Epilogue
I was asked by a couple of people to write a follow-up to the trip.
The good, bad, ugly.
We generally try and rent a car made to hug roads in Britain. They are super narrow and even many of the major highways in places are built for only one vehicle. Goes back to the days when they were built for horses and carts.
It's why I drive a 12 year old Honda, so we can " step-up" and rent a German car.
In the past, we have driven Audi's, BMW's, even a top of the line Volkswagen.
We had a Mercedes-Benz.
It was the biggest POS I have ever been in. One of the most miserable cars I have ever ridden in. Even the navigation system was trash. We wound up using the GPS on my cell phone. We knew it was bad when it took us over a mountain that wasn't really for normal passage and down the National Bike Path in Wales.
No fooling, Bryant Long knows what he is doing. Get the BMW. Great for handling.
We hated the following places.....The Lake District.....Devon......Cornwall....I wish we had never wasted our time. I wish we would have stayed longer in Wales.
We loved Wales and the Yorkshire Dales( Think " All Creatures Great and Small.") and York....
The people of York and Wales, were, just great.
In the pub in York and man sitting beside us just struck up a conversation, nice as he could be. Made suggestions for food, and drink. He was 'dead-on" for both. Come to find out he worked at the Nestle Chocolate factory there in York. He's been making Kitkats for the last 8 years.
Likewise an older couple and his brother just sat down by me in an adjoining table in the hotel and just talked. From town, came in for lunch. I was having tea.
Same in Wales, in the village we stayed in, you couldn't meet friendlier people.....Again, my philosophy, " Folks is folks.... "
We got so lost in the Midlands trying to avoid a wreck on the major highway, we went through villages you know no American has visited in years. All had pubs you wish you had time to visit.....Places with names...' The Green Dragon' ' The old White Swan' and next to the school, ' The Robe and Chalk.' ( I wondered how many teachers went into that pub after classes to have a pint or 4? )
People the food there is actually pretty good. And they fry potatoes and fish better than anyone in America. Somehow this country can only turn out old, or mushy, or cold, or just bad fried potatoes.
The British countryside is lovely. hills, lots of green, lots of sheep. As you can tell from our posts.
Lots of history, and typical of the British, the Germans bombed in in WW2 and well, we rebuilt it like it was in 1550.
I pretty much am writing this to avoid writing on the "Trans" subject, and may do so, I see a lot of stupidity on BOTH side of the argument. Again, no one happy. We are just looking for something to complain about.....Or the Texas Legislature.
Anyway, if you have the opportunity, visit Britain.
