I returned late last Sunday night from a week-long visit to the U.K., my first visit back since Sophie and I made our Trip of a Lifetime together in August of 2018. After living through a pandemic and loss of Sophie three years ago, I decided it was time to revisit one of my favourite parts of the world, so that's what I will be writing about here this week.
As great as the trip was and as careful as I tried to be, I did get caught by the COVID bug upon my return, and I continue to spend my days quietly at home as I recover. My symptoms have not been huge, but certainly of great concern to me and not to be taken lightly. But I am working through it and although it did not please me, I do not regret for a moment taking the plunge and going on this trip.
Initially I planned to wait until next year to do any international travel, but when our local PBS station, WNED in Buffalo, started advertising a tour of England back in the spring, I was torn. The tour was through Transcendent Travel based out of New York City, and they were the operators of the tour Sophie and I took in 2018 and it was exceptional. So I had no qualms about that aspect of it, even though they are not inexpensive.
I was concerned due to COVID primarily, but also because I knew for me this would be my first trip alone internationally since the loss, so for me this would be hard one and rather emotional. It was, but I knew in my heart I had to do this.
Upon reflection back in the spring I thought it over and realized Sophie, if she were still alive, would be all over this tour just as she was the last time. And I felt I had to do it for her as much as for me. Really, she would have wanted me to do this. But more than that, it was going to be a major stepping stone for me on my road to recovery. I needed to prove to myself, and everyone else, I was ready for this next big step.
So plans were laid out, the trip was paid for in advance and then the anticipation...and the butterflies...grew. I admit to being nervous and anxious more than once in the months leading up to the trip but I managed to keep those emotions in check as I went out making sure everything was organized before I left the house.
Everyone I discussed this with, including my friends, financial advisor and even my doctor, encouraged me to do it and felt the time was right after three years of difficulty. I just had to convince myself...
The tour, entitled "All Creatures: a Television Focused Tour of England" began and ended in London. I flew out of Toronto on the Saturday night of Labour Day Weekend, arriving in London around noon Sunday their time. Tired but undaunted, I took the Heathrow Express train into central London as I searched out my hotel, The Clermont next to Victoria Station.
As is the case with all hotels on Transcendent tours, they are all exceptional and usually five-star rated. I arrived a day early in order to rest a bit before the tour gathered and got underway on Monday afternoon. Walking on Sunday evening and again Monday morning through London prior to the tour, I noted traffic is still about as awful as I remember it being in the past, but I noted also you see far more high-end cars on the roads than anything else: lots of big BMWs, Mercedes, Audis and of course, Rolls Royces and Bentleys.
It turns out those folks are the only ones who can afford to drive into central London now. The city of about 8-million is so busy now a few years ago a daily levy was imposed on those drivers who still choose to drive into the city, assuming they can even find a place to park, which is no easy task. So now, all drivers entering central London pay a fee of 25 pounds per DAY to enter, and if your vehicle is not EV or otherwise assisted by hybrid power, you pay a further surcharge of 12 pounds a day. With the going exchange rate on the British pound, that would amount to over 60 dollars each and every day you make the drive, over and above parking charges and of course, petrol. Gas prices when I was there was set at about 1.51 or so a litre. But that's also pounds, so roughly $3 a litre to gas up your thirsty vehicle in order to sit in bumper to bumper traffic. Yikes!
When you move out of central London you notice due to space limitations and the cost, most people who drive cars own tiny little vehicles, and many of them are not available here. Also, many more there are EV than here in North America. Even many of the city buses, even the iconic double-deckers, are all-electric now too. It's the way of the future, folks, whether you like it or not...
Incidentally, cycling lanes are everywhere and everyone is on bikes in London as you can imagine. You have to be on your guard of course, as the traffic is on the opposite side of the road than what we are used to here, and drivers over there are very much aware of that fact. But to their credit, everyone, drivers and pedestrians included, are unfailingly polite and helpful giving directions or gently reminding you to 'look left'. Many thanked us for coming. Imagine that! Try getting that in say, Toronto perhaps?!
The tour took us to Cambridge, York and back again to London before departing on Sunday morning, with plenty of stops every day for sightseeing and walking tours. I won't go into all the details here, as I have been posting lots of pictures to my Facebook page every day this week, with more to come.
But suffice it to say the food, accommodations and tour attractions were all first class and made every one of us feel very special indeed. Everyone else on the tour was a PBS supporter as you would expect, so there were lots of stops relating to favourite PBS shows, such as "Call the Midwife", "Grantchester" and most importantly, "All Creatures Great & Small". That was the part of the tour I most looked forward to and I know Sophie would have as well.
Touring the Yorkshire Dales is simply breathtaking but getting a good picture is difficult as there are not many places to stop on those narrow country roads the English are famous four. We did make a few stops but really, the pictures I did get don't do the Dales justice. You simply have to see it to believe it for yourself.
A highlight for me was visiting the James Herriot museum in Thirsk, which is the original home and veterinary clinic for the fabled writer and vet so many years ago. We were also fortunate enough to have a visit and chat with Harriot's daughter Rose, now a retired medical doctor and still looking good at 76 years of age.
Shopping? Oh I did manage some of that too. Lots of food-related items I found along the way and my usual haberdashery finds too. Socks, a navy blue bowler hat and an exquisite handcrafted brass and wood walking stick from the Yorkshire Dales that just simply took my breath away. It will always be with me and a constant reminder of a special day in a special place for me...and for Sophie.
So, now back to the routine here at home and continuing my recovery from COVID. I loved the trip but in all honesty, it is good to be home again. And the cats missed me!
What more could you ask?!
Have a great weekend!
September 16th, 2023.
