Category Archives: Destinations

Edinburgh

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We spent two days in beautiful Edinburgh, which was definitely not enough time!  I would love to have had more time in this amazing city.  We got to discover the Edinburgh Castle, the places the held the start and finish of the Harry Potter series, the Edinburgh Writer’s Museum, and absolutely gorgeous scenery.

Edinburgh

 

Exploring Edinburgh!

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These pictures show why Edinburgh was my favorite city we visited.  It was absolutely beautiful to be walking down the street and see this.

 

 

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This is where JK Rowling finished the Harry Potter series!

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The Scott Monument’s 287 steps to the top was worth the incredible view!

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We ate authentic fish ‘n chips at World’s End and even signed a dollar to put at the bar!

 

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What an amazing site to see in an already gorgeous city!

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The Scott Monument (Mary Kate, Erin, Emily, Bailey, Emily, Jordan, Kalie, Holly)

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We were pretty excited about our Scottish scarves!

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Edinburgh Castle

 

 

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This is where JK Rowling started the Harry Potter series!

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There was a wedding taking place while we were at Edinburgh Castle!

 

This city was the perfect end to our amazing, whirlwind trip in Great Britain.  I would love to go back to Edinburgh, but for now I’ll have to settle for the pictures in my classroom. 🙂

Oxford

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I was the documenter for Oxford so here is a recap of our day in the wonderful town!

Our tour of Oxford was truly amazing! I had no idea what to expect when we were on our way and I was very surprised with how much history Oxford contains. One of the first big sites we saw was the Sheldonian Theatre where the grand graduations are held for collage students. We then visited the courtyeard of the Old Bodleian Library where we were able to go into the Divinity School where oral exams were held when Oxford first came about. The Divinity School is the oldest surviving purpose-built building of the University dating from 1488. We then went on to visit the lamppost that inspired C.S. Lewis and his famous Chronicles of Narnia. We also saw here a piece of architecture that inspired a main character in the story. We were also able to visit one of the courtyards where Harry Potter was filmed. Our tour guide told us that the area was rented for three weeks and it took them three days to film the perfect scenes. To end our tour we got to see The Eagle and Child the famous Inklings met and bounced ideas off of each other for their amazing books.

York

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York was our first day trip from Harlaxton. We grabbed our sack lunches and took a train to York and had a free day to explore the city on our own. I spent the day walking through the town, stopping in little shops and markets, taking a million pictures and videos (all shown in the video below!), and having a beer in a local pub. Each road was stuffed with buildings, shops, cars, and people, all separated by a bumpy, old cobblestone road. There is a river that divides the city, but also allows for boat tours and beautiful riverside restaurants and shops.  I loved being in York; it is big enough to be its own city, yet quaint enough to be like its own neighborhood. Watch the video below for a virtual tour of York 🙂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65-47rG1oE8

London, July 2-4 2015

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July 2 was a free day built into our itinerary so that we could explore towns and cities near enough to allow us to return to Harlaxton for the night. A group of us took advantage of this free day to attend Wimbledon using grounds passes. An hour-long train ride from Grantham to King’s Cross was followed by another 40 minutes of travel on the London Underground. It also took a fair amount of time for us to actually get our tickets and get into the Wimbledon grounds, but it was well worth it! Our day consisted of watching Andy Murray in a Centre Court match from Murray Mound, trying strawberries and cream, and taking in many other matches held on smaller courts* (*read: courts open even to those with only grounds passes).

Murray Mound

July 3 was our first scheduled day in London. After taking taxis from King’s Cross to the St. Giles Hotel, we walked down Tottenham Court Road to Euston Station for a train to Leavesden. Leavesden is home to the sound stages where all 8 Harry Potter films were created. Due to the success of the series, the sound stages have now been transformed into the Harry Potter Studio Tour. Here, props, costumes, and even sets have been displayed in order for the public to see and interact with pieces of the films that many of us grew up watching. We learned many movie-making secrets (including how the character Hagrid was created by building a 7 and a half foot-tall suit that a 6 and a half foot-tall rugby player occupied, with a robotic copy of actor Robbie Coltrane’s face as a mask). Midway through the tour, we got either Butterbeer drinks or ice cream. The general consensus leaned towards the ice cream, but the cold drinks were still welcome on this hot day.

Harry Potter Studio Tour Harry Potter Studio Tour

 

Later that evening, we attended the Broadway production of Roald Dahl’s Matilda in London’s West End.  The show was an interesting take, transforming the famous story into a musical. There were some spectacular special effects and musical numbers including Matilda writing on the chalkboard with her mind and the Trunchbull throwing the little girl by her pigtails. After the show, some of our group went back to the hotel while others stayed in the West End to explore and enjoy a night out.

July 4 was our last day in London, but we made the most of it. Thanks to the Hop on- Hop off bus tour, we began our journeys at Russel Square near St. Giles. From there, we split into small groups to take in as much of the famous city as we could. Many of us went to Kensington Gardens to see the Peter Pan statue and took advantage of our free ferry rides down the River Thames, seeing Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, the London Eye, and Parliament along the way. Buckingham Palace was another popular stop due to the Changing of the Guard ceremony. My group went all the way out to Paddington Station to see the famous statue of the bear on Platform 1. London was very crowded and hot this Saturday, between many other tour groups and locals enjoying a weekend in the city. There was some worry about making our train from King’s Cross to Grantham, but thanks to some helpful cab drivers everyone made it on time!

Tower Bridge London Eye and Parliament Peter Pan Statue, Kensington Gardens Paddington Bear Buckingham Palace

There were many small groups throughout our travels in London, so this post is just a general overview. There were plenty of small side adventures within each group that made this trip to London special for each individual!

The Lake Windermere Experience

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On Sunday, July 5th we started our journey to the Lake District for a few short days. Here we enjoyed the beautiful mountains, trails, small town charm, Beatrix Potter Museum, and life on the lake!

The view of Lake Windemere right around the corner from our Hostile.

The view of Lake Windermere right around the corner from our Hostile.

Another view with our Hostile on the left hand side.

Walked to town to find a beautiful home!

(L-R Jordan, Emily, and Holly) Walked to town to find a beautiful home!

The lake offers many things to do on the water including canoeing, kayaking, ferry rides, swimming, and other boat rides and tours. A ferry ride, bike ride, or short walk can take you to any of the small towns around the lake that offer cafes, shops, and other hidden gems! However, with the scenic landscape, spending time on the water is quite a relaxing experience loved by tourists and locals.

Our first small town experience on Lake Windermere!

Our first small town experience on Lake Windermere!

We learned how Beatrix Potter saved the land around the lake, and donated the land for a National Park! Each of us noticed the wildlife, gardens, and beautiful forests saved by her!

Of course we got a picture of the cows!

Of course we got a picture of the cows!

The next day (Monday) we enjoyed a ferry boat ride to Bowness-on-Windermere to experience The World of Beatrix Potter, kayaking on the lake, and exploring the small quaint town!

The World of Beatrix Potter!

The World of Beatrix Potter!

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Group Photo before the tour!

The garden at The World of Beatrix Potter. Can you find Peter Rabbit's coat in Mr. McGreggor's garden?

The garden at The World of Beatrix Potter. Can you find Peter Rabbit’s coat in Mr. McGreggor’s garden?

Another picture of the garden!

Another picture of the garden!

After the wonderful museum self-guided tour, we had the chance of a lifetime to kayak around the lake! One of my favorite experiences from the trip!

Getting started!

Getting started!

"Taking a moment" -Kalie

“Taking a moment” -Kalie

The experiences and beautiful environment was definitely a favorite of the group. Many mentioned coming back in the future! On our journey to our next destination, Edinburgh, Scotland, we saw more of the beautiful hills and mountains filled with animals and quaint, beautiful homes. Below are two videos of the environment, one saved by Beatrix Potter, and the other, the beautiful countryside of Northern England and Southern Scotland.

Lake Windermere

Saying goodbye to the lake, and heading to Edinburgh on Tuesday, July 7th.

Train to Edinburgh-Slow motion