Touring Around the North of England Saturday, 15th June - Saturday 22nd June
Summary: The final week of our first spell in blighty was spent touring around the north of England. From the South Welsh border with England we headed north, keeping pretty close to the border all the way to the lovely old Roman town of Chester where we stopped to have a wonder around for lunch. Then it was onto the Liverpool where we spent only one night (although it seemed longer, we fit so much in). Next was Manchester, where we caught up with old friends. Then, it was further north, stopping at Morecome and Lancaster before spending two nights in the Lake Distrrict. We had a glorious hike and some lovely pints before setting off across the backbone of England, the Pennines, stopping at Barnard Castle before reaching our destination of Newcastle - another city I'd been to before a few times but never as a tourist.
We only had one night in "The Toon" but I got a good feel for the place. We walked to the "new" castle and then we parted company as Leb needed to lie down and I needed to watch the latest games in the European football championship in some pubs and visit the iconic St James' Park.
The Newcastle United ground is very different from the last time I visited in 1978, a 2-0 win for Forest on their way to their only English league title. It felt liberating to be able to go into the pub on the corner, the Strawberry, without the usual fear I remember from those days. As an England fan I joined with the local Georgies in despair at their latest dismal performance on the big stage.
The next day we drove the short distance north to a little village called Belton where I'd booked a downstairs flat in a terraced house. Again, I watched a few games there and visited a pub made famous for a visit by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
The next morning we set off for our last destination, Edinburgh, where Leb had arranged to stay with one of her very best friends, Rosie. It was time for me, then, to leave them to it and head for Glasgow for more beer and football.
Driving from the Birches (where Elaine Morgan started her writing career) up to Liverpool for a stay Chez Julie. (Saturday 15th June)
Day 99. We left the Birches (where Elaine Morahn started her writing career) and headed north. We drove through the Malverns, Shrewsbury (home of Charles Darwin) onto the lovely Tudor city center of Chester for some overdue Fish and Chips, a very nice (I have to admit) shared pint of alcohol free Guiness and most of the Hungary v Switzerland game.
It started chucking it down so we scarpered back to the car to drive further north over the Mersey to Chateaux Julie's in Croxteth, Liverpool.
Having arrived and settled into our cozy room, we (well I) watched Spain demolish Croatia and Italy grind out a 2-1 win over Albania.
Day Out in Liverpool. (Sunday 16th June)
Day 100.
Hundred up! Now I've been to Liverpool several times before, but not like this. Once was to give a SQL Server course to the very clever people at Ladbrokes and, of course, I've been to Anfield and Goodison Park to watch football - and Prenton Park (home of Tranmere Rovers) too. But I've never been purely as a tourist. So this was a long planned opportunity to potter around the streets of Liverpool and go for a ferry ride on the Mersey in a purely self-indulgent way.
I booked Chateaux Julie because it was cheap and because it was right next to a regular bus route into the city. So, it was too easy to catch the No 18 bus from outside her house.
Cahteaux Julie
The No 18 - From Chateaux Julie's to the Albert Dock in about 45 minutes
The bus came on time and stoped and started its way through the suburbs, past Anfield on the right, and into the city center. Within the hour, we were at the Albert Dock.
First stop was the fab Beatles Museum,
Next was the shocking Enslavement Museum and, right next door, the very impressive Maritime museum.
Then we did a lovely ferry trip on the Mersey.
Back on land we went to Jürgen's to watch Holland edge past Poland and I had a far too friendly encounter with a big scouser in the toilet after he was too impressed with me singing the words "west Virginia".
Then we had one in the oldest pub in Liverpool, Ye Hole in Ye Wall, before finishing the trip in truly bizarre fashion.
Sat in the middle of a good old scouse sing song in the White Star, a pub round the corner from The Cavern on Matthew Street which was apparently frequented by John Lennon.
Liverpool to Manchester via Kirkby. (Monday 17th June)
Day 101 ~ We only stayed in Liverpool one night. The next morning we got up planning to go to Manchester. But first, I couldn't resist popping into Kirkby (the Liverpool one, not my home town in Notts) for a MacDonalds brekkie.
Au revoir, Chateaux Julie!
It took less than an hour to drive from Kirkby to our next accommodation, Travelodge Central in Manchester. Parking proved a bit more difficult, but I found a gem of a place just around the corner and a very friendly guy let me park there overnight for just for £12.
Once, we checked in and unpacked, we set off to explore thecity center before we;d arranged to meet out good old friends Anne & Nick. Leb had some shoping to do. I wanted to visit the football museum which had moved from Preston, where I'd seen it once before, to the heart of Manchester.
The new National Football Museum was excellent indeed.
Meanwhile, Leb was shopping...
We met up and then found our dear old friends Fax and Anne and after a pint we had a lovely walk around the canals.
After we parted, Leb and I had a quick wander round before we went our seperate ways again. Leb needed to lie down and rest her hip which was not getting any better. I went off to return to two of the oldest pubs in Manchester, the Sawyers Arms and The Old Wellington rebuilt after being bombed in 1996. I was sad that Ukraine lost to Romania, impressed with Slovakia's amazing (and lucky) win against Belgium but I was satisfied that France edged past Austria in a nailbiter.
Manchester to the Lakes. (Tuesday 18th June)
Day 102 ~ Tara Manchester! We headed up to Morecambe Bay for fish & chips.
On the way from Morecombe we popped in to see the Mozumo Stadium.
Next stop was Lancaster where we had a strol around a town I'd never visited before.
Then, we completed our trip to the Lake District and our accomodation for two nights in Ambleside.
The town is a pub paradise with at least seven great pubs in as many minute's walk. Watched a classic match Turkey v Georgia in The Golden Rule (where I had my best two pints so far - Bridge House Bitter and Cumbria Way.) I also had a quick one in the Unicorn Inn before watching the first half of Portugal v Czechia in The Lily Bar, the nearest. I had my first ever treble bet win... France, Turkey and Portugal.
Lake District. (Wednesday 19th June)
Day 103 ~ It was great to wake up surrounded by the spectacular scenery in the Lake District. After getting up, we walked into town and found a cafe to have breakfast.
The we set off for a fabulous hike up to Todd Craig, overlooking Lake Windemere.
Our room from up on high
Leb was so brave doing the 3 hour walk in pain. At this stage of the journey we still thought it was sciatica - later we'd find out it was worse - but Leb was determined not to be put off and so we got to experience so much beautiful scenery around Ambleside. E every turn revealed another glorious panorama.
After returning to town we shared fish & chips (got to!) and then later I watched heroic Albania almost beat Croatia at the Ambleside Inn while Leb had a well deserved lie down. We both saw Germany beat Hungary in the Royal Oak where I had a nice pint of Timmy Taylor's and later we watched Scotland battle a 1-1 draw with Switzerland from bed.
Newcastle. (Thursday 20th June)
Day 104 ~ Over the Pennines to Newcastle.
We started the day, having checked out of our B&B, by having breakfast by Lake Windemere. Leb was feeling the after affects of the walk yesterday pretty badly, but somehow she coped.
Ice cream for dog? Whatever next?
Where we'd walked to yesterday
Can't beat an English Breakfast
Then we set off, over the Penines, the spine of England (with Leb lying in the back of the car for some releif) for a stop at Barnard Castle.
Great Butchers with an amazing variety of pies
Alcohol-free Guinness is pretty good actually
Then it was onto Newcastle, our home for one night. We walked along the Tyne, under the bridge to the cathedral and the famous "new" Castle. Leb and I then parted company as she needed to rest and I needed to watch more football.
At this point, Leb and I parted company. She headed back to the hotel for a much earned lie down whilst I sought pubs to watch the football. First stop was the Bridge Hotel for me...
Meanwhile, Leb did a bit of sight seeing on the way back...
Meanwhile, back at "the Bridge", I was enjoying a local brew whilst watching Serbia nick a draw with Slovenia - the country that had broken away from the former Yugoslavia first - against the dominating republic that tried hardest to stop the whole thing breaking up
Next, I headed up to St James' Park, home of Newcastle United, the ground I'd first visited fifty years ago to watch one of the great football injusties of all time. Plucky, Second Division Forest, albeit with future European Cup winning stars, Martin O'Neill and John Robertson, were leading 3-1 in the quarter final of the F.A. Cup in front of some 56,000 fans when the Lezer's End invaded the pitch to halt the game. A couple of Forest players were punched but rather than abandon the game and award Forest the match, as they should have done, the game continued after eight minutes of anxious waiting. The Geordies roared back to win 4-3.
The result was annuled and a replay organised for neutral Goodison Park. That game was drawn but rather hold the replay in Nottingham, as it really should have been, it was again staged in Liverpool where Newcastle secured a 1-0 victory to reach the final. Boo!
Anyway, the stadium has changed greatly since those days, of course. It's hardly recognisable apart from the buildings that surround it, including the pub on the corner, The Strawberry, which was my chosen venue to watch the fast-approaching next England match.
I suffered England v Denmark in The Strawberry, an old pub by St James's Park. This was a typically dismal performance from the England team - just the sort of thing to stamp on any hopes I was starting to have that we might actuually win the tournament! Finally, I watched Spain destroy Italy on the play but only 1-0 on the score sheet.
Belford Bed. (Friday 21st June)
Day 105 ~ Heading north from Newcastle. Stopped at Alnwick before arriving at the quiet village of Belford with three great pubs and a chippy.
Watched Ukraine beat Slovakia, Austria beat Poland and Holland and France play out the first nil nil draw.
Edinburgh Drop Off. (Saturday 22nd June)
Day 106 ~ Popped in to the rather underwhelming Holy Island on the way to Edinburgh to drop Leb off with her dear friend, Rosie. I then drove to Glasgow via John Robertson's home of Uddingston (also of Tunnock's Tea Cakes) to explore the city's old pubs. Last fish & chips in this trip were not great.
After dropping Leb off at Rosie's, it was time for us to spend a couple of days apart again. Leb stayed with Rosie in Edinburgh, and I drove off to Glasgow to watch the football and explore another city from the point of view of a tourist for the first time.
'The North' Financial Summary
This was quite an expensive part of the trip, averaging over $300/day, I guess because all the accomodation had to be paid for at the time and more than half was spent on that. Eating out and drinking were the next two big categories. I am surprised we didn't spend more on fuel as this could have been the stretch with the most driving of the holiday.
'The North Mood Summary
The week up north was another fantastic, with the day in Liverpool being the highlight for me. So many fun things in one day: 27-0 was the mood score for that day. There were a couple of gloomy events too: Both whilst on Tyneside. England's performance against Denmark was shocking but the worst aspect ceratinly for Leb, was the fact her "sciatica" (as we still thought of it at the time) was not helped by all the driving we'd been doing. Poor Leb seemed to be getting worse and we seriously considered ending the trip at this stage.
'The North' Booze Summary
This was, predictably, another pretty boozy week, making it 64 consecutive days on the drink. Liverpool was clearly the biggest night (well, day!) but there was always a pint of good old northern ale nearby somewhere.
Trip So Far Summary
With 106 days of the trip done, we were, at this time approaching 44% completion. of the overall trip and 95% completion of the first UK phase of the trip. It was the 3rd (out of 6) most expensive phases of the UK trip and the second happiest despite the growing realisation that Leb's back/hip problem seemed to be getting worse.
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