A few years back my family decided to visit Great Britain and Ireland. We bought several different guidebooks and studied all of them to decide where we wanted to go. After making our list, and then deciding that we could not possibly make it to even half of those "must see" sights, so cutting a 'few' out; we had our itinerary and were ready to go.

After landing in Heathrow, we picked up our rental car and headed to Colchester. Colchester is the oldest town in Britain; it dates back to before the Roman invasion of Britain. Thick stone walls built by the Romans are still standing. There is also a castle in Colchester that was built by the Normans. This castle was the first built by William the Conqueror in England. Inside of the castle is a museum that contains Roman artifacts, and includes a mosaic floor.

From Colchester, we headed to Canterbury to see the cathedral, and then on to Dover. Dover Castle has a rather long and interesting history. Inside the grounds of the castle are a lighthouse from Roman times and a church from Saxon times, as well as the castle, which is Norman. There are three layers of tunnels dug into the white chalk cliffs by the castle that date from medieval times. The tunnels have also been used in more recent times – they were used in Napoleonic times when the English were expecting an attack from France and were also used in the Second World War. One of the levels is open to the public. These tunnels are the ones that were used in World War II as a communication center. It was from these tunnels that the evacuation from Dunkirk was directed by Admiral Ramsay.

Near Dover are the Seven Sisters, which consist of seven white cliffs (like the "white cliffs of Dover".) After leaving the Seven Sisters area, we headed to Stonehenge. When we arrived there, it was getting ready to storm – the wind was whipping around us, and the skies were dark and cloudy. This is the best way to see Stonehenge (in my opinion). Next we headed to Bath. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, everything was already closed, so we didn't get to go in anything. (I tried peeking over the wall at the Roman baths, but that just didn't work very good.)

After Bath we headed into Wales. Since I don't want to make this too long, I will just go over some of the places we saw (and not those that I wanted to see, but didn't have time for.) We visited two castles: Caerphilly and Caernarfon. Both of these castles were built in the 1200's by King Edward I of England. Caernarfon is a beautiful castle overlooking the water. It is one of the best preserved medieval fortresses in Europe. It has thirteen towers that you can climb up; and when you climb out onto the top, the wind almost blows you over. Caerphilly Castle is in the middle of town. According to Baedeker's, this castle has the most elaborate defensive system of any British castle. It has a moat and two drawbridges; and one of the towers has cracked and leans slightly, so you can see how thick the walls are. (They are very thick.) I also thought the Welsh countryside was beautiful, especially in Snowdonia, where we spent the weekend.

From Wales, we took the ferry over to Ireland. One of our first stops was Glendalough, which has been around since the 6th century, (though most of the structures are from a later date). The picture is of St. Kevin's church. We also visited Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney stone. (That's it on the very top, where the grills are. You have to lean over backwards to kiss it – so do not do this if you dislike heights or have a bad back!) We also visited the Rock of Cashel, which is a combination of castle, cathedral, and chapel. [close up view] It sits on top of a hill overlooking the town and countryside. In the area surrounding the hill, there are four different abbeys (or friaries). All of these, including the Rock of Cashel, were burned by Cromwell. Also in Ireland (and in Scotland), you will see quite a few Celtic crosses. I didn't get to see some of the really old ones, which I would have liked to do. (This picture is of a 'newer' cross in a graveyard in Scotland.)

After taking the ferry back to England, we headed up to Scotland. The Highlands of Scotland are beautiful, and I particularly liked the part around Loch Ness. Urquhart Castle is located on the edge of the Loch, and is (supposedly) where the first sightings of 'Nessy' were. While you might not see Nessy while you're at the castle, you will certainly get a great view. Near the border of Scotland and England are four abbeys known as the Border Abbeys – Dryburgh, Jedburgh, Melrose, and Kelso. They were all partially destroyed by Edward II in the early 14th Century.
[3 more pictures: inside Jedburgh and Melrose Abbies, and outside Melrose Abbey.]

Back in England, we visited Hadrian's Wall and Chesters, an old Roman fort that is near the wall. There is not much of the fort standing now, but you can still see the foundations and part of the baths and the underfloor heating system that the Roman's used. Quite a bit of Hadrian's Wall is still standing; we walked along a small part of it, which was fun, though it was rather messy. (It was in a sheep pasture.)

Now to close this little travelogue. I have obviously skipped a lot of sights that we saw, but I just don't have room for all of them. However, you can't leave England without seeing Big Ben, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, and Buckingham Palace, can you? Well, now you've seen them, so I can close.