ENGLAND REVISITED

In February this year I contacted my travel agent Catterfly AG based at Basel Switzerland and requested him for a plan for us to visit Iceland where I wanted self-drive option. We approached them for two reasons. 1- they had planned our New Zealand & Australia trip, which was fabulous , 2- Nitin Pradhan the owner of the start-up Catterfly was highly educated and widely travelled IIM Kolkata graduate who had given up his lucrative job in Europe to travel the world. I thought he needed our patronage in his endeavor.

It was decided that first I and Archana would travel to Bedford-UK, stay with Ashoks for a few days and then we will go to Iceland together. After the trip we were to travel back to Bedford. I and Archana were to visit attractions around Bedford and visit London as much as possible for walking trips having already been to UK earlier two times, we had covered most attractions.

Hired Catterfly

Catterfly was hired for Iceland. That trip has been covered separately and has been published as well. England trip they helped us with the air tickets only which we actually wanted as rest of the trip we planned ourselves. In any case we were to live with Ashoks.

The D-Day: 14/6/2023

We preloaded British Pounds on Borderless Thomas Cook cards. We also kept our international credit and debit cards just in case. An Innova Crystal SUV by Sand & Peebles dropped us at the Bhubaneswar airport in time for our 9.40 am Vistara flight. The baggage would go through to Heathrow. We only needed to transfer to international departures for their connecting flight to LHR (London- Heathrow) at Delhi. Same day at London local time 8.20 PM we reached Heathrow. Immigration line was too long. It appeared as if Indians had taken over the airport. London was quite warm. The formalities took about 1.5 hours. I purchased a UK O2 SIM for 25 GBP which they said would work in Europe also. It had one month validity with 50 GB internet access. It didn’t work in Iceland.

Ashok and Maya met us outside arrival terminal-3 near WH Smith. They had driven all the way from Bedford to give us a ride back home. We were on the road to Bedford after 10.30 pm. In London, we were told many roads are closed after 10 pm for maintenance work. Google rerouted us many times and a trip which should have taken max 1.50 hrs. took  one hour more. We all reached their nice 5-bedroom house with a neat conservatory and beautifully trimmed lawn surrounded by flowers beds at 5-Dumbarton mead. It was 5.30 am on 15/6/23 in India.

15/6/23 (Day-1-Bedford)

Chicksands Wood- Bedford Haynes

Chicksands Woods, located about 11 miles from Ashoks’ home, have some good walking trails. We had gone there hoping to try some. But the area smelt of dog poo and urine. Outside the park, we found a vehicle of “Pet Au Pair,” - a dog care agency in the business of dog walking and pet sitting business based in central Bedfordshire. They probably brought the client's dogs to walk in the park. While we were there, a gentleman

alighted out of his car and walked into the park with his two dogs in trail. Things became clear, and we decided not to go into the park for the walk.

Rowney Warren Woods

Disappointed with Chicks Sands Woods, we proceeded to Rowney Warren Woods. These woods in Bedfordshire too have walking trails, a BMX* trail and mountain bike trails to try. In one-half of the woods, you will find cycling trails and in the other peaceful woodland footpaths. There are good facilities as well a good-sized car park, picnic areas and a cafe. We spent some quality time here walking and having coffee.* BMX- short sports bike used for racing and stunts.

Longholme Island

After the Rowney Warren Woods, we went to Longholme Island. Our hosts told us that the area is known as “The Embankment” - location-Bedford MK40 3QF. We walked there by the lake and saw several mute swans and Canadian geese playfully swimming.

At this place, you can hire a boat or go/ learn kayaking. There is a nice cafe here as well  by the name “Longholme” which had many visitors sitting in enjoying coffee.The entire area looked peaceful yet cheerful. Many families were picnicking here. They either brought their food packed from their homes or bought it at the cafe.

Bedford Boat Slide - Archimedean Screw:

A micro hydropower facility is installed here on the site of the former Bedford Boat Slide close to the Bedford Schools Boathouse. The Boat Slide was initially installed in the Victorian period when the river was busy with leisure boats. It was constructed to provide a link between the upper and lower rivers.

In 2011,a hydroelectric facility was installed to provide green energy along Mill Meadows and the Embankment in Bedford. The hydropower facility uses two Archimedean screw generators to use the power of the river to drive equipment as it once did for the many mills on the river throughout the borough.

On our way back home, we saw the Bedford town Centre and a church.

Bedford Clapham -Visit to Microbrewery

In the evening, we went to a microbrewery for craft beer and a beautiful picture of the sunset at 9.15 pm. The beer was good, and the chicken was ok, but the bill was rather stiff by Indian standards.

16/6/2023 (Day-2-Foxton locks and Leicester)

On day 2, our hosts took us to Foxton Locks. We set out around 10 am, all dressed up and cheerful for a day out in the sun. The weather was pleasant.

Foxton Locks is home to the longest, steepest staircase flight of locks in Britain and sits in 34 acres of natural green spaces with a wide variety of wildlife. Also located at the site are two pubs, two cafés, a museum and the chance to hire a day boat.

Foxton's locks are a flight of 10 locks. They were built in 1810. They raised boats a massive 75ft up the hill from Market Harborough and linked the north and south of England by the canal. It took cargo boats over an hour to move through them. In 1900 an inclined plane was built alongside which raised boats in 12 minutes. This was expensive to maintain and was only used for ten years.

Leicester town visit

Because we wanted to see a predominately Indian-inhabited area, our hosts took us to Leicester, which was about 25 miles from Foxton. Leicester is predominately inhabited by Gujaratis.

We saw there small “immigrants’ row houses” facing each other on either side of a traffic road, their front doors opening on the road facing their lengthwise parked cars which left just enough room for two up and down cars to pass.

Lunchtime in Leicester

When people think of food in Leicester, they automatically think of two things: cheese and pork pies. The city is known for stilton, Red Leicester Cheese, and a classic pork pie, and these are its two biggest contributions to wider British cuisine. But, except me, nobody ate any pork, and so we let our hosts decide who are predominately vegetarians and also had little or no focus on food. I bet; we can all learn from them.

They took us to a restaurant called “Amaravathi, which looked small yet comfortable and served authentic South Indian cuisine. We found the prices for four reasonable at about £35/37 by UK standards but which is about two times that charged at 5-star facilities like Mayfair in Bhubaneswar.

After our meal at Amaravathi, we all went to a pan shop. I don’t eat pan, but the rest did. Archana was amazed at the variety and the interior. It was owned by a Gujarati.

On our way back to Bedford we met Dr Shyam J  Purohit and his wife Jyoti at 143 St. Saviours Road, Leicester. She kept a very well-tended garden and maintained a six/seven-bedroom house very nicely despite her knee troubles. Dr Purohit was very witty and had great sense of humour.

17/6/2023 (Day-3-London- St Pancras)

On this day, we were scheduled to meet Archana’s sister’s daughter Aditi and son-in-law Rohit in London, who were coming there from Reading ( 25 miles from London Heathrow) for their France visa appointment. Aditi is a bright dentist, and Rohit is a research scientist in plant genetics and has a PhD from Germany. Both are doing very well in their respective professions.

We purchased 2x super off-peak return tickets with a day pass for £53/54 and took Thameslink from Bedford at 10 am. That day rail works was going on in this line. We had to drop at Luton, take a bus to  Hitchin arranged by the railways and from Hitchin station to St Pancras there was a train arranged by railways. The journey time increased from about 1 to 2 hrs.

At St Pancras, we waited at the Starbucks after sharing our live location with Aditi. King's Cross St Pancras Underground station links six London Underground lines – Circle, Piccadilly, Hammersmith & City, Northern, Metropolitan and Victoria.

They both came around 1 pm. Since Archana wanted to go to the millennium bridge, we we just followed behind them as they seemed quite an at ease with London. At the bridge, we had some photos of each other taken. Aditi told me that for one dental implant, including the crown, they charge £3200, whereas I find Bhubaneswar charges which are about one-tenth of theirs very  expensive. Good for us that we don’t live there.

Lunch at Dishoom King’s Cross

Aditi had pre-booked Dishoom restaurant at King’s Cross for the 3 pm slot; otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to enter there. Despite booking, we had to wait for some time. This particular restaurant has branches in Kensington, Covent Garden, Shoreditch, Canary Wharf, Manchester, King's Cross, Edinburgh, Carnaby, and Birmingham.

It evoked the memory of Irani cafés which were popular across Bombay in the 1960s. Dishoom was founded in 2010 by co-founders Shamil and Kavi Thakrar, as well as Amar and Adarsh Radia (who both left the business in 2017).

The lunch was good, and despite my insistence, Rohit very sweetly paid the bill. Like Maya and Ashok, Rohit seemed to be a tea lover. He said he liked beer in the evening, especially, the German variety.

After lunch, we roamed around to pass the time and be together. Went to a  dress shop which had nothing below £80. Similar dresses in India are available for ?2000-2500. Aditi had told us that they charged £70/80 for tooth extraction there, and so I sang impromptu in Hindi, “ ek dant todu to top mil jaye,”- she completed the second line, “ duja dant todu to set ban jaye” and we all laughed in good humour.

Finally, they both left us at the King’s Cross underground tube station, where after coffee at Starbucks, we bid farewell to each other with good memories. I and Archana took the 7:15 pm Thames link from St Pancras to Bedford and reached in 2 hrs like as when we came in earlier during the day. Ashok picked us up at the station. His house is about 2 km. We took a bath and sat talking till late with wine and something to go with that.

18/6/2023 (Day-4-Bedford)

Meeting Ashok’s family

On 18/6/23, Sunday, Ashok and Maya’s two sons Amit and Ankur and their families were invited for brunch. We had also wanted to see them all. The last time we had met all was in July 2013 at the younger one (Ankur’s)  wedding in Blackpool, 200 miles away from Bedford, where Ashok then lived.

The brunch was a quiet affair. The two families came one after the other and stayed together briefly as being a Sunday; they had to attend to pending housework and go out with their kids. Yet, both daughters-in-law washed the dishes and put them into the dishwasher before leaving.

Priory Country Park- Country Park in Bedford

In the afternoon, four of us left for the country park in Bedford, known as Priory Park. Priory Country Park is a 360-acre green space made up of lakes, meadows and woodland, which is in part enclosed within a bend in the River Great Ouse. There are habitats from meadows to reed beds, quiet walks for all, fishing, boating, play areas, and bird hides. 

It is also a County Wildlife Site, and certain areas of the park are left undisturbed for the benefit of the wildlife that makes the park its home. Priory Country Park is one of four Bedford Borough Council-managed parks that has been awarded a Green Flag. A small farming settlement stood here 2,000 years ago. By 300 AD, it became the centre of a large farming estate. Workers lived in stone and timber buildings with tiled roofs. They rode horses and kept dogs. They raised cattle and sheep in the surrounding fields and then brought them to the cobbled yard to be butchered.

Newnham Priory

Walking on, we proceeded to where the Newnham priory had been founded by Simon de Beauchamp, Baron of Bedford, in around 1165 AD. The monastic precinct at Newnham was extensive, covering some 35 acres, and enclosed by a wall on not only its eastern side but also on its northern and western sides, with the River Great Ouse forming the boundary on the southern side. St Paul's Church stood at the centre of the precinct under what is now the car park to the Leisure Centre. At the time of our visit, bird flu had been detected in the area, so we didn't spend much time there and returned to our parked car after some refreshments in the cafe consisting of apple pie and coffee.

Bedford Park

Before returning home, we went to the Bedford Park. This is the largest urban Park in the town developed when the town expanded eastwards.

27/6/2023 (England- Day-5-London )

In our previous two visits to UK when we were in London four times and had already done several attractions of the city. We had even done Cardiff, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Blackpool and Lake districts. Those trips have given us some insight into UK and in this trip today we basically intended to spend a day in the city of Westminster.

Like on 17th we purchased 2x super off-peak with zone-1 London pass but had to pay $70 which was 25% more expensive because we purchased just in time. From St Pancras we were told that to visit city of Westminster we could either go to Piccadilly circus or to Charing cross and take a walk.

Charring Cross

The name commonly refers to the Queen Eleanor Memorial Cross at Charing Cross railway station. It was the site of the final battle of Wyatt's Rebellion. This was an attempt by Thomas Wyatt and others to overthrow Queen Mary-I of England, soon after her accession to the throne, and replace her with Lady Jane Grey.

It is now a junction in Westminster,London,where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road, the Strand leading to The City; Northumberland Avenue leading to the Thames Embankment; Whitehall leading to Parliament Square; The Mall leading to Admiralty Arch and Buckingham Palace; and two short roads leading to Pall Mall.

Piccadilly Circus

From King’s Cross tube station, we took the Piccadilly line to Piccadilly Circus which was four stops away and decided to walk around Charing Cross area also as it has a history of its own. Piccadilly Circus is frequented by tourists at all hours of the day and is especially busy during the evenings and at weekends. It is a short walk from many major London attractions including Theatre-land, the popular shopping district Oxford Circus as well as being just minutes away from the Royal parks and Buckingham Palace.

From here we began our long walk, via theatre district walking further by the side of St James Park on a portion of “The Diana Princes of Wales Memorial walk,” Trafalgar square, Charing Cross, Victoria memorial headquarters, Buckingham palace and so on waiting occasionally for photographs as during earlier visits we didn't have a good camera. This time our iPhones seemed to be doing pretty good and Google was a great help finding our ways as well as identifying the various buildings and monuments not to speak off the tube connections.

Shaftesbury Avenue

This is the most famous street in London's West End, as it has six theatres! Home to the Apollo Theatre, Gielgud Theatre, Lyric Theatre, Palace Theatre, Sondheim Theatre, and Shaftesbury Theatre, it's the busiest and glitziest road in Soho.

Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain

The Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, officially and popularly known as Eros, is a fountain surmounted by a winged statue of Anteros, located at the south-eastern side of Piccadilly Circus in London. Artist: Alfred Gilbert-Opened: 1892.

The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk

The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk is a seven-mile-long walk, charted by 90 plaques set in the ground, that takes you within sight of famous buildings and locations associated with the Princess during her life. You will pass through four of the eight Royal Parks on this walk: St James's Park, Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.

The City of Westminster

The City of Westminster is a city and borough in the London Region. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. The name (Old English: Westmynstre) originated from the informal description of the abbey church and royal peculiar of St Peter's (Westminster Abbey), west of the City of London (until the English Reformation there was also an Eastminster, near the Tower of London, in the East End of London).

Admiralty Arch

Admiralty Arch is a landmark building in London commissioned by King Edward VII  in memory of his mother, Queen Victoria, and designed by Aston Webb. In the past, it served as residence of the First Sea Lord and was used by the Admiralty . Until 2011, the building housed government offices. In 2012, the government sold the building on a 125-year lease for £60m for a proposed redevelopment into a Waldorf Astoria luxury hotel and four apartments. The hotel is scheduled to open in late 2025. The billionaire Reuben family was reported closing in on a £180m deal to fund one of central London’s most prestigious and protracted property projects: the transformation of Admiralty Arch into a luxury hotel and apartment complex.

St James's Palace

Built by order of Henry VIII in the 1530s on the site of a leper hospital dedicated to St James the less, the palace was secondary in importance to the Whitehall main residence of the monarchy. The palace now houses a number of official offices, societies and collections, and all ambassadors and high commissioners to the United Kingdom are still accredited to the Court of St James's. The palace was built primarily in Tudor style. A fire in 1809 destroyed parts of the structure, including the monarch's private apartments, which were never replaced. Some 17th-century interiors survive, but most were remodelled in the 19th century.

Collection of Vintage cars

Near the palace we found a large vintage car collection. Later, we saw these being kind of raced on the road. These cars were probably displayed there by some auction house.

Queen Alexandra memorial

The Queen Alexandra Memorial on Marlborough Road, London, which commemorates Queen Alexandra, was executed by the sculptor Sir Alfred Gilbert between 1926 and 1932. It consists of a bronze screen incorporating allegorical figures, set into the garden wall of Marlborough House and facing St. James's Palace.

Victoria Memorial Headquarters and Victoria Memorial

The Victoria Memorial is a monument to Queen Victoria, located at the end of The Mall in London, and designed and executed by the sculptor Thomas Brock. Designed in 1901, it was unveiled on 16 May 1911, though it was not completed until 1924.

Buckingham  Palace

Buckingham Palace is a royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom in the City of Westminster. It has been a focal point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and mourning.

Lunch near Buckingham Palace

We ate our late lunch which could qualify as their dinner if we were just 2 hour late. The name of the restaurant was Peninsula (Dammika's) serving Sri Lankan& Indian Cuisine.

We ordered a cider (apple beer with 4.5% alcohol), an orange juice, one portion of okra, one portion of Spinach packed Dal, two flaky layered flat breads and some steamed rice. Portions were small. Food was tasty. Bill with was £ 42 which by now seemed reasonable. Owner Manoj was a man from Nepal. The girl Sweety who served us was a BBA from Surat India. She was 23, married a year before to a boy working here in MacDonalds. They both together made £ 3500 per month, paid  £ 1000 as rent for one bedroom apartment in Wembley, spent another £1000 on food. The girl looked tired as she reached home daily around midnight.

Saint James Park

After the sumptuous lunch and a story in hand we roamed around the Buckingham Palace and then entered the St James Park from Queen Victoria memorial headquarters side  The Park includes The Mall and Horse guard parade. It is surrounded by landmarks such as Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Whitehall.

The Mall

The name “ Mall” is derived from Pelle Melle, a game introduced by King Charles which was traditionally played in St. James's Park. Traffic was permitted on The Mall in 1887.

The Mall is a grand processional route in honour of Queen Victoria, which has seen innumerable historic Today, The Mall plays an important part in ceremonies such as Changing the Guard , Trooping the Colour  and also Royal events such as weddings and funerals and the recent Jubilee celebrations.

Changing the Guard

The proper name of the ceremony known as Changing the Guard is actually Guard Mounting. In this process a New Guard exchanges duty with the Old Guard and both Guards are drawn from one of the regiments of Foot Guards.

Trooping the Colour

Over 1400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians come together each June in a great display of military precision, horsemanship and fanfare to mark the Sovereign's official birthday. balcony.

28/6/2023 (England Day-7-London)

On 28th we started in the morning by our usual train to St Pancras. From King’s cross we travelled to London Bridge station by Northern line. Just as we emerged Padela a famous bistro stood in front of us.

Borough Market

Located right in the heart of London, Borough Market is one of the best-known produce and street food markets in London. Open six days a week, the food market’s atmospheric halls and passageways are a pleasure to explore. Admission to Borough Market is free of charge. The market is on the south side of the Thames River just a 15-minute walk from Tower Bridge.

Padella is in the Borough Market itself accessible from outside. We wanted to roam around in the market refreshing our memories of 2023, August 3. The market has changed in these intervening years. We purchased some cheese, and latte chocolate which was very sweet. We also purchased and shared a small piece of the finest cheesecake which came from France.

Our Lunch:

We took red wine Sangria, gimlet and Paella for the lunch. Paella originated in the rice-growing areas on Spain's Mediterranean coast, the dish is especially associated with the region of Valencia. Paella takes its name from the paellera, the utensil in which it is cooked, a flat round pan with two handles; paella is traditionally eaten from the pan.

LONDON BRIDGES

There are five major bridges over the river Thames which is one of the world’s most famous rivers . Some are hundreds of years old, while others are relatively new. Five of them are tourist attractions in their own right.

1. London Bridge (Roman Times)
2. London Bridge (Early medieval times)
3. Old London Bridge (1209–1831)
4. London Bridge (1831)(or "New London Bridge"), the replacement for the 1209  London Bridge
5. Modern London Bridge(1973), the present-day London Bridge and replacement for the 1831 bridge

We walked over this modern London bridge on this day from Borough market post lunch at Bombo and later climbed down to the Thames River pier to get a good view of the Tower of London and Shard ( tallest building in London).

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge is probably the most iconic and recognisable of London’s bridges. After eight years and with the hard work of around 432 construction workers, the part bascule and suspension bridge were completed in 1894. We saw this bridge from a distance and enjoyed the sight recollecting our memories of earlier trips when we had spent half a day there.

Hyde Park

After the Thames River pier we walked back to the London Bridge underground and took tube to King’s cross and from there to the Hyde Park corner. The distance us 3 miles to Hyde Park from Kings Cross. We took Piccadilly line which reached us in 24/25 minutes. Inside the park we spent about 2 hrs lazying around, taking photos and drinking coffee near the lake.

Oxford Street

From Hyde Park we walked to the Oxford Street via Dorchester Hotel and Mayfair area. It was late evening by then and we were very tired walking having done 23-24 thousand steps. Nevertheless, did some shopping and returned to Oxford circus tube station for train to St Pancras from where we took a train to Bedford. At the station we had no pickup as our hosts were in London. We walked 5-6 thousand steps home, ate chicken curry and paratha ( prepared and kept for us by our angel like hist Maya), took bath and slept like logs. Ashoks came back late, and I didn't notice when.

 29/6/2023

Bedford and back home

In the morning Maya took us to the local market after lunch where we purchased a few things. At 3 pm we came home. Our bags were ready for departure. Took tea with them and then Ashok and Maya drove us to Heathrow leaving us at terminal 2 around 6 pm. That was so nice and thoughtful of them.

Our flight was at 10.20 pm. After immigrations check we went to the duty free for some shopping. At the duty free we had a bill of £ 158. I gave €200. The clerk asked me to give £20 more which I complied as there were people behind me. After getting out of the line I checked the currency conversion rate and found that I had been charged  equivalent of £191 which was £33 more than my purchases. I approached the manager who initially said that the bill was system generated and he can not help. I told him that my thought about British people was that they were fair. This worked with him. He reversed the transactions and then I paid all pounds from my card thus saving me that money. Please beware of Duty-free shops as they may have put lower currency conversion in their systems as this one did. The reversal of transactions did not leave enough time for us even for a much-needed coffee. Soon afterwards our boarding was announced, and we were in the plane back home.

Shri Satish Pashine is a Metallurgical Engineer. Founder and Principal Consultant, Q-Tech Consultancy, he lives in Bhubaneswar and loves to dabble in literature.