The travels of Tim and Megan: Great Britain Tour

Day 1 - Nottingham and Lincoln, England

On Wednesday 13 July, we ventured out to north-west London where we picked up our Spaceship rental car. We got a thorough demonstration of all of its gadgets and we were soon on way, Megan piloting and Tim navigating, as we drove north to Nottingham.

We arrived in Nottingham, the home of Robin Hood, parked the spaceship in the city centre and wandered through the pretty streets, reading the regularly-spaced information posts about tales of Robin Hood and his merry men. We also found a rather impressive statue of Robin Hood! As it was lunchtime, we made our way to the oldest pub in England - Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem - which was established in 1189. We had a delicious pub lunch and a pint of the "Old Trip" ale, which was very tasty.

After lunch, we walked up the hill to where Nottingham Castle used to stand (it was destroyed and has been replaced with a lovely garden and a museum) and then we walked through the city centre and sat in the town square watching the people of Nottingham go about their business.

Later in the afternoon, we were on the road again, driving the short distance north-east to Lincoln. Lincoln has an interesting history - the Romans founded the first fortress there in 50AD. By the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066, Lincoln was one of the most important cities in England, after London, Winchester and York. Lincoln has retained much of its historic character. Many medieval buildings have survived, making a charming pedestrianised town centre. We had a lovely leisurely walk through the town centre and wandered through the magnificent Lincoln Cathedral. Behind Lincoln Cathedral is a statue of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the Lincolnshire-born poet, who just so happens to be one of Megan's favourite poets!

As it began to get darker, we drove around Lincoln looking for a supermarket to buy some supplies, but alas, there was none to be found! So we had fish n chips for dinner, which turned out to be an inspired move, as they were awesome! Then we had a drink and played some cards at a quiet little local pub, called the Tennyson. That night we drove the spaceship back to the town centre and parked up outside the Lincoln Cathedral for the night. We watched the first half of a DVD that we picked up at the spaceship office - an advantage of the spaceship is an on board TV/DVD player! Excellent.

Day 2 - York, England

We woke fairly early to the chimes of the church bells. Just as Tim climbed out of the spaceship looking half asleep, a traffic warden was passing by and said in a rather 'school teacher telling you off kind of voice', "Good morning Sir". Tim said "Good morning" and explained that we were just about on our way, but he laughed and said we could take our time. Phew.

We left the supermarket-less Lincoln pretty early and drove north towards York. On the way we stopped off at a Services bay (these are everywhere in England and they are brilliant) and freshened up in the toilets and grabbed some breakfast. Thursday was a bright, warm and sunny day with a glorious blue sky - not always the case for a British summer!

We arrived in York around 11am and parked in the city centre, ready to explore. The city of York has retained so much of its medieval structure that walking into its centre is like entering a living museum. The appeal of York is its many layers of history. A medieval city, constructed on top of a Roman one, it was first built in 71AD. It was here that Constantine the Great was made emperor in 306 and reorganised Britain into four provinces. A hundred years later the Roman army had withdrawn. The city was renamed under the Saxons and then became a Christian stronghold. The Danish street names are a reminder that it was a Viking centre from 867 and was one of Europe's chief trading bases. The glory of York is its minster - the massive church in the centre of the old city. The city also boasts three mile-long medieval city walls and plenty of elegant Jacobean and Georgian architecture.

Our first stop was at Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate, York's tiniest street with the longest name. It dates from Saxon times and means "neither one thing nor the other". From here we checked out some of the lovely shops on the cobbled streets as we headed for York Minster. Sadly, the entry fee for York Minster was £9 each - as travellers on a budget, we decided to flag that and enjoy it from the outside! York Minster is the largest Gothic cathedral north of the Alps - it is 158m long and 76m wide across the transepts. The first minster began as a wooden chapel in 627. The present minster was begun in 1220 and was completed 250 years later.

We grabbed a Boots lunch deal (sandwich, snack and drink for £3.29 - get in) for lunch and ate it sitting in the sun on a lawn outside one of the many college buildings in York. After lunch we picked up some supplies at a supermarket (thank you York for having supermarkets) for that night's dinner and then we walked around the old medieval city walls - a great way to view the historic city centre and to learn about its history. In the late afternoon, we drove slightly out of York to a campsite and set up for the night. We tested out the gas cooker in the spaceship and managed to create an amazing dinner of mince, tomatoes, mixed green veges and rice. It was a beautiful evening, so we could sit in the sun on the grass next to the spaceship and dine al fresco!

Day 3 - Fountains Abbey and Durham, England

The birds woke us very early on Friday - but that was OK, because it was another cracking day. We made use of the excellent bathroom facilities at the campsite and then we were on our way, heading north-west to Fountains Abbey.

Nestled in the wooded valley of the River Skell are the extensive ruins of Fountains Abbey and the outstanding water garden of Studley Royal. Fountains Abbey was founded by Benedictine monks in 1132 and taken over by Cistercians three years later. By the mid-12th century it was the wealthiest abbey in England, though it fell into ruin during the Dissolution. We begun our 2.5 hour walk through the massive area at St Mary's Church, a Victorian Gothic church built in 1871-1878. We were given a guided tour of the church, which was very interesting. Then we walked across Deer Park (although we saw no deer) and walked around the lake and the moon pond, decorated with wonderful statues and beautiful gardens.

Up a steep hill is Anne Boleyn's Seat, which provides a stunning view down to the abbey ruins. We concluded our tour by checking out the abbey up close. It was so nice to be in the countryside, surrounded by the woods, on such a lovely morning. After all that walking we had worked up an appetite, so we drove on to Durham, where we fed our bellies.

The city of Durham was built on Island Hill in 995. The rocky peninsula was chosen as the resting place for the remains of St Cuthbert, a very important figure in this region, a revered monk and miracle worker. Durham Cathedral dominates the hilly peninsula in the centre of the city. It was built from 1093 to 1274 and it shares the hilltop with Durham Castle, begun in 1072. The relics of St Bede were also brought to the Cathedral, adding to its attraction for pilgrims.

Durham Castle was closed for renovations, so after our lunch in the town square, we visited Durham Cathedral. We both really enjoyed it, as it was filled with very modern art and sculptures, which made for a nice change. Tim particularly enjoyed seeing the tomb of St Bede (having studied at St Bede's College in Christchurch). We even grabbed a sneaky photo (below).

After our cathedral visit we went for a long walk around the outskirts of the town centre - Durham is very pretty with lots of greenery and a lovely river running through the middle of the city, beneath the towering cathedral and castle. We went back to the town square where there was a very colourful and entertaining band playing, so we watched them for a while and then picked up the spaceship and drove north to a little town on the outskirts of Durham called Chester-le-Street, where we found a great pub. We parked there for the night (free camping) and had dinner and drinks in the pub. It was a really fun night.