Holidaying this year was going to be different as we have Harry.  Never of us really felt like going anyway for any length of time and therefore we decided on a couple of days away, whilst Harry stayed with Grandparents.  However we did decide to splash out a little seen as this would be the only holiday we would get this year, so we decided on the Scotsman Hotel in Edinburgh.

Our trip started out a few months ago when we have to make the decision of how to travel to Edinburgh.  Having done some digging around on the Internet my wife found a pretty good train deal there and back which would be far cheaper than the car.  We therefore option for that since the hotel was in the centre of the city and all the attractions etc. that we wanted to visit were in walking distance.

We set off for the station at around 0700 in order to miss the traffic and arrived in plenty of time for the train.  So much so in fact that we had around an hours wait on the platform at Preston station for our Trans Pennine Express to Edinburgh.  The train was bang on time and the journey was great.  In fact so much so that I managed to code an entire website on the way there, a testament to how coll WordPress actually is.

We arrived at around 1130 in the morning.  Our room was supposed to be ready at 1400 and therefore we had a few hours to kill.  However we had rang previously to check whether the hotel could hold our backage until checkout which they could.  Therefore we made the small walk across the road from the station to the hotel.  After climbing a rather long set of stairs to get to the reception we were greeted by a concierge who kindly took our bags and sat us down for checkin, where we were surprised to hear that our room was ready and that we could go straight up.  It was clear that this was a a ‘posh’ hotel, as ‘Richard’ took us up to our room and explained in every detail about all the luxury services that were offered, including the ‘privacy hatch’ to the room with complementary shoe cleaning services.  There was also a mini bar (which we never touched!) stacked to the hilt with alsorts of niceties including a half bottle of champagne at £26 and a packet of Polo’s at £1.

Once we had got settled we then left for the dungeons.  Earlier in the year we have been to the York dungeons and thoroughly enjoyed the experience and therefore we decided to take a trip to the Edinburgh version.  Having used a Tesco voucher in order to get in half price, we were feeling rather smug and then the experience began.  Now don’t get me wrong there were parts that were quite scary but I think there is something about the fact that you are ready for it that really makes it not all that bad.  The overall visit however was well worth it and not only did we enjoy the rides in there, such as the vertical free-fall but also we learnt a lot about what happened in Edinburgh ‘in the older days’!

Then it was back to the room for a brew and then off the the Spa in the hotel.  The Spa was wonderful and relaxing.  A lovely long swimming pool with Jacuzzi and Steam room as well as a full gym if you wanted.

In the evening we ventured out for some tea and found a pizza express not a million miles away from the hotel.  We both enjoyed a La Reine and Sloppy Guiseppi Pizza with a bottle of red and a Banoffee pudding and that was the end of day one.

Having had a long lie in in the morning we finally set off for Edinburgh castle on the morning of day 2 at around 1045.  Arriving at the castle we joined the queue for tickets.  45 – 50 minutes later we had bought our tickets (a reasonable £13 each we thought) and headed off into the castle for a look around.  There is loads to see in the grounds of the castle making it a worthy visit.  There are also some tremendous views of Edinburgh and beyong and I managed to capture some photographs.

We spent the afternoon wandering around Edinburgh and swimming in the hotel Spa before heading out for tea at Bella Italia.  After a nice meal and a wander up the Royal Mile we headed for bed.

The train journey home the following day was as good as the initial jouney there – on time, comfotrable and about right for the money.  It was great to see Harry again when we returned home after a lovely break to recharge our batteries.

Yesterday we made the long journey south to the beautiful county of Devon in the south of England.  In many ways it is like going back in time as [apparently] Devon is about ten years behind everyone else!  We went to visit some friends and have a general relax.

The journey down was a long one (280 miles to be precise) but we made it in good time at a fraction short of 4 hours.  This was the only time that I have been down south were I have not hit terrible traffic.  Actually the journey was trouble free and we went past the sights on that place were all the cars are stored in the UK (off the M5) and other sites of interest on the way down such as Cheddar gorge.  We arrived in the lovely small town of Westward Ho! at about 1015 at night, ready for a brew!.  Westward Ho! is the only place in the UK that has an exclamation mark in the title.

So today we decided to venture out and take a look at Devon itself.  We started by driving to the small town of Bideford, where we went into the Atlantic Shopping Park.  This was a small centre with some shops, mainly outdoor shops and the odd one that is familiar to us all.  It was here that I purchased a wonderful, yet practical outdoor jacket with an added twist, which I will write about in my next post.

We wandered around the town taking a look at all the little shops and that and even made a few purchases.  In fact by this point I had already spent around £140 which was becoming an expensive shopping session for me. We also got the chance to see the sea and the river estuary were Bideford lies, including all the boats and fishing vessels that are parked on the towns quayside.

It must have been around 1300 when we all felt our tummies rumbling and therefore headed for the nearest coffee shop to be watered and fed.  Omlette and chips did the job for me with a cup of tea (for some reason, as I don’t normally fancy tea) to wash it all down with.  The we nipped back to a shop tp purchase some wall stickers in order to decorate Harry’s room before leaving for the beach.

It was windy at the beach but suprisingly warm actually.  The beach was beautiful, even in the murky depths of the November autumn and there were a number of surfers trying their luck on the somewhat small waves.  In fact surfer, canoeist general swimmer it didn’t matter they were out to try it.  I have to say that it looked absolutely freezing, but our knowledgeable hosts for the weekend informed us that actually this is the warmest time of the year for going in the see.  There was the countries oldest links course on the sea front (Royal North Devon Golf Club) where the golfers play alongside the sheep!

After seeing the beach, my pregnant wife simply needed a site down and so we retired to our accommodation for the rest of the evening.  Tomorrow we have the long journey home, which I am not looking forward to but [Westward] hey ho!

Being down in Bracknell this weekend we decided on Saturday afternoon, after watching the mens 100m Olympic final to go for a wander around the local park.  The local park being Lily Hill.

Bracknell having the real name of Bracknell Forest there are forests everywhere in and around the town.  Just to the rear of were we stayed there was a lovely local park, full of trees and allsorts of wildlfe and vegetation.  During our gentle stroll round the park I took some photographs of the various trees etc.

A rather lovely place to spend an hour on a Saturday afternoon

So out last day in and around the city of York and the final place that we decided to visit was the Yorkshire Air Museum which is a memorial to the allied air forces over the years.

Again another attraction at really good value for money at just £5 per adult we really enjoyed the different exhibitions that are on offer.  There are lots of plans to look at and it really does give you an excellent sense of what it was like to fly these magnificant machines over the years.  There is even an game were you can test your skills at being an airplane gunner, with some (computerised) target practice.  I managed to achieve the status of Second Class Gunner, which I thought was rather good.

So that is that, our short break in and around the historical city of York over with.  It has been a great 3 days and a city that is well worth a visit if you are ever in the area.  I thought I would end these York posts with a gallery of all the photographs that I took over the 3 days.

Today we decided that we would hit York city centre and see some of the typical tourist attractions that people go to York for.  First on the list was the Jorvik viking centre followed by the Castle and the museum.

We managed to arrived at around 1000 and there was already a queue at the Viking centre, which was expected however it was quickly moving and we were in the centre before we knew it.  Now some of these things are very expensive however we were thoroughly impressed as this was only £8.50 for an adult.  The tour starts with a time journey through time in the time capsule, which takes you back to the year 866AD when the Vikings claimed York.  This ‘Time Capsule’ wobbles and moves so you feel like you are moving (perhaps not through time but still it feels like your moving).  Then there is a monorail trip through the city of Jorvik (York) in the year 866AD.  This is really good and there is commentary in whatever language you want (within reason).  This part is very well done with 6 people to each coach around the mono-rail.  Then after that the centre is yours to wander around and see all the exhibitions which range from the life of the vikings and what they ate and drink to what they found when the dig took places in the 80s in York, excavating the remains of the Vikings in York.  Well worth a viist.

We then wandered to the other side of the city and found Cliffords tower.  The  picture is me at the top of the tower, which you can see top right of the photo.  When you get to the top you can see all of York and you appreciate what a good vantage point that must have been for the residents of the castle, waiting for their invaders to come over the lands nearby.

Opposite Cliffords Tower is the castle Museum which gives you a glimpse of life through the years in York.  There are some really interesting displays of houses and life through the 20th century and you find yourself thing “I remember those from” and “such and body used to have them in their front room”.  Very amusing and it makes you appreciate just how far technology and quality of life has come in the last 60 years or so.  Also seeing behind the desk in the old school made a change from the day job.

After this is was rest and relaxation back at the hotel before heading out for a meal at Pizza Hit in York.  Again very nice and a nice end to a lovely day.  Tomorrow it will be the air museum and then off home.

Today we made the journey to York which was getting on for 100 miles. We decided to take a city tour for our holiday this year. With baby on the way we didn’t want to go further a field. Apart from parking in the city the journey as been well worth it.

We decided to take the more scenic route to the city taking the A59 route through Skipton and Harrogate. Well we though that we would be going through Harrogate but as we approached the road was closed and we ended up going through Ilkley and Otley were we hit traffic. It seems everywhere we go we get hit with traffic.

Anyway we arrived at the hotel at around 1530, and after a quick refresh we drove into York, Now York is a popular tourist attraction with lots of things to see and do. You would have thought (well we would have thought to) that there would be later night parking. We wanted to go into the centre and park and then perhaps have a look round, do a little shopping and then go for something to eat. Therefore we knew that we needed to be able to park until around 1930. However ever car park that we found closed at 1830 or 1900 which was not good. We eventually settled at parking on a retail park and took a risk with the 3 hour limit. The risk paid off.

So finally we are in York and we headed for the York Dungeons. We really enjoyed it. You walk through the dungeons and at regular intervals there are actors that are acting out what would have happened. You go round in small groups of around 7 – 8 people and the actors really do feel that they there just for you. They are very good and really make the scenario feel good. It is not just what you see and hear and the sounds and surprises it is also the smell that somehow they have managed to recreate. All in all a good experience and worth the £25 for 2 adults.

We then had some tea and found a Franky and Benny’s near the car. Me, I had a nice thick steak with fries, onion rings, tomatoes and mushrooms, while Helen opted for a rather nice looking Lasagne.

So tomorrow I think it is going to be looking around the centre at the site and sounds and visiting the Jorvik Viking centre and the air museum. We may even squeeze in a visit to the National Railway Museum too. Only time with tell.

Bank Holiday Monday and so I decided to go off and visit somewhere today, and the place of choice was Cleveley’s near Blackpool. It was chosen as there is currently a shipwreck there and so we thought that it would be something to go and take a look at.

The journey started off perfectly OK heading down the M55 towards Blackpool. Once we turned off at Kirkham however the very reason why I never want to go anywhere on a bank holiday kicked in. The traffic. We were then queued practically all the way to Cleveley’s which was very frustrating. With the weather set fair and surprisingly warm it was then time to find a parking space. Eventually we decided on parking a little out of the centre for a less stressful time and parked on Lidol car park.

We then had a short stroll to the front where upon we we greeted with the site of the wrecked, beached boat called the Riverdance. It had been on the news a lot and therefore we thought that it would be worth seeing for ourselves. It really doesn’t look out of place at all there. They are talking about breaking it up into pieces in order to get rid of it but I think that they should just leave it there. It isn’t doing anyone any harm and it had become a great tourist attraction. After all we went there today to see it!.

We then took a nice stroll up the rather nice promenade that Cleveley’s now has. On the walk we noticed out in the sea a beautiful site. No it was not some rare wildlife but rather lots and lots of wind turbines, blowing around and creating lots of green electricity. Good to see.

The drive home was somewhat easier than going and we had a thoroughly lovely afternoon out. Well worth a visit if you are thinking about it.