Travel Recap - Here & There in UK (Nov/Dec 2011)

I took the opportunity to travel a bit around London and parts of UK when I was there for work in December 2011.  Here is a  short recap of all the interesting places that I've been to.



Windsor Castle - largest & oldest occupied castle in the world


Windsor & Eton - Took an early morning train to Windsor & Eton Riverside train station. A combined rail + entry ticket cost me £18.  It was a very misty and cold day.  Windsor town itself was easily walkable with shops nearby. The audio guided tour in the Castle itself was informative.  No photography was allowed inside though.

At the next town is Eton where the great Eton College is.  I wanted to have a look at the school that Princes William and Harry went to..ahaks. It was quite big school.  I was hoping to catch a glimpse of students in their infamous tailcoat uniforms but no luck. School was closed for the holidays.

City of Bath - a city in south west of England famous for its Roman Bath. The return train ticket to Bath Spa train station cost me an expensive £39 with a train change at Reading.  The First Great Western train was packed when I got onboard! The train ride back from Bath Spa was equally packed, if not worse.  Just like in Windsor, it was easy to walk to places of attraction in Bath from the station.

Bath Abbey - no entrance fee required but donation is voluntary.

The Roman Great Bath - entrance fee cost £12 with free admission to the museum and the Pump Room.  Free spa water is also available with this ticket.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to taste the water.

View from the Pulteney Bridge.  It was really beautiful and peaceful just walking birds flying around. 

Since it was December, there were Christmas Markets at the Abbey/Roman Bath area.  There were tons of people visiting as well.  I had my first taste of Hot Chocolate with Bailey's Irish Cream.  Cost me £3. Just perfect for a cold winter day.

Stonehenge - a prehistoric megalith monument located in Wiltshire county.  I took the train to Salisbury at a pricey return fare of £25.60.  There are tour buses departing from Salisbury train station and bus station.  I paid £18 for the bus tour to Stonehenge which also  included access to Old Sarum. Recommended to sit on the top deck of the bus for better view of the town.  The bus picked up a few more visitors from the bus station before proceeding to Stonehenge.  The whole journey, if I recalled correctly, took about 30 minutes - 45 minutes.  From the entrance gates, visitors have to walk a few metres to the Stones. The Stonehenge was roped off so no one could actually walked too close to the stones.  It was a shame.  I would have loved touching the Stones.

Before I made the decision to visit Stonehenge, I had read in travel forums that it was not worth coming here because there was nothing to see except a bunch of stones. In fact, a colleague had also told me the same. I was very glad that I had followed my instinct to visit this historical place. 

It was surreal standing in front of Stonehenge.  After walking one round past the Stone, I walked back and stood there in awe for a good 15 mins just soaking in the experience. It was a very cold day and the dark clouds made the whole place seemed really mysterious.

Old Sarum - from Stonehenge, one can also visit Old Sarum, site of the original Salisbury. The tour bus will drop anyone visiting Old Sarum at the road site.  A short walk inside will find one among a huge area of ruins. 
Salisbury - a cathedral city in Wiltshire, sometimes called New Sarum to differentiate from the old settlement site. The main attraction here is the Salisbury Cathedral.  There is no entrance fee required to visit the cathedral. 
This 13th century cathedral with the tallest spire in England was indeed spectacular from inside and outside.

Oxford - home to University of Oxford. I found out later that U of Oxford is actually not one university but is made up of 38 colleges in Oxford. Return train fare from Egham to Oxford was £16.90. 

Bodleian Library - a working library that forms part of the University of Oxford. Admisison fee applies.

Radcliffe Camera - a reading room as part of the Bodleian Library.  Not accessible unless part of library tour.

Carfax Tower - remains from the St. Martins Church.  Admission fee of £2.20 for adults. 

Hertford Bridge - connecting Hertford college.

There are so many colleges in Oxford that it was impossible to finish visiting all in a day. I dropped by the Blackwell bookshop as well. The bookshop is well know for its academic books but there are lots of other titles as well, not to mention posters, calendars, etc etc.

A glimpse inside the bookshop. It was huge with tons of titles available.
I bought a guide book on Rome :)