London and The Great Britain Tour

Hi there peeps! It has been a long time since I started blogging again. Almost three years since my last post. Yikes! It has been a busy time for me and I hadn't had time to update my blog. So, here's a new update on another travel adventure! #throwback

I was just browsing through my photo albums and came across my trip to UK from five years back. Thought I'll share it here since I've started blogging on my travels. ツ

O little town of Greenwich

My trip was combined with a 7 days Great Britain Tour from Expat Explore, starting in London, travelling north towards Inverness and ending at Stonehenge. It was a very good tour. For more details on the tour package, go to this link : Expat Explore~ Great Britain Tours .  Expat Explore also offers tours to other parts of Europe, Italy, Egypt and much more. Have a look at their tours.

Autumn in Greenwich. Captivating ain't it?

Spotted a squirrel. Ain't it just adorable!

The tour has several pickup points around London and one of them was Greenwich. So, we stayed over the night in Greenwich and managed to do a little exploring in the town. In case you haven't notice, Greenwich was a pretty famous name. Have you guessed it already?? Oh yeah, it was famous for giving its name to Greenwich Meridian (longitude 0°) and the Greenwich Mean Time. Just a little info which you guys probably know already, Greenwich Mean Time is today's global time standard.

 The Meridian Line can be found near the Royal Observatory. Previously, anyone could visit the line for free but now it requires an entrance fee. Ah well, I wasn't willing to spend my money to just go over and have a photo on the Meridian Line. I could pretty much see it from the outside of the gates.

Greenwich Royal Observatory

My first meal in Greenwich, comprising of starters and the entree. It was a fantastic meal to start my food trails in the UK!

And so the Great Britain Tours commences!

Cambridge

Our first stop was Cambridge. Our itinerary stated "punting in Cambridge". Punting....that was the first time I heard of this word and I had no idea what it meant. I looked up the dictionary and saw this "An open flatbottom boat with squared ends, used in shallow waters and usually propelled by a long pole" . Ah I see the light now...so, all we gotta do is sit in the boat. I thought we were gonna carry out some sort of activity at first!

There are around 31 colleges situated in Cambridge, if I'm not wrong about the stats. It's really a beautiful place and there's a sense of peacefulness and serenity about the environment. If I had the chance to study here, I probably might have taken it if not for the fees. It's really expensive and of course, the admission isn't easy at all. They only accept the cream of the crops. 

Boats have names too here :)

Ducks happily swimming along the stream, next to our boat

I just love the buildings here. The architecture is so beautiful!

One of the bridges along the stream

It was the season of fall when we visited Cambridge, so the trees looked beautiful in golden brown. It's really a lovely sight, while travelling down the stream decorated with these trees.

King's College in Cambridge

It was pretty cold at that time as well, so there was some fog. It does give off a little more mysterious vibe, don't you think? :P

Yorkshire
Our next stop was the quaint, cobbled little town of Yorkshire. It's also fondly known as "God's own Country". It's a beautiful little town with a real sense of grit and history. Oh, another thing is that, cats are lucky icons in Yorkshire. It was said that the original cat statues were placed on York's old buildings to frighten off rats and mice which might carry plaque and disease. Other than that, they were also thought to ward off wandering evil spirits and generally bestow good luck and good health on the inhabitants. If you take a closer looks at the buildings, some of them have cat statues on their roofs.

Lucky Cats of Yorkshire

A stream in Yorkshire

Welcome to the town of Yorkshire!

This is one of my favorite parts of this town. I just loved how the shops are arranged in this manner and the cobbled streets. If you are a fan of Harry Potter, I think you'll understand exactly how I feel. It's like Diagon Alley coming to life! It's a great place to immerse yourself in the fantasy world of Harry Potter. 

Cobbled streets of Yorkshire

Have you spotted something in the picture below? Something shiny perhaps? :P
This is a nice spot for couples to take pictures, with a sweet caption.

York's Sweet Story on a Sign Post

Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall was named after the emperor Hadrian. It was built to keep Roman Britain safe from the hostile attacks from the Picts. During the olden days, it stretches from the North Sea to the Irish Sea and is 15 feet high. Today, however, all that is left is ruins of the wall. Most of it has gone but there are still some bits and pieces that are left behind. The view surrounding the ruins are incredible and breath-taking. 

Jedburgh
Jedburgh is a town, close to the border of England. It has always been and remains an important gateway to Scotland. The Jedburgh Abbey was built in the 12th century, during the reign of King David I of Scotland. Today, the ruins still stand strong and is one of the beautiful monuments in Jedburgh. 

Abbey Ruin

Behold the mighty prison of Jedburgh! At first sight, I thought that it was a small castle but as I read the sign, it stated Jedburgh prison. It's architecture is still beautifully preserved. The trees do give off a little creepy aura, don't you think so? 

Jedburgh Prison

That's all for now! Stay tune for more of the Great Britain Tour and London!

Sequels to this post:
 (Will update this once I publish the rest of the posts!)