SANDY & NOLAN KERR
BRITISH ISLES CRUISE/TOUR
June 4 - 21, 2019
A great trip to the beautiful British Isles.
Day #1 - Tuesday, June 4
We were two of 124 people who signed up for this cruise with Fun For Less Tours of Draper, Utah. Our tour guide was Glenn Rawson, assisted by his wife Debbie, and their daughter and son-in-law, Shaina and Mitch Jensen.
Glenn Rawson
Robyn drove us to Salt Lake City International Airport where we boarded a direct flight to Heathrow (about 16 miles west of London). Great Britain is seven hours ahead of us; flight time was 9 hrs and 23 minutes; miles covered were 4,523; outside temperature was -45 degrees Fahrenheit; and, ground speed was 551 mph. Our flight path took us over Ogden, Cody, Winnipeg, Hudson Bay, Labrador, Greenland, Iceland, and Belfast. This path was far enough North that even though we flew through the night it never got dark.
Sandy took this picture northeast of Winnipeg at 8:38 PM
and at an altitude of 35,000 feet. The "cotton balls" are clouds.
English countryside
English countryside approaching Heathrow Airport
Day #2 - Wednesday, June 5
We landed at Heathrow Airport at 3:28 AM (Mountain Daylight Time), 10;28 AM British Summer Time. Once we cleared the airport we boarded a coach (bus) and made our way to Runnymede (translation: "Council in the Meadow by the Water").
This coach is typical of the ones we rode
Runnymede is a meadow along the River Thames, 20 miles west of London, where King John was forced in 1215 AD by rebel barons to sign the Magna Carta ("Great Charter") guaranteeing certain rights to the people of England. It became an essential foundational document for the current powers of Parliament and legal principles still recognized today.
Runnymede
Runnymede
Runnymede
Runnymede - these chairs are in a meadow where it is thought the Magna Carta was signed
We then traveled a short distance (four miles) to Windsor Castle, the home of the kings and queens of England since 1086 AD.
Windsor Castle
Windsor
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle shops
That evening we checked into the Radisson Blu Heathrow Hotel, then walked to a local pub, The Pheasant Inn, for dinner.
Day #3 - Thursday, June 6
We slept soundly last night in the hotel. We had been up for about 36 hours, so sleep was welcomed. However, during the night we were awakened three time with phone and text messages based on MDT. The first call came at 11:00 PM BST. Sandy thought it was the alarm so she got up, showered, and started dressing. I got up and checked the time. We were both grateful to go back to bed.
Today we traveled by coach to Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehenge, and the Crown Princess cruise ship.
Salisbury Cathedral, located in the city of Salisbury, is 88 miles southwest of London, The main section of the Cathedral was built between 1220 and 1258 AD. The spire, at 404 feet, is the tallest in Britain and was completed in 1549 AD. The Cathedral houses one of the four original copies of the Magna Carta.
Salisbury Cathedral, located in the city of Salisbury, is 88 miles southwest of London, The main section of the Cathedral was built between 1220 and 1258 AD. The spire, at 404 feet, is the tallest in Britain and was completed in 1549 AD. The Cathedral houses one of the four original copies of the Magna Carta.
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral - architectural detail
Salisbury Cathedral - grounds
Stonehenge is located 8 miles from the Salisbury and 90 miles southwest of London. The following information about Stonehenge is from Wikipedia:
"[Stonehenge] consists of a ring of standing stones, with each standing stone around 13 feet high, seven feet wide and weighing around 25 tons. Archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. It is regarded as a British cultural icon."
Countryside around Stonehenge
A selfie with Stonehenge in the background
Stonehenge
Stonehenge
After visiting Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge we traveled to Southampton, located 80 miles southwest of London, and boarded the Crown Princess cruise ship. The ship is 951 feet long, and accommodates 3080 guests and 1200 crew members.
Crown Princess Cruise Ship
We got to our room on-board the ship at 3:30 PM BST. We unpacked, then attended a mandatory shipboard safety presentation where we learned about life preservers and evacuating the ship.
Our room. We were glad we had a "porthole."
Dinner was at 5:00 PM. We have an assigned table with three other couples from the tour group. The food was excellent! (Nolan gained 8 lbs. in 14 days.)
Dessert: "The Love Boat Dream"
We walked the deck of the ship as we cruised toward Guernsey.
This is a map of the ship's route. The red numbers are the specific days of our trip. For example: the third day of our trip was Thursday, June 6, and we sailed from Southampton to Guernsey.
Day #4 - Friday, June 7
About 6:30 AM BST the ship's captain announced over the public address system that we would not be able to stop at Guernsey because the wind and resulting fifteen foot waves would make it unsafe. The Island of Guernsey does not have a dock big enough to accommodate our ship, therefore when the weather cooperates small boats called "tenders" are used to transport passengers from the ship to shore, then back. Our tenders would have been the ship's life boats. The ship changed course and headed to Cork, Ireland and our day was spent on board the ship.
This 20 second video shows the wave action outside our room's window as the ship headed toward Cork, Ireland.
Though we didn't get to see Guernsey, below are some photographs and information about what we missed.
Guernsey is an island in the English Channel, and lies about 105 miles from the English coast and 8 miles from the French coast. It is part of the British Isles and has a population of 63,000.
Guernsey Island - 25 square miles
Saint Peter Port, Guernsey
Day #5 - Saturday, June 8
We arrived in Cork, Ireland this morning accompanied by clear skies. We looked out our window and saw a tug boat approaching to assist with docking the ship.
Cork has the second largest natural harbor in the world.
The Irish language is prevalent in Cork. Note that in Irish, Cork is spelled "Cobh."
While we were waiting for a coach I took this 14 second video of the Crown Princess.
It's not a great video because a building blocked part of the view.
However, it does give a perspective of the ship's size
Our shore excursion today began with a short drive to Blarney Castle, well known for the Blarney Stone. Legend has it that a person who kisses the stone will receive the "gift of eloquence," also known as the "gift of the gab."
Blarney Castle - built in 1446
We were limited on our time at the Castle, and since we wanted to see the Blarney Stone, we got in line and waited 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Still in line to see the Stone.
On top of the Castle and getting closer to the stone.
We chose not to get down and kiss the stone, though there were two guides present to help.
A back breaker.
Another view of kissing the stone.
More of the Castle as we walked away from the stone.
Countryside as view from the top of Blarney Castle.
The ship has a lot going on. We took an evening walk and spotted these folks dancing. Sandy, though not dancing, is in this 45 second video. (This video has sound).
A 20 second balloon drop. (This video has sound).
When we got back to the ship we learned that one of the generators was having electrical problems and our departure would be delayed. A little after 9:00 PM BST the captain announced that the ship was finally ready to sail, but the tide was not in our favor, and rather than docking at Dublin tomorrow morning as scheduled we would have to wait until later in the afternoon. We were anxious to see how this would effect our Dublin excursion.
Day #6 - Sunday, June 9
