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I (Mikio) traveled from London to Edinburgh in UK this summer. Michiyo
and I took part in a study tour organized by an international exchange
volunteer group, “Fukushima International Society” which has kept a relationship
with a similar English group, long term. Our tour party was made up of
13 adults and 6 students. We had many experiences and studied many things through the homestay and other programs. I think these will be unforgettable memories and the most cherished memories in my life. So I will sketch out our travel in the UK. |
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July 23 |
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We arrived in London in the evening of July 23. We traveled about 15 hours on an airplane via Paris from Japan. It was such a long journey and made us too tired, so we went straight to our triple-decker bunks after a quick dinner at London Youth Hostel. |  |
July 24 |
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We got up early on the first morning in London and took a walk along
the Thames riverbank. We did a watercolor sketch there. The Gherkin, a
new landmark building, over the Thames made me feel I was in London. After breakfast we started out to the first destination, Canterbury. It took about two hours by train. Canterbury is famous for the Cathedral and “Canterbury Tales” written by Chaucer. The city was crowded with many visitors and Canterbury Cathedral was filled with a solemn air. We were satisfied with English medieval landmarks. That night we saw a musical “Joseph” based on the Old Testament. It was very fun. |
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July 25 |
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Guided by the English organizer Browning-sensei, we were headed
from King's Cross station to a university town, Cambridge. We looked on
many college-affiliated buildings in Cambridge and enjoyed the boating
called “punting” rowed by college students on the river Cam. We got on the train again to go to Bury St Edmunds where we were supposed to do homestay. Michiyo and I did a homestay at Mr. and Mrs. Bailey’s home. They met and welcomed us at the station. When we arrived at their house and were showed the beautiful garden and rooms, we were overjoyed at their loveliness. It looked like a dream house. We were served welcome drinks in the garden and exchanged greetings. They were friendly and intellectual. We could open up to each other soon. That night we enjoyed nice dinner and chatting with them. It was a really delightful night |
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July 26 |
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When I got up in the morning, I saw horses and hares through the window. We sketched the beautiful garden glittering in the morning sun. It was a lovely morning. After breakfast, Angie-san and David-san showed us around the neighborhood. We saw a small church by the foot path and could know their neighborly companionship. Then they took us for a drive to a wonderful place, Flatford, associated with the famous English artist painter, Constable. There were the exact same pastoral landscapes where Constable painted his masterpiece pictures 200 years ago. We’ve been his fans since long before, so this visit was an unexpected big bonus for us. In the evening we had a BBQ party hosted by Browning-sensei in her garden. We attended the party with our host family and met our and their friends there. We enjoyed nice talking with them, playing many attractions. Michiyo and I performed a small skit. |
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July 27 |
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We left Bury St
Edmunds early in the morning after two days of homestay and headed to Kenilworth
by chartered coach with English high school students. |
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July 28 |
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We stayed in Chester all the morning. We visited “Dewa Roman Experience
Museum” where we could see Romanic life at that time and saw the sights
of charming Chester town streets. Someone did some shopping. Then we headed to Liverpool. We rode across the Mersey river by ship. Liverpool is a big port city, but most famous as the Beatles’ birthplace. We visited their footsteps. When we went to the Cavern Club where they had played, I sang “Yesterday” on the stage. (It was one of my dreams in this travel!) After that we visited the slavery museum which recently opened in the dock area. Liverpool has a bitter legacy which thrived on slave trade in past times. Then we proceeded on our journey after a short stay in Liverpool. In the evening, we arrived at the Lake District after a long coach ride. When the beautiful lakes jumped to our eyes, we raised a round of cheers. We immediately took a walk at the lakeside after dinner. There was an ancient Roman site there |
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July 29 |
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Michiyo and I sketched a lakeside view in front of YHA Ambleside in the
early morning. It was a breathtaking view. Today’s schedule of our party was a walk around the Lake District all day. First we crossed over the Windermere Lake by ferry and walked through long footpaths to Hill Top. It was a rainy, but pleasant walk. Hill Top is the village where Beatrix Potter lived and wrote many picture tales following after “The tale of Peter Rabbit”. Her house was exactly the same as it was when she lived, under the protection of the National Trust. We had a tea break at a near guest house. I’ve never drunk such a nice tasting tea before. In the afternoon we visited Wordsworth’s house, Dove Cottage. Wordsworth is a very famous English romantic poet in the Lake District. He deeply loved this district and composed many poems inspired by nature. We saw his house and museum, and walked his beloved path, “The Coffin Path”. At the night, we had a recitation contest of Wordsworth’s poem “The daffodil”. All of us and some English students challenged it each in their way. It was a fantastic event suitable for the Lake District. Browning-sensei, the contest judge, gave us exact evaluations and applauded our performances. |
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July 30 |
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We continued our travels toward the north, leaving the Lake District. Today’s
final destination was Edinburgh in Scotland. The landscape from the Lake
District to Scotland was breathtakingly wonderful. We enjoyed the panoramic
views of wide grassland, beautiful lakes and Cambrian hills from the coach
window. On the way, Browning-sensei happened to take us on a short (a little bit hard for us) climb to see a waterfall “Aira Force” in the mountain. At noon we arrived at “Hadrian's Wall”. It was the most significant destination for me in this travel. Hadrian's Wall, located in north of England was built by the Roman emperor, Hadrianus in AD126. At that time, the Roman emperors expanded their territory to north of England. He built the huge wall as a guard barrier and a sign of the territory limit against barbarian tribes. The wall spread about 120 km long. I originally like the ancient Roman history. I’ve been to Rome to see the ancient Roman monuments a few years ago. Since then I was really looking forward to seeing “Hadrian's Wall”. Now my dream at last came true. I raised a cry of utter joy on the wall. In the evening, we arrived at Edinburgh. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and considered one of the most picturesque cities in Europe. We went for a walk to Carton Hill after dinner where we could see a panoramic view glowing with the splendor of the setting sun. There were big Grecian monuments on the hill. Edinburgh is called “Athens of the North” |
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July 31 |
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Today was the last day we could enjoy traveling in the UK. We looked around
Edinburgh all day. First we went to Edinburgh Castle which soared above Castle Rock. There were many must-see historical architectures and relics. I was lucky to see a sideshow performed by Scottish and “the Stone of Destiny” which was recently returned to Scotland from England. At noon we had lunch at a pub on the Royal Mile Street. We ate a local Scottish dish, “haggis”. It was exceedingly delicious! In the afternoon we visited the Holyrood Palace which was located at the bottom of the Royal Mile. The Palace is the official residence in Scotland of Queen Elizabeth II now. We had had our fill of many gorgeous rooms and interesting royal histories. I was especially interested in the story of Queen Mary and her son, who grew up to be King of England. There was a ruined Abbey in the garden where Mendelssohn was inspired to compose his symphony “Scotland”. At the end of the day, I climbed Arthur's Seat hill with English and Japanese students. Browning-sensei guided us like always at a fast walk. Getting to the top of the hill, I could see a spectacular vista of Edinburgh below. It was beyond all description. I thought that it was fitting for the end of this travel. I felt many satisfactions with not only the top of the hill, but also the climax of this travel. |
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August 1 |
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We left the Edinburgh Youth Hostel early in the morning. It was raining heavily, but the only thing to do today was getting on the return flight. We were really blessed with good weather during our travels. At the airport, we presented a chorus and card to Browning-sensei as a sign of heartfelt thanks, and said good-bye to other English teachers and students. We felt the sorrow of parting of course. The flight for Japan departed from Edinburgh airport on time. We safely arrived at Narita airport August 2 in the morning and Fukushima in the afternoon. |  |
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| Last but not least, I have many people to thank for this travel. Thank you very much! ― Browning-sensei, our hostfamily, English teachers and students, our organizers and our group friends. Thanks to all of you, Michiyo and I could enjoy this travel and make magical memories that would last a lifetime | ||
