How slack am I?

Too slack. Time to update properly.

Brighton

From the secret nuclear bunker we headed to Brighton. None of us had been there before, and after my Blackpool experience, I wasn't sure what to expect. In the end I was pleasantly surprised. It was what I had expected Blackpool to be, and yet wasn't. There were the usual tourist shops along the beachfront, and the pier was exactly as I imagined - full of games, nasty food and the fun fair.




We had parked quite a way from the pier, so we walked up along the top road (I'm not sure what it's called - there's a road that goes along the beach where we parked, and another one above it, which we walked along). We walked along to the Royal Pavillion, not realising that it cost so much to go in there, and not really sure what was in there. In the end we walked back to the beach for some fish and chips for lunch, before walking along the pier. Can't say I'm a massive fan of those piers - they're old and wooden and a lot of the planks wobble. I'm sure they're fine, but they don't inspire confidence, especially with the remains of another pier just beside it! However, if it burns down, it's not my fault...

We had been planning on visiting Hastings and Battle when we left Brighton, and whilst we did go there, we were too late to see where the Battle of Hastings had taken place, so we headed home. It's another recurring theme - being just a little bit too late for things!

Secret nuclear bunker!

Not far from where I live is a 'secret' nuclear bunker, the Kelvedon Hatch. Until the end of 1994, it was a working bunker, which would have housed the prime minister if need be, as it was the closest one to London. It'd deactivated now, but apparently could go straight back into service if necessary.

I say 'secret', as although once it was indeed secret, now it's a tourist attraction. Doesn't change the fact that you're driving along the road, and suddenly you see a sign that says 'Secret Nuclear Bunnker, turn right'. Awesome!

We walked in there, and it was like a scene from 'Z for Zachariah', if they'd actually had a bunker. It was a little freaky; there was just the three of us, and a siren going off in a deserted corridor. Eventually other people showed up, which changed the atmosphere. By the time we were most of the way through we were laughing about most of it - whoever runs it rivals Mel Gibson in 'Conspiracy Theory' for their level of paranoia!

Yet another reason why I should write updates more quickly

I left out a show that we saw at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival - they were a group called Dead Cat Bounce. It had nothing to do with dead cats (sadly), but it was just as entertaining. We saw their late show, which was a 1930s-ish radio show. It was 3 guys doing voices, songs and playing instruments, and one guy doing sound effects. It was fantastic!

Imperial War Museum and Hampstead Heath

The next weekend the same three of us went into the city to go to the Imperial War Museum. Mil's dad had been bugging her about it, so we figured it must be worth the trip. It was.

The ground floor of the museum takes you through World Wars one and two, with lots of displays and information. It would have been much better had their been room to move - one of the most convoluted and cramped museums I've ever been to. We took our time moving through (like we had a choice), looking at everything from weaponry and uniforms to mission documents and ration packs.

Funniest moment - hearing this stupid American woman going on about how America just HAD to step in and save everyone, because the Allies kept jumping out of their trenches to make attempts to advance their position (trench warfare anyone??).

Moment that angered me the most - having gone through all the details of major battles and who helped out, and how many died and what was gained - and seeing Gallipoli barely mentionedl. It said that Australia and New Zealand took the beach, and that was it. No mention of casualties or the reason we were there in the first place.

Upstairs was the Holocaust Exhibition. It was amazing, but simply too big. We spent a lot of time in there, and I learnt a lot from it, but I think we were all feeling a little suicidal by the time we went out of it, and none of us had read or watched everything. I do recommend going if you ever have the chance though.

Needing some light relief, we headed into the centre of the city for a very late lunch and to decide on our next stop. Originally we'd planned on going to Hampstead Heath, but we hadn't counted on being at the museum for so long. In the end we decided to go there anyway, as there were still quite a few hours of daylight left. We caught the tube out there and wandered towards it. We weren't sure of what we were going to find out there, but Mil mentioned going to Parliament Hill - one of the highest points in London. We wandered around for a few hours, past several lakes and along scenic pathways. We also bush-bashed our way through several parts without tracks - can't take us anywhere! In the end we did find Parliament Hill, and the views, whilst not stunning, did cover a lot of London.

Windsor Castle

A few days after I got home, I went to Windsor Castle with a couple of my other friends from home. We met up at Stratford, then headed over there (more complicated than it sounds - train operators really need to get their crap together). We got off the train at Eton, and walked up to the castle. Having pre-purchased our tickets - which Mil found out about before we went, thankfully - we managed to skip the queue and go straight in.

We had the audio tour - another place where we wandered around listening to what looked like oversized mobile phones. It was very useful though, as there was so much history there.

I didn't know a lot about the history of Windsor Castle, so it was quite interesting. We saw Queen Victoria's dolls' house, where the fire had happened in 1992, the Waterloo room, and how odd the guards look as they turn around whilst marching (knees out and bent like a frog). It was more interesting than I had anticipated! Sadly, despite it being a weekend, Lizzie wasn't home, so I couldn't call in for high tea and thank her for the photo and letter that she sent my grandparents on their recent diamond wedding anniversary. What a shame!

Heading home

The time had come to leave Scotland and start heading home. Our first stop once crossing the border was in Gateshead, near Newcastle. There is a giant sculpture there called the Angel of the North. It's a huge steel angel, with a wingspan the same as a jumbo jet. It's amazing! We had to walk a fair way back to get a photo with all of her wings in it. It was finished in 1998, so it wasn't the oldest landmark we'd seen, but it was certainly one of the biggest.



From Gateshead we headed towards Nottingham. Tamara's brother had lived there years ago, and she wanted to see the area. I was more interested in something else - Robin Hood! We followed the signs to Sherwood Forest, and took a walk through it, which included going to Major Oak. This is the tree where legend has it Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men had their hideout. We didn't get robbed (but neither did we receive any riches!). There are some amazing oak trees in the forest, and I got some great photos.

We then drove through Nottingham itself. Same old, same old. There's a lot of history in the town, but as usual there was nowhere to park, so we didn't hang around. Instead we got back on the motorway and headed home. The road trip was over.