Reset search
The Rushs AdventuresThe Rushs Adventures
SatelliteEdit route
The blog is a record of our travels for ourselves, but you are welcome to follow it and get inspiration for your own trips. We love our home town of Ashburton NZ and recommend that all travelers should come to New Zealand. Read more Ashburton, New Zealand
  • TravelerEuropean Christmas 2023 /2024
    Day 40

    Day 39 London, UK Departure

    January 15 in England ⋅ 🌙 -1 °C

    A lovely end to our trip but sad to be saying goodbye to the best tour guide ever! Thank you, Alanna. We have loved touring with you. So much fun. Today started with an Uber ride to Alanna’s flat where we left our bags. We then walked all the way down through Hammersmith and the beautiful Notting Hill area, stopping for coffee and cinnamon buns, until we reached Hyde Park, which has always been one of our favourite places. It was a beautiful clear day with hardly a cloud in the sky. There were lots of people about and lots of dogs and also lots of squirrels. It was a gorgeous relaxing walk and we finished with a walk around Harrods barely able to even buy anything in the souvenir shop! Very interesting though looking at all the beautiful things and shop displays. We walked back to Hyde park to see more squirrels and then have lunch at the lovely Serpentine cafe overlooking the lake. We made our way back via train to pick up our bags, and our tour leader took one last trip with us to Heathrow. We have plenty of time at the airport but are well ready to be home, and while sad to farewell Alanna we are definitely not sorry to have had our last ride in the London Subway for a while!Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Christmas 2023 /2024
    1
    Day 39

    Day 38, UK

    January 14 in England ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    A lovely London day with the sun shining so this morning we had a beautiful long walk down the banks of the River Thames in Alanna’s neighbourhood, Hammersmith. There were plenty of people out running, rowing, walking and lots of dogs. It’s a beautiful walk even though the shores of the muddy river are very unattractive and covered in litter. The view up and down the river was lovely though with the Hammersmith Bridge in the background. We ended up at the lovely Crabtree Pub on the banks of the river, where Alanna had booked our Sunday roast. It was delicious and just like a home cooked meal, except with the Yorkshire pudding. We then all travelled by train to Oxford Circus where we farewelled David for his trip to the Imperial War Museum. Alanna and I meanwhile headed down Oxford Street for some serious shopping. We were very relieved to find David back at the train station at 5pm and we headed back to Shepherds Bush for a much needed drink and snack at a lovely restaurant and bar attached to the huge mall. We then returned to the apartment for our last night here which also required packing our bags. Our plane doesn’t leave until 8 20 pm so Alanna has the day off work tomorrow and we will spend some of it having a walk through Hyde Park before heading to Heathrow.Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Christmas 2023 /2024
    Day 38

    Day 37 London, UK

    January 13 in England ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    A wonderful way to spend the last Saturday of our holiday. We got up in time to use underground ( yet again) to go to Campden market with Alanna. So good to once again have her as our tour leader! The Camden markets are a number of adjoining large retail markets, often collectively referred to as Camden Market or Camden Lock, located in the historic former Pickfords stables, in Camden Town, London. It was probably the largest market we’d ever been in with stall after stall selling food, clothes, jewellery and a lot of very alternative clothes and accessories. It had such cool vibe and by the time we left it at 12 pm it was packed. Even the shop fronts of the main shopping area were works of art. Alanna and I shared an amazing treat from Humble Crumble (all over London) where you choose the cooked fruit, the amount of crumble and the topping, including hot custard, and they make it in front of you. Delicious! We then used the train to get into Soho and stopped at a lovely old pub for a drink. We left there in time to be at the London Paladium by 2 30pm for our second show in 24 hours. We had booked the pantomime Peter Pan and it was amazing. The venue was spectacularly beautiful and packed, and the show had that many Wow moments. Julian Clary, Jennifer Saunders, Niger Havers and Paul Zerdin (ventriloquist) and were so funny and so clever and the costumes were amazing. Then there was the singers/dancers and acrobats and an orchestra. There were many special effects include Julian Cleary being flown up from the ground, past the audience to the very top where he disappeared through the roof. It was two and a half hours of utter entertainment. We left there for a lovely drink in another old pub with great atmosphere and then had pizza at a cool Soho restaurant. As usual our day ended with the subway trip home. The light display at Tottingham Court Station (and the mice) once again catching our attention.Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Christmas 2023 /2024
    Day 37

    Day 36 London, UK

    January 12 in England ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    A busy day as we moved on from Bristol to London. We parked the car in a car parking building before walking 15 minutes to a cool cafe for breakfast. We then walked back down and drove to the Bristol car rental depot to happily find that we were not going to be charged for returning the car to a different town that we planned, or for returning it one hour late. Also we found that the railway station was a two minute walk so no Uber or additional lifting of the bags needed. The train was at 1 30pm so we had a long wait in the cold at the very old station and were happy to finally board and sit back in the warmth to enjoy a relaxing 1 and a half hour ride to Paddington Station. No more traffic, round abouts or Google maps and no need to drive into Heathrow to return the car and then find our way into London. The perfect solution- almost! We decided to get a black taxi to take us from the station to our apartment and it was actually cheaper than Uber. After the 12 minute ride we were dropped off with the suitcases and stumbled to the front door ready to take the 4 flights of stairs to realise my back pack was still in the taxi. After the initial shock we calmed down as I realised I’d lost a jacket, all my makeup and my book. Thankfully not my wallet, phone or passport so not the end of the world! Annoyingly there is little chance of ever seeing it again as the company has no record of our ride and the driver would not know where to return it if he even noticed it. I decided not to let it ruin my day as we were safely in London and had dinner and the show SIX to look forward to. It was Alanna’s Christmas present to us. We met Alanna at 5 30 at Tottingham Court underground station and wandered to a huge modern food court for dinner, although I did find ordering all the food and drinks on my phone challenging. We then left to go to Vaudeville Theatre for the musical about the six wives of Henry the Eighth and performed by six wonderful dancers/ singers with a 4 piece all female band. It was an excellent show and so professional. We then wandered through Covent garden to find a very cool concert going on there too, as a busker performed for over half an hour to a large group of people. Again it was excellent entertainment. We travelled home by underground to collapse into bed very tired and ready to be on the last leg of the trip.Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Christmas 2023 /2024
    Day 36

    Day 35 Bristol, UK

    January 11 in England ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    What an amazing day in such an interesting city. 24000 steps later we feel we have seen as much as we can. As David had recovered from his bug, we planned our day and set off for a cafe up the road. We had a lovely breakfast there and headed off to Clifton Village which actually is near to our accomodation. It was a beautiful little area of quirky shops, cafes and fruit and vegetable stalls. We enjoyed poking around the shops and taking our time to soak up the atmosphere. We then carried on to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which Bristol is so well known for. It spans the Avon Gorge and the River Avon and is a truly incredible structure considering it was completed in 1864. It is over 100m above the river and you can walk or drive over it. The view down was over Bristol and the road metres below. We spent ages trying to get the ultimate photo, and we also walked up the hill a bit further to the observatory building to get a better view. We then walked down to the flat part of town and our hour long walk took us past the historic floating harbour. The name comes from the fact that the water in the harbour remains at a constant level and is not affected by the tides of the River Avon which flows into it. There were many boats moored there, with most of them being long house boats. The scene was beautiful, especially as in the background were the streets of Bristol on the hills and the many multicoloured old and new appartments. To our delight we totally by chance found a piece of wall art by Banksy there. Apart from a fence in front of it there is nothing to identify its location and it sits on a wall just off the street. We were just so lucky to spot it. We continued to Wapping Wharf which was a new development, before crossing the river and heading back into town. By now we had researched Banksy and were able to locate one more piece of his art work in the centre of town. The graffiti art of Bristol is everywhere and most are works of art themselves. After another coffee we had a look at the shops and then took the 35 minute walk back up the road to the flat. The weather was generally warm and sunny all day and we loved the character and quirkiness of Bristol. For a city it is remarkably calm and peaceful with a lot of trees and green areas. It reminded us of both Dunedin and Melbourne. It is also very easy to get around and the people seem friendly. The day ended really well with dinner in town at an Italian restaurant, the same chain as the one in Frankfurt and equally as good. Needless to say we ordered an Uber! Tomorrow we head for London via train to spend our last weekend with Alanna.Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Christmas 2023 /2024
    Day 35

    Day 34 Bristol, UK

    January 10 in England ⋅ 🌙 2 °C

    Oh dear- we still haven’t seen Castle Combe! A chain of events led to us spending a fairly miserable night 5 kms down the road. The accommodation was very average in the tiny upstairs room across the road from the hotel. The shower was nearly cold and David ended up with a probable case of food poisoning. He was unwell during the night and only just well enough to be up and about in the morning. I wandered across the road to the main hotel to find the reception very frosty and my cup of coffee instant and the toast white and frozen with no spreads. On returning to the room we loaded up the car to find the road very icy, as well as the paths, as we were in a very shady valley. Consequently we decided to abandon heading further down a treacherous road to view the main village and instead were relieved to get on the main road to Bristol which was a very easy 30 minute drive. Our accomodation here (last photo) is a beautiful apartment in a huge old row of multi storied apartments in a lovely part of Bristol, Clifton. And what’s more, we were welcomed by some very active squirrels on the front lawn. Once we had unloaded, David headed off to bed and I walked 35 minutes down into the main centre of town. I spent a lovely 3 hours wandering around town and seeing some of the very interesting old architecture that is part of the town and university. The city has many steep streets and interesting views. It was remarkably quiet and calm for a city, but it has plenty of character. My walk back was mostly uphill, but easy. David had improved a lot but wanted little for dinner so we strolled 15 minutes to Clifton for a quick Wagamama meal which satisfied both of us. We were back by 6 30pm and settled in to watch an excellent series, Fool Me Once. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Christmas 2023 /2024
    Day 34

    Day 33 Castle Combe, UK

    January 9 in England ⋅ 🌬 -1 °C

    A big traveling day, but a complete contrast from yesterday as it was so bright and sunny and the only snow was on the roadside and fields of Kent, to the south east of London. We had our second Jeakes House breakfast and then got on the road, first detouring to Camber Sands Beach, Rye as we realised we had not seen the more popular beach spot which people come out from London for the day to swim at. It was a lovely long sandy beach and even though the sun was shining it was still very cool. We then drove on to Ticehurst, a village with a very quirky pub where we stopped for a lovely coffee in front of the open fire. We also viewed several oast houses on properties along the way. An oast house or hop kiln is a building designed for kilning (drying) hops as part of the brewing process. We then battled the traffic again as we were on the outskirts of London ( Heathrow and Ascot and Legoland turn offs) and as usual there were multi lanes of cars and trucks and so many round abouts. Must admit we are totally over them! Our stop at 3pm was at a very interesting spot, Avebury. Its claim to fame is the huge stone rocks that are seen in the paddocks surrounding the Red Lion Hotel and village there. Stonehenge and Avebury are among the most famous groups of megaliths in the world. Avebury dates from between 4000 and 2400BC, and is actually made up of three stone circles. As it was late afternoon and there was ice and frost still in the paddocks we did not wander far to view the stones and take some photos of them and the sunset behind them. The hotel was also very interesting with its well from 1600 and the ghost stories of Florrie who was murdered there. The next part of our journey was not quite so much fun as we were both very tired and dying to be in Castle Combe. The 40 minute drive in heavy traffic turned into about an hour and a half as we did finally find Castle Combe, but with no street lights or road signs (it is renowned for being in its original state) we were unable to find the White Hart Hotel. After three trips of about 5 kms each on a very narrow farm road with no turning, we finally located it in the dark about 15 minutes past the turn off for Castle Combe and seemingly not in the village at all. Our accomodation is across the road from the hotel in a little upstairs room -we are thinking about the ghosts that haunt some of these old places! Our dinner was at the hotel and nicer than expected, but lacked atmosphere as half empty and not that warm. It appears to have been built over a deep stream. We look forward to returning to Castle Combe in the daylight to see if it really is the prettiest village in England!Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Christmas 2023 /2024
    1
    Day 33

    Day 32 Rye, UK

    January 8 in England ⋅ 🌬 0 °C

    A beautiful relaxing day on our trip as we explored Rye. It is a beautiful village and just so full of character. You want to take photos at every corner and it is so quiet and peaceful- just a few locals and tourists walking about. Our accomodation is so special. Part of the deal was the breakfast and it was so good that we have had to eat little else all day. It was served in a beautiful old dining room and there were several other guests eating there too. There was cereal and fruit followed by a choice of something cooked from the extensive menu. Also toast and coffee/tea served at the table and of course all on beautiful old crockery. It was a real treat. We then headed off to explore the castle, the town gate, Mary’s Church and graveyard and the many quirky little antique and craft shops that are scattered about. The castle also known as Ypres Tower, was built in 1249 and it was fascinating and had a very basic museum set up in it, but it was still very interesting. We spent until 2 pm walking and by now surprisingly enjoying the frequent snow flurries which just added to the scenic streets. It actually wasn’t that cold, and the sun kept shining in between. Apparently it was unusual to have snow in Rye, and we joined the locals trying to take photos of it. After a lovely coffee stop we headed to the car for a trip out to Winchelsea Beach. It was 10 minutes away and with it being such a miserable afternoon it was not at all inviting- but not actually sure it would even be on the height of summer even though there were many permanent caravan homes there. We drove back to the car park and wandered up to the Standard Pub for a lovely drink with Tony and Tim ( T&T) , the local couple who had befriended us last night. They are real characters and very interesting to chat to. On returning to Jeakes House we relaxed in the lounge which is just beautiful and so warm, before heading across the road to the Mermaid Inn for dinner. The meal was two courses but preceded by a canapé and also breads. The main was a seafood platter that we shared followed by delicious desserts. The service was excellent, as was the company of two different couples that we ended up talking to. It was a lovely night and we have our fingers crossed that the sunshine promised for tomorrow’s trip to Castle Combe will eventuate.Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Christmas 2023 /2024
    Day 32

    Day 31 Rye, UK

    January 7 in England ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C

    We were sorry to be leaving Cambridge as we really had loved it. Our morning started with breakfast at Gail’s at Cambridge Railway Station, before we farewelled Alanna as she headed back to London. We set off on what ended up being a very interesting journey to Rye, a village of 4000 people, south of London and nearly on the coast. With me navigating we were on the main highway until suddenly we weren’t! The trip took nearly an hour longer but we went through many small villages and on lots of very narrow roads and lanes, some of which had minor flooding on them. We stopped on the side of the road, but in view of Bodiam Castle, to eat out Pret A Manger sandwiches before carrying on to arrive in Rye at 2pm. Our accommodation, Jeakes House, is amazing. It is a house built in the 17th century, and sits on cobbled Mermaid Street. The cobblestones are actually small stones and the street itself is one way with no parking. Consequently we unloaded our bags before driving the car two blocks to a secure car park. On the way back we stopped for a coffee and viewed all the surrounding houses which are also very old. Our room, one of several in the house, has a four poster bed and the furnishings match the age of the house. Despite the steep staircase to the room, it is luxurious with our breakfast included. The is also a beautiful bar down stairs and an honesty box for the drinks you can help yourself too. We relaxed in our room, and I had a delicious bath before heading down the street to a very old pub for a drink. By this time it was nearly dark and the streets looked even more beautiful. We then wandered to the Standard Inn which was recommended by the Jeakes House host. It did not disappoint as not only did we have a delicious fish and chip tea but the atmosphere was lovely with an open fire, several dogs and some lovely locals to talk to. Our night finished with a walk back and time sitting chatting in the bar to another guest who was from London. We all then headed off to bed after discussing how good the breakfast is meant to be.Read more

  • TravelerEuropean Christmas 2023 /2024
    2
    Day 31

    Day 30 Cambridge, Uk

    January 6 in England ⋅ ☁️ 4 °C

    The second incredible day in Cambridge. What a beautiful city and so much to see and do (although punting on the river is out as it appears to be in flood). We began the day with a Chelsea bun at Fitzbillies before going off for some serious retail therapy as the shops are so cool. The Grand Arcade had many of the big stores but in every lane and alleyway there were interesting little gift and clothing shops. Town was a lot busier today and it was a very pleasant morning. There were people everywhere and many on bikes, which is the main way the students get around as they are not permitted to have cars. We met up with David at 1 pm for a frustrating time looking for a table for lunch even though there are heaps of eating places. Everywhere was full with many queues outside. We finally settled on Gail’s, a cafe chain that Alanna frequents in London. It actually was pretty good and all we needed. Amongst all the beautiful architecture we found the Corpus Clock, also known as the Grasshopper clock, which is a large sculptural clock at Corpus Christi College. We then visited Kings College Chapel. We had thought the admission cost was expensive but it was so worth it as it was an exquisite church, with the features being the stained glass windows and the ceiling. We also got to look around the grounds and they too were stunning. We spent some more time wandering the shops before stopping at two well known bars, The Maypole and The Eagle for drinks. We carried on from there for a delicious Indian meal in a busy restaurant, The Tiffin Truck. The food and service were excellent. As usual we had finished our dinner very early as a consequence of it getting dark so early in the afternoon and thinking then that it is so much later. Anyway we slowly made our way back to the house, having walked more than 21000 steps, making plans to get Alanna to the train by 10 30 in the morning. We will be driving south of London to Rye for two days.Read more

Join us:

FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English