|
  | |  |
Scary - NOT!
Entry 85 of 89 | show all | print this entry |
7.30am
We had to be ready to leave by 7.30 and at about 7.15 there were a few people milling about outside the hostel. There were 2 white mini buses and 2 guys cleaning them and organising things. Turns out that the tour is not actually run by backpacker tours but rather farmed out to different companies and I may have realised that if I had atually read all my information more closely.
There were 2 tours leaving - the one to Scotland (mine) and the one to Cornwell (my next tour). On our tour there were only 6 people but only 5 people turned up: myself, a mother/daughter team from Quebec whose English is not that great (the daughter is pretty good but the mum has only a smattering is relying heavily on her daughter transpating everything) and a couple from NZ. Our driver never actually introduced himself so we were off to a great start!
8.00am
We waited for the last person to turn up but she was a no show so we left without her. Our driver doesn't say much so the drives are quite long because at this stage all the passengers are a little shy. Hopefully it will get better.
10.00
We arrived in Nottingham and walked up the path to Notingham castle - looked at it from the outside, turned around and walked back to the van. That's it. There was a short explaination about the castle from the tour guide but he speaks so quickly it's a little difficult for me to understand him (goodness knows how Team Quebec (TQ) are doing?)
After the castle we stopped suddenly in the middle of town and a woman got on board - our missing person from this morning: Jenny from Oz. Turns out backpacker tours didn't tell her about the change of pick up location so she was waiting at the wrong spot. Luckily she had a phone number and called the office and they told her to catch a train from London to Nottingham (£58) which they would reimburse. It from Jenny that we found out the tour guide's name was Duncan.
Talking to Jenny later I realised that the only reason I knew about the change of location was because I had gone to book my accommodation in the hostel and it was closed for renovations... I emailed them and they got back to me. If I hadn't - who knows? I may have been on that train with Jenny.
12.00
Next stop was Sherwood Forest where according to the intinerary we would have a chance to explore Robin Hood's territory and have a picnic lunch. In actual fact we had about 30 mins to walk to 'The Major Oak' an 800 year old tree on a well worn path and then had to buy lunch in the cafeteria. I didn't mind the short walk becasue my back was killing me. I had been in tears earlier in the bus, trying to hide them from everyone as I didn't want to start the tour crying in front of everyone. My back was generally ok when I was sitting or lying down but walking or even standing still was very very painful. Except for some reason, I couldn't get comfortable on the bus seats and so I was in a lot of pain. The only relief came from lying down across 3 seats... lucky there were only 6 people on the bus. If it had been full there would have been no way I could have done that.
Also on the itinerary was the optional extra of archery, except it wasn't even mentioned. When we asked Duncan about it, he knew nothing about it and said we wouldn't have had time anyway.
3.30
We arrived in York and had 2 hours to ourselves before Duncan would take us on a walking tour. He said not to go to the Cathedral because it was on the walking tour. My back was really really sore so I lay down for a bit.
5.30
The walking tour went along the city walls, up to the cathedral but not inside (as by this time it was closed which I should have realised would happen) York is steeped in viking history and we heard about their ways of killing, including 'the angel of death' - where the viking would slit you from throat to stomach, pull out your lungs and place them over your shoulders so that they looked like 'angel wings' - you were still alive for a little while throughout all of this.
7.30
We had a traditional viking feast for dinner - we walked into the pub and found corny viking hats and fur vests on our seats and a buffet on a seperate table. The buffet was chicken, potatoes (fair enough), spring rolls, salads and noodles (didn't realise the vikings ate that kind of food). Still there was plenty to eat and it was nice enough.
9.00
We went on a 'Ghost Tour'. This tour is run by 2 brothers who do the tour rain, hail or shine every night (except Xmas and New Year) and it was fantastic! They really get into the role. We were waiting and this tall think man wearing a long black coat and top hat (victorian style) and carrying a small black step ladder came down the street.
The look on his face was as if he was looking at something he had stepped in. That 'look down my nose because I am so much better than you' look - and he kept it up for the enitre tour. He told the stories with humour and involved the audience (there were about 40 people) and it was his use of dramatic pauses and innuendo that made it so good. For only £5 - I really really recommend it if you are ever in York.
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries from United Kingdom or try a new search. |
| |
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
4 votes 
