England at Christmastime

We left Croatia on December 12th and headed to England. We landed in London and spent the next ten days traveling up through England before arriving at our flat in Edinburgh, Scotland. The flights were uneventful, and Logan was thrilled when the pilots allowed him a brief visit into the cockpit of the plane.

Visiting the cockpit in our plane to London.

We landed at London’s Heathrow Airport, picked up a rental car, spent an hour getting lost trying to find our hotel, and finally made our way to the Grimm’s Dyke Hotel outside of London. A good friend of mine, Eddie, is the Customer Relations and Events Manager at the hotel. 

Grimm's Dyke Hotel, London

When I lived in Los Angeles (2004-2006) I became good friends with Eddie. Eddie is from London but lived in the US for almost ten years. He is now back in England near his family and works at the Grimm's Dyke Hotel. Our first few days were spent hanging out with Eddie, meeting his son, and seeing the countryside of London. Both Taylor and I have been to London a few times and have done all the touristy stuff, so it was nice to relax for a bit with an old friend.

Logan and me with Eddie and his son, Joey.

Our first evening at Grimm’s Dyke was a bit chaotic after a day of travel. We were all hungry and tired and decided simply to go to the hotel’s bar to grab some pub food for dinner. Logan was being a normal 2-yr-old, driving his cars all over the carpet and refusing to sit still for two seconds. I was trying to keep him contained when a very nice English gentleman came over to talk to us. Logan had previously been trying to pull a paper display off of our table to use as a tunnel for his cars. I was afraid he would rip it to shreds, so I wouldn’t let him have it. The nice man gave Logan the one from his table and told him to do whatever he wanted with it. Smiling he said this way it wasn’t my fault, and Logan could have a good time. We got to talking with the gentleman, Mr. Graham. He was at the hotel with his wife for her work party but was taking a break in the bar. Turns out Mr. Graham used to be a professor both at USC in California (where I got my Masters Degree), as well as at Oxford University. He was wearing a beautiful yellow daffodil pin, in honor of his first wife who died of cancer. The daffodil is the symbol of the organization that helped them through her sickness, Marie Curie Foundation. Logan kept admiring the flower, so Mr. Graham kindly gave it to him. 

Before he took his leave, he handed me a 5-pound note and told me that it was for Logan, to get him some goodies, treats and special things. We ended up getting Logan a chocolate advent calendar, and a few rides on the carousel at the Bath Christmas Market a few days later. It was a lovely introduction to the friendliness of the British people.

Riding a beautiful carousel with Logan's money from Mr. Graham.

The next morning we enjoyed a delicious traditional English breakfast at the hotel, and then Eddie picked us up and took us to his Mum’s house for a family get together. 

English breakfast at the hotel.

Eddie’s son, Joey (6 months), was at his Mum's along with Joey’s mommy, Shelly, Eddie’s sister and her family (his two nieces and his brother-in-law), Eddie’s mom and step-dad, and his Nan. There were toys and children for Logan to play with, and Eddie made balloon animals for the kids. Sally, Eddie’s mum, made a lovely lunch with bagels, cream cheese, lox, cheeses, breads, egg salad, fruit, chips (“crisps”), cookies and more. It was such a nice time relaxing, being treated as if we were family, and doing something “normal.”

Eddie's Mum, Sally, with Logan and Joey and their balloons.

Later that evening, Corey arrived from the US to spend three weeks in the UK with us. We all went out to dinner and it was great to catch up some more with Eddie. The next morning we grabbed some coffee with Eddie (after he showed us to a nearby mall to get our phones set up), and then we headed out of town towards Bath.

Dinner out with good friends.

We arrived in Bath at nightfall. Our flat was up a steep hill, but not too far from the center of town. We got settled and took a taxi down to check out the last evening of Bath’s Christmas Market. Everything was lit up with lights, and there were little stands selling homemade food and gift items. 

Bath Christmas Market.

We grabbed some delicious German brats, and Logan enjoyed his carousel rides. We drank mulled wine (heavenly) and explored. Corey and Taylor were happy to enjoy some meat pies at a cozy restaurant before we headed in for the night.

The next morning we took a day trip from Bath to Stonehenge. It is estimated that Stonehenge was built in 3100 BC, making it over 5,000 years old! Nobody truly knows what its purpose was or why it was built, but the speculation ranges from sacrifice to astronomy. Regardless, it’s an amazing sight to see and to imagine how in the world they moved those enormous stones so many centuries ago.

While it was a short visit in Bath, we had to move on. As we headed north towards Stratford upon Avon, we stopped along the way in Oxford for lunch. We cruised the streets and part of the university. We listened to Christmas carolers and tried to find Santa Claus, to no avail. 

Downtown Oxford.

Courtyard at Oxford University.

We spent five nights in Stratford upon Avon, using it at a central hub for surrounding sites. While cozy, our flat was great - it had a fireplace that we used every night, a small Christmas tree (which quenched my thirst for Christmas decorations), and our host kindly left us a bunch of goodies and groceries. The downtown area of Stratford was gorgeously decorated with lights strung across the streets and a large light tree in the center of downtown. Carolers were out singing and collecting money to feed the hungry. It was all very festive.

Carolers in Stratford upon Avon.

From the time of our arrival in England, I had been searching for Santa Claus so that Logan could tell him what he wanted for Christmas. In Stratford I finally found him at The Creaky Cauldron, a Harry Potter themed gift shop. 

The experience was pretty neat; we walked up narrow, steep, winding stairs to a dimly lit room where a very real-looking Father Christmas was waiting. He asked Logan what he wanted for Christmas, Logan asked for a camera, and a red car. We took the necessary pictures, and were on our way. I think I enjoyed the visit as much, if not more, than Logan!

While in Stratford, we visited Shakespeare’s birth place, as well as the cottage where his wife, Anne Hathaway, grew up. We also visited the Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried. The church is surrounded by a very old cemetery and sits on the edge of the River Avon. 

The birth place of Shakespeare.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage (Shakespeare's wife).

The Holy Trinity Church, resting place for Shakespeare.

Shakespeare's tomb.

We took a nice walk along the edge of the river, across a footbridge and back up, getting nice views of the church from the other side of the river. Logan loved feeding his crackers to the geese, ducks, and swans. 

Holy Trinity Church from across the River Avon.

Taylor came to Stratford upon Avon when he was a child and had fond memories of the town. This included attending a play at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, which he insisted Corey and I experience. These kinds of activities are difficult to do with a toddler in tow, so Taylor kept Logan while Corey and I went to see a 1:15pm showing of The Christmas Truce. The play is based on a true story depicting World War One German and British soldiers on the front lines who made a truce for Christmas, exchanged gifts, and lived peacefully for two days. This Christmas Eve, 2014, marked the 100 year anniversary from the event upon which the play was based. The author of The Christmas Truce, Phil Porter, coincidentally stayed at our flat right before we arrived, according to our hosts and the guest book. Corey and I really enjoyed our theater experience!

Pre-show entertainment at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

The weather was cold and I have been enjoying hot drinks along the way, hot chocolate, mulled wine, and mulled “cyder," along with many coffees, teas, or lattes. My favorite was a mulled wine (like warm apple cider but made with red wine) from a place called Old Thatch Tavern. We later went as a family to the oldest pub in Stratford, The Garrick Inn, serving beers since 1594, during the time when Shakespeare himself was walking the city’s streets. The history here is amazing!

Outside the oldest pub in Stratford upon Avon, opened in 1594.

On a day trip outside of Stratford we visited Warwick Castle. Warwick is an extremely well-preserved and touristy castle celebrating 1,100 years. 

One of the interesting things about Warwick Castle is the wax figures of the castle’s original inhabitants (such as the Duke of York and lords of Warwick), sitting around doing activities that they would have been doing if we traveled back in time to see them when the castle was thriving. 

Taylor has a great conversation with the Duke of York.

There are original decorations, furniture, and coats of armor throughout. The castle was beautifully decorated for Christmas, with a roaring fire in the main hall.

After five days in Stratford, we headed north to York. We stopped on the way in Nottingham, home of the oldest pub in England, “Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem.” 

The pub is famous for its caves, carved out of the rock against which the tavern sits. Some of the upper caves are now used as drinking rooms. The caves beneath the building date back to 1068 AD, when the York castle was built. They were once used for cock fighting and death row inmates (names carved into the rock walls remain). 

The tavern is built right into the rock. 

Corey and Taylor got a behind-the-scenes tour of their underground caves and the rest of the tavern. On the tour they learned that the pub houses the cursed galleon, a small wooden model of a ship. It is claimed that hundreds of years ago a Spaniard gifted the galleon to the pub and warned that anyone who cleaned it or removed it from the premises would die. According to the tavern’s website and staff, those who have cleaned it have all met a mysterious death. Landlords have refused to allow anyone to dust the ship over the years, and it now remains in a glass encasement, covered in inches of thick grime built up from years without cleaning. 

Underground cellars.

Name carved on the wall in the old "death row" cells.

The "cursed galleon."

After a short drive from Nottingham we arrived in York just in time to catch the afternoon evensong (worship music and sermon) at the York Minster. The York Minster is the city’s gorgeous cathedral with medieval stained glass and stone. 

We popped in to catch some of the choir music, but after spending hours in the car, Logan didn’t want to sit still. We left the cathedral after just a few minutes and wandered the streets within the old town (walled part of the city). 

Before retiring to our B&B for the night, we dropped Corey off at the York train station so he could catch a tour beginning early the next morning in Edinburgh. The next morning, after filling ourselves with our last traditional English breakfast, we began the final leg of our road trip. We passed signs welcoming us to Scotland after a few hours of coastal driving and we were settling into our new “home” soon thereafter. We arrived just in time to get settled before Christmas. But that's another story!