My Trip to the UK and Ireland, Day 4

We're leaving London, and riding on the Underground. I took a picture of the map on the Underground, because we didn't get to go past Notting Hill... Maybe when we come back at the end...

Here we have.... a nuclear power plant. "Ladies and gentlemen, that giant explosion you see on your right signals your death. Thank you for riding BritRail, and we hope to see you in the afterlife."

Here's Joel, trying to write postcards on a very bumpy train.

Here's Joel starting with the man in the mirror...
He's asking him to change his ways...
(ooh!)

On the far left, you can see a small castle like structure. We saw a number of these on the train ride, and they all looked really, really slick. Odds are, many were churches, but at least a few had to at one time be some sort of castle... even if just a White Castle...

Here's a clip of us on the train,with the scenery flying by.

This is actually the 3rd nuke plant we saw on the train ride to York. The picture of the 2nd one sucked.

Plant 4. Seriously... stop.

Plant 6. They're getting bigger.

I think there was a point when you could see 3 different plants at the same time. This here makes #7.

Joel taking a picture of Robb taking a picture of me. I'm in danger of becoming overexposed... but you gotta give the people what they want.

Welcome to the York train station. They don't have exit signs, they have "Way Out" signs in the UK. I grew to like them.

We're now walking through York, on our way to the York Cathedral. It seemed like a lovely place.

Up ahead we have the church. Lights out there go Red, Yello, Green, Yellow, Red. Cars take off when it turns from Red to Yellow.

Here's a closer view of the church. It was Sunday, so there was a chance there'd be services going on.

Here's the church from just below it. Like many of the Cathedrals I'd seen, it was tall, impressive, and somewhat haunting.

Here's a look at the church, and the small band that was playing.

Here we are inside the church. The ceilings were magnificent.

Here we have some fine statues inside the church. They are probably kings, but I'm not really certain.

This is Clifford's Tower. When I first saw it, it reminded me of Weathertop from Lord of the Rings.

It was originally built by William the Conquerer, and made out of wood.. But in 1190 the Jews of York sought refuge there after being attacked by a local mob. They were given the choice of being either baptised or killed, but they took a third option and committed mass suicide... The thing was burned to the ground, then rebuilt in stone.

Here we have the York Castle Museum... made up of what used to be the the Debtors Prison and the Female Prison. The third building, the Assize Courts, is still used in as a court today.

Another look at the Castle Museum.

Here we are inside Clifford's Tower, looking down from on top. The name "Clifford's Tower" was born when in 1322, Roger de Clifford was hanged by chains from the wall of the tower for opposing Edward II.

The view from on top of Clifford's Tower was excellent.

Here's a look around from on top of Clifford's Tower

There's the Cathedral we were at.

Another look across York towards the cathedral.

Another look down at the museum and circle.

I took this chance to record some cars driving on the opposite side of the road.

Here's Joel trying to take a picture, only having the camera still stuck on video... so we have a short clip..

Here I am at Clifford's Tower.

We're now on the train on our way to Edinburgh, and there are sheep everywhere.

I don't know what city this was, but it looked pretty nice.

So nice, I shot it twice.

This is the third picture, and makes me think there was something important going on here.... I think I was watching that fast train on the bridge right next to ours.

This is a shot from the train to Edinburgh. There were a number of tall houses and castle/cathedral looking buildings.

This is our hostel room in Edinburgh. It's a 6 person room, and the same company as the hostel in London (thus, the same bed frames and sheets, etc..) We had the room to ourselves, and that was pretty nice.

It even had separate bathrooms for each room. Very posh.

Robb.... Joel....
and Cockburn Street!

Up there on the cliff was Edinburgh Castle. These pictures don't do it justice, but it looked magnificent up there.

Here's a clip looking up across the park to Edinburgh Castle.

Here we are at "Dirty Dicks" where we had dinner. A fine place. Robb had haggis, and it was pretty good.