Today, my dad and I began our hike across England, starting in St. Bees on the coast of the Irish Sea and ending in Robin Hood’s on the North Sea. The trek will take us from the Lake District, through the Pennines, and across the Yorkshire Moors. Two hundred or so miles of gorgeous English countryside now lie between us and our destination. Not a bad way to spend three weeks! I cannot, however, begin to narrate that adventure before I have at least spoken about our experiences last week in London.
To recap, we have now spent a week in Cornwall and a week in London. Two wildly different places to understand and paces to jive with. Cornwall was laid back and rural. The air was clean and the ocean ever-present. Time seemed slower there. Conversations lingered longer and there was never any rush. London, with its wonderful tube system and majestic parks, is in a realm of its own.
As the crown jewel of an empire that once spanned the globe, it has been a shaping force in human history. That power has manifested itself in many ways, from colonial possessions to trade routes. In London, however, you can see the expanse of the British Empire in its museums. The artifacts of the British Museum, Natural History Museum, Imperial War Museum, etc. span both place and time in ways that other nations can only dream of. These museums, therefore, are one of London’s
enduring legacy to the world, for they preserve history from every corner of the globe.
Even though some of our time had to be dedicated to the International Conference of Historical Geographers, we had plenty of time for exploring. Our wanderings brought us to the Churchill War Rooms, Oxford University, the Rosetta Stone, a Gutenberg Bible, a section of the Berlin Wall, a Roman amphitheater, and countless restaurants with a distinct passion for vegetables. It was an awesomely exhausting week. So much to see with so little time leads to a sense of urgency that does not pair well with mass transit schedules, closing times, and the never ending search for bathrooms. I love London, but in small doses. It is an amazing example of living history incorporated into the modern world. But, with over 10 million people, it is a little too much to swallow.
Now, how about a trail that links together bed and breakfasts using medieval trails protected by legal rights of way… That is much more up my alley. Here are some pictures from today!
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