Connect with the DINKS

Search Past Articles
DINKS on Twitter
Inspiration

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful we must carry it with us or we find it not."

R. W. Emerrson

Entries in Bridgnorth (1)

Saturday
Jan032015

Merry Ole England

“Stay left…stay left…stay left” Jenn repeated as we exited the London Heathrow car rental garage.  The simple phrase was repeated nearly as often as the seemingly infinite roundabouts that dot the English countryside.  We made an impromptu decision to visit Stonehenge, which is surprisingly only a little more than an hour from London.  As Stonehenge came into view we played the song that shares its name from the classic 1980’s movie, ‘This is Spinal Tap’.  The scene was as ancient and strange as the rock mockumentary’s song implied – An ancient place where you can sense its significance.  We were not surprised to learn that archeologists still haven’t uncovered all of its secrets.

From Stonehenge, we headed north to the quaint town of Bridgnorth and then over to Burnley, where our friends Norman and Christina live.  These two amazingly gracious hosts guided us through memorable Skipton Castle after a stopover in the Pendle Hill area where “witches” were prosecuted in 1612.  In the evening, Norman made us the best gin and tonics before we went to a local pub for dinner.

The next morning we bid goodbye to our friends and proceeded to The Fat Cat pub in Sheffield where we met Tony, whom we met on a train while traveling in Hungary.  We enjoyed a few pints surrounded by the locals and ate a filling lunch while exchanging travel stories.  We continued our journey to the town of Lincoln where we explored the magnificent hilltop church while children practiced for an upcoming performance, singing angelic music and reading holiday-appropriate passages.

With only three days remaining in our European adventure, we headed back to London where we spent long days walking along the River Thames to Big Ben, the London Eye, Hyde Park, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.  We’d been warned that dining in London can be pricy, but the city’s sights are so disparate that it was easy to escape the primary tourist areas to find tasty and reasonable dining options.

We had a great time in London and the rest of the England.  We look forward to future visits where all of the roads seem to lead us to some of the best friends we’ve made during our year-long voyage.