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In September & October 2003 we decided to mark our 25th wedding anniversary by taking a long overdue 6 week trip to Britain. We decided to travel extensively and to see as much of the country (and countryside) as possible, and to visit places associated with our family history:
the Benton family in East London (Plaistow and West Ham);
the Beer family in Cardiff, Wales
the Goldsworthy family in the South-West of England and London;
the Froggatt family in Derbyshire and Nottingham city.
We present the trip here as a travel diary, with notes about each day and selected photographs. The diary is divided into 6 weekly files so you can read through the week, or go directly to the record for that day. Happy reading.
| WEEK
1 click on the week to see all 7 days or click on the day number to see a day at a time |
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| Day 1 | Mon 8 Sept |
Arrived Heathrow 0720. Hertz Rental car pickup. Drove SW via Stonehenge, Amesbury, Exeter to timeshare at Newton Abbott. 162mi |
| Day 2 | Tues 9 Sept | A tour of Dartmoor, Lydford Castle, then the Goldsworthy graves at Clyst St George. |
| Day 3 | Wed 10 Sept | Torbay & Torre Abbey Sands, Buckfastleigh, north to Exmoor and Lynton, Lynmouth, Oare Valley, then back to Newton Abbott. |
| Day 4 | Thurs 11 Sept | East to Sidbury then Lyme Regis for the day |
| Day 5 | Fri 12 Sept | Southwest to Looe, Polperro, Kynton Cove, Cornish mines than back through Plymouth. |
| Day 6 | Sat 13 Sept |
Depart Newton Abbott for Cheddar Gorge, Mendip Hills, Tucking Mill (Home of William Smith) and Bath. Farm stay overnight at Hinton Blewett |
| Day 7 | Sun 14 Sept |
West
to Clevedon,
Bristol, over the bridge to Wales and Cardiff, Cogan, Penarth, then north to Brecon Nat Park.
B&B in Brecon. |
| WEEK 2 | ||
| Day 8 | Mon 15 Sept |
From Wales to Hay-on-Wye (bookshops), Herefordshire via Hidden Highway and Black & White Highway, Shrewsbury, Iron Bridge Gorge. Hotel in Derby. |
| Day 9 | Tues 16 Sept |
Return to Iron Bridge Gorge museums, then on to The Potteries (Wedgwood), Bakewell, Glossop, Snake Pass (High Peak); Lady Bower Reservoir; Castleton, Froggatt Village. Accommodation at Chequers Inn at Froggatt Edge. |
| Day 10 | Wed 17 Sept |
Castleton, Blue John Cavern, walk along Froggatt Edge and White Edge in afternoon. |
| Day 11 | Thurs 18 Sept |
Froggatt Wood, Wind in Willows Museum; Heights of Abraham at Matlock Bath, Fenny Bentley, Clifton, Ashbourne |
| Day 12 | Fri 19 Sept |
Sandiacre and Froggatt family graves at St Giles, then Nottingham Castle, Brewhouse Yard and surroundings. |
| Day 13 | Sat 20 Sept |
Nottingham City centre; Nottingham General Cemetery. |
| Day 14 | Sun 21 Sept |
Sherwood Forest, Major Oak; Ruddington Frame Work Knitting Museum |
| WEEK 3 | ||
| Day 15 | Mon 22 Sept |
North through the Yorkshire moors to Bronte country, then out to the coast at Scarborough, Captain Cook's home at Whitby, then on to Darlington. |
| Day 16 | Tues 23 Sept |
Darlington and Frederick Hope’s house, 18 Langholm Cres. North to Newcastle on Tyne, over the border to Scotland, Hadrian’s Wall and Edinburgh. Travel Inn hotel. |
| Day 17 | Wed 24 Sept |
A long drive north through Perth, Inverness, Tain, then B&B in Wick. |
| Day 18 | Thurs 25 Sept |
John O Groats, Thurso, Durness, Ullapool 225mi. Nice B&B in Ullapool. |
| Day 19 | Fri 26 Sept |
Gairloch, Kinlochewe, Inverness, Oban. 237mi. Pleasant B&B in Oban. |
| Day 20 | Sat 27 Sept |
Early ferry from Oban to Craignure on Mull, drive across Mull to Fionnphort and passenger ferry to Iona. Wonderful B&B at Iona. Afternoon boat trip to Staffa on mirror-calm water. |
| Day 21 | Sun 28 Sept |
Quiet day on Iona. |
| Day 22 | Mon 29 Sept |
Ferry back to Mull, then ferry to Oban. Drive to Glasgow and explore family locations. Take M64 south and overnight in Travel Inn at Annandale Water |
| Day 23 | Tues 30 Sept |
Early start and travel south to Stratford on Avon. Explore Shakespeare country. B&B in Stratford. |
| Day 24 | Wed 1 Oct |
South to London via Oxford. Drop off rental car at Marble Arch (eventually) and transfer to hotel. 317 mi. Red Bus tour of London. |
| Day 25 | Thurs 2 Oct |
More bus tour, river cruise, evening performance of "Noises Off" |
| Day 26 | Fri 3 Oct |
Morning trip to All Saints Church, West Ham. Afternoon on London Eye |
| Day 27 | Sat 4 Oct |
Science & technology Museum in morning then underground to watch an afternoon performance at The Globe Theatre. Train to Heathrow and return. |
| Day 28 | Sun 5 Oct |
Train
to Victoria Station, transfer to Coach Station for trip to Paris. |
| WEEKS 5&6 | ||
| Days 29&30 | Mon, Tues 6&7 Oct |
Bus tour of Paris, including Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, Sacre Coeur |
| Day 31 | Wed 8 Oct |
Metro to coach station and coach back to London; depart 1030, arr 1740. Coach London – Nottingham depart Victoria Stn 1830, arr Notts 2130. Transfer to Travel Inn. |
| Day 32 | Thurs 9 Oct |
Meet Curator at Brewhouse Yard. Afternoon at Nottingham Archives. |
| Day 33-39 | Sat-Thurs 11-16 Oct |
Canal Cruising: Trent & Mersey canal; Erewash Canal, then 2 days in Nottingham archives |
| Day 40 | Fri 17 Oct | Boat check-out before 9.30am.
0930 Coach to London Victoria Stn. |