Tandridge District

This has turned into a slightly unusual day. I was supposed to stay in London at the Highbury Centre tonight and then head out to Gatwick airport in the morning on Saturday.Two weeks ago I realized that there was a train strike so I thought I should stay closer to Gatwick airport. Now during the trip I have been wondering if I over thought that decision but as of this morning Gatwick airport had warnings that there will be no train transport to the airport only taxi and some bus. Given that the Thameslink and Gatwick Express are the main ways one can get to the airport I think I made the right decision. They will not be running tomorrow.

I signed up for another London walks trip today of the Victoria and Albert museum. The V and A as it is known is a decorative arts museum. The tour was unfortunately a disappointment. As a group we moved too slowly and didn't really see that much in the 2 hours and the stuff she showed us not that exciting. Two of the exhibits she took us to were closed so I think she showed us stuff just to kill time. I think I could have covered much more in those two hours. One pays one's money and one takes their changes.

The only other thing I had on my list was the British Library treasure collection. I was flagging a bit after the V and A but I thought it was too early to head to Gatwick. I headed to the British library and probably got more out of that in the 1/2 hour I spent there than the 2 hours at the V and A. There were notes of Michelangelo and Leonardo De Vinci. A first folio of Shakespeare's work, one of the 4 surviving copies of the Magna Carta-slightly water damaged but it is 1000 years old, scribblings of the Beatles lyrics, ancient Bible's and Korans. It was just very impressive.

It was getting on in the afternoon so I headed back to The Highbury Centre to collect my stuff and head out to Gatwick. It took me about 1.5 hours to get out here. I am now at a guesthouse in Gatwick about 1.7 miles from the airport. My flight leaves at 1:30 tomorrow so I should have no troubles making it to the airport in a timely fashion. It is a little anticlimactic to finish one's trip at a guesthouse by Gatwick airport but this is a better option then missing one's flight.

I have had a good holiday and I have kept busy enough that I haven't got too lonely. The accommodation for the most part has worked out well. I really enjoyed the international hostel on Hadrian's wall and the Highbury Centre in London. They were clean quiet and there were people around to interact with. The things I enjoyed the most on the trip were Number 1 walking Hadrians Wall. It was the main purpose of the trip and lived up to my expectations. I was starting to doubt whether it was a good idea before I came as a few people had questioned the merit of travelling this far to walk along the wall. I really enjoyed it though and maybe wouldn't have gotten as much out of it had I not done that online course. It was very impressive. Number 2 was the day I spent at Cambridge. Simon our tour guide hit all of the high points of Cambridge. I would never have been able to pull off such a tour and seen such interesting things. Number 3 would be evensong at Westminster Abbey. The singing was incredulous in such an incredible setting. It was also fun connecting with David from Cleveland and heading out for supper with him. I understand why David goes to the service every day.

I hope people have enjoyed following the blog. I find this is a fun way to stay in touch with everyone and I always enjoy people's comments and thoughts.

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