Author Archives: kimandsally

Originally this was not on our Birmingham itinerary, but while talking to someone in NZ they recommended this place. A quick trip on the train to Tipton, a short walk and we were there. Although the weather was overcast and rainy (our umbrellas actually had a bit of a workout!) it cleared in the afternoonContinue reading “Black Country Musuem – 20 June”

Oxford is the stomping ground of many of my favourite authors, notably CS Lewis, Lewis Carroll and JRR Tolkien. After doing some research the night before, we set off to see what footprints these three had left in Oxford! First up …… Lewis Carroll. Below is Folly Bridge. This is where Lewis set off onContinue reading “A Literary Day! 17 June”

We did an excellent small group tour with Aden, our tour guide, who was dressed as a convict. Inside the prison… One of the prisons most notorious inmates. You may remember him. One of the youngest inmates! In 1642 the crypt roof caved in and was covered for 150 years. While prisoners were digging(hard labour)Continue reading “Oxford Castle and Prison- 16 June”

16 June 2023 There are 39 colleges in Oxford!! Rather than try to visit them all we decided to spend some time looking at Christchurch in depth with an audio tour. Lewis Carroll was a math tutor here and many of the characters from Alice in Wonderland were based on people he knew from here.Continue reading “Christ Church”

We left our BNB around 9 am on another hot London day. We were bound for Paddington Station to get our train to our next destination – Oxford. A pleasant one hour journey through quaint villages and lush countryside, and we were there. Checked into our accommodation, then headed back into town for lunch atContinue reading “Oxford – Day one”

Just realised I had missed out on recording a couple of London sights, so here they are recorded for posterity! The Golden Hinde The Monument This was built from 1671-1677 to commemorate the Great Fire of London – 1666. It was designed by Robert Hooke and Sir Christopher Wren (of St Paul’s fame). We walkedContinue reading “More London Sights”

Hop on Hop off bus – great way to get an initial ‘big picture’ look of the place Hop on hop off river cruise – lovely to do on a hot day, and to see London from a different perspective. We also did the ‘London Bridge’ experience. Unfortunately could not take any photos. This wasContinue reading “More London Experiences”

And a trip to London by an NZ Postie would not be complete without a visit to The Postal Museum. The visit started with a trip on the Mail Rail. I had never heard of this before, but there was a network of underground train lines from Whitechapel to Paddington. Traffic congestion in the earlyContinue reading “The Postal Museum”

While in London it was interesting to spot some of the famous locations from the Monopoly board! Just quietly, the next two are streets, I took these photos In Bournville!

While we were in London we were lucky enough to attend two Westend shows. The Mousetrap and The Lion King (the latter being a Christmas present for us from our lovely daughters!) Both great shows, and there are so many others on at the same time. The Mousetrap This is an iconic play in London’sContinue reading “So This is London!”

Another hot day and this time our main activity for the day was the Tower Bridge experience (covered by our London pass) We had a great look inside the bridge climbing the 250 steps to the top. The glass panels were fun to walk on! While we were there they lifted tower bridge for aContinue reading “Tower Bridge Experience – 13 June”

This morning we waited for about 30 minutes (luckily in the shade) with the crowd steadily building around us. We were waiting to see the very British institution of the changing of the guard. We had a prime position right at the front of Friary court (at the back of Saint James Palace) next toContinue reading “A Right Royal Day – 12 June”

Today we spent the day exploring the attractions that Greenwich had to offer. A short 15 minute train ride and we were there. Greenwich is a pretty village (I know, another one!) with all the attractions within walking distance of each other. First stop was the ‘Queen’s house’ (not what you are thinking). Each roomContinue reading “Greenwich Day – 11 June”

Just to mix things up a bit we took the bus to today’s main attraction, St Paul’s Cathedral. Very hot day today – supposed to reach 30 degrees! On arrival we picked up the obligatory audio guide and had a brief look around before joining the free tour. This was taken by Helen, an exContinue reading “St Paul’s Cathedral- 10 June”

Left the AirBnB just after 9am to catch the underground for Westminster Abbey. Mild day, just right for walking! On arrival at the Abbey we quickly passed through security then waited in line for about 20 minutes before entering the historic Abbey. We picked up some audio guides and spent about 2 1/2 hours wonderingContinue reading “Westminster Abbey – 8 June”

9am start again, this time setting off to The Tower of London. Lovely warm day today. Once inside (and going through the usual security checks etc) we headed straight to view the Crown Jewels (knowing from research that this can get very busy). We were amazed at the number of different crowns. Each crown isContinue reading “The Tower of London”

Graeme very kindly dropped us at Chelmsford station around 9am to catch our train to London (a short journey of around 50 minutes). First stop before boarding the train was breakfast (at Weatherspoons of course!). Avocado muffin and hot chocolate for Sally, and Vegetarian breakfast with hot chocolate for Kim. Sally left a memento hereContinue reading “7 June – Farewell Maldon, Hello London!”

When Graeme and his family returned to their respective schools/and work on Monday, Kim and I took the short walk up the leafy lane to catch a local bus to Maldon. This was a pleasant 15 minute ride, passing through some picturesque country roads. On arriving in Maldon, we checked out Tesco’s (large supermarket franchise)Continue reading “Exploring Maldon and Colchester – 4/5 June”

2nd June 2023 Viewer warning – contains lots of boring content about Kim’s family 2nd June found us getting up at the unearthly hour of 2am to catch the bus from Marselle St Charles station to check in at the airport for our 6am flight to Standsted airport in England! We had only managed toContinue reading “Maldon”

We landed in Stanstead near Grums place in Chelmsford, then headed south west: Then flew home out of Gatwick