I write to you from the plush surrounds of my Georgian-era reproduction B and B bedroom, not far from a town called Berwick-upon-Tweed near the Scottish border. Thankfully they've included things like modern plumbing, and high thread count sheets to make it a little more comfortable than true Georgian times might've been.
This chapter begins with us leaving York and hitting the road to Durham. We took a slight detour to visit a Victorian science museum. It was very highly rated on Trip Advisor so thought we'd give it a go. We arrived at the "museum" (and I do use the word very loosley!) which turned out to be some guy's shed (let's call him 'Ernest') built up with shelves covered in what appeared at first glance to be total junk. Having paid the $AUD equivalent of $30 per person to see this, needless to say, I was somewhat un-impressed.
However as the presentation started, it turned out to be really interesting. Ernest was clearly well researched and had accumulated a significant collection of items related to and based on Victorian-era science. He demonstrated a number of things, including the first x-ray, the discovery of static electricity, the first ever communication device as well early discoveries around radiation. The only challenge was Ernest's very specific instructions around lighting. I was initially given the task of controlling three light switches. Ernest had been very careful with his instructions, even to the point of saying "do not leave your hand on the lightswitch after you've switched it". This was actually tempting to do as variously we would be in utter darkness whilst observing different parts of the presentation.
Unfortunately, when Todd took over, he was less adept at managing the lighting so received several admonitions from Ernest both for leaving his hand on the switch and for turning on additional lights that were unrequested. If you haven't already realised that Ernest is a curmudgeonly old man.... this should do it. The best part of it was at the end when he put on a little "Frankenstein Show" where there were lights flashing and gadgets giving off massive electrical sparks all to a soundtrack of Frankenstein's monster being awakened, interspersed with women screaming. It even included a cardboard cutout of a castle - I am not even kidding.
Following this, we'd planned to visit Whitby (seaside town on the north-east coast). Whitby has both a museum dedicated to Captain Cook and the ruins of a particular abbey that we'd wanted to see. In Bram Stoker's Dracula, Whitby is the site where he first lands when arriving in England. Indeed, the abbey itself was used in the filming of the movie. Unfortunately, we didn't account for the hordes (yes, absolute HORDES) of English tourists that were taking advantage of the Bank Holiday long weekend to visit.
Traffic was horrendous and we just: Could. Not. Get. A. Park. ANYWHERE! Cue absolute meltdown from Todd.
In the end, we reached a cafe called Wit's End, which was entirely appropriate and ironically served the best coffee! It was in a little town called Sandsend, very pretty and on the beach making for a nice stop on an otherwise stressful afternoon.
We stayed at a farm not far from Durham itself. This particular place served breakfast at a communal dining table. Until now, other guests at our various places of accomodation have been mysterious visitors we otherwise whispered about. Now we had to actually talk to them. Thankfully they were nice and polite, though unable to pick our accent. The low point was probably when one of the guests saw fit to correct Todd on a point about Australian Aboriginal history. You can imagine how that went down.
The next day, after arriving in Durham, I went to the National Glass Centre in Sunderland where I took a brief class in glass blowing. It was amazing! I fear I've been bitten by whatever bug is applicable. Interestingly, when I said I was from Adelaide, everybody at the Glass Centre knew of our fair city, immediately citing the Jam Factory - which is clearly more famous than I'd realised!
Todd was less interested in this, so had agreed to go and do some laundry. Unfortunately for him (and also for me as it turned out!) due to Bank Holiday, nothing was open. We ended up doing it the next day and by this time, Northern England more generally, was fast approaching the status of "dump" previously assigned only to York.
The one standout from Durham was the Cathedral and the adjoining castle, which is now a residential college for the University... a beautifully spritual place. Our guides were lovely, very knowledgable and gave great tours. We were very fortunate that the British National Youth Choir came in to give an impromptu performance in the Cathedral. It was perfect - stunningly beautiful music in the most wondrous setting.
Todd had decided to climb to to top of the Cathedral tower, whilst I stayed to listen to the Choir. The staircase was so narrow, and used for both ascending and descending that Todd had what can only be described as 'intimate encounters' with various other climbers. By the look of the people who came down after Todd, some of these wouldn't have been pleasant!
Next post will be from Edinburgh!
No comments:
Post a Comment