Edinburgh, York, Leeds, & London
Travel Day One - 16 September 2023 - Nashville to London
I left for the airport around 6 p.m. and made it in about half an hour despite it being a Saturday evening, which felt like a win. At the airport, I went to the British Airways counter to have my passport verified, then through the TSA Pre-Check lane. Once through, I walked down to the gate and waited for boarding to start. The plane took off for London.
Travel Day Two - 17 September - London to Edinburgh
The plane landed in London and I went to the connecting flight area at Heathrow Airport. Cleared through the new electronic gates and discovered that they no longer stamp passports at those. After customs and immigration, back through domestic security, which was a complete mess as usual. Then I waited in Terminal 5 for the gate to be announced for the Edinburgh flight.
At the gate, they asked passengers in boarding group 9, which included me, to gate-check their luggage due to limited cabin space. On landing in Edinburgh, I retrieved my bags and took the tram to the apartment stay.
The apartment stay was on the fourth floor, about 70 steps up. Very nice when I got there though. That evening, I had a dinner reservation at the Doric Tavern. The restaurant was busy. I had the chicken burger, which was very good, with chips, followed by cheesecake. Then back to the apartment and to bed, very tired. I slept well.
Day One - 18 September - Rosslyn Chapel and Exploring Edinburgh
Woke up and got ready, then immediately went the wrong way to the bus stop. Turned around, got to the Princes Street PJ bus stop, and caught the 37 bus to the Rosslyn Hotel. Then forgot to press the stop button, so the driver went past the Rosslyn Hotel stop. I pressed it a stop later, realized what had happened, and had to backtrack about half a mile to Rosslyn Chapel.
I spent about an hour and a half there, exploring the interior and exterior. The architecture and stonework, inside and out, were fascinating. Afterward, an obligatory stop at the gift shop for a few fridge magnets and a sandwich at the attached café.
Then I got on the 37 bus back to Edinburgh City Centre and got off at the PQ stop on Princes Street. I dropped off my purchases at the apartment and relaxed for a bit before heading to the National Museum of Scotland.
After the museum, I made my way to Greyfriars Kirk and Graveyard. Some very friendly ravens were hanging out in the graveyard and I sat and took a photo of them. For lunch, I went to Makar's Mash and had vegetarian haggis with mash, mushrooms on top, a brownie, and a scoop of ice cream. All of it very good.
After lunch, back to the apartment to put away everything from the museum gift shop, then a moment to relax before I walked up to Calton Hill. The views from the top over Edinburgh were absolutely amazing. After that long walk, back to the apartment for the evening and a shower.
Day Two - 19 September - The National Gallery of Scotland, Holyrood Palace, The Royal Mile, and Chocolate
For breakfast I went to the Southern Cross Café and had a very messy eggs Benedict, which was completely delicious, along with breakfast tea. I felt a bit guilty about the mess. Not really.
After that, I went to the National Galleries of Scotland and viewed the artwork, including a stop at the gift shop of course. Once done, back to the apartment to drop off purchases and rest for a bit.
After resting, I walked to Holyrood Palace and toured the palace and gardens. On the way back, I stopped at the Chocolatarium to buy some chocolate bars, then made my way back to the apartment and put everything away.
I went out again and walked up Cockburn Street, where I noticed a Museum Context store. I went in and bought a magnet and a hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil owl figurine set. Continuing up the street, I found a shortcut to the Royal Mile and walked up toward the castle, found the Witches Well and took a photo of it and the plaque next to it.
Walking back down the Royal Mile, I stopped in front of Saint Giles Cathedral and took a picture of the Heart of Midlothian mosaic in the sidewalk, which was actually quite difficult to find. After the Royal Mile, I went to the Badger & Co and had a field burger and sticky toffee pudding. After lunch, I went to Whittards to buy some English breakfast and Earl Grey teas, then back to the apartment for the evening. Tomorrow I leave for York.
Day Three - 20 September - Train ride to York, and settling in
This morning I packed my travel bag and messenger bag, did a loop around the apartment to make sure I wasn't leaving anything behind, then caught up on emails for a while. Around 10:15 a.m., I put the "I am leaving" door tag on the door and headed for the Waverly train station, which is just across the street.
There had been some cancellations on the Aberdeen to Edinburgh part of the route, but the Edinburgh to York leg was still on time and actually left a few minutes early. Something had told me to go check the platform, and there was the train at platform 5. I asked someone to confirm it was the right one and they helpfully told me the K car was all the way at the front. I walked quickly up to the K car, found my seat, and stowed my luggage. The train from Edinburgh to York took about two hours and twenty-four minutes. A pleasant ride despite the weather outside.
At the Judges Court hotel in York, check-in was easy and the room was ready, which was a pleasant surprise. I dropped off my luggage and went out for a late lunch at Wagamama. After eating, I walked through The Shambles and noted where the York Ghost Merchants shop was located, then wandered back to the hotel. Got a shower and settled in for the evening.
Day Four - 21 September - York Ghost Merchants, York Minster, and the City Walls
I woke up and went to Bill’s restaurant for breakfast. Afterward, I walked to the Shambles and passed by York Ghost Merchants, where a few people were already waiting outside. I asked if they were in line for the shop and someone said yes, so I joined the end of the queue. I knew from experience that if I waited until later the line would be around the building, and it was. Once inside, I bought four ghosts and took them back to the hotel to pack in my luggage. Then I went to York Minster and toured it, walked along the city walls, and made my way back to the hotel with a stop for ice cream along the way.
Back at the hotel I relaxed for a bit before going out again in the afternoon to walk another section of the city walls over to Saint Anthony's garden, where I sat for a while before heading to Cresci Pizzeria for dinner.
Day Five - 22 September - Train to Shipley, and greeting the cat
I packed my luggage and headed to the York train station. After arriving at the Shipley (Yorks) train station, I went to my friend's house. We chilled out for the evening and discussed our plans. One of his friends came up from Manchester and brought some amazing shawarma with him.
Day Six - 23 September - Driving around Leeds and Harrogate
Early in the morning, Andy the driver, my friend, and I drove out to the Swinton Druid’s Temple. After that, we went to Ripon and saw the city and the cathedral. Next we drove to Harrogate and spent some time there before heading in the wrong direction toward Knaresborough viaduct. We realized the mistake, turned around, and eventually found it. The stonework was really beautiful.
After the viaduct, we went to Harewood House and toured the house and gardens. The highlight was the Himalayan gardens and the stupa, which was just incredible. I had read about it in a book about the stupa, but seeing it in person was something else entirely.
That evening back at my friend's house, Bonkie the cat spent the whole night pestering me to let her out. I finally did when I woke up the next morning and she was grateful. She had taken a liking to me as her second favorite human.
Day Seven - 24 September - The David Hockney Collection and the Bingley Five Rise Locks
My friend made breakfast, and then around 9 a.m. we headed to the Bingley Five Rise Locks. I took a lot of photos of the five staircase locks, and then we walked along the canal and looked at some of the narrowboats without peering in, since they are people's homes on the water. We had ice cream at the café next to the canal at the locks.
After that we drove to Salts Mill and Saltaire and had a look around the David Hockney Collection at the mill, then went into an old antique shop and looked around. Next, into Bradford to the industrial museum, which happened to be having an old car show that day. We tried to visit the Media Museum in Bradford afterward, but it was closed for renovation.
Andy headed home and my friend and I had a relaxed evening watching Quatermass and the Pit. For dinner, a shepherd's pie my friend had made earlier in the week. It was very good.
Day Eight - 25 September - Train to London and visiting bookshops
I woke up, packed my bag, had breakfast, and we waited until around 10 a.m. before heading to the station. I caught a train to Leeds and changed to one headed for London. The train arrived at Kings Cross around 1 p.m. and the hotel room was just about ready when I got there. After a quick change of clothes, I headed out to The Atlantis Bookshop and bought some books. Then a meal at a small Italian restaurant nearby, a semi-good margherita pizza that was at least filling. After eating, I carried on to Treadwell’s bookshop and bought more books. On the way back, I stopped at the Tesco Express for a bottle of sparkling water. Then settled in for the evening, maybe a little earlier than usual, but nine days of travel had taken their toll.
Day Nine - 26 September - British Museum, National Gallery, and more bookshops
Woke up and went down for breakfast: a vegetarian English breakfast with orange juice. Good.
After breakfast, I went back to the Atlantis Bookshop on Museum Street to take a better photo of the exterior. Then to the British Museum to wait for it to open. Once inside, I explored and then went back to the hotel to drop off the magnets I'd bought.
Next, the National Portrait Gallery, then on to The National Gallery right across Trafalgar Square. I walked around the square and took photos of the statues and fountains, then went through the gallery. JMW Turner's paintings in particular were worth the whole visit.
After that, I went to Sotheran’s London and was genuinely in awe of all the rare books they had. I bought some greeting cards while I was there. Then on to Watkins bookshop for more books and zines. For a late lunch, I went to the new Dishoom restaurant.
After lunch, back to the hotel. I got everything packed and organized carefully in my travel bag. This was probably the most I had ever bought on a trip. Tomorrow I fly home.
Travel Day Three - 27 September - London to Nashville
Up early and ready. Another vegetarian English breakfast with breakfast tea, then finished packing and checked out. I made my way to the Tottenham Court Elizabeth Line station and took the train to Heathrow Terminal 5.
At the airport, self check-in and passport verification went quickly. During security, I dropped and lost my paper boarding pass, but still had the digital copy on my phone. I waited in the general area until it was time to proceed to the boarding gate, took a short elevator ride and a train, and found myself at the B gates. Boarding started about thirty minutes later.
After an eight-hour flight, I arrived in Nashville, went through Passport Control and Customs, and got a Lyft home.
Using points from my Capital One Venture X card managed to offset some travel-related expenses, which brought the overall cost down considerably.