Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Traveling through Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport is never an experience people you would wish upon anyone you like.  Its not that there is anything necessarily wrong its just that its big, its busy, and if you’re not flying Delta, things seem a little out of the way, not a bright, not as clean, and not as new.

The biggest suggestion I can give anyone traveling with a baby is to make sure you have a good stroller.  We used our Maclaren and it held up to airports, baggage checks, taxi cabs, train stations, rain, sleet, snow, ice, road salt, and anything else our journey threw at it.  It folds easy enough, is light, and is sturdy enough to take a beating in the cargo hold of the plane.  Atlanta was great.  British Airways as well as the Hartsfield and Homeland Security staff let us keep the stroller with us until we reached the gate.  We did have to run the stroller through the screening equipment but it fit with ease, even with J.J. Cole’s Bundle Me attached.

A couple of suggestions I picked up from other places:

• As soon as you arrive at the gate, get baby into her pajamas.
• Leave plenty of time.  We found that our travel time took almost twice as long as it did pre-baby.  Part of this was the sheer mass of stuff we had to travel with but part of it also is that baby dances to the beat of her own drum.
• Find quiet places.  In Atlanta, the Houlihan’s in the Airport Atrium (between the ticketing/ luggage halls) is great.  Go upstairs where there are no tv’s and plenty of space to stretch out.
• I understand that Airtran and Delta have play areas but I’ve never seen them.
• See if there are any ways you qualify for access to an airport lounge.

Once we got to our gate, BA was great.  They let us on the plane first to get seated and we were one our way (more about traveling with a baby in a plane, in a later post).

Bleery Eyed at T Five

Terminal 5

Every time I’m wheels down in London, its a rush.  And I was so thrilled that the first trip my daughter went on was with me to London.  And I was excited this time because we were flying into the still relatively new Heathrow Terminal 5.  Its a gleaming, cavernous space that seems to be phase one of much large plans for the busiest airport in Europe.  I was a little miffed about being parked at a remote stand, meaning we’d have to take a bus to the terminal, but it was easy and we were let out very close to the immigration desks.

If there is one thing I’m not a fan of in international travel, its passing through immigration.  Oh, I love having a stamp in my passport but standing and standing in line is not my idea of fun.  When we arrived at the line, it was long.  But a kind official, opened a rope and let us to the front of the line.  We had to wait for one person.

One of the other things I love about Heathrow is that the luggage trolleys are free (hint, hint, Hartsfield).  Which leads me to another hint, go ahead a splurge on the Heathrow Express.  Yes its expensive.  But its quiet, not crowded and dumps you into Paddington Station (a great place for kids souvenirs).  From there you can catch a taxi (and no, you don’t need a car seat in a taxi in London.  I shudder to think…), train, or the tube to your next destination.  We stopped for lunch, a diaper change, souvenirs at the Paddington Bear Kiosk, grabbed a taxi and still made our train from Euston Station.

Flying Out of Heathrow

One of the smartest things we have ever done in traveling was to get a hotel near the airport the night before flying home.  This did cut about half a day off our trip but made our flight home so much easier.  Heathrow has an excellent network of frequent shuttles that circulate around the area hotels.  They dropped us off at terminal 5 where we checked in.  Again, we received excellent service.  Even though we gave ourselves too much time to get to the airport, BA let us check in early.  When we went through screening, there was something wrong with my wife’s ticket.  She took the baby and stroller while I was told to move on through.  Needless to say, I was anxious.  But once again, true hospitality came through.  As soon as things were sorted, they let her through the VIP line, getting through security about as quickly as I did even though there were several hundred people in line.  Once more, they let us keep the stroller to the gate.

My one complaint/ heads up about Heathrow Terminal 5 is the concourse area.  Once you get out there, the selections of food are not that great for a baby.  Make sure you have everything you’ll need food-wise.  There were several restaurants we could have stopped in at the main terminal but we decided to go on to the concourse.

There was additional screening at the gate and I must say, UK folks were great.  They treat me and my wife well and tried to be as low impact as possible on us with a kid.  Again, they let us on the plane first where we got situated before the rest of the plane boarded.

Landing Home

Once more bleary eyed, we arrive at Atlanta airport, late.  But not as late as it could have been.  There was a medical emergency on the plane and we got on the ground in a very impressive fashion.  It was a nice surprise to be given our stroller at the gate rather than at luggage claim (like at Heathrow).  Arriving at immigration, I wish that I could say US Dept of Homeland Security looked out for families like the UK’s Immigration officials did.

We waited for nearly an hour.

Additionally, the security people coming into the country were more anxious and less accommodating than either security on the front end in Atlanta or at Heathrow.  Admittedly, they probably have the most angst ridden job of the four checkpoints we went through but still, there such a thing a common courtesy.

By and large, traveling through airports with children is a breeze.  Give yourself enough time and build in some extra money into your budget.  With those two suggestions you should be fine.

Okay, okay.  Travelling with my baby rocks…though now she is a toddler.  This past January while we were visiting the Lake District and West Yorkshire, she did marvelously.  While we didn’t receive the holy grail of traveling with kids (i.e. upgraded), by and large, we were treated with the courtesy that every traveler should be treated.  In this series of posts, I’ll reflect on what I learned traveling with her, what I’ll repeat and what I’ll never do again (queue theme from “Gone With the Wind”).

Travelling Through Atlanta:

Admittedly, Atlanta is not the best city to try to travel in without a car.  The trains don’t go places people want (unless you’re flying in on business), the buses are much the same, but with not frequent service.  And its only getting worse as MARTA just announced budget cuts (but that’s another blog for for later).  We just couldn’t imagine trying to get all our stuff down to the Airport from our house.  There would have been a taxi ride of less than a mile, one train transfer, and the reality that MARTA really wasn’t designed for people traveling with children in mind.

So how would we get our luggage and her”stuff” to the airport?  We hired a town car.  We didn’t need a car seat on the plane and we weren’t renting a car.  Paying for two weeks parking at Atlanta Airport was about $12 USD per day–money we could spend doing something fun.  And there was the promise that they would pick us up at the airport upon arrival.  Door to door service.  Wonderful, right?  Well, this decision was a mixed bag.  On the good side, the driver was pleasant, went out of his way to purchase a car seat just for our trip to and from the airport (he said we could use our won car seat and he would “store it for us”.  Umm.. no thanks.  In exchange for a tip, he asked if we would bring him some chocolate covered peanuts from Marks and Spencer.  The only negative I had was that he forgot to pick us up.  Of course, when he called later in the week to get paid, he says he was there.  But our plane was late and we waited for an hour on top of that.  Out of his “kindness” he didn’t charge us for the return leg of our journey.  How kind.  He should have been there managing a cranky kid whose body clock was turned upside down while waiting for someone who was supposed to call me.

Aside from having to pay an ungodly amount of money to get a taxi to take us home, I think I’ll hire a car again to get to the aiport.  Only this time, I’ll get the driver’s cell phone

I have a few favourite stores that I hit when I need retail therapy.  Next, Monsoon, Clarks, the ever popular Marks & Spencer and others are regular stops on my Trail of Retail Discovery.  However, today I want to focus on two Must Sees if you’re visiting the northern part of the UK and would like to do a bit of shopping:  Junction 32 in West Yorkshire and The Trafford Centre in Manchester.  This is not your charming outdoor market or Saturday church guild craft fair.  This is SERIOUS shopping.

Junction 32 (formerly Freeport Castleford) is an outlet mall on a grand scale.  It’s referred to as a “village” and with good reason.   I’m basing comparison on the giant outlet centres I’m familiar with from the US, like the Tanger Outlets in Commerce, Georgia, or the “Yellow Mall” Prime Outlets in Gaffney, South Carolina.  These centres of discounted goodness have nothing on Junction 32.

Got kids that don’t want to shop?  Right next door to Junction 32 is Xscape, which is a playground complete with a cinema, climbing wall, indoor snow slope, laser tag, and other goodies to keep the rest of the family occupied.  Driving to Junction 32?  There is plenty of parking, though it isn’t really the front door type parking we’re used to in the US.   No car?  No problem.  We took the train in (head for the Glasshoughton railway station) and just had a short walk across the car parks to get to the shopping.  The only problem I could forsee with taking the train is managing the on and off with lots of bags of shopping.

Now then, let’s leave the discounts behind and move toward luxury shopping.  The Trafford Centre in Manchester is luxurious and lovely, and rather looks like a palace on the inside rather than a mall.  While not as easily accessed as Junction 32 via train, there is a bus station AT the shopping centre, so you can get there from here if you can read and understand a bus map. You can even get a bus that runs between Manchester Airport and the Trafford Centre (number 18) so that you can load up on those last minute must-haves just before you fly home.

My favourite bit about the Trafford Centre is hard to pick, but I think it might be Selfridges.  Why, you may ask?  They stock a fairly good (although overpriced) selection of AMERICAN FOOD.  I’m talking Kraft Mac & Cheese, Quaker Instant Grits, and even Goober Grape.

Also, just inside the door is a great sushi place (as great as sushi can be when you’re talking about a restaurant in a shopping mall) called Yo!Sushi.  It’s sushi done as fast food at a counter, complete with a conveyor belt that moves the food alongside your diner style booth or lunch counter seats.

A draw, I’m sure, for families to the Trafford Centre is the Legoland Discovery Centre, boasting over two million lego bricks and fun for kids of all ages.  I know that my niece very much enjoys Legoland down south, so I’m anxious to get back to Manchester to check this one out.  You know, for blogging destination purposes.

So, planning a shopping holiday to the UK (regardless of the current exchange rate NOT being in the US’s favour)?  Be sure to include these two commerical meccas on your agenda.

Worth Valley, from Haworth Moors

While Haworth itself has already been covered here at TOB, I wanted to share something for those looking for a more nature-friendly type adventure here in West Yorkshire.  It’s also very pet-friendly, so it really ticks the boxes for me.  If you take a walk just past the Brontë Parsonage, you’ll come to a gate that leads out onto the Moors.  The first little bit is just farmland and you do have to walk past some houses, but once you get up to the road and cross over, you’re in untamed wilderness…well, as untamed as it can be with footpaths and signs and a few benches for resting and reflection.

The picture above was taken from one of the peaks, and it overlooks a reservoir and other bits of the Worth Valley.  My husband was pointing out landmarks to me as we went along, but all I could see was GORGEOUS so I’m afraid I didn’t retain any of that information.  Next time, perhaps?

Worth Valley as seen from Haworth moor

The walk is an easy one, incline-wise, but can be a bit tricky in spots due to the footpath being an honest to goodness footpath and not a proper pavement path through the moors.  We had planned to go all the way to see Top Withens, the ruin of a house that is said to be the inspiration for the house in Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.  From Haworth proper to Top Withens is about a three mile walk, which doesn’t seem daunting until you add in the terrain you’re crossing.  It is slightly hilly and there are loose rocks and dirt along the footpath.  I’m not sure how far we got, but we didn’t make it all the way.  Another feature of the moor (that we’re planning to head back to investigate soon) is the Brontë Waterfall. If you follow the link, you can see a 360˚ view of the waterfall in all its beauty.

Interestingly enough, the moors in the Brontë works are metaphors for isolation, desolation, and harsh living.  To me, though, it was an absolute paradise.  You can’t hear the traffic noise up there.  The wind, admittedly gale force on the day we were there, is clean and crisp.  The views will literally take your breath away.

The best part, though, is that all of this amazing scenery costs you exactly nothing…well, except maybe the price of some good walking shoes and possibly a walking stick.  I’m not kidding about some of those rocky bits.  I’m choosing not to blame it on my lack of natural grace and balance, no sir.

Lunch at the Apothecary Guest House Tea Room

Now that you’ve worked up an appetite, walk yourself back down to Haworth and visit the tea room and garden at The Apothecary Guest House in Haworth.  It is located in the center of the village and is very close to where you come off the access ramp from the car park.  I can’t speak to the rooms, but as you can see here, the yorkshire pudding filled with roast beef, roasted potatoes and carrots, peas and topped with gravy was TO.DIE.FOR.  The service was impeccable and the staff seem to be friendly and ready to help with whatever you need to make your meal (and, I would imagine, your stay there) just perfect.  The blue and white china was a nice touch, though my friend Christine did say it made her a bit dizzy while she ate.  We were welcomed to outdoor seating because we had Daisy, and she even sampled a bit of our lunch.  (She gives it four enthusiastic lying in the sun paws up.)

And what of Miss Daisy?  She’s ready for more adventure, I think.

Daisy Surveys Her Kingdom

For more information on taking on your own moor adventures, here are some links that I think would be helpful.  Happy Walking!

Walks on the North York Moors

Walks in West Yorkshire (includes a fab map of the area)

Bronte Country, West Yorkshire

The Abbey of St. Mary's, York

This time out, Daisy and Hubby and I visited the seat of Yorkshire, the Viking/Roman/etc etc stronghold of York. York is a city with an incredible history that seems to spring to life as you wander its slightly slanted streets and cobbled alleys. In this gorgeous northern city you can see the development of the entire country, from its earliest recorded history through the invasion of the Vikings and Romans, as well as the devastation caused by Henry VIII’s Reformation.

We were in York to meet up with some other American expats, and there was a walking tour of the city arranged for us. I highly recommend booking something similar, whether you’ve been to York a million times or are there for your first visit. Our guide pointed out things that Hubby and I had never seen before and we were not first time visitors.   We learned how to spot the difference in Viking and Roman walls (as York is a city that loves her walls!), we saw a building that was built 700 years ago as a home for clergy, and looked for mice that were included in doors as a signature of the architect/builder.  With the exception of the walk around the city on the wall, Daisy was welcomed to come along on the tour, and again she handled the city streets like a champ (the ice cream that Hubby got for her to enjoy in the shade while I tromped around on the wall in the sun probably helped her disposition a bit).

There isn’t anything that is more dog-friendly about York that you don’t find almost everywhere in the UK, but I did see lots of dogs around the town.  The only problem we ran into was dining, because most of the restaurants with outdoor seating don’t have any sort of shade, and it was 27C that day so we had to find a shady spot.   I left Hubby with Daisy and took off to find food to take away, when I stumbled across Cafe Concerto just across from the Minster.  I had planned to check out the same restaurant where my family ate when we visited fifteen years prior, and was terribly disappointed to find that it is now a coffee shop, so I wasn’t holding out much hope for Cafe Concerto.  How wrong was I?  The food was fantastic, fairly priced, and the staff were so nice.  I want to go back when I can try something on the menu that isn’t easily packed into a carrier bag and eaten while sitting on a low wall around a park!

One of the must-sees in York is Shambles, one of the oldest streets in the city and definitely the most picturesque.  The name Shambles comes from the medieval word Shamel, and describes a time when this street was full of butcher shops, also called Flesshshamel.  It is the most well preserved medieval street in Europe, and is unique in its architecture.  The houses and shops along Shambles are wider on the top floors than they are on the ground floor, due to a tax on the amount of land on which a building stands, and they almost touch in the middle.  The street has wide gutters running along each side, once used for the butchers to wash away the blood and other waste that came as a by product of their trade.   Along with the town where I currently live, Keighley, Shambles is listed in the Doomesday Book which places its age at least around 900 years.  I dare you to walk down it without imagining that you’ve somehow landed in J.K. Rowling’s Diagon Alley.

While I have not visited Jorvik Viking Centre, Hubby has and raves about it.  The only reason we didn’t visit while there back in May was that Daisy was with us and we felt certain she wouldn’t have been admitted.  According to the official website, “Everything in JORVIK Viking Centre is based on archaeological evidence unearthed during the Coppergate excavations undertaken between 1979–81 by York Archaeological Trust.” You can visit the dig site, appropriately called DIG as well as the recreation of Viking life in York at Jorvik (the Viking name for the city).  Jorvik is open seven days a week (excluding Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day), from 10am-5pm in Summer and 10am-4pm in winter (10am-2pm New Year’s Eve and 11am-4pm New Year’s Day).  Please do visit the site linked for more information on this must see attraction.

For a day out, you can’t beat York for history, beauty, and fantastic food.  For a weekend out, York has accomodation ranging from historic B&Bs to standard hotels as well as pubs and nightlife that range from the traditional (The Black Swan is the oldest in town, built in 1417) to the quirky (The Evil Eye lounge is a multi-story pub with a different theme on each floor).  York is easily reached by car but parking can be a bit tricky so I would recommend the train.  The station is close to everything you need, and will save you from driving around looking for a place to park.  Visit York.  You won’t be disappointed.

Daisy and me, Skipton Castle, May 2010.

Skipton Castle is a shining example of dog friendly days out destinations in the UK that I would be hard pressed to find equivalent in the US. But before I dive into how awesome it is for your dog to be able to climb stairs that were built more than 800 years ago alongside you, let me tell you a little bit about one of my favourite places in Yorkshire.

Drainage Pipe Detail, Skipton Castle

Skipton Castle, according to their very informative website, was built more than 900 years ago. It was the home of the Clifford family for generations, and also played an important role in the English Civil War. The castle was the last Royalist stronghold against the Parliamentarians, and despite being damaged by order of Cromwell the building was  faithfully restored by the Lady Anne Clifford.  Evidence of her handiwork is still visible within the castle, including drainage pipes on the inside bearing the year of their installation, 1659.  While there are none of the original furnishings or decor in the castle today, it is not hard to imagine a giant table surrounded by noble men and women in the great hall, or to smell roasting meat cooking in the enormous fireplace in the kitchen.

As you walk through the castle, you can really get a sense of the purpose of such buildings in the time period in which they were built.  You can crawl into the tiny spaces used by archers to defend the castle and peer out through the narrow slits to see the castle grounds as they would have seen it.  The stairs, while a bit hazardous due to their age and the irregular wearing down of the stone, have been traveled by so many in the long history of the castle – and it really gives the visitor a sense of connection to history to just stop on one of the staircases and reflect.

Yew Tree, Courtyard, Skipton Castle.

A favourite spot of mine and Hubby’s is the yew tree in the central courtyard.  The tree was planted there in 1659 by Lady Anne Clifford to commemorate the loss and sadness of the English Civil War.  To stand by this tree and think about all that it has seen is immense.  There is another yew tree on the castle grounds by the tea room/gift shop, and I wonder if it is an offspring of the amazing tree inside the castle walls.  There is a seating area around the trunk of the original tree made of stone, and it is a favourite place for souvenir photos as well as a nice spot to sit and soak up the history that is springing to life around you in the castle.

Chapel window from inside, Skipton Castle.

Of all the spots in the castle grounds, however, my absolute favourite is the chapel.  I have an amateur photography habit that I feed on a regular basis now that I live in such a photogenic place, but the chapel at Skipton makes my hobbyist heart soar.  From the little architectural details inside that allow you to invision what the building looked like when it was used actively to the giant skeleton of what was, I’m sure, an impressive stained glass window at one end, the chapel is worth seeing and experiencing.  I feel compelled, however, to note that it is a ruin, so if you’re looking for the type of grandeur seen in church structures that are still in use today, it won’t impress you.  But seriously, just look at the window, how is THAT not gorgeous?  The cherry trees in the courtyard that were just starting to bloom made up for the lack of coloured glass, and the entire building just feels calm and peaceful and still.

Now on to the Daisy part.  Dogs are allowed on leash in all parts of the castle and the castle grounds with the exception (I would imagine, we didn’t try the day we went) of the tea room and the gift shop.

There is no charge for leashed dogs, but they don’t qualify for a free “I explored Skipton Castle” badge like kids do…

Yeah, I got a badge, what of it?

I know this because I made a bad joke when purchasing admission for me and Hubby and the kind woman at the till thought we had a 5 year old child called Daisy.   Daisy got her badge, but I had to buy it for 20p from the gift shop.  I think she was far less happy about that than I was.  Anyway, moving on…

While the inside of the castle has places that, due to the wearing of the stone in the floors and stairs, is a bit tricky for dogs that aren’t so good on stairs, there is generally another route that can be taken with your four-legger if he or she, like Daisy, is too big to be carried.  Hubby and I found that the people we met as well as the people that worked at the castle were generally very good natured about having to wait to come down a staircase because our BambiOnIce was having trouble, or about getting goosed by her needle nose when she got bored of us reading all the historical information.  There are green spaces where you can stretch out with a picnic or just a book to read, and I’m totally looking forward to the Shakespearean performances on the green there…it will be Daisy’s first play!

Skipton Castle is not to be missed, with or without a dog.  Take a camera and explore a piece of English history.  You’ll be glad you did, just probably not as glad as Daisy was…

Daisy and Me, posing by the Shorn Keighley Exhibit

This installment really centers on the great days out you can find by checking on the market schedules in whichever part of the UK you’re visiting.

This past weekend, Simon, Daisy and I had a fantastic time at the St. George’s Day festival/market right here in Keighley.  For those that aren’t familiar, St. George is the patron saint of England, slayer of dragon and saviour of fair maiden (that was set up as a sacrifice to said dragon).  On our lovely church green in the town centre was set up a market, demonstrations of medevial life/crafts/swordplay and food!  We took Daisy with us and she was a star yet again, handling the crowd like a champ.  We were also excited to check out the finished products from the Shorn Keighley project, where local artists painted sheep statues in honor of the rich history of the wool trade in this part of the country.  It reminds me of the painted bulldogs in Athens, GA at the University of Georgia (go DAWGS! Sorry, Dave.).

While there are many attractions in the UK that will permit dogs (far more than in the US, I must admit), if you have a gorgeous day in England you should definitely take advantage of the weather and get out to some of the outdoor markets. You won’t be disappointed, and you may find a treasure or two along the way.  If you’re lucky enough to be in the UK in the springtime, outdoor markets and festivals/faires are an absolute must because the weather is sunny but not boiling and all the plants are in bloom.

The next installment of Travels with Daisy will be a trip to Skipton this Friday that we’ve been trying to accomplish for two weeks now…fingers crossed the rain stays away!!  We will be cruising the Skipton open market and hopefully heading up to Skipton Castle, which is a dog friendly attraction.

This past Friday the weather was gorgeous and I decided to take Daisy on a trip up the Keighley Worth Valley Railroad line from Ingrow to Oxenhope.  We would then travel back down the line to the other end, which happens to be at Keighley railway station (just in time to meet Hubby as he arrived in from work).   I scoured the KWVR website to make sure that Daisy would be allowed on the trains as she is on the “regular” (read=non-historic) trains and buses.  All in all, the UK is so much less high-strung about pets than the US, it’s a marvelous change.  She was indeed permitted on, and we walked the 5 minutes down to Ingrow West station.

The KWVR is a local commuter line that connects the villages of Oxenhope, Haworth, Damems, Oakworth, and Ingrow to the larger city of Keighley.  It operates a steam train an a diesel engine service several times a day, and is a draw for locals to leave their cars at home when traveling down to Keighley for shopping or business reasons.  From their website:   The steep gradient up the Worth Valley from the Keighley terminus has been a challenge for locomotives ever since the line opened on 15th April 1867. The sound of a steam engine tackling this climb echoes from the steep sides of the valley, while great clouds of steam and smoke add drama to the scene. Many of the woollen mills that once stood close to the line have been demolished, but a few remain as reminders that the textile industry was the reason why the line was built. Like the railway, the mills relied on coal, and the trains were able to bring hundreds of tons up the valley each week to keep the looms working by steam power. The five mile journey is a powerful reminder of our industrial heritage, as well as being a unique way of enjoying the beautiful countryside immortalised by Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë.

Some readers may remember the 1970 film, The Railway Children, parts of which were filmed at the stations along the KWVR line.  This year marks the 40th anniversary of the film, and there are celebrations planned for the first bank holiday weekend in May on the line.

The staff that I have encountered on my journeys with KWVR have been ever so friendly and helpful.  The train guard at Ingrow West told Daisy how lovely she was and that she needed to cover her ears because the train was quite loud when it arrived.  The conductor on board the train smiled as he stepped over and around her in order to pass through the carriages to sell tickets.  We didn’t get to see too much of Oxenhope before starting back down the line because I didn’t want to miss the train.  You see, unlike other “regular” train lines the KWVR is a single track line.  Train goes up, train comes back down.  Granted it isn’t far from Keighley to Oxenhope, but if you’re waiting on a steam engine to come back and fetch you it may have to fill back up with water at a station first…or, as happened to us, it may come off the rails as it goes to fill up, and you have to wait for the diesel engine to rescue you!  Again, I can’t say enough good things about the onboard and Oxenhope station staff (who are all volunteers, mind you) during that delay.  They kept us not only informed, but entertained.

Oxenhope station has an adorable tea room just off the platform that used to be a buffet car on the line.  There are shops at the larger stations (Haworth and Oxenhope) where you can get everything from railway memorabilia to ice cream.  The railway presents a chance to step back in time for a few hours and see what a working railway was like in the days of steam train travel, before everything was high speed with digital timetables hanging from the ceiling.  The timetables on the boards at the KWVR stations are written by hand, either on paper or chalkboards.

Daisy was a star throughout, and even the teenagers mocking her for her Old Navy T-shirt couldn’t bring our spirits down.  There is just something terribly romantic and timeless and, dare I say, British, about settling into one of the plush seats of a carriage and watching as the Yorkshire countryside rolls past outside your window, complete with the chugging of the engine and the slight sway of the train on the tracks.  This is definitely a must visit, whether with or without animals.

What would a UK blog be without a mention of football? (How many of you thought I was going to say cricket? Okay, put your hands down. Truth is I know less-than nothing about cricket and am likely to stay that way. Sorry.  Also, just for the one or two that are scratching their heads, I mean soccer, y’all.)  Truly, my co-author would probably be better at tackling this topic from a purely logistical perspective (he’s seen it live, I haven’t yet)…so I’m going to stick with how I see football as a cultural icon in the UK.

The season is slowly coming to a close, and the line-ups for next season’s leagues are starting to come into focus, as are the teams that will be competing for championship titles in their respective leagues (and across Europe, for that matter).  In this house, we support Newcastle United and are proud members of the Toon Army (well, one of us is anyway, and it’s really not me).  Personally, I love soccer/football.  I tried to play it when I was in middle school, but am sadly just NOT that athletic…or coordinated.  America is slowly but surely catching on to the worldwide obsession love of football, and while I have friends in the US that stay up to watch matches broadcast in real time, their obsession devotion to the sport pales in comparison to what I’ve seen here.

Just ask my co-author here at TOB, Dave, about his love for University of Alabama football.  Then take that emotion and quadruple it times infinity.

Since we‘re still in what I think of as one of two peak travel seasons for the British Isles, I thought I’d recommend something to do if you really want to see a part of the heart of Britain.  Go to a football match.  I have not been to a match yet, mainly due to the cost of travel to mecca St. James Park in Newcastle but also due to the cost of tickets.  Even with the Magpies (who currently look like lemon sherberts in their away kits, bless them, but I digress) down one from the Premier League, tickets are still not cheap.

One of the best sites to visit to catch up on which team is what and who is where is simply the BBC Sport page.  My husband is on that page multiple times a day during the season, and I’ve found it helpful when I need to know what he’s on about while we watch matches on tv.  In addition, you can find there links to the individual league tables (do click on that one, won’t you, and notice who’s at the top of the board? Sorry, Dave.) as well as all kinds of information for football around the world.  There’s probably even a story or two on Mr. Beckham, if you’re so inclined.

Football is a means to start a conversation in the UK.  It provides ideas, albeit not particularly feng shui-approved ideas, for decorating one’s house.  It makes or breaks friendships and even marriages.  It is something that unites and divides, and I’m sure that our readers who are familiar with British footie-types would agree with me that there is something about UK football that is unique.  Bill Bryson commented in Notes from a Small Island about a particular area of Britian producing lots of football players because that was the only way out of that town.

So how do you go about catching a match while you’re visiting?  I’m so glad you asked!  The Stadium Guide provides a comprehensive (if slightly dated) look at worldwide football, including a page that advises on buying tickets to matches in the UK and elsewhere.

Now, hit the pitch and experience a truly British cultural event…one of the best things about the United Kingdom!

Oh, and before I forget, Go Magpies! (Sorry again, Dave.)

I lived in the southeastern part of the United States before I moved, considerably closer to the Equator than I do now. The days were, it seemed, the same length as they’d been during standard time, they just started an hour earlier. Not so here in the UK. Just a little over a month ago the sun was rising around 7am and setting between 4pm and 5pm (that was late! In December the sun was already mostly gone by 3:30pm!). If you do the math, you’ll see that those hours don’t leave much in the way of daylight. So the return of Daylight Savings Time (aka British Summer Time or BST) is welcomed here as are the longer days.

But as seems to be the case here, you have to be careful what you ask for…it hasn’t happened yet but by the height of summer, the sun is up around 4am and sets sometime after 9pm. Talk about long days! The benefit, though, is that if you’re able to travel in the UK during BST, you’ve got oodles of time to explore the countryside that you wouldn’t have in the winter. There are festivals and markets to discover, hills and dales to explore, and a few extra hours in every day to do all of it.

Watch for my next post on spring festivals around Yorkshire and the north of England. Hooray for BST!!