My Trip to England

By Joe Sarnicola

 

Maybe in a previous life I was an Englishman. Maybe I knew Jane Austen and was the inspiration for her character, Mr. Darcy. Or maybe not. I do watch a lot of British mysteries, comedies and period dramas on BritBox and PBS. I have always wanted to visit England to see some of the locations I’ve seen on TV.

When I watch some of these shows I have to turn on the closed captioning because I can’t understand some of the accents. I wish that feature had been available when I finally made it to England this past October. While listening to some of the British citizens, in order to be polite, I would just nod and say, “Oh yeah, uh huh,” while wondering, “What did they just say?” I couldn’t help but think of the line attributed to George Bernard Shaw, that England and America are “Two nations divided by a common language.”

My traveling companion, Jan, and I spent quite a bit of time looking at maps and guidebooks before we decided what part of the country we wanted to see. We decided on Bath, because it was a smaller city that had history, amazing architectural structures and many tours of the area start there.

I also knew I had to visit Glastonbury once I learned it is believed to be the burial site of King Arthur. I have been fascinated by the legends of Arthur since I saw Disney’s The Sword in the Stone” cartoon when I was a young boy, as well as the musical Camelot, which I saw a bit later. Turns out both stories were based on “The Once and Future King,” by T. H. White. Jan liked the town’s connection to Mary Magdalene, its history and the Glastonbury Tor. More about that later.

Any overseas trip starts with the flight. For this trip, due to a government shutdown, air traffic controllers and other airline staff were working long, unpaid hours or just not showing up for work. These and other factors led to delays starting with the very first flight. We were supposed to fly from Syracuse to Philadelphia, but since that flight was delayed we would not make our connection from Philadelphia to London.

The American Airlines agent said they could reroute us through Chicago and then on to London. Of course, Chicago is 700 miles in the opposite direction, which we would then have to re-fly on our way to London for a total of 1,400 unplanned miles and three extra hours in the air. But we had no other choice.

Due to delays in Chicago, we waited for 45 minutes on the runway and had to literally run with our carry-on luggage. We heard our flight being called saying that all passengers should now be on board, but we weren’t there yet. We reached the plane out of breath, exhausted and frustrated but we made it just in time.

From the London airport we thought we would catch the train directly to Bath, but we had to go to Paddington Station first, catch another train and then proceed to Bath. After a quarter-mile walk hauling our luggage, we finally made it to our hotel.

The following morning, we boarded a Rabbie’s tour bus. The first stop was Stonehenge, the remains of a prehistoric monument made up of a circular arrangement of massive standing stones, believed to have functioned as a temple or ceremonial site and aligned with astronomical events like the solstices. The individual stones weigh between two and five tons.

The next stop was Avebury, a village that is literally surrounded by remnants of the largest stone circle in the world. After lunch we visited Laycock and Castle Combe, which has been called “the prettiest village in England” before being dropped back at our hotel.

The next morning, we met a guide who led us on a Jane Austen walking history tour. Jane Austen lived with her family for five years in Bath. The tour included more than just history about Jane Austen. We saw the Pulteney Bridge over the River Avon, which is a replica of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy, the geothermally heated Roman baths which are still in use today and the Bath Abbey which is a 12th century medieval cathedral, which still holds regular services.

The next day we had planned to go to Glastonbury, but it seemed as though getting there would be more difficult than we thought. There were no direct buses and a taxi would have been very expensive, so we took an Uber.

I had expected Stonehenge to be my favorite part of the trip and I certainly enjoyed it, but Glastonbury was the most magical and awe-inspiring place I have ever seen. There were more shops specializing in crystals, metaphysical books and similar wares than we had time to visit. Glastonbury Abbey, in the center of town, would have been worth the trip if that was the only spot I had seen.

Built in the 8th century and situated on 36 acres of land, the ruins of the Abbey were like a doorway to the past. Joseph of Arimathea and Mary Magdalene had both visited Glastonbury and different sections of the ruins are dedicated to them. King Arthur had been buried there, although his remains had later been moved. The land is still cared for and the gardens still produce fruit and vegetables. From the grounds you can look up and in the distance see the tower that sits on the Glastonbury Tor or hill.

We made our way through the village and to a gate that led to the walking path to the hill. There we met a man who had just come down. I asked him what the climb was like. He answered, “Oh it’s quite steep.” It was quite steep indeed! I was exhausted and out of breath when I made it to the top, while Jan was cheerfully talking to other people who had made the climb and taking pictures. Once I caught my breath, I was able to enjoy the 360-degree view for miles in every direction.

The next morning, we packed up, checked out of the hotel and took the train to London. We had nothing planned for London because we didn’t know when we would arrive, so we took a taxi to the British Museum. However, the line to get in would have taken more than an hour. So we went back to the hotel, which happened to be right next to Regents Park. There was a sculptural exhibit there highlighting climate change and its effects, so we spent some time walking in the park. Later we took a taxi into downtown London and had supper at a café at Waterstones, the largest bookstore in England.

Next morning we checked out, headed to the airport, to fly back to Chicago. Unfortunately, the connecting flight to Syracuse was delayed, so we spent the night in the airport in very uncomfortable seats. We finally arrived in Syracuse to discover they had lost our luggage. (We did get it back, though.)

We booked our flights through AAA and our day tours through Viator.com. Bath is the site of many television shows and movies, such as Bridgerton, Vanity Fair and Pride and Prejudice. There are tours highlighting those sites. Anyone planning on going to England should start at Bath.

 

Five Things to Know When Planning a Visit to England

1. In addition to your passport, you will need an ETA (Electronic Travel Authorization). Cost is about $23. Do not use any site other than Gov.uk. or you will either be scammed or pay an outrageous “processing fee.” I say this from experience.

2. Wear comfortable shoes and be prepared for rain and cool temperatures any time of year.

3. Although credit is preferred by most merchants, England uses the pound sterling as currency. This can be purchased at AAA, many local banks or EFX Currency Exchange in Liverpool (New York) for the going rate plus a small fee. My editor tells me he and his family spent 10 days in England and used credit card exclusively, even to pay small purchases like an ice cream cone.

4. Trains and taxis are expensive but may be the fastest way to travel. Uber is also an option. Hop-on, hop-off buses can be a less expensive way to see certain cities at a more leisurely pace.

5. Book your tours well in advance to avoid disappointment.