England

Northwest England

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Chester City Wall Lake Windermere Ullswater

Still Wednesday, June 14, 1995

We arrive in Chester shortly after 1:00. Keith has arranged for a tour at 2:00, so we have about 45 minutes to get something to eat. However, I need to cash a traveller's check first so I actually have some money to pay for lunch. I try several places, and am finally directed to the American Express office, where I have no trouble cashing the check. Then I can't find anyplace to eat, which is odd in an area full of shops. I do find a bookstore, however, so I spend some time there. Too much time as it turns out, because I have just enough time to find the tourist center before the tour starts. They do have a small restaurant in the building, but the line was fairly long and not moving at all. I suppose I'll live.

Our guide does seem to know his stuff, which is an important feature in a guide. He says we're only going to cover the high points of the city's history, but I think he still manages to be quite comprehensive. For a walking tour, we certainly seem to spend quite a bit of time standing around. And when we're (finally) standing around on the wall, we're always in a large group, so no one else can get by. I stay at the edge of the group and try not to look too embarrassed. I see a girl sitting all by herself on a bench by the river Dee. Later, she walks past us on the wall. I totally fail to make any effort to contact her. I really have to do something about that.

Then we're set loose on the city. I do my best to explore the "rows," the shops on the main street which are on two levels. In so doing, I manage to find most of the bookstores, and 3 more books that I want to buy. Lucky thing, since I'm nearly done with the next-to-last book. Of course, this blows 15 of the 20 pounds that I just changed. Ah well, for now, there's plenty where that came from. Let's just hope that this is still the case in two weeks. Again, alot of kids hanging out in this town. Probably school kids spending some time in England for the summer or something. There's also an interesting smell at the ends of the upper levels of some of the rows. Perhaps they're being used for something other than walking. I guess some people can't afford the 5p.

By 5:00, I've had about enough walking and shopping. I decide it's time to find out if I can figure out where the hotel is. Keith says it's just up the road, and to keep on the right. We drove around it a couple of times on the way in, so I think I know the neighborhood. So I start walking. I come to one of the omnipresent roundabouts, and discover it has a tunnel system underneath it for pedestrians. They call it a "subway." OK, whatever. I descend, and look at the various signs above the exits. I recognize the street name of the hotel on one of them, and take that exit out. When I get back to the surface, I'm a bit confused. I just hope I'm on the right street. Just as I begin to believe that I'm going the wrong way, I go around a corner and spot the hotel. That's a terribly good feeling. Quite a nice hotel, except the TV doesn't have a remote. This is about the third hotel in a row now without that handy little item. My right hand is starting to feel like it's missing a vital piece. Of course, there's nothing on right now, but I keep switching around until it's time for supper.

Two of the women in our group are a little late for supper because they stayed in town to attend an Evensong in the Chester Cathedral. The boys choir is featured in the evening, and from the description we are given, the concert was quite good. We had stopped in the Cathedral on the walking tour, and it was quite impressive. They are doing some restoration work, so there were construction guys all over the place, but it was still pretty awe-inspiring. Particularly the woodwork in the choir section. Of course, it wasn't bright enough to take a good picture, so I had to settle for a postcard. The ladies tell us about their experience over a dinner of stir-fried vegetables and rice. It's not exactly Chinese, but it's not bad. Keith tells us that the walk this evening will be all the way around the city walls, and we all decide that we want to go. The Winzenreids take off early on their own, and I eventually decide to follow their example because the group is moving too slowly for me.

Walking all the way around a city wall is a pretty unique experience. Of course this city has grown quite a bit since the wall was built, so now it's sort of in the middle of the town, but it's still fun. It appears that a nice walk around the city wall is one of the preferred methods of exercise in this city, although only by a few, it seems. I see a cricket match in progress in one of the parks. I guess they got the side out, because everyone breaks and goes into the building for a bit. Then I get to the river where I see a bunch of people, mainly kids, out in kayaks. There's a small dam in this point of the river, and it looks like the kayakers have gone down the widely-stepped salmon ladder, and now they're trying to work their way back up. It's not much of a drop, and the 4 or 5 steps are quite a ways apart, but they're not making much progress. The river looks pretty swift in that area. I watch for a bit, then continue on. I meet the Winzenreids outside a horse racing track. There are a bunch of kids, probably touring European college students, playing baseball on the track's infield. At least I think it's supposed to be baseball. They're batting between Home Plate and 1st base (they're using pieces of their luggage for the bases), and their batting stance looks more like cricket than regular baseball, but they look like they're having fun. Just before I got to the track, I discovered that part of the wall was missing. There's a section where you have walk on the sidewalk at street level for a bit. I thought I had gotten lost for a couple of minutes, but eventually the wall started again. So I warn the Winzenreids about this. I forget to warn them about the place where you have to cross the busy street, but they'll probably push the crosswalk signal button. I can never bring myself to do that because I always hate stopping for a crosswalk signal when I'm driving, so I can never do it to other drivers. I figure I can always wait for a break in the traffic.

The walk around the wall is shorter than I thought. I'm back at the hotel in a little more than 45 minutes. Not bad. As an added bonus, Black Adder Goes Forth is on tonight, and I get to see all the parts that the Arts & Entertainment network cut out when they showed it in the U.S. Andrew and I then watch a Quantum Leap episode, then wonder of wonders, David Letterman comes on. I'm overjoyed. I haven't seen Dave since I left, and have really missed his show. Andrew is underwhelmed. I guess he just doesn't appreciate the subtleties of American humor. I only make him suffer until Dave reads the Top Ten List. By then it's after midnight, and we have to ride all the way to Glasgow tomorrow. Time to get some sleep.

Thursday, June 15, 1995

Today is the day of The Big Drive. We're going what appears to be halfway across the country to Glasgow. So it's up, get showered, watch The Big Breakfast, eat the usual breakfast of Rice Krispies with eggs of some sort and toast with marmalade, then get on the bus. We'll be driving through the Lake District, so it should be pretty scenic, at least.

Our first stop, after a couple of hours of driving that takes us around Liverpool, is Lake Windermere. This is a nice looking lake. Very nice. If we had more than 45 minutes, I might be tempted to take out one of the rowboats that you can rent. They also rent motorboats, and have several scenic cruising ships doing tours on the lake. Busy place. Keith has informed us that we really need to try the Kendal Mint Cake, a local speciality. Since I find it hard to resist anything that involves mint, I pick up a bar at one of the local gift shops. The wrapper says it's an energy bar, "delicious and sustaining." It also says that the only ingredients are sugar, glucose syrup, salt, and oil of peppermint. And when I open it up, that 's what it looks like -- melted-down sugar formed into a bar. And that's what it tastes like -- peppermint flavored melted-down sugar. Not bad, but definitely best taken in small doses.

We keep driving through this amazing countryside up to the town (and lake) of Ullswater, and stop there for lunch. Most of us grab a sandwich or pastie from a local shop and eat on a stone wall by the stream. Very nice and idyllic. We even have time to wander down by the lake and around the town. The view is really quite spectacular, and it's not nearly as crowded as Lake Windermere. Most of us wouldn't mind staying here for awhile, but if you're trying to see everything in Britain in just over 2 weeks, you must press on.