TravelStream™ news feed for member darrenstravels on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/darrenstravels en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:05:52 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255601489/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255601489/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255601489/tpod.html Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:05:52 -0400 Around Britain on a whim

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Southend-on-Sea, England, United Kingdom

To be fair, we had taken the piss a bit with getting back for work, so we had to go home today.  But first, we popped to a nearby Church to get a Geocache, then down to Cove Hithe, a tiny village literally on the cliff tops overlooking the North Sea.  The road there just stops at the cliff, having fallen away years ago.  We went to see a Church there, which is pretty odd.  It's one in the remains of a much larger Church that was never finished off.  Inside you can see damage caused by Oliver Cromwells men back in the 17th century.  Thankfully they sucked because the place still stands.Further south, we stopped for lunch at Southwold, a very popular seaside resort favored by old people.  The pier had a weird placed called the "Pier Under The Sea Show", full of home made arcade games, many of which were very amusing and taking the piss out of all sorts of things - old people, artists,the superstitious.  From there we detoured to our very good friends, The Phillips, down in Southend; and played with the greatest kid the world has ever seen.  From there it was a quick trip over the QE2 bridge into the land of milk and honey - Kent.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255601405/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255601405/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255601405/tpod.html Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:05:21 -0400 Around Britain on a whim

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

We awoke to a beautiful day in Cambridge.  I'm a foreigner to these parts, and all I can say is that the place blew me away.  It was fantastic.  I love student towns.  On the whole they have cooler shops and bars, are more liberal, and have lots of women who I can stare at.  I'll just list the things I loved about Cambridge:People cycling everywhere; the endless park lands; the locals being the most friendliest people I've met since Australia; the fantastic University buildings; the Weeping Willows drinking from the river; the diversity of it's market (Caribbean cakes for dinner!) and just a nice ambiance about the place.  Can't rate it enough...and a 100% better than it's rival, Oxford, which we visited soon after for work reasons.  From Cambridge we decided to go and pay Helen's Aunt a visit, simply on the basis she has pet Chickens and a couple of Dogs I adore.  On the way, we stopped off for lunch at Mildenhall and Lakenheath, two small towns that are fairly boring...except they are pretty much a part of the USA.  Most of the cars are American, most of the population are, and the huge Jets at the twin Airforce Bases are all US AirForce.  I went to the Airshows here as a child, and some things I won't ever grow bored of - loud Jets being one of them (even if their usage is against everything I stand for, they are still mega cool).So with the sun setting, we hit Lowestoft in Norfolk, staying at Helens Aunts house, playing with the Chooks and the Dogs :-)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255601163/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255601163/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255601163/tpod.html Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:05:11 -0400 Around Britain on a whim

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Gretna Green, Scotland, United Kingdom

As usual, up at 5am, this time packing up camp and going elsewhere.  We left the Lake District, stopping off at Long Meg and Her Daughters, a massive Stone Circle.  The place was totally deserted, just us and a few cows.  Much more enjoyable than Castlerigg, we noticed lots of Pagan offerings in the trees, and Megalithic art on the stones.  For those of you who question life, it's a very enjoyable place to visit.From there we drove around the Border Regions of England, checking out Hadrian's Wall - built by the Roman Hadrian to keep the Scottish clans from attacking them - and then up across the border itself into sunny Scotland.  An hour in to the country, Helly received the phone call we were dreading - the call to come back to work early.  *sigh*  So that was the end of the road north.  However, it wasn't the end of the trip.  It just meant we had to go south now.So with a quick stop off in Gretna Green (home of quick weddings) we passed over the stunning Yorkshire Dales, which were full of two different types of person:  Motorcyclists and Gypsys.  The former come to the Dales for a hoon on the roads, the dangers of which we saw first hand, having to drive past a nasty motor cycle accident which was almost certainly a fatal one.  The later were here for the Appleby Fair, when they get together to sell, buy and ride Horses, have a few fights to settle things and generally scare the shit out of middle England.  We went past tons of beautiful horse drawn caravans, and the mood was one of fun, not intimidating in any way.Hitting the dreaded M1, we went South, past Leeds, all the time our good moods rapidly disappearing.  Thus, we decided to stop off at Cambridge for the night instead of going home.  We found the YHA thanks to the miracle of 3.5g connections on our mobile phones, and thus ended up at the happy hostel playing Connect 4 and drinking old man beers.  Oh and finally having a warm shower, woo!....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255601084/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255601084/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255601084/tpod.html Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:05:03 -0400 Around Britain on a whim

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Keswick, England, United Kingdom

Busy busy busy today.  First we went to Castlerigg Stone Circle, which dates from the Early Bronze Age - around 3200 BC.  Pretty old.  The setting is amazing - surrounded on all sides by mountains, and hardly a sound to hear...except for this annoying little shit who kept climbing on the stones.  I realise I'm a killjoy, but for fucks sake, a bit of respect please?  If you've read through the Australia trip blog, you will know my views on people pissing about at these places.We ventured into the nearby town of Keswick, which was very busy.  They had a cracking farmers market in full swing, and some cool old buildings and nice parks.  I don't know any more about the place except it was very pleasant.  Like it should be.  From here we went south, past Derwent Water, on the hunt for more geocaches.  We took in a few small caves, the much larger Boweder Stone (a massive rock pushed here by a glacier some time ago...), more fields, mountains, stunning views and lots of plans for retiring early and setting up home there.  On the way back to Ambleside we played on another pass, in amongst steep walls of slate, and saw a sign for an Osprey viewing platform, so checked it out.  The place was shut up, but we went and found the platform anyway, on the way talking to a local who said there would be Red Squirrels out, which is ultra rare.  Sadly someones Dog had scared them off by the time we got there, but the view was great regardless.  The Ospreys were nowhere to be seen, sadly.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255600997/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255600997/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255600997/tpod.html Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:02:16 -0400 Around Britain on a whim

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Coniston, England, United Kingdom

You can't visit the Lake District and not hike to the top of a mountain, and being the sheep we are, we decided to go visit the Conniston Old Man.&nbsp; One of the more popular mountains to hike, it has a decent sized path all the way to the top, and isn't particularly hard either.&nbsp; At least, that is, if you researched it before hand and not just turn up and decide on a random path.&nbsp; Yup, we went the back way, and saw barely another soul the entire way up.&nbsp; After about 40 minutes of walking, the path we were on reached a tiny stream, and then stopped.&nbsp; There was no clear path on the other side, but knowing the basics of mountains, we knew any way would do as long as it's up.&nbsp; An hour later we spotted a few other people, and realised that there was probably a path were they where.&nbsp; So we walked in their direction for a bit until we found a small but clear path.&nbsp; An hour wasted, true, but we did see a Quarry and some Sheep whilst lost, so it's not all bad.&nbsp; We followed this path for another hour, all the while going up, up, up.&nbsp; The views were stunning, especially since the Sun decided to stay out all day long, which in these parts is fairly rare.&nbsp; We knew we were at the top when we saw a hoard of other people, all of whom went the main way up.&nbsp; We had our lunch, found a geocache, took far too many photos and just marveled in the fantastic views.&nbsp; <i>It's at times like this that you know you're alive.We went down the main way, and both of us reckoned it was probably harder than the back way.&nbsp; And very, very busy.&nbsp; Compared to some people we met on the way down, we were practically Mountain Rescue types.&nbsp; Saw all sorts - very young, very old, very fat, very underdressed.&nbsp; Not sure if they will have made it, seeing the state they were in a mile in to the walk.&nbsp; We took various breaks on the way down, having a very, very cold dip in the Tarn (lake) on the hillside, and searching for a few more Geocaches.&nbsp; Also played on a disused quarry, and if my young cousins are reading this - Don't play in a disused Quarry.&nbsp; They are dangerous, and only people with little to live for should go near them!With the rest of the afternoon free, and the weather perfect, we went for a nice long drive, ending up on the east cost of the Irish Sea.&nbsp; Nothing but small towns, fields and very little else.&nbsp; Oh, the huge Nuclear Power Station at Sellafield.&nbsp; It looked very out of place.On the way back to Ambleside we took the Hardknott Pass, England's steepest road with a gradient of 1-in-3, or 33%.&nbsp; What followed was a lot of swearing, wheel spinning, grounding of the bottom of the car, lots more photos and a hella lot of fun.&nbsp; Stunning views, barely anyone else around and the sun was still out.&nbsp; Perfect.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255600924/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255600924/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255600924/tpod.html Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:00:46 -0400 Around Britain on a whim

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Ambleside, England, United Kingdom

I didn't realise it, but being 300 more miles north than I'm used to, it does make a difference to when the sun sets and rises.&nbsp; We were up at 5am, as were all the local Geese who chose to bark at me.&nbsp; So with nothing better to do, we had traditional campfire tuck - beans and sausages for no-prob-Bob-Darren, cous cous and rice and weird stuff for the Simple-&amp;-short-Helly.&nbsp; We also decided to take a dawn stroll around the Lake to Ambleside, then found out that 200 meters up the shore it was fenced off.&nbsp; So I chucked some Duck poo at Helen for a laugh, and we drove to Ambleside instead.&nbsp; We had a nice walk around, checking out "Bridge House", which was once a family home even though it's the size of car; then we went up to Stockghyll Force, a very pretty waterfall on the outskirts of Ambleside.&nbsp; After mooching around the stores, we decided to go for a drive, and hit Kirkstone Road, also known as "The Struggle".&nbsp; The road is a narrow, windy and pretty steep affair, seen on various Driving shows on TV.&nbsp; You won't get past 2nd gear (for our American friends who don't use gears, don't worry).&nbsp; It took us ages to reach the top (Kirkstone Inn) because we were having so much fun breaking the car and stopping for photos the entire way.&nbsp; You great some cracking views of Lake Windermere from up there, at least until you drive into the clouds.From there we made our way north, past Ullswater and onto Aira Force waterfall.&nbsp; The weather was stunning, and the stroll to both waterfalls (High Force, further up the stream and far less visited) was fantastic.&nbsp; I even managed to spot my first ever wild Lizard in the UK, which I was stoked about for hours.&nbsp; Amazing how little things can really please you.&nbsp; We spent a few hours with our feet in the stream at High Force, bathing in the rare UK summer sunshine, before getting back in the car and going to Thirlmere water.&nbsp; It was here that we went for a couple of short walks, all in aid of finding a small plastic box.&nbsp; Yes, we went geocaching for the rest of the afternoon, before hitting the campsite again.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255600768/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255600768/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255600768/tpod.html Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:00:02 -0400 Around Britain on a whim

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Ambleside, England, United Kingdom

We left Kent three days later, having had to sort out some holiday from work commitments.&nbsp; Knowing we wanted to see the UK, we went West, hitting the M25, then eventually ending up on the M40, towards Oxford, Birmingham and the North. Driving is a lot more fun when you have no destination, no time restraints and a comfortable car. Stopping off to sample some of the midlands best motorway service station food (and grab some Geocaches whilst at it) we ended up past Manchester and Liverpool, and entering a whole different world - The Lake District.We ended up at Low Wray campsite, on the banks of Lake Windermere, on a National Trust property.&nbsp; Having a modest tent meant it could be put up in two minutes, and having more time to go see the area.&nbsp; We ended up in the nearby town of Ambleside, which is pretty much the centre of tourist activity in the Lake District, so was basically comprised of hiking stores, pubs and take aways.&nbsp; Not quite the quaint scene I had pictured in my mind, but saying that it was a very scenic place, full of stone buildings and gentle streams.&nbsp; The kind of place I'd like to live but never admit it.&nbsp; And so, that was day 1.&nbsp; A 500 mile drive, dodgy food and a beautiful campsite on the banks of a stunning lake.&nbsp; Pretty ideal really.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255600572/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255600572/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/18/1255600572/tpod.html Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:59:26 -0400 Around Britain on a whim

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Maidstone, Kent, United Kingdom

You should probably excuse this entire blog entry, due to the fact I'm writing this in September, three months after the actual trip. I'll forget certain things, probably get others completely wrong, so I'll just chuck a ton of photos in instead and hope that helps pass the time. So let's start off were we ended last time......arriving at Heathrow from Singapore, I didn't want my fun to end, so in the car home myself and Helly hatched a plan.&nbsp; We would tour the British Isles on a whim.&nbsp; No plan, no real ideas, just throw the bikes and tent in the car and go, just see the country we had grown up in.This is the story of that idea...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/17/1254747975/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/17/1254747975/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/17/1254747975/tpod.html Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:39:03 -0400 Slovakia - Austria - Poland (September 2009)

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Nowa Huta, Southern Poland, Poland

I was awoken around 3am by my bunkmate getting laid.&nbsp; Her chosen partner was rocking it so hard I felt like I was the one being fucked.&nbsp; Even my leaping off the top bunk and going to the bathroom trick didn't stop them.&nbsp; I have to give them props - they went the distance.&nbsp; Judging by the noise, I'd give them both 8/10.&nbsp; Just don't do it when I'm not getting any, alright?We were picked up at 9am by our cheerful "Crazy Guide" in a East German built Trabant.&nbsp; It was awesome.&nbsp; For one of the worst cars ever built, it was great.&nbsp; Made of figure glass and sellotape, it would have bounced off rather than crashed.&nbsp; We headed to Nowa Huta, a town that was once on the outskirts of Krakow, but is now a suburb.The History of the place:&nbsp; Krakow wasn't too happy with the Communists.&nbsp; Being home to Universities, Cathedrals, Royal Castles etc, the local population didn't really agree with Communism.&nbsp; So Stalin decided to build a picture postcard Communist town on the outskirts of Krakow.&nbsp; Alongside the new town would be a massive Steel Works (weird considering all the raw materials for Steel were hundreds of miles away), all built on the most fertile land in Krakow.&nbsp; Thus, the local farmers and works had no choice but to get on board the good ship Communism, since if they didn't they would starve.&nbsp; Or be shot.&nbsp; Nowa Huta is the result.The actual town is real interesting to learn about.&nbsp; The huge open boulevards?&nbsp; Designed to allow parades to happen....or for easy access for Tanks if need be.&nbsp; Each building was designed to have one entrance, which could easily be blocked off if need be.&nbsp; On the top of each building was room for snipers...and spies.&nbsp; Good eh?We also went to a local church.&nbsp; This Church was built during the Communist era - I believe the only one to do so.&nbsp; The Communist Government couldn't really stop the population, especially when Pope John Paul II (a local lad) visited the area.&nbsp; So they built it from anything they could - stones, rocks, local wood etc.&nbsp; The roof looks like the Ark.&nbsp; Very cool.Sixty years later it's home to 300,000 people.&nbsp; After dark it's a little scary to wonder around, but in the early morning sun it looked nice.&nbsp; Our guide (I've forgotten his name) took us to his local milk bar later too - easier to figure out what you want with someone who can read the language!&nbsp; He also let us jump on the Trabant.&nbsp; It was indeed very bouncy.For more information on Nowa Huta then look here: Wikitravel It really is interesting.&nbsp; Honest.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/17/1254748645/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/17/1254748645/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/darrenstravels/17/1254748645/tpod.html Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:34:14 -0400 Slovakia - Austria - Poland (September 2009)

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Oswiecim, Southern Poland, Poland

In the afternoon I took a trip to Auschwitz. (Helen went to various places in Krakow instead).&nbsp; I don't think there is too much to say about it really.&nbsp; I'd imagine you know exactly what the place was.&nbsp; It is now a memorial to those who died.&nbsp; It is also a very interesting museum.&nbsp; They've done it in a very good way too - you'll be shocked, you'll be upset, you'll think, maybe you'll even smile at the stories of those who lived.&nbsp; You'll see the mountains of possessions the Nazi's took off the victims...nothing quite like three tonnes of Children's shoes to wipe the smile off your face...or the masses of Human hair they cut from victims (to be sold to German companies).&nbsp; I won't say much more, except the place pretty much wiped out the Jewish population of Hungary and Poland...not to mention hundreds of thousands of Russians, Romanies and anyone considered a threat.&nbsp; Fact:&nbsp; If the Nazi's had succeeded, I wouldn't be here today (Not Jewish, but descended from one of the groups persecuted).I'd argue it's a place everyone should visit at some point, especially Europeans.
]]>