This is part of the fourth section of our around the world trip.
Complete Trip Overview & Map

Coming from the  Isle of Man or read our previous visit to The United Kingdom
 

19/10/98 Straight across to London just cutting the corner of Wales, we are about ready to tackle the hassle of the largest and most expensive city in Europe. 330 km mainly freeways. Van parks seem to be increasingly installing single temperature showers (always too cold for my liking), probably because someone was scalded and sued a park. Like the lady who dumped hot coffee in her lap at McDonalds and sued for $US 10 million, we now can only get warm coffee in restaurants. Why is it that our suit laws are reducing everyone to the lowest common denominator? No wonder people in so called under-developed countries think we can't look after ourselves. We haven't had the practice. We are ruled by the aggregation of all the most stupid people in our society.

20/10/98 London, that city that Australians have heard so much about, from the Monopoly board, to the glitzy hotels and shops, to our past history, is all there laid out in front of us. With our all day bus and train pass we covered about half the Monopoly board, tried to have tea at the Savoy but because we didn't have on a business coat were not suitably attired, avoided St Paul's Cathedral with it's cash registers inside collecting entrance fees and selling souvenirs despite Jesus’ horror of conducting business in a church, went to Evensong at Westminster Abbey where we sat in the quire (choir) area and let our minds wander at all the famous Kings and Queens that had been crowned there, married there and put to rest there, not forgetting Lady Di, walked around the Old Bailey, with the “suits” but didn't manage to have a red wine with Rumpole or “she who must be obeyed”, and past New Scotland Yard with its revolving sign. Enough for one day.

21/10/98 Another attack on London starting with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, sitting in on a House of Commons debate over awards to constituent members. It was entering here that I was threatened with arrest for carrying a concealed weapon, my long blade pocket-knife. Although allowed to keep it, had I been a British subject (or probably worse, if I spoke with an Irish accent) I was advised that I would have been arrested and fronted before the Old Bailey. After promising not to have it in public whilst in the U.K., I was allowed to leave.
  Having carried it through 45 other countries without problem I was surprised with their reaction. Cruised the Thames past Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the Tower of London, under the Tower Bridge to Greenwich. That place where “time began” in 1884 by international agreement. Standing one foot in the western hemisphere and one in the eastern hemisphere, we pondered the millennium debate which according to Greenwich, starts here. It seems the Romans who started our calendar didn't have a number zero and so we went from 1BC to 1AD thus Jesus was one at birth and being the basis of our calendar won't be 2000 until the end of the year 2000 or the beginning of 2001 – 1/1/2001, the start of the millennium. However people being what they are can't wait and will demand a millennium on 1/1/2000, but where will it start in the world? Greenwich says time starts there but Kiribati on the other side of the world will be the first place to turn it's clocks being 12 hours ahead of Greenwich “mean” (average not starting) time. But then Antarctica has the first daylight, it being 24 hours a day at that time of the year. Who cares? Well the Millennium Dome committee at Greenwich expects 12 million people, they don't want to be disappointed.

22/10/98 London again, joining the commuters drudging to and from work. Starting with the very impressive changing of the guard outside Buckingham Palace, standing with the large winter crowd in the drizzle. Then onto that museum of current consumerism, free entry provided you meet the dress code, Harrods. A magnificent shop in a similarly impressive building where you can buy anything up market for a price. Even going to the toilet here is a pound. Through Hyde Park, a short foray through the British Museum with its collections from colonial rule. All encompassing museums of this type are losing their appeal for us as we travel more, having seen many similar exhibits in their native countries. Still there is always something new.

23/10/98 Off on a loop around southern England after hearing that Wales has been flooded and more rain on the way. Overnight at Bath.

24/10/98 Raining all day so a good book, newspaper and postcards in a soggy tent.

25/10/98 The last pretence of summer ended yesterday with summertime, it's now dark at 5.30 pm. Bath for the day, that town built by the Romans around a hot water spring and lived in continuously since for the same reason. At its height in the 17th century and made more beautiful by the local limestone being the compulsory building material, Bath has maintained its classy appeal. Sunday is the only sensible time to visit such a place (in winter) as the business people turn the town over to the tourists for a day but keep open enough tempting shops and restaurants and turn on street performances.
The two hour (free) guided walking tour is a must with local budding historians pouring out local history without the usual touristy crap that comes from commercial operators. A pleasant enough day in the life of two travellers.

26/10/98 Two major Neolithic sites of Avebury and Stonehenge, where around 4500 years ago the locals dragged rocks up to 20 tons, up to 30 miles, to build their believed to be religious and burial sites. Of course no one actually knows thus leaving room for everyone's personal speculation of why and whom. Moved to Sailsbury for the nights camp.

27/10/98 Rode to Brighton, that famous seaside resort with its pier stretching out into the southern ocean off England. Its golf ball sized pebbly beach was lined with a fun park atmosphere and with turn of the century hotels. Brighton was not in its full splendour with gale force winds and crashing brown seas in the out of season resort. Seemingly past its heyday with the strong pound and cheap flights to the warmer climates of southern Spain. Chip butty for lunch and we rode with the rain for 150 km to Canterbury arriving (still raining) in the dark. One should always ride in the direction of the good weather and ride against the bad weather, lengthening the good and shortening the bad but judging the weather is a bit like trying to choose your own relatives. Its about eight days straight now of gale force winds and rain causing flooding and I can better appreciate how Sir Winston Churchill felt during the Channel storms after launching the D-Day landings to Normandy that almost failed due to those storms.

28/10/98 A visit to the local H-D dealer for an oil change, and a look at the Canterbury Cathedral, the head of the Church of England and the world wide Anglican Community estimated at 60 million. Back to London to hear the UK has had its wettest October on record.

29/10/98 Eighteen months after our first meeting in Delhi Tourist Camp in India, we came across Charlie Miller in our campground in London. Charlie was originally travelling with two other fellow Australians all on BMW's from Australia to the Netherlands when we first met. Then he went it alone (except for the girlfriend for six months) whilst travelling Europe. It's a big world but when you by chance meet for a second time 18 months apart it seems so small. Into the city again for a stroll around the Tower of London and over the Tower Bridge before walking down that Australian icon of the past “Earl's Court Rd”.

30/10/98 Getting ready to leave England to head slowly down to Italy where we hope to leave the motorcycle while we return to Australia for a two month break. While travelling down Tottenham High St, we hear this voice yelling, “Hey, you on the motorbike, stop, stop that motorbike.” We looked around and it's Ewan who I had last seen since a drinking binge at the Iranian/Turkish border eighteen months ago and who had ridden an Indian Enfield back to England. Well it seems Ewan has put up his travelling cap, but still rides the Enfield, and has taken on the more sedate life of a mature age student. A pleasant evening was spent reminiscing.

31/10/98 Charlie (on his BMW R100GS PD), Kay and I left the UK via Seacat Hoverspeed ferry to Ostend in Belgium and just as a final send off, it rained all the way. Losing an hour in the crossing and being dark by 5 pm, we overnighted in one of the most beautiful towns in Europe, Brugge.

Move with us to Germany or go to our next visit to The United Kingdom
 

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