English Castles - Windsor and Leeds

Nothing quite says England like a castle. Except a cup of tea. A cup of tea in a castle? Anyway, I only had time to visit two castles - Windsor Castle and Leeds Castle - and admittedly neither one for very long.

Windsor Castle, The Queen's Home
19.20 Pounds (29.95 USD)

I only toured a little bit of the grounds of Windsor Castle and didn't go inside anything other than St. George's Chapel. But your ticket allows you to visit the State Apartments, decorated to reflect some of the older monarchs from the 17th and 19th centuries. You can also check out Queen Mary's doll house, the largest in the world built between 1921 and 1924, featuring electricity and running water. Between September and March the Semi-State Rooms are open, which are used by the Queen for official events and entertaining. Lastly you can attend service, or simply tour, at St. George's Chapel (except on Sunday).

As a residence of the Queen, Windsor does host the Queen's Guard. Changing of the guard takes place at 11:00 am every day and includes a small parade including the band. It takes about half an hour and takes place just outside St. George's Chapel. Arrive 10-15 minutes early to get a good viewing spot.

The hours of Windsor and its various rooms vary throughout the year, so it's best to check the website, here. Prices also vary slightly based on the time of year. Be prepared for a thorough, airport-style, search before entering the grounds. Allow 2-3 hours for a full tour.

The Queen's Guard at Windsor Castle

My favorite things about Windsor: You can get much closer to take a great picture of a Queen's Guard. The old moat has been filled in with a beautifully decorated and maintained garden. All of the lights on the lampposts have crowns. The town around the castle is very nice and could easily help fill whatever is left of the day after touring the castle.

Leeds Castle - The World's Loveliest Castle
24 Pounds (37.44 USD) - this ticket can be used repeatedly for an entire year

I wish I had had an entire day at Leeds. The castle and its grounds are stunningly beautiful and on a nice day you could spend an hour or so just sitting beside the lake, doing nothing.

The castle was built during the reign of William the Conqueror and after being passed down as a royal residence for 300 years it became a private residence. The castle remains in the style of the last private owner, Lady Baillie, who purchased the castle in 1925. Prior to her death she established the Leeds Castle Foundation which has owned the castle since her death in 1974.

Lady Baillie Mediterranean Garden Terrace

Aside from touring the castle there's a lot to do at Leeds. I'm deeply saddened that I didn't get to play in the maze - made of 2,400 yew trees. Finding your way out of the maze leads to the underground grotto. After the maze you can visit the Bird of Prey Center with 22 birds and free flying demonstrations. If you want some leisure time you can send the kids of to one of 2 playgrounds and take a float around in the moat, in a boat of course (called a punt and costing an extra 5 pounds). The grounds also house 3 beautiful and full gardens. If you're looking for something a little more out of the ordinary try the Dog Collar Museum (seriously) or the Go Ape! Ziplines.

Leeds also hosts a lot of special events and exhibits throughout the year - all posted on their website and changing through the seasons.

Open April - September 10:30 am - 6:00 pm. October - March 10:30 am - 5:00 pm.

My favorite things about Leeds: The gardens are amazing. Full of beautiful, and some strange, flowers it makes for great photos and offers some unique views over the lake. I'm pretty sure the maze would have been a favorite, if I had experienced it. The grounds are huge, and spread out so it never seemed crowded - in the castle or out.

England - My Random (But Useful) Thoughts

I covered the basics in a previous post - food, money, transportation, etc. But I keep having random thoughts pop into my mind about things that were fun, or odd, or just things I think I would want to know if travelling to England. So what follows is the most unorganized, straight from my head to this web page, blog ever. Enjoy.

• The windows at either end of the Underground cars open, so if it's really hot try and stand near the end of the car for some cool air.

Queen's Guard at Windsor Castle

• There is no where that you can go where you can get up close to the Queen's Guards (red coat, furry hat). They're quite far away at Buckingham Palace, and much closer but still roped off at Windsor Castle. Even if you could, don't touch them, taunt them, pick on them. They're standing in a place of honor, leave them alone. Plus, as this video shows, they will level a weapon at you. And you'll deserve it, for being a git.

• If you want a free glass of water, order tap water. Otherwise you're getting expensive bottled water. They'll probably ask if you want still or sparkling, but you want tap. Unless you don't want tap, then you want still. Unless you want bubbles, then you want sparkling.

• Free tours are not free. Well, they are, until the end. You'll be asked to pay what you felt the tour was worth, which is probably around 10 pounds per person. I'd still recommend maybe trying out a free tour. We did one for Jack the Ripper and it was accurate, informational, and entertaining. We felt it was every bit as good as the paid tour we had looked at taking, so we paid the same price - 10 pounds each.

• British food isn't bad. It's amazing.

• There are a lot of homeless in London. It's certainly not something I'm used to seeing, being from a small town. But I will say one thing, they weren't beggers. They just sat quietly, often said hello or wished people good days, or just talked with people. I always wished I had some extra snacks in my bag to hand out, but never seemed to. Anyway, give if you'd like, or just spare a 'hello' and smile.

• I thought people and tea cups would just be everywhere. So cliche. But I really thought I could just walk into someplace, somewhere, and have a cuppa. I only saw one place, in Harrods and it was expensive! Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough. If afternoon tea is something you really want to have, scope out some places online first.

• Wi-fi is available pretty readily. Train stations, restaurants, public markets - most times when I needed it I could find it. If you're really having a hard time just find a Starbucks. The wi-fi was free everywhere I went except my hotel.

• Those signs everywhere, warning against pickpockets, are there for a reason. Don't freak out and think London is unsafe, but you do need to remain alert. Keep purses around in front of you if possible, be aware of what's in your pockets, especially if you're in a large crowd. If you're in a restaurant don't hang bags on the back of your chair. Don't leave money or your phone sitting on your table. Even if you're still sitting there! I watched two men come into a restaurant, lay a bunch of papers over a man's phone while they distracted him, and then try to pick the phone up with their papers. They didn't get away with the phone, but they did get away. All of this goes for Paris as well.

• The English like to rhyme. Just check out the public service posters around the Underground stations. They all rhyme. Cracked me up. Here's a poem for you:

Platforms are really rather long
Which is why it seems somewhat wrong
To stand together in one place
With someone's backpack in your face
By moving down a little more
You'll be much quicker through the door

• You can get tickets to West End plays for a discount on the day of the show. There's a box office in Leicester Square, very close to the Underground Station.

Elizabeth Tower, home of Big Ben

• Anyone important in British history was probably named Henry, Edward, or William. They were probably married to an Elizabeth, Anne, or Victoria. Try to keep up. British history also reads like a murder mystery thriller. It's some crazy and interesting stuff, with some of the most macabre occurring at the Tower of London.

• That big tower with the clock in it, is not Big Ben. The tower is Elizabeth Tower, Big Ben being the 13.7 ton bell inside, which tolls on the hour.

• Likewise, that big bridge with the two towers is not The London Bridge. It's Tower Bridge. London Bridge is a little more west on the Thames and is currently a rather unremarkable looking bridge. Sorry, London, but it is. The current bridge comes after original timber bridges, the "old" London Bridge that was falling down for 600 years, and a 19th-century stone-arch bridge that now lives in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, USA.

England - The Basics and What You Should Know

This is a long post, and I'm not sure why it's so long. England is an easy country to travel and navigate. I highly recommend it! So, even though it's long, and I can't figure out why, you should go on and read!


Language:
There's certainly something to be said for traveling internationally but not having to decipher another language while abroad. It makes maps, ordering meals, subway stations, and general life much easier when able to understand signage and those around you. However, there are over a dozen different British accents (for some fun on the different dialects check out Anglophenia's awesome video) and some of them are quite hard to understand for the untrained ear. I often had to ask people to repeat themselves, but no one seemed offended.

Another small hurdle can be the fact that although you can read the words, they might not mean anything to you. Do you know what nappies are? Not light periods of sleep. They're diapers. Don't tell someone you desperately need a nappy. (If you do need a quick bit of sleep, then you need a kip)

Other words and phrases:

lorry = truck

cuppa = a cup of tea

top up = refill

take away = take out food

knackered = tired

cheers or ta = thanks

pudding = dessert

biscuit = cookie

quid  = one British Pound

jacket potato = baked potato

chips = french fries

crisps = potato chips

underground or tube = subway

Transportation:
Surprisingly easy. Figuring out public transportation is what scares me the most about traveling. Even travel within the USA. It's horrifying to me. But the London Underground system is very easy to understand. Each line has a color and a name, the Central Line for instance is red. The trains either go north and south or east and west.

White circles joined by a white line means you will
have a bit of a walk from one line's platform to the other's.

I suggest figuring out your route in this manner:
1. Find an Underground map upon entering the station (they're always easy to find).
2. Find the station you need for your destination (you will need a London city map that shows Underground stations to figure out the closest one)
3. See if any of the colored lines go all the way to the station you're standing in
       3a. If there's one line all the way make sure you know which direction you're going (N, S, E, or W) then follow the signs to the correct platform (e.g. Central Line West)
       3b. If the two stations are not connected by one line pick a line leaving the station you're in and see where it intersects one of the lines going to your destination. There should be a white circle where the lines intersect with a station name - that's the station where you will need to get off and switch to another train. Again, make sure you know which direction you need to be headed for both trains.
4. As an added reassurance that you're getting on the right train, look and see what the last stop is on the line you're getting on. That last stop will be displayed on the front of the train when it pulls in*. Each platform also has a list of stops displayed on big signs. If you don't see your stop, you're on the wrong platform.
5. Signs in the tube cars will show the route and stops so you can keep track of where you are and how many stops you have to go.

*You'll notice some lines split, the Central Line for instance. This is where you really need to pay attention to the last stop on a line. If your stop is after the split,  you'll need to make sure the front of the train you get on has the right ending point on it. If you just get on the first Central Line train you see, it might take the wrong fork.

Can you figure out where all of the letters spelling
London come from?

You'll need an Oyster Card in order to get into Underground Stations. Although Oyster cards can be purchased at stations, you should get a Visitor Oyster card online prior to your trip so that you can use it on buses, the Overground Rail, and National Rail Services. You fill the card with a certain amount of money and any trips are subtracted from the balance. You just touch the card to the round yellow circles at the station turnstiles. If you get a red beep and the turnstile doors don't open, you need to top up your card (put more money on it). You swipe your card again to get out of any station, and the fare is calculated by the distance between your starting station and ending station.

Bus fare is also paid using your Visitor Oyster Card, but you only swipe the card once, when you board. Bus fare is flat no matter how long you're on the bus. Fare is 1.5 pounds and you cannot pay with cash. You must have an Oyster Card. If you have a regular Oyster Card and not a Visitor Card, make sure you've added the Bus and Tram Pass. Buses will take MUCH longer to get you anywhere.

I've made this all sound terribly difficult, but it really isn't. Visitor Oyster Card. Swipe at station turnstile or upon boarding bus. Top up when your money runs out.

Oh one last note, if you're planning on seeing a lot of London make sure your Visitor Oyster Card is good for zones 1-6. Otherwise, look at this map and see what zones you need the card for.

Walking as transportation is great, just remember they drive on the opposite side of the road in London. Pedestrians have the right of way at a crosswalk, but look right first! Then left. Every cross walk has written on the ground "look right" or "look left" though, in case you forget. Apparently a lot of foreigners were getting run over?

Money:

The measure of money in England is called a Pound (also sometimes referred to as a Quid). The pound comes in 5, 10, 20 and 50 paper notes as well as a 2 pound coin. The only other unit of money is pence. 100 pence make up a pound and these all come in coins - 1 penny (a singular pence is a penny), 2 pence, 5 pence, 10, 20, and 50 pence.

The symbol for pound is £ and prices are written as such,  £5.50 = 5 pounds and 50 pence. Something costing under a pound is often written as 50p. That's fifty pence but usually pronounced "fifty-pee". Currently the pound is worth more than a US dollar and the Euro - so things can get a bit expensive.

Food and Drink:
Bangers and Mash are sausages and mashed potatoes. Fish and Chips is fried cod and french fries. That's all you need to know.

That blue bar right under the windows
for people outside to put their drinks
on. Pubs get crowded and the crowd
spills outside.

No, not really. What you should know is that if you go to dine in a pub (which 9 out of 10 establishments are) there's a certain procedure to be followed. If someone doesn't meet you at the door to seat you, you're in a pub. Just find yourself somewhere to sit, figure out what you want from the menu, and find the table number of where you're sitting. Then go to the bar, order, and tell them you're table number. Someone will get your drink right then, and someone else will bring your food. You will pay when you order, so make sure you bring your money to the bar with you.

If there are a lot of people seated, just send one or two people to the bar to order and pay for everyone. Menus are posted outside most pubs, and you should check them out because some pubs don't offer much in the way of food. It's a pub, so it's mainly for drinking.

Do not leave or give a tip in a pub. If someone has seated you, taken your order, brought you a check, etc...then you're in a restaurant and you need to tip  - unless it is already added to your check. Check your check.


Well, I think you can now travel to England without looking or sounding like a ninny.

Don't Be a "Tourist"

On my recent trip to England only one thing ever got me down - not rainy weather, lost luggage, or a bad hotel room - tourists.

Yes, I know technically I was a tourist. But to me there are two definitions of the word tourist.

1. Someone visiting a place other than their hometown, taking in the sights, enjoying local culture, visiting historical sites, etc.

2. Someone visiting a place other than their hometown while remaining in their personal bubble oblivious to those around them while trying to be first at everything and not caring that they're in someone else's hometown

Don't be the second one. It's really easy not to be. I promise.

Don't Push. Crowds are unavoidable at most tourist destinations. Keep in mind you're not the only one there, and you're not the only one excited to see what's in front of you. So don't push in front of other people. If you're watching a show of some sort, and you get there late and can't see, don't push in front of other people. You should arrive to shows/parades/ceremonies early enough to find a spot. Just because there's an empty square foot of space in front of me, does not mean you need to occupy it. Nothing makes me madder then someone pushing their way to stand in front of me. It might sound childish (it does), but I was here first.

Don't Yell. I'll never understand why some people speak at the volumes they do when the person they're speaking to is a foot away. You especially need to keep your voice down if you're somewhere people generally like quiet - cathedrals, museums, public transportation.

Don't Selfie-Stick. The things were invented to take selfies of large groups. That's what they should be limited to. Don't shove that stick between people or hover it over other people's heads so you can get a better picture. The madness may not stop until someone is walloped over the head with their own stick, but just keep it out of other people's personal space.

Don't Break Rules. It's just rude. If it says no cameras, don't take a picture. If 98% of the visitors can follow the rule, so can the other 2%. If you're breaking rules, you're just a jerk. And don't whine about the rules, because you won't change them that way.

Don't Be a Dam. What I mean by this is, don't suddenly stop in the middle of a stream of walking people. Don't gather your group in the middle of a sidewalk to decide where to have lunch. Don't make people move around you. Also, don't walk slowly in the middle of a stream of people. If you'd like to take your time, move to the side.

Those are my biggest pet peeves. They all seem like obvious things to do, and yet I was confronted with them over and over. It's all about one thing - Respect! Give it, receive it, travel happy.