Author: David Messinger

As our time in Durham is winding down we continue to find more local things to do. On a sunny afternoon we went to the Durham University Botanic Gardens. The gardens are pretty large, covering almost 25 acres, right on campus. It is divided up into sections based on the climates in which the plants… Continue reading Durham University Botanic Gardens

In the UK the most popular sports are football (what we call soccer), rugby, and cricket. While we didn’t get to a rugby match, we did go to see the Durham County Cricket team play a T20 match (explained below) against the Birmingham Bears. Durham has a great cricket stadium that regularly hosts International Matches… Continue reading Cricket!

In the year 122 AD, Roman Emperor Hadrian commanded that a 73 mile wall be built to separate Roman Britannia from Caledonia to the North. Much of it still stands and we went to a well preserved portion of it at Housesteads. It sits on top of a hill with a steep cliff to the… Continue reading Hadrian’s Wall

Our next two stops were the village of Bamburgh, with its 11th century castle, and then on to Alnwick (which has a weird pronunciation – the “l” and “w” are silent so it’s pronounced “Anick”). The castle at Bamburgh sits on a high point overlooking both the North Sea and the town of Bamburgh. It… Continue reading Bamburgh and Alnwick

For the spring Bank Holiday (long weekend) we traveled with our friends, Clare and Pete, up to Northumbria, the region north of County Durham, renown for its beaches, castles, and other landmarks. Along the way we stopped in the small village of Craster (population 305), which doesn’t have much to it other than a pub,… Continue reading Lindisfarne (Holy Island)

The Lake District in the northwestern corner of England is one of the most scenic and visited spots in the UK. It is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) according to the British government. Our friend, Al, took us there for a beautiful day trip. There are beautiful little villages nestled along the lake… Continue reading The Lake District

Hampton Court (southwest London) was the Royal Palace of Henry the VIII, the famous king with all the wives, although originally it was built for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. It consists of three large courtyards with adjacent outbuildings and extensive gardens. This is a picture of the map. It’s quite large! The kitchen is huge, including… Continue reading Hampton Court Palace

The Tin of Sardines is Durham’s smallest bar. It features gins from all over the UK. We hadn’t stopped in yet, so on a lark we thought we would see how small it really was… Answer: Tiny In fact it is so small that they don’t have a bar, per se, rather it’s a counter… Continue reading Tin of Sardines

We went to London and spent a day in Kingston Upon Thames, a borough on the southwest side of the city. It is a charming neighborhood right on the River Thames of particular significance to the history of the British Monarchy. It’s an old town with an Ancient Market and lots of old buildings mixed… Continue reading Kingston Upon Thames

While Dave was traveling back to the US for graduation, Deb visited the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh. It is the former royal yacht of the British Monarchy and was in service from 1954 until 1997. Today it is a floating museum and is open to the public. The bridge and the view from the… Continue reading Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia

A local pub, the Colpitts Hotel, organized a bus trip to Whitby – they call it a “Jolly Up!” Whitby is a Yorkshire seaside town known for its Abbey ruins and its affiliation with the Dracula story. According to Bram Stoker’s novel, Whitby is where Dracula came ashore when he arrived in England. Stoker had… Continue reading Whitby Jolly Up

Our friends Bess and Ed Lewis came to visit us and we toured around the South of England, including London, Oxford, Bath, Stonehenge, and the Cotswolds. Our first day in London we met up with our friend, and Dave’s colleague, David Howell. He used to work for Historic Royal Palaces, a not-for-profit organization that manages… Continue reading Touring the South of England

What would you do if you had 48 hours in London? Hehehe… Since it was just me (Deb) I’m writing this post in the first-person. Sorry, Dave. I checked three items off my bucket-list: My dear friend, Clare, is getting married in May (to Pete) so I was invited to her Hen-Do. What is a… Continue reading Social Theory, ABBA, and a Hen Party

We went to London to meet our good friends, Bess and Ed. Unfortunately, they were delayed so we had an extra day to tour around London ourselves. We went to Kensington Palace and Gardens, and then did a River Cruise on the Thames with our good friend Clare and her daughter, Annabelle. Kensington Gardens is… Continue reading A Day in London

Our good friends, Sue and Rich, visited us during Easter week. We started in Durham and then headed back up to Scotland to see Edinburgh and St. Andrews, and play a little golf. In Durham, we saw the Cathedral and Castle, including attending an Evensong service at the Cathedral sung by the Durham Chorister school… Continue reading More Visitors!