Sunday, February 26, 2017
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| Indie paintings in Affleck Palace, symbols of Britpop in England |
On new year's eve 2017, I visited Manchester to meet my Public Works awardees from Birmingham and Leeds. I have visited Manchester before, but only for watching RHCP concert hahah. When we arrived there, we were heading to The University of Manchester after having a cuppa in Costa near Afflecks Palace. I was a bit excited because this is the almamater of Benedict Cumberbatch and Alan Turing, a genius man who played the role of a genius man as well. This uni is on 10 universities in the UK, same as my uni, Warwick) There is an Alan Turing building on the university, which I think it belongs to the Mathematics school. After Visiting the uni, we went to visit Old Trafford. Three of my friends wanted to watch a match of Man Utd, and the rest of us (other 3 guys) headed to National Football Museum. This museum is free of charge, but you can donate your money here for their development. It is worth visit to the museum, as you can get many valuable information regarding football in the England, and there are some sort of simulations and not to mention the shop as well. We had a night-over in Prestwitch to spend our new year's eve, and continue the journey to Leeds tomorrow morning.
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| New Year's eve in Manchester |
Saturday, February 18, 2017
If there is one place I can only visit other than London in the UK, the answer is Devon! Why Devon? At first, I intended to come here just because it is the inspiring place for Arthur Conan Doyle's work, The Hound of the Baskervilles, named Hound Tor. Hound Tor is one of the landmarks in Dartmoor National Park, Devon. However, The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the most successful stories of Sherlock Holmes canons. Another reason is because Devon is the hometown of my number 1 favourite band, MUSE. It is Teignmouth town, approximately 45 mins from the Moor. I planned this trip carefully, since there is no public transportation on South Devon. Luckily, my airbnb host, David, offered to take us to the place (yay). Moreover, the house is in Teignmouth, and very near to the spots in Teignmouth which I wanted to visit hehehe. Turned out the heater on the house was installed by Matthew Bellamy's uncle 😲
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| Hound Tor Medieval |
David took us to Hound Tor by his car. He is such a generous and a well-educated man. I never expected Hound Tor would be this comforting, peaceful, and serene. Unlike many populated area in England, Dartmoor is very quite and I think I would have my retirement in this kinda place. After wandering around, David and his partner took us to one of the best cafes in the Moor. The foods were amazing, not to mention the owner gave us a Christmas pudding, and we share it for 4 (lol). Actually we wanted to continue to Hay Tor (David said it is more beautiful than Hound Tor) but unfortunately it was raining. We finally went back to Teignnouth.
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| Teignmouth Community School |
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| Tranquil Teignmouth |
As a big fan of Muse, I wouldn't wanna let go this opportunity to visit their school, Teignmouth Community College. Afterwards, we went to the beach, and hada meal in Beachcomber. This restaurant is the host of Muse's Seaside Rendezvous gigs in 2009 when they went back to Teignmouth. Overall, Teignmouth is very tranquil, a place where I would visit again if there is any chance. If you want to visit this town, don't forget to rent a car or make sure your host is providing a car because local transport is very rare within this town.
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| Teignmouth Pier |
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| Beachcomber |
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Stonehenge is definitely one of the remarkable landmarks in England. To get through here, you can get a train to Salisbury, and continue by Stonehenge Bus near the station. Stonehenge Bus also accommodates Stonehenge ticket entrance and it's surprisingly cheaper than online and offline ticket! Stonehenge is great since it's one of the oldest clocks in the world. But compared to the price, there are many places other than this that is worth visiting.
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| Salisbury |
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| the house of the builders |
Wednesday, February 08, 2017
Cambridge is a lovely yet quite place. No wonder it becomes the center for studying just like Oxford. If you're a visitor/tourist, better use punting to stroll around there as it is the main attraction Cambridge can offer. It is around 15 pounds. You'll be amazed by architectural buildings of Cambridge Uni, as well as other places. But don't be surprised, many tourist attractions will be charged there, it is your concern to spend a lot of quids there or not.
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| Punting in Cambridge |
Monday, February 06, 2017
Sunday, February 05, 2017
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| Edinburgh Old Town |
After visiting Glasgow, we arrived in Edinburgh. This is the city where I've been up to in Scotland as it is the birthplace of my favourite sleuth-fiction series, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the morning, I had a breakfast in Loudons, a quite famous cafe in Edinburgh. We met some friends there and then we visited Arthur Conan Doyle Centre, a spiritual centre dedicated for Conan Doyle since he is a devoted spiritualist. There is also a Sherlock Holmes Tea Room on the centre. Not long after, we dropped by to Sherlock Holmes statue, The Conan Doyle Pub, and Medical School of University of Edinburgh where ACD took his medical doctor degree. It was such a pilgrimage, you may say, in this very old town. Speaking of old town, there's an area in Edinburgh called the Old Town. It was such a lovely place to stroll around, and Also The Royal Mile close to it. Other than that, Arthur's Seat offers an open-space view and Edinburgh scenery from certain feet (I can't measure though). Arthur's seat is one of a kind of place where I'd love to travel where you can feel serenity in the open space with less crowd. Edinburgh Castle is also a great spot to come by, though I did not manage to visit because lack of time to visit many places in Edinburgh for only one day. If you love a bit crowd, Edinburgh Christmas Market may suit you. It is near the station, but can only be visited during Christmas time. I can assure you that Edinburgh is a worth place visiting whenever you're going to Great Britain, other than London and Devon (I'll post about the latter soon).
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| Arthur's Seat |
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| Edinburgh Castle |
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| The Royal Mile |
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| Edinburgh Christmas Market |
