United Kingdom – Oxford, The Cotswolds, Stratford-upon-Avon, Chester & Liverpool

BeckyEurope

Flights from Warsaw to London with LOT Polish Airlines were only $58 each including checked luggage so it was a great way for us to get to the United Kingdom to start the next leg of our adventure. The whole reason for this European getaway was to attend a wedding in England so after nearly 2 months of travel, we were finally getting to do what we came here for – celebrate with Jason and Hanna! The UK has never really been on our radar in the past due to prohibitively high costs but once we started to look into our options here, we found that there was a ton for us to do on the cheap. Even more so since we have a lot of friends living here that we could crash with. Our first 4 nights were spent in Oxford with Leanne and Ryan. What a great base to see this beautiful university town, explore the nearby Cotswolds, and attend a reunion with our travel buddies from Africa (Matt, Ruth, Hoff, Lars and Andreja). From Oxford, we made our way towards Straford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Our next stop was the wedding! Jason and Hanna’s ceremony was held at Park Farm, a rustic country wedding venue in Shuckburgh. We spent 2 nights here with friends and family to celebrate their union…what a gorgeous place to get married! The day after, we stayed with Jason and Hanna at their house for a night in Bidford before making our way to Worcester to spend more time with Ruth and Hoff and meet their mini-mes. From Worcester, we made our way to Chester which was an unexpected highlight. Such a gorgeous historic district and we would have loved to spend more time here but had to make our way to the Wirral Peninsula to link up with Kendra and George. So much fun hanging with these guys as they showed us all around their neck of the woods and nearby Liverpool. Phew, we are more than halfway through our time in the UK and time is flying by fast. Next up will be another week or so exploring Wales, Devon, Cornwall and London.

Avebury stone circle The Red Lion Pub is the only pub in the world surrounded by an ancient stone circle Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths Pulteney Bridge across the River Avon Posing in front of the Royal Crescent with Ryan and Leanne The Castle Inn; Castle Combe View of the cottages at the Castle Inn, a 12th century pub in Castle Combe 13th century memorial dedicated to Sir Walter de Dunstanville; St Andrew's Church in Castle Combe Houses next to Bybrook River in Castle Combe, named England's prettiest village in 1961 Cotswold stone cottages at Arlington Row; Bibury Hoff and Robby at the Bear Inn; Oxford Andreja, Ruth, Lars and Becky at the Bear Inn pub Oxford reunion with these amazing peeps! Wall mural; Oxford Towering at 144 feet, Magdalen Tower is the tallest structure in Oxford Punt boats on the River Cherwell Martyrs' Memorial (erected in 1841 in memory of three Protestant martyrs who were burnt at the stake in 1555); Oxford Randolph Hotel; Oxford Shrine of King Taharqa; Ashmolean Museum Egyptian artifact on display at the Ashmolean Museum Nubian shabtis (funerary figures); Ashmolean Museum Tombstone of Claudius Agathemerus and Myrtale; Ashmolean Museum Display at the Ashmolean Museum showing that classical statues were actually vibrantly colored (the pigments faded over time) Tiles from Iran depicting the story of Yusuf and Zulaikha; Ashmolean Museum The Plough at 38 Sunday roast with Matt, Robby, Lars and Andreja at the Plough; Oxford Incredible views of Oxford from the 13th century University Church of St Mary's Tower Gargoyle on the tower of St Mary's Radcliffe Camera is a neo-classical building of Oxford University that houses the science library Bridge of Sighs; Oxford Lion and unicorn coat of arms; Oxford Union Jack flags inside the Oxford Covered Market Christ Church Meadow Group photo at the Christ Church War Memorial Garden; Oxford Andreja and Robby playing "Guess Who?"; St Aldates Tavern The Cotswold Arms; Burford Standing under a wisteria vine at Providence Cottage; Burford Old gravestones outside the Church of St John the Baptist; Burford Storybook style houses in Burford The aptly named Vine House; Bourton-on-the-Water The Looking Glass antique store at Bourton-on-the-Water Bourton-on-the-Water is an idyllic village known for its honey colored stone architecture Bridge over River Windrush; Bourton-on-the-Water Bourtanical restaurant; Bourton-on-the-Water Squeezing into a red telephone box; Bourton-on-the-Water The best pasties at the Cornish Bakery; Bourton-on-the-Water Cotswold Motoring Museum; Bourton-on-the-Water Hill View Cottage; Bourton-on-the-Water Garden gnome; Bourton-on-the-Water Town center; Stow-on-the-Wold Becky stands between two ancient yew trees at St. Edward's Church; Stow-on-the-Wold The Talbot on Stow-on-the-Wold's market square Handmade fudge; Stow-on-the-Wold Buildings on the High Street are built from limestone known as "Costwold Stone"; Chipping Campden Chipping Campden Market Hall Chipping Campden Town Hall Thatched roof house; Broadway High Street shops in Broadway The Lygon Arms hotel, a luxury boutique hotel in Broadway The Broadway Deli food store Wisteria on Broadway's High Street Amazing fish & chips at the Swan Inn; Broadway Church of St Michael; Stanton Village Stanton is a typical Cotswold village devoid of shops or commercialization Traditional cottages in the small village of Stanton The Old Post House; Stanton Thatched roof cottage in the village of Stanton Dinner with our amazing friends at Antep Kitchen, a nice Turkish restaurant in Oxford Leanne and Ryan's adopted cat Anne Hathaway's Cottage; Stratford-upon-Avon Masons Court is a fine example of a medieval Wealden Hall house and is located in the center of Stratford-upon-Avon The Shakespeare Memorial Fountain, a historical monument and Gothic clock tower in Stratford-upon-Avon The White Swan dates back to 1450, making it one of the oldest pubs in Stratford-upon-Avon The Old Thatch Tavern became an ale-house in 1470 and still serves beer today; Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare's Birthplace - William Shakespeare's childhood home in Stratford-upon-Avon Hotel Indigo; Stratford-upon-Avon Medieval half-timbered houses of Stratford-upon-Avon A vintage car drives through pretty Stratford-upon-Avon Gower Memorial is a monument dedicated to Shakespeare with heroes of his stories in statues; Stratford-upon-Avon Detail on the Gower Memorial Clopton Bridge across the River Avon in Stratford-upon-Avon The Boat House; Stratford-upon-Avon Becky making sandwiches for lunch The road leading to Park Farm; Upper Shuckburgh Flower girls at Jason and Hanna's wedding Dressed in our best to celebrate Jason and Hanna's big day! The lovely bride with her father walking her down the aisle Reunion with Rebeca and Jeremy at Jason and Hanna's wedding! An Oasis reunion with Rebeca, Jason, Jeremy and Hanna! The Fleece Inn is a National Trust historic country pub in Bretforton The Cottage of Content sounds more like a brothel than a pub! A jubilee themed wooly postbox topper to celebrate 70 years of Her Majesty the Queen's reign Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral's claim to fame was being used in several Harry Potter films Cloister with a fan vaulted roof; Gloucester Cathedral Effigy of Elizabeth Williams who died in childbirth; Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral ceiling Tudor House Museum in Worcester Half-timbered houses of Worcester Marble pulpit in Worcester Cathedral Interior view of Worcester Cathedral Riverside view of Worcester Cathedral So amazing to spend time with Ruth and Hoff and meet their adorable kids! Valle Crucis Abbey (Valley of the Cross) is a Cistercian abbey located in Denbighshire, Wales Chapter House; Valle Crucis Abbey Eastgate Clock; Chester The Chester Rows as seen from the Eastgate Clock; Chester Chester Town Hall Chester Cathedral choir stalls Wooden choir ceiling; Chester Cathedral Saint George slaying the dragon at Chester Cathedral The Water of Life sculpture at the Chester Cathedral Traditional Tudor English style houses in Chester Wirral bank of the River Mersey at Eastham Country Park Old fountain that was part of the 19th century gardens and zoo at Eastham Country Park Becky and Kendra at The Tap, a biker pub next to the Ferry Pier with views of the River Mersey House in the model village of Port Sunlight where the Lever Brothers built a community to support the workers in their soap factory (now a part of Unilever) Port Sunlight War Memorial Reclining Venus neo-classical marble sculpture at the Lady Lever Art Gallery; Port Sunlight Village One of 100 life sized figures at an art exhibition called "Another Place" by Antony Gormley; Crosby Beach Street art in Liverpool The Beatles wall art in Liverpool Becky at the most popular street art in Liverpool. Paul Curtis' "Wings" depicts the wings of the mythological Liver Bird, the symbol of the city of Liverpool Former Higson's brewery building in Liverpool; Cains Brewery Village Interior of Baltic Market, an industrial style food court in Liverpool Posing with Kendra at Hippie Chic; Cains Brewery Village The Yellow Submarine at Cains Brewery Village Gun peace photo at Cains Brewery Village Liverpool sign Robby and George push Liverpool Mountain artwork at the Tate Liverpool Superlambananas have become symbols of Liverpool. Part lamb, part banana, these public sculptures can be found around Liverpool Posing with the 'Fab Four' in Liverpool Port of Liverpool Building Liverpool Town Hall Art exhibit at the Bluecoat Chambers, the oldest surviving building in central Liverpool Robby with a massive happy face; The Bluecoat in Liverpool A sculpture commemorating the World War One Christmas truce; Liverpool Entrance to Liverpool Cathedral on St James's Mount Chinese arch at Liverpool's Chinatown, Europe's oldest Chinese community Reunion with our trans Africa overland friends - Norma, George and Kendra video lightboxby VisualLightBox.com v6.1

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