England

Old England and New. A view of the Parliament building and clock tower/Big Ben, with the London Eye in the background.

London, England. A more modern view of Parliament (and everything else) from the top of the London Eye.

London, England. Tradition is alive and well here, as with the mounted guard at Whitehall.

Cotswolds, England. Enough of the City already! Out into the countryside to the Cotwolds - traditional England at it's finest. Everything in this part of the country looks straight out of The Hobbit and for good reason - the area provided much of the inspiration for Hobbit and Lord of the Rings novels.

Castle Combe, Cotwolds, England. The quaint little villages that make up the Cotwolds do their best to keep everything looking cute & tidy. Gardening seems to be taken very seriously here.

The main thing to do in the Cotswolds is : hike. Do a scenic drive or 2, then hike some more. Hundreds of trails crisscross the landscape, running through farm pastures, botanical gardens, arboretums, brooks, lavender fields, private estates. It's easy to hike from one village to another here, if you want to take the scenic route.

The line between 'forest' and 'mansion' can be a bit blurred in central England...

Mt. Snowdon, Wales. This is beautiful Snowdonia National Park and the beginning of the long trail up to the summit of Mt Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. In typical fine British style, there is a pub on top. And it was closed.

Llanrwst, Wales. This was the first time I'd ever stayed in a real castle. This one is Gwydir Castle, and it dates back to 1356. Built over 400 years before we were even a country!

With a little advance planning you can stay in one; many of these B&B-type operations are scattered throughout the English, & Welsh countrysides. But not so much in Scotland for some reason..

It's an odd thing, the first time you come across Stonehenge. It sits out in the middle of an empty field just off a major highway. You're just driving along and Bam! there it is.. It gets very crowded and on this day we decided the view from the road was good enough.