Thought-process

10 days in England and Scotland – This is what I did and it was a fun- filled memorable trip.

Day 1 – Tathagat and I take off at 2 am from Delhi’s IGI airport by Virgin Atlantic and land at Heathrow at 7.15 am (London time). Weather is lovely!

A pre-booked cab picks us and we reach Corus Hyde Park hotel (the best location!) Only hitch, we cannot check into our room before 3 pm. But the concierge takes in our baggage, we freshen up and with minimal bags, we begin our tour of London. And what better way to start than Hyde Park, bang opposite our hotel! But before that, we quickly walk over to the underground (metro) station which is, Lancaster gate (2 min away), and get the oyster cards which is the British version of our metro cards. A very helpful lady patiently shows us how the card machine works. So, armed with that we set off for Hyde Park.

We enter through the Italian Garden and walk by the Serpentine till the bridge which marks the boundary with Kensington Gardens. This lake is full of swans and many other water birds. The greenery and the sounds of nature lull you into another world. From here we walk towards the Kensington palace and the Round Pond. The birds in the pond approach us fearlessly. The Kensington Palace and its gardens, which is half of the original Hyde park, look imposing.  We walk past the Diana Memorial playground and exit the Park right opposite the Hilton hotel.

Our time table during our stay in London was painstakingly chalked out by my elder daughter, Malavika and all the places to eat at were mapped by her.

On the way to Notting Hill, we walk into Blank Coffee for coffee and cookies and then walk to Cheeky Scones for the most delicious scones with clotted cream and jam. The road towards Notting Hill is lined with houses which are tastefully painted in pastel shades with flowers hanging in baskets from windows. We reach the bustling Portobello market selling all sorts of goods including exotic vegetables and fruits, fashion accessories, books. We had to stop at the shop which was featured in the movie, Notting Hill, and join awestruck fans in clicking pictures. We have food at Gail bakery, and the food was really good. After this, it is back to our hotel via the underground from Notting Hill Gate. We check into our room and leave again, this time we take the underground towards Oxford Circus. We walk all the way from Regent Street to Piccadilly Circus where the Shaftesbury Memorial fountain stands out grandly, with crowds gathered around it.

We walk to China Town and buy some goodies from the Chinatown Bakery and then head towards Imperial China to have a delicious dinner accompanied with Jasmine tea. From here we walk up to Leicester Square and take the underground back to our hotel. End of an eventful first day in London.

Day 2 – After a hearty breakfast, we walk through Hyde Park once again, only this time we walk out on the other side, right on to the Royal Albert Hall. We pass the Royal College of Art (my daughter is an alum), the Imperial College, and visit the Natural History Museum, which is fabulous. Then we get into the Hop On Hop Off Golden Tours bus. We have selected the Blue route and this takes us through Central London landmarks. We pass all those buildings you would like to see while in London including Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar square, Tower of London, London Eye, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Shard and many others. There was a tour guide who entertained us with a continuous commentary about each of the landmarks, garnished with humour. We got off at the Borough Market, next to the Tower bridge. I feel if you want to really get an authentic experience about a place, visit the markets. You get all kinds of food here and it is bustling with people, something we in India are so used to. We taste the famous Humble Crumble (Apple pie topped with custard) and it is yummy. For lunch we have the well-known Wild Mushroom Risotto which has a mix of 12 varieties of mushroom and is being cooked constantly because there is no dearth of customers. We sit right next to the street and finish off this delicious meal. Soon we are back at the bus top where we had been dropped and catch the next tour bus and go about seeing the sights. At Trafalgar Square, we decide to step off the bus and explore the area and then walk to Covent Garden, which is a must visit. As we walk towards the Covent Garden market, we see a busker beginning his performance and we stop to watch. Going about London on a weekend is another experience. The place, like Borough market, was packed. We have croissants at Donutaliere and buy sandwiches from Pret-a-Manger for the next day’s journey.

Day 3 – It is raining when we leave our hotel. Today, we are on our way to Stonehenge and Bath. The underground takes us to the Victoria Station and then we walk to the Victoria Coach station from where all buses leave for various tours. Armed with umbrellas and raincoats, we reach well in time and set off for Stonehenge in the Evan Evans coach. The bus drive is comfortable and had wi-fi. Our guide, Angela, is very efficient with her commentary. The drizzling continues throughout the 2.5 hour journey. Once we reach the Salisbury Plains, where Stonehenge is located, the rain stops for a while which gives us the opportunity to see the pre historic marvel. But, we are drenched just walking back from Stonehenge to our bus! On our way to Bath, the bus takes a different route to avoid waterlogging and we get to see a part of the beautiful English countryside, seldom seen by tourists. It takes us half an hour longer to reach Bath. Our three hours in Bath are well spent exploring this picture-perfect place with its Victorian houses, Abbey, water ways, hills covered by lush forests. We visit one of the oldest buildings in Bath, Sally Lunn’s Historic Eating house, for the famous Buns (delicious) and tea. We walk quite a distance to the Royal Crescent and the Crescent Circus. We have given the Roman Baths a miss though. Bath is the go-to place for film shoots for the Victorian period. The Netflix series, Bridgerton, is filmed here and I can pick out certain spots that look familiar. In the meantime, our bus develops a snag with the windscreen wiper, so another bus follows us the entire way back to London, in case of an emergency! It took us 2.5 hours to reach London and we have a sumptuous dinner of pizza at Pizza Pilgrims at Victoria before returning to our hotel for a good night’s rest.

Day 4 – We start the day with a visit to the British Museum, which is a must visit just to behold the treasures from all over the world. After two hours and seeing only a small part of the museum, we leave and walk to the Fortitude bakery, a must visit place on our list. After the yummy croissant, Danish pastry and coffee, we set off for Young V&A museum. The underground takes us to Bethnal Green and we walk a short distance to the museum. This visit is important for us because my daughter, Nayanika, was commissioned to draw illustrations for the museum. Of course, we proudly click pictures of these illustrations and I am overjoyed to see young children running all over the place, having a great time learning and playing. We then take a bus to London bridge. This is quite a long bus ride as we enjoy the sights of the city, sitting on the upper deck. From the London Bridge stop we catch the Golden Tours bus to the Millennium pier for the Thames River cruise right next to the Tower of London. This half hour cruise is beautifully conducted and we get a clear view and running commentary of all the interesting historical buildings on the banks of Thames like the Tate, Modern, the Globe theatre, Tower Bridge. After the cruise, we take a leisurely walk around Parliament Square and Trafalgar square and a walk to Covent Garden once again, where we have regular British fare of pie, mash and gravy at Mother Mash . For dessert we walk over to Santa Nata for Pastel de nata and coffee. At the North Gate of Covent Garden we listen to a singer belting out songs from yester years. My daughter’s friend, Nachiket, takes time out to meet us here and takes us to the Royal Opera House from where we get a wonderful view of the city. Call it a day soon after.

Day 5 – Early breakfast and once again we set off towards the Victoria Coach station for our bus tour to Cambridge and Oxford. This time the weather is clear and we set off at 9 am. Our guide this time is Sandra and she gives an interesting running commentary on British history, society and politics. We are at Cambridge by 11am and walk through the lanes and bye-lanes of quite a few colleges. Of course, Trinity College really stands out. If you have time here, then punting is something that has to be indulged in. Boating on the river Cam remains on my wish list. We leave Cambridge at 12.30 pm and reach Oxford by 3 pm. Oxford is a much bigger town than Cambridge and it is impossible to explore it in the short time we had. We have an entry ticket to Christ Church College where we are able to explore better with the audio equipment. The dining hall at Christ Church is the inspiration behind the Great Hall at Hogwarts’ of Harry Potter fame. Interestingly, the staircase leading up to the Dining Hall is where the actual shoot of the film took place where Professor McGonagall, Harry, Hermione and Ron meet for the first time. With a promise to come back with more time, we board the bus at 5 pm and reach London by 7.30 pm. Reach our hotel, have dinner and pack up.

Day 6 – Early morning breakfast, check out and all ready to book an Uber which does not work out just at that moment. So, we lug our baggage to Lancaster Gate underground and reached King’s Cross station. On the way, I am helped by a kind gentleman with my heavy suitcase . For us from India, the station appeared quite empty and so orderly! At 9.30 am we boarded our train- the LNER Azuma, which is a superfast train. It is a very comfortable journey and the landscape is really beautiful! We reach Edinburgh Waverley station at 2 pm and take a cab to our hotel, the Voco Royal Terrace, very close to the station. Our room overlooked the city and we could see the ocean in the horizon. Edinburgh is much colder than London and there is a constant cold breeze. So, the regular wear here is a thick jacket with a hood or ear muffs. Not wasting any time, we go for a walk up Calton Hill (next to our hotel) and can see the entire city. There are several monuments on this hill, the most eye-catching being the National Monument which looks like a replica of the Parthenon in Athens. From here we walk to the city and visit The Botanist and have coffee and delicious pita bread with hummus. True to its name, this restaurant is surrounded by greens and is cozy inside. We walk around the area and then back to our hotel, have dinner and retire.

Day 7 – Today we had a comparatively leisurely breakfast and leave the hotel around 10.15 am and walked to Waterloo Place from where we board the City sightseeing bus and traverse the city. There are two parts of the city, the old and the new, and the old city is located in the higher areas. We pass the Royal Mile (the road connecting the Holyrood Palace and the Edinburgh Castle), the Parliament, the Holyroodhouse Palace (the residence of Scottish monarchs), the Holyrood Palace gardens from where we can see Arthur’s seat which is the tallest peak in Edinburgh, the National Museum, and so many historical buildings, it is difficult to keep count. We get off at the Victoria Street stop and walk up the street. Harry Potter fans are in for a treat here! It seems that JK Rowling was hugely inspired by this area, for her books. We have lunch at the Petit Paris restaurant and the French cuisine was trés délicieux! We hop on to the bus again and hop off at the Edinburgh Castle. Our tickets say our entry is at 3 pm so we wait around and listen to a Scott playing the bagpipes. It takes us around 40 minutes to go through the castle after which it is back in the bus and drop off at Waterloo place. We go to Tesco to buy sandwiches and juices for dinner.

Day 8 – We leave the hotel by 7 am in a cab which drops us at Deacon’s café on Lawnmarket Road. We were taking a trip to the Scottish Highlands and our bus is called The Hairy Coo (the Scottish Cows). Out first stop after 1.5 hours, is a quaint Scottish town called Callander, situated in the scenic meeting point of the lowlands and the highlands, where we have coffee and our sandwiches. Our next stop is at a Woollen Mill called Hamish where we meet three Heilan Coos (Highland Bulls). Several tourists feed them carrots which they happily munch. The route ahead goes through some of the most beautiful landscapes and it is mesmerizing to drive through Glen Coe, the picturesque valley surrounded by the Grampian mountains. A part of the Harry Potter films (Prisoners of Azkaban and Half Blood Prince) were shot here. The guide constantly updates us on the history and the geography of the area with a ready wit and loads of interesting facts. We also pass through Fort William and finally at 2 pm, reach Fort Augustus, located on the shores of Loch Ness. This town has a lot of restaurants to choose from and we have lunch at one of them. Soon it is time to move towards the cruise ship docked by the side of the Loch. It is a wonderful 40 minute cruise with a running commentary on the mysteries of the lake and huge monitors show the effect of sonar waves as they hit the bottom of the lake, which is quite deep. On our return journey we stop at Pitlochry, famous for its whiskey flavoured ice cream. We return to Edinburgh at 8.30 pm, walk down to the Italian restaurant, Slice of Italy, close to Voco and have soup and risotto and are fast asleep by 10.30 pm.

Day 9 – At 11 am after breakfast, we head for the Royal Botanic Garden. It takes us 25 minutes of brisk walking to get there. This is a garden covering a huge area with plants from all over the world. The birds and the squirrels are very friendly! Needless to say, the area is peaceful and we simply sit and soak in the beauty and the greenery around us. After this visit we walk via the water of Leith Walkway towards Dean Village which takes us another 25 minutes. This 19^th century village is located right outside the city centre, with its cobbled streets, ancient picturesque buildings and an iconic bridge over a gurgling river and greenery all around. This village has been in existence since the 12^th century and is a world heritage site today.

From here we walk to Andaluz café which takes us 35 minutes. We meet our friend Deepa here for lunch. She has come all the way from Perth, another town close to Edinburgh, to meet us! This Spanish café is well known for its Tapas and I can vouch for it. After the lunch and a lot of banter, we leave for our hotel at 6 pm and on the way we pass the Conan Doyle pub and Sherlock Holmes’ statue. We pop out at 8 pm for a quick bite at Slice of Italy.

Day 10 – We check out of Voco at 9 am and reach the Waverly Station well in time. However, there is total chaos there. As our departure time approaches, the designated platform has two trains facing each other on the same track and none of the station staff knows which one was to be boarded! After another thirty minutes, we are told to board but the coach numbers are all muddled up. So, coach B is now a G and those who have boarded coach B since their tickets say so, refuse to leave! Finally, we are on our way. The route was a little different and longer owing to heavy rains. We reach King’s Cross in 5.5 hours! We take a cab to our hotel; come to know we have been upgraded to a bigger room! Take a few minutes to refresh ourselves and then we are off, taking the underground to Green Park. We walk up to see Buckingham Palace, roam around in St. James Park and then cross the park on to the Birdcage walk and then head down Parliament Street to get a glimpse of the Great Scotland Yard, the Whitehall area, and 10 Downing Street, which is obviously heavily guarded. All the sightseeing done, we take the underground from Westminster station and get off at Notting Hill, buy a lot of chocolates to take back home and then walk once again to Portobello Road and have food at The Sun in Splendour, a Victorian style pub with live music and British food which is delicious (Fish n chips, Vegan Burger, Sticky toffee pudding) and then we return to Corus by 9 pm and it has started drizzling. This last day is indeed quite a full one!

One of the things we cannot not fit into our schedule is watching a Musical and as we walk past numerous theatres in the city, I put this at the top of my list to be ticked off in the near future.

Day 11 – We are at the Corus reception desk at 5 am and check out with two breakfast parcels. It is drizzling when our pre-booked cab reaches the hotel at 5.20 am and we are at the airport in 35 minutes. It is good that we reach much before time because we take time getting through the baggage drop and the security. After buying another stash of chocolates at the duty-free shop, we have coffee and sandwiches (provided by Corus) for breakfast. We take off at 11 am. The flight is comfortable, have good food, watch some excellent movies (Ordinary Angels, The Lesson, Wicked Little Letters), sleep a little and land in Delhi in 8.5 hours. A big thank you to Shayoka Travels for their logistic support!

And that’s what I call travelling!