Southern England

Bath

Bath is a really neat city in southwest England.  Its noted for its hot springs.  The Romans turned Bath into a huge spa when they occupied the city somewhere around the 4th century.  A Walking Tour is an excellent way to learn the local history.  The Roman Bath Museum is fascinating.  The Romans knew how to live in style.  In fact, they felt that anyone who didn't take a minimum of 4 baths a day was a heathen... 

Salisbury

Salisbury is noted for Stonehenge.  Buses run from the city every 2 hours.  Unfortunately vandals were ruining Stonehenge so they had to fence it off.  You only see it from afar.  You don't see it in its native glory which really reduces the aesthetics.

Canterbury

Canterbury is noted for its Cathedral.  Its huge and has an impressive history (the pilgrimage to Canterbury).  I found the town to be a really hopping place.  A lot more action than Salisbury.  I stayed in a friendly B&B with Germans, Dutch, and Americans.  The nightlife was great.

Dover

Dover was a day stop for me to do my laundry and wait for the 3:30 pm Jetfoil to Oostende, Belgium.  I didn't make it to the clifftop Castle, but I did get my laundry done, and that's always a relief on the road.

Laundry

By the way?   What did I have for laundry? 

17 pair of white socks, 17 undershorts, 6 undershirts, 4 lumberjack shirts, 1 pair black pants, 1 pair shorts, 1 belt, 1 sweater, 1 pair hiking boots, 1 pair tennis shoes, 1 fall jacket, and 1 pair of gloves.

I travel light.  A backpack and a small carry bag (which substitutes as a day pack) for books, journals, toiletries, daily essentials, and a place to put all the postcards I bought along the way.  

I only have to do 1 wash every 17 days.  Not bad, for extensive road travel.  Of course, you can always buy socks and underwear along the way and really extend your wash intervals...   :)

Crossing the Channel

Well, this is it for the United Kingdom.  I had a fabulous tour of England, Scotland, and Wales.  Now I'm going to cross the English Channel to the Continent. 

It was pretty easy so far.  Everyone spoke English, but things could get a little tricky now...

I face the unknown and board the Jetfoil.  If I recall correctly, its a 90 minute ride to Oostende, Belgium.

London Newspapers

The Chunnel didn't exist back then, but they were working on it.  There was a funny story in the London Papers about a Dentist who fell from grace.  He over drilled his patients (drilled them for completely unnecessary work).   The cartoons depicted that he should have been put to work in the Chunnel as a Driller.  He would have gone a long way!

The Jetfoil

When the Jetfoil pulls out of port you get the best view of the white cliffs of Dover.

The Jetfoil ride is very smooth.  I sat next to 2 friendly Germans from Frankfurt who love going to London whenever they get the chance.  We had a great conversation and before I knew it we were arriving in Belgium.