Royal Yacht Britannia

1 July 2018

Our first stop in Scotland was to tour the HMY Britannia.  It was in service for Queen Elizabeth from 1953 until 1997.  It followed a long line of Royal Yachts, but no new yacht was commissioned after this one went out of service.  Britannia sailed over 1 million miles all over the world.

We enjoyed touring all the decks, from the bridge up top, to the royal bedrooms and state rooms, to the shipmen’s quarters below.  D and I especially appreciated seeing it after watching two seasons of The Crown; Britannia was part of several episodes.

C enjoyed searching for toy Corgis placed here and there on board.  She spotted 15 of them, and she got to purchase a special Corgi of her own in the gift shop at the end :)

Morse code signal

Nautical flag signals

Favorite: J, Juliet: I am on fire and have dangerous

cargo on board; keep well clear of me

Rolls Royce parking on board

The bell; spot for royal photos

Family photos (King George VI)

Family photos (Queen Elizabeth II)

State dining room

Shipmen's recreation room :)

Scotland

1 July 2018

We have arrived at the Border!

Berwick-upon-Tweed

30 June 2018

Berwick was our overnight stop on our way into Scotland.  It is the northernmost town in England, sitting just south of the Scottish border, on the River Tweed.  It endured centuries of border war conflict, changing hands between England and Scotland several times.  We walked along the old town wall and ramparts, which gave us nice views over the town.

Swans on the River Tweed

Our inn

Angel of the North

30 June 2018

We pulled off the highway to view the Angel of the North, a sculpture installed in 1998.  It’s become a symbol of the north.  It is 20 meters tall, and to prevent it lifting off into the sunset, its foundation extends 33 meters below.

Durham

We stopped in Durham on our drive to the North.  The city center is situated on a peninsula formed by the River Wear.  The peninsula (and thus the town, cathedral and castle) rises a couple hundred feet above the river, making it a prime spot for fortification and defense.  The city center was fun to explore, with all the narrow, twisty streets.

The city is old (of course) - its church celebrated its 1,000th birthday in 1995, and the cathedral was constructed in 1093.  Its bell tower is the tallest in England.  It was under restoration during our visit.  We toured inside the cathedral, then took a walk along the river path - we went down, down, down and discovered a great riverside cafe for some lunch and birthday cake.

Elvert Bridge

Durham Cathedral

River path going down, down, down

Riverview Kitchen

Happy birthday!

River Wear

View from Framwellgate Bridge

Happy Birthday!

Saturday was C's 5th birthday.  She opened some gifts in the morning.  Then we packed up our Abingdon flat and started the drive to the North and Scotland!

All she wanted was lip gloss :)

The Broad Face pub

We finally ate dinner at the pub we've been looking at across the street from our flat.  The food and atmosphere were excellent!  A ordered a "toad in the hole" for dinner; he knew exactly what that meant - sausages cooked in Yorkshire pudding!  Good lad.  I think he learned it from Roald Dahl...  Then we strolled in the Abbey Meadows park.

Looking at our flat from the pub

The Toad in the Hole

Walk in the park