London, Manchester and afield

We arrived in London at 6 p.m. local time at St. Pancras International (via Eurostar from Brussels) and made our way through the station. I wanted to pick up our train tickets that I'd booked for our return to Manchester on Sunday so we had to find the ticket machines in the station. St. Pancras is actually quite large and connects to King's Cross as well.

We got confused and a bit turned around but eventually found where we needed to be. I even successfully navigated the machine but we still had to go through a queue anyway when we wanted to top up our Oyster transport cards. Oh well. Then we got mixed up trying to find the right exit to get to Euston Road for the busses. We walked a block or so to a stop by the British Library. According to my bus map, I needed the 30. One left just as we got there and we probably waited about 10 minutes for another but we were tired and it felt like longer. We discovered later that there were several other numbers that would have got us to the same stop before they veered off in another direction.

We managed to get off at the right stop and thanks to Google Street View, i knew pretty much where to go from there. I booked a room at the Hilton London Islington through Londontown.com because i'd got an astonishing deal. I don't know if it's because the Hilton is beside a business center and is not that busy on the weekends or if i just got lucky but we got a really nice room with queen size bed, full buffet breakfast for a total of 65 pounds a night for the Friday and Saturday nights!!! I was really knackered by the time we got to the hotel though. Frustrated and sore footed and tired. But man, you can tell when you're in a good hotel! The check in service was great!

The room was large, the bathroom was too and it had a tub and shower. We got our stuff unpacked a bit and i took off my jeans and crawled into bed for a rest. In fact, i was so comfortable and felt so relaxed that i decided right then and there i wasn't getting up again. I told Graham if he wanted to eat, we were ordering room service because my feet wouldn't carry me any further, even just out to the road (Upper Street) to find a pub! Yes, room service is a bit pricey but pretty much the same as we'd been paying in Euros all week anyway and the pound is nearly par with the euro these days.

So, it was a burger for him and a club sandwich for me. I couldn't get through to Room Service using the designated button on the phone so i called reception who took my order and then RS called right back to confirm. Again, top service! I made a few calls and texts to friends to sort out arrangements for tomorrow and i think i'm getting a cold, too. Probably wore myself out!

The next day, it was pretty clear I definitely have a cold. Errrgh. It's not too bad yet, though so let's hope it doesn't worsen. At least I won't have to drag myself around too much while feeling like crap. I don't actually feel too bad, just have a stuffy nose so far and a bit of a cough which probably will get worse. I have drugs and i have a puffer. I am armed and ready to go!

Up for the buffet breakfast which is always excellent at the Hilton hotels. We topped up our phones and found a bank machine before we headed to the British Library. I had already bought us tickets for the Henry VIII exhibit there which was set up by Dr. David Starkey, an expert on the Tudors. It's timed entry and i'd got the tickets for 10 a.m.. The exhibit was really marvellous! All those documents, (love) letters and papers with Henry's handwriting! Interactive displays and hologram Henrys. It was top notch! The audio accompaniment was narrated by Starkey himself. I didn't buy the beautiful guide that went with the exhibit because it was big and heavy but i may order it online and have it sent either to Graham and he could bring it over. I do want it though.

We didn't think to see if there was anything else in the library we could see (there is! there's a free exhibit of all their treasures!) After a cuppa in their cafe, we walked down Euston Road to the bus station at Euston train station and figured out where to get a bus to Baker Street.

Weather is improving. Sunny but not hot but it's warm and there's a breeze. This afternoon we are meeting some friends and some friends of theirs for a picnic in Regent's Park! I haven't been to a picnic in years! We walked down Baker Street to find a Tesco where we could get some sandwiches and drinks. We had a coffee in a Costa and then walked over to the tube station where we met up with Glenda and Baz and made our way into the lovely green Regent's Park.

I'd not been in there before and I think it's much larger than Hyde Park. We didn't know exactly where everyone would be so we walked a little way along a duck pond/stream where there were lots of majestic herons along the shores. Called the picnic organizer and changed direction. A little further on and there they were under a tree. The rest of the afternoon was spent talking, eating and drinking in the sun. Later, once it was getting chilly, we decamped to a pub just outside the park and had a bite to eat.

Now here's where it all goes astray again. See, earlier i had written something down with the date and it struck me. The date tomorrow is the 10th. Except the train tickets i'd got for our return journey to Manchester... *checks* yep, they say the 11th. Uh oh! We need tickets for the 10th. I had booked them online awhile back and obviously did it for the wrong date. And they were really cheap tickets too! On the way back to the hotel from the pub, we stopped into Euston station to see what we could do about them. Didn't think it likely we could change them and that was the correct assumption. Only could have if there had been any cheap seats available which there weren't. The cheapest available were 42 pounds each. *gulp* No choice really. But then... the nice man, he say they are first class unsold tickets! Sold now! The cheapest regular class tickets were 60+ pounds each! That's sorted. A nice comfy journey back in first class for tomorrow. It's really the only unexpected expense we had this trip so that's really not so bad.

Our budget doesn't normally run to Hilton prices, especially in London where the most basic room can run 95 pounds a night. The exchange rate to the Canadian dollar is pretty good these days, so that helps. What really sold me, though, was the deal I got through Londontown.com. For a May weekend (Friday/Saturday) we got the hotel, with all taxes in for 65 pounds a night including full buffet breakfast!!!! Result! We arrived around 7 on the Friday night, and the checkin was quick and helpful and very friendly. Our room had a queen sized bed and a good sized en suite bathroom. There was a lounge chair in the corner, a flat screen telly and a large desk with data jacks and things though we didn't use them. Coffee/tea tray of course. The decor was modern, blacks, beiges, browns and golds. The bed was pretty comfy and the pillows superb.

The Hilton buffet breakfast was very good. We also ordered room service on the night we arrived. Had trouble getting through to them using the designated button on the phone but i called reception and they took the order themselves. Room service then called right back and confirmed the order and it arrived in good time.

The hotel is on Upper Street next to the Business Design Centre. I expect it's busy through the week with business travelers and that might be why we got a good deal on the weekend. I wouldn't expect that all the time though, i think we just got lucky.

We arrived on the Eurostar at St. Pancras. The hotel is a bit far to walk but not a long taxi ride. We took the bus, numbers 30, 73 are two common ones. Once on Upper Street, watch for the Angel underground stop which is pretty much right there on the right once the bus turns left onto Upper St., and ring the bell. The stop isn't far from the station. Walk north about a half a block and there will be a big courtyard with the design centre and hotel on the left. There are ramps up to the door of the hotel or stairs. There are lots of restaurants on Upper Street for food and the bus and the tube are very close by. It's actually a nice area, bustling but not as frantic as areas closer to the centre. Most Hilton basic room prices aren't too bad even without the deal we got, and the full breakfast is worth it, too.

When I heard that the British Library would be hosting a special exhibition on Henry VIII, curated by expert Dr. David Starkey, I knew I could absolutely not miss it! I pre-booked tickets online and we went the morning after we arrived in London from Brussels. The exhibit was really marvellous! There were 500 year old documents, books with stunning illuminations, paintings, drawings and a few artifacts. There were also some interactive displays and apparently some sort of holograms of Henry that I completely failed to see, though Graham did.

The audio accompaniment was narrated by Starkey himself. It was really amazing to see all these papers and letters that survived so long, some in King Henry's own handwriting. Seeing the documents that sent Anne Boleyn to her death or the divorce decree from Katherine of Aragon, things like that, just makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up when you think of how things changed because of it.

The British Library is housed in a newish building, moved from the British Museum. It's next to St. Pancras and King's Cross train stations in the north part of central London, also a short distance from Euston station.

The British Library also has a permanent exhibit of their "treasures", rare books and papers, original documents and books, such as Captain Cook's diaries, a copy of the Magna Carta, the sheet music for Handel's Messiah, etc. This exhibit is free.

They usually do have several temporary exhibits like this in the library, some larger than others and some you might need to prebook, some you can buy tickets at the door. They have a cafe and they have the lovely reading room.

The website has an online shop and galleries and information about all the exhibits.

I couldn't face dragging everything on the bus to the train station so we booked a cab which cost a lot more than I think it should have but sod it! The first class train seats are very comfy and there was free tea and coffee and bikkies.

When we got back to Salford and Graham's flat, we stopped in to see his dad for a bit. Later i got my photos uploaded to the computer and am fairly happy with them. We had something to eat and relaxed. I called home for Mother's Day and then set up a meet-up with the Manchester gang for Tuesday.

Monday has Sunshine! Blue Sky! I rarely see that in Manchester/Salford! The breeze is a bit chilly but so what? We got the bus in town and walked to the car rental place on Oldham Road. We have wheels for the rest of the week which will be nice.

Today's excursion is to Lyme Hall on the edge of Stockport out in Cheshire. (See review in this journal). Graham knows i like to poke around old houses and manors and look at the antiques, soaking up the history and he'd suggested this one. Good choice! It was a bit of a drive through Stockport and out the other side but it wasn't far from there. You pay for parking at the entrance then drive down the road to the car park and hall. There is even a little shuttle van that will ferry you up a hill from the car park to the front entrance of the hall if you want.

We ended up having lunch in the cellar cafe first which was quite good and then went through the house. They have people standing in each room that you can talk to and we found out some interesting things about some of the rooms. Unfortunately you can't take photos in the house. I hate when they do that! We passed a very pleasant few hours both in the house and walking in the gardens out in the sunshine.

On the way home, we stopped in and stocked up the larder at Sainsbury's and had a night in.

Tuesday was another really sunny day! Yay! Graham is a member of a national waterfowl wetlands trust. They have several sanctuaries around the country and there's a wetlands preserve about an hour drive away up in Lancashire at Martin Mere. We thought it might be interesting to go since we have a car anyway and get free entry with the membership. We had Google directions and the signage was pretty good and we didn't get lost once!

The WWT is a park and a wild wetland area. There are many, many kinds of rare birds from all over the world that are raised here. Their wings are clipped so they can't fly away and they are bred specifically to preserve the species. The wetlands/marsh side also attracts many kinds of wild birds at various times of the year. There are "hides" or little huts along the edges of the mere where you can sit and birdwatch. This is the kind of thing the keener enthusiast like to do whereas casual birdie type people like us prefer the park side.

We walked around the park with a bag of grain to feed the birds here and there. They were quite happy to see us with that, as well! They had several types of flamingos, one that was mostly all white and another that was pink. The colour comes from what they eat, like shrimp. There are many kinds of ducks, with all sorts of colours and sizes and geese too. There was a cage with some cranes, an African Crown Crane which had black faces and wiry fluffy feathers that stuck out around their head like a crown and bright blue eyes. One fellow was up by the cage and was popping his head up and sideways very quickly, looking for grain to be fed. We'd throw a bit in, he'd dart down to peck at it and then pop right back up. He was quite funny looking and so fast it was hard to get a good photo of him. I think Graham took some video of him, not sure.

There were some fluffy little black chicks, moorhens they were, and all swimming by their mums. Another area we went by had a bunch of grey speckled geese from Hawaii. They were very bold! They obviously knew visitors have food because they came right up to us looking hungry and hopeful and i even fed them handfuls right out of my hand! When we walked way, they started to follow us, looking for more. Cheeky!

Just after we'd got rid of all the grain, we walked by another pen and two geese came running at full speed from the back to the front, wings flapping out and looking frantic. They had their beaks right up against the fence and you just know they were looking for food, too. People always have food, right? How come you don't have any? Oh, we know it's in your pocket somewhere! We felt bad we'd already given the last of it out! Not like they were starving of course!

We had a really nice few hours including a pretty decent hot meal at the cafe in the main building. I thought it would be a nice day but it was really good, we enjoyed it more than we expected to.

We got back to Graham's flat about 4, i washed my hair and we got ready to go back out to meet our friends for a curry buffet at Nawaab where we'd also gone last year. We were a bit late but got there eventually and had a really cozy evening catching up with everyone! Food was excellent too!

The next two days were pretty low key. Shopping, errands, relaxation. We went to see the new Star Trek movie with a friend, too.

Friday we decided to drive out into the Peak Districk in Derbyshire to see the village of Eyam, the "Plague Village". It got this name after most of the village was decimated by the plague in 1665 but they isolated themselves and the disease didn't spread to the rest of the area. I've written a separate "experience" review about that. The weather today was overcast and it rained a bit on and off so we didn't end up staying in Eyam as long as we might have but we had a look round and explored a bit.

Down in the village, we saw a tabby cat walking towards us across the road and i reached down for a pat. Heard a voice behind us exclaiming that the cat had followed her... turned out to be the cat's owner! We chatted to her for a little bit and then we went our separate ways. I bought some postcards in the small post office before we left.

Saturday, my last day, was our day to go out to Bury to the huge market. The weather was alternately sunny and then a bit of spitting rain. Bury market is a mostly covered market, some indoors and much of it outdoors. It's one of the largest markets in the area and there's absolutely everything there! You can even get furniture and appliances in addition to the usual clothes, movies, and food and flower stalls. Makeup, toys, electronics, hardware, household items. We didn't buy much but it was fun looking.

Instead of having lunch there, we drove to a pub that's part of a hotel chain and it's near Heaton Park, a large natural park in the outer Manchester area. It's part of the Beefeater chain and the hotel is the Premier Inn chain. The food was quite good though, we both had burgers that were flame broiled and quite tasty.

That's pretty much it for the trip. I packed up when we got back and we drove to the airport Sunday morning, dropped off the rental car and Graham said good bye to me when it was time to go through security. Always the hardest part but we'll see each other again in the fall.

First off, Lyme Hall and Park is not in Manchester, it's on the outskirts, just past Stockport in Cheshire. It's an old manor house on the edge of a huge park, all part of an original estate granted to the family in the 1400s. The house dates back that far but mainly the current house dates from the 16th and 17th centuries. The house is open to the public (for a fee of course) and you also pay to park in the parking lot. The gardens are really nice too and that also costs. We just got a ticket for both house and gardens to cover it all. The family were Jacobite supporters and the house has exquisite tapestries, furniture and art. I really enjoyed it. No photos but i did manage to take a stealth shot in the chapel. Most of the rooms had people standing in them that you could talk to for information and we had a nice chat with several of them.

The gardens near the house were very nice. There's a reflecting pool out on the south front with a little island in the middle which is all flowers. Very pretty! This house was used for the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, the series with Colin Firth that made many a heart flutter with his swim through the pond behind the house. Lyme Hall was used for that series but the lake wasn't the little pool by the house, it was a bit further afield out in the park. The gardens had a greenhouse/orangerie with lots of flowers and plants and a few fountains and we had a peek in there as well.

We had lunch in the cafe which is in the cellars, low arched ceilings! They had a small menu with a couple of specials, drinks and desserts. The food was a bit different, venison which was done in a sort of stew with potato topping all baked until crispy. Was quite tasty and very mild. I suppose it was farm-raised venison rather than wild like i've had in the past.

There's a nice gift shop as well for cards and books. The park is extensive, with deer and sheep and a great place for a walk or hike. The house itself can be accessed by wheelchair if you let them know you need assistance.

It is a National Trust property so if you have a membership, you can get in free. They do guided tours of the house for small numbers of people (no large groups) between March and November. The house is open, 11 - 5, March through November but closed on Wednesday and Thursday. In winter it's only open on weekends. The park is open every day all year between 8 and 6, a bit later in summer. The gardens are open every day between March and November, weekends only in winter. The timber yard coffee shop in the park is open all year round.

Admission prices

Gift Aid Admission (Standard Admission prices in brackets) House & garden: £8 (£7.20), child £4 (£3.60), family £20 (£18). House only: £5.80 (£5.20), child £2.90 (£2.60). Garden only: £5.50 (£4.95), child £2.75 (£2.45)

The village of Eyam is called the Plague Village. In 1665, during an outbreak of bubonic plague, the disease spread to this village, probably in the fleas that were with a shipment of cloth. People started dying quickly but the parson realized what was going on and he organized the villagers. They isolated themselves, quarantined themselves and to avoid starving to death, arranged for outsiders to leave supplies at the border of the village, leaving money disinfected in vinegar in payment. They took other precautions as well and as a result, the plague didn't spread beyond the village though nearly 80% of Eyam perished over the next year.

The village is off the main road and is surrounded by the lovely hills and trees of the Peaks. The houses and buildings are all made of honey coloured stone. Even new development uses the same type or colour of material to match. We drove there in about an hour or so and walked around the hilly narrow streets to look at sights like the old stocks on the village green, the church and graveyard. There's a wonderful old 8th century celtic/Saxon cross by the church too, worn down with age. It wasn't there originally, but was moved there from outside the village at some point.

There is the Eyam Hall although it was closed to visitors. I think it only opens up a few times a year. We had lunch in the Buttery, which is in a courtyard by the Hall along with some craft shops and studios. We wandered down into the centre of the village where there is a pub and a few shops. It's all very pretty. We did try to drive just out of the town to find the Riley Graves where one woman buried six children and her husband but it wasn't sign posted or we missed it and drove out too far. We also tried to find the stone and well at the outskirts of the village where they left the money for their supplies and missed that too!

We also went into the little Eyam museum near the car park when we arrived. It's mainly storyboards telling the tales and detailing the history of the plague and victims. There are also some artifacts and antiques and was a good introduction to the area. You can also see the cottages on the main road where the plague first hit, there are three in a row with signs out front. People still live in all these houses. It must be odd for them to look out the window and see people taking photos of their house.

There isn't a whole lot to see and do though it's definitely an interesting place to visit. See the church and cross and explore the cemetery, learn about the effects and history of the plague and the aftermath in the little museum and visit the Hall if it's open. Have a drink in the Miner's Arms or a light meal in the Buttery. There may also be a tea room in the village centre as well.