.JPG)
Britain Part 2
clock tower
After lunch, it was a long 21/2 hours drive to the Lake District, with a photo stop at the largest lake, Lake Windermere.
Proceeded to Grasmere, a popular village in the centre of Lake District, where we bought some Sarah Nelson gingerbread.
Finally reached the Lakes Court Hotel, Carlise at 4.45pm. Carlise is a border town between England and Scotland. Nothing very interesting in this sleepy town and we had an early night's rest.
Day 4- Our first stop was at Gredna Green. Reached Edinburgh at 11.40 am. We love this city, with its stunning mix of Old and New Town and captivating view of the Edinburgh castle.
The castle, an ancient fortress, dominates the city skyline and sits atop the remnants of an extinct volcano.
entrance to Edinburgh castle
We were also touched by the heartwarming story of 'Greyfriars Bobby', Edinburgh's famous Skye Terrier, who kept vigil for 14 years at his master's grave until his own death.
Edinburgh is a charming city and is definitely worth a return visit. Arrived at our hotel, Forth Bridges Hotel at 5.30 pm. Another boring town with nothing much to see and wished we had stayed the night in Edinburgh instead.
Day 5- Left the hotel at 8.00 am for a 11/2 hours drive to Jedburg, which is the last border town of Scotland. Photo stop at the Jedburg Abbey.
Another photo stop at Hadrian's Wall, a stone fortification built in 112 AD by the Roman Empire.
Another 11/2 hours drive before we reached York, a historic walled city in Northern England.
We were taken for a half hour guided walking tour of the city and then left to explore on our own for 2 hours. The York Minster, one of the main attractions in the city, is the largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe.
York Minster
Our last stop for the day was Sheffield, where we stayed at the Rutland Sheffield Hotel.
Day 6 - the last day of our tour. Our first stop was at Stamford. Proclaimed as the 'finest stone town' in England, the town is surrounded by spires and towers of its many churches in every corner.
We arrived at our next destination, the university town of Cambridge at 11.45 am. Went on a walking tour of King's College, Trinity College, Clare College and the mathematical bridge at Queen's College. There are 31 colleges in Cambridge, each run as an independent instituition. Wished we could have stayed longer than the 2 hours in this interesting historical town.
mathematical bridge
Clare College
Trinity College
King's College
We arrived back in London at 4.10 pm and dropped off at the Thistle Euston, our accomodation for the night. After checking-in to our hotel, we walked for almost an hour to find the highly recommended fish and chips joint, Fryer's Delight at Theobald Road. It was an inexpensive diner, 6.95 pounds for two servings of fish and loads of chunky fries.
That concludes our Cosmos tour. On hindsight, we should have opted for the first class Globus tour. Since we were on a tight budget then, we thought we could do away with the five star hotels and fancy dinners with wine on Globus. But now we realize that the difference between the two tours is that the first class tours like Globus and Trafalgar stay at centrally located hotels, which gives you an option to explore the city at night (think Rome or Venice or Edinburgh). With the cost saving Cosmos tour, we stayed in hotels away from the city centre, with little night life or shops. Will definitely choose the first class tours on our next trip to Europe, when we have saved enought $$$$.
