Category Archives: UK 2017

Tower Records, Dublin

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The Diary of a Slow Traveller

I have fond memories of spending a delightful afternoon thumbing through CDs at one of the Tower Record stores in San Fransisco back in the 90s while my jet lagged family were asleep. I’d also spent time in the HMV store in Singapore and London, thumbing through the racks of CDs.

I particularly remember the Singapore store as I’d spent a whole afternoon there in preference to seeing Singapore’s sights. When I caught up with my colleagues they were somewhat bemused by how I’d spent my afternoon. But in 2017 these were all distant memories.

So what has this got to do with our trip to the UK. Well, it has been one of my laments that the joy of thumbing through racks of CDs is a thing of the past,  so it was with absolute joy that I spent a delightful hour at Tower Records in Dublin.

We’d booked a tour in The Little Museum of Dublin  for early afternoon, as the morning tours were booked out and so we thought we’d visit Trinity College to see the Book of Kells in the interim. When we arrived to purchase our tickets for The Book of Kells we found that it was on timed entry and that our slot was just before our scheduled Little Museum of Dublin tour. As a result we had an hour or so to kill.

As we’d walked to Trinity College to purchase our tickets, I’d seen the Tower Records store which was conveniently located directly opposite a large bookstore where my favourite person would be happy to browse. I left her there and headed straight across the road to Tower Records.

I suspect as I walked in, my eyes were the size of saucers. It’s enormous and not only did it have racks of CDs to thumb through but racks and racks of Vinyl. My morning was made as I browsed new releases and then walked upstairs where there was even more Vinyl. It was like stepping back in time and I was loving it. Continue reading →

It’s blowing a gale, Wales

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Conway Castle

Just when we thought we’d seen the worst of the weather we wake for our last full day in Wales to the news that there will be gale force winds for most of the day and through the evening. Shortly afterwards we get an email telling us that our ferry to Dublin is uncertain due to the storms.

Our few days in North Wales have been excellent.

The walled town of Conway provided a base to visit the castle and walk the city walls. We had our best fish and chips accompanied with a couple of local G&Ts, but the highlight was a couple with a dog that I thought looked a lot like ours – surely it couldn’t be as our dog is a kelpie cross. I had to ask its owners, who said that he’s a kelpie, and because he’s an Australian dog his name is Ozzie! It sparks a long conversation over dinner. Our ” new friends” are travelling nomads  and seem to know all the good pubs. It’s a great chat and makes our dinner one of The many highlights of our trip.

We’ve found people so friendly. Continue reading →

The Diary of a Slow Traveller- Quaint or Odd, The Howtown Hotel, Lake District

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Howtown Hotel

Odd or Quaint? We weren’t sure as we somewhat hesitantly booked our accommodation in the Lake District. I’d been intrigued by an article I’d found online in the The telegraph that had made reference to staying at the Howtown Hotel. How odd or quaint, I thought. Reservations are made in writing and by that they meant by post, a real letter with a stamp.

The hotel is pretty much all there is in Howtown. Once through Pooley Bridge, it’s a sharp right hand turn onto a narrow windy road for what seems an eternity, about 4 miles. Our drive is not made any easier by the torrential rain, making viability poor and the road in many places covered with water. We’d been told to expect rain in the Lake District and the day we arrived there was about 4 inches!

As we drive taking the track to the hotel we note that unlike Scotland there don’t appear to be designated passing places on the roads, necessitating our having to back up more than once on our drive to the hotel. We also note that the drivers in England seem much less gracious than their Scottish neighbors when it comes to allowing on coming traffic pass.

After a drive along a narrow windy and often flooded road we arrive.

Our greeting at the hotel is pretty low key. The proprietor greets us with a quizzical “Good Afternoon” and brief welcome. She arranges for one of the staff to show us our room and that’s it, we’re registered. No id required, no credit card imprint, nothing more than our brief introduction and confirmation of name.  Our room has as well as no wifi ( we knew this before we booked), no TV, no coffee or tea making facilities, no toiletries other than a bar of Imperial Leather soap and no room key! What it does have is great views to  Ullsawater. Continue reading →

Time to take it slowly, Edinburgh to York

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    Durham Cathedral

After a few days walking the streets of Edinburgh it was into the hire car and off to York.

We’ re just over halfway into our trip and I was feeling like I had sensory overload.

I’d packed so much into our time in Scotland. There was so much I wanted to see, that I’d broken with the vow of Slow Travel. Our arrival in Edinburgh and our decision to rent an Airbnb apartment rather than stay in a hotel or B&B meant we could go at our own pace. Continue reading →

The Diary of a Slow Traveller – Walking in Edinburgh, Scotland

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Walking around Edinburgh is the best way to see it. It’s narrow streets and closes. It’s history, galleries museums, houses and pubs. These are not seen from the top level of a double decker bus or car. They are seen by walking, stopping and looking, not cruising by. For us walking makes it our own journey of discovery, not someone else’s pre-packaged highlights reel.

If we hadn’t been walking in Edinburgh, we would not have seen the wonderful textile exhibition at the Dovecot Gallery. The Dovecot Gallery and coffee shop are in a side street,  a short walk from the Royal Mile.

Dovecot Gallery

Dovecot Gallery

We stumbled on the Museum, sure, it was on our list but Continue reading →