems to have been a combination of snobbery – Harrison was the son of a carpenter not a gentleman – and his own inability to communicate effectively. Anyway, it’s a fascinating story, and one that has been turned into a best selling novel and several film and television dramas, including as the starting point for the Only Fools and Horses Christmas special, ‘Time On Our Hands’.
After our tour round the observatory, it was time for Gill and Sophie to head back to Bromley, leaving us to make our journey west to Hammersmith. Stage one of our plan was to catch the river bus to Embankment from Greenwich pier, which is near the newly rehoused Cutty Sark.
Neither of us had been on the Thames river bus before, and if you haven’t either, we can heartily recommend it. Basically, it’s a bus on the river. There’s no commentary, but you get some great views of the city as you zoom along the Thames. (And if that’s not quite James Bond enough for you, there’s always the Thames Rib Experience, which has nothing to do with pork wings.)
From Embankment, we walked in an almost unbroken series of parks and gardens – Victoria Embankment Gardens; Horseguards; St. James’s; Green Park; Hyde Park; Kensington Gardens – all the way to the bottom of Kensington High Street. From there we walked to Olympia, and from there to the West London Novotel, Hammersmith, and checked in a year to the day (almost to the hour) since doing so the night before our big adventure set off from there.
One last bookend to our year. The night before we set off last year, we had dinner with Marion and John in a Vietnamese restaurant down the road a bit from the hotel. To celebrate the completion of our 365 days, Marion had booked the same restaurant, on the same evening, and blow me if we didn’t get sat at the same table as last time when the four of us walked in a year on. Marion had also ordered champagne and a selection of Vietnamese Hors d'oeuvres. We had a lovely meal – Juli and I shared a fish and a beef hotpot – and we wondered if we’d ever return to that part of the world again. There’s still so much to see.
Back at the hotel, after saying goodbye to Marion and John, we used the free Wi-fi in the lobby (£8 extra in the room) to upload the last of our photos.
The next morning, we totally missed the exact moment our trip began by sleeping in late. We didn’t, however, miss our included full English breakfast. There you go, Gill, that’s something I’ve learned: never skip breakfast, especially when you’ve already paid for it.
N
[Click here for more photos from the UK.]
