The weather has been soooo cold I decided to take it easier today and explore Watford a little more. Do you feel the crispness in these photos? Even the locals have said it is cold. I cannot cope with cold below 20degrees Celsius. Today it got down to zero.
Watford is the home of Watford Football Club (The Hornets) which was owned by Elton John.
The roads are so narrow in places cars have to park partially on the footpath.
Vicarage RoadWatford High Street
I planned my walk to conclude at the Load of Hay Pub for dinner. It was a lovely surprise to find they had free beef stew for patrons. It was so lovely to have a home cooked meal. The hospitality of the staff and patrons is exactly what I had heard to expect from UK pubs. Thank you Load of Hay.
Wow!! How amazing to visit a city which has so much history and so much to see and do. I wanted to start with the most famous of all places, Buckingham Palace. I took a bus from Watford to Watford Junction, then the overground train to Euston and then the underground train to Green Park. It took a little over an hour from where I am staying, including walking time to the bus stop. The bus cost £4.80 ($AUD9.60) for a day pass. Then a day pass for London was £20.10 ($AUD40). Quite expensive although London is huge. I did not hesitate to take several trains to various places and still managed to do a phenomenal amount of walking. I am annoyed at myself for not taking my fitbit as I was going to use Strava to map my walking but did not think about how quickly my phone battery would deplete. Even with a backup battery it would not cover a day of adventure. I left Watford at 8:30am and got back to my airbnb at 10:30pm. Enjoy my day.
Buckingham Palace is a 7 minute walk from Green Park station.
Green Park with colourful daffodilsThat BalconyBuckingham Palace, Victoria Memorial and the view from Constitution HillAdmiralty Arch
The Queens’ Life Guard Dismount Parade also known as the “Four O’Clock Parade” and “Punishment Parade” was an unexpected surprise. In 1894 Queen Victoria found the entrie guard drinking and gambling while on duty so she ordered that they be inspected every day at 4pm by an officer for the next 100 years. That ended in 1994 but the parade continues as a tradition. I don’t think there is any fear of these guards drinking, they look like they are 12 years old.
obligatory pic with the local police (bobbies)Mary Poppins in the West End
Covent Garden was another unexpected surprise where you will find top class “buskers”. I loved the classical buskers in the Covent Garden Market area. A snippet of the talent and this fabulous group and this from above.
And more exploring Chinatown, 10 Downing Street, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey. There is so much to see.
ChinatownEros Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain Picadilly Circus10 Downing Street10 Downing StreetBig BenWestminster AbbeyTower BridgeTower BridgeTower BridgeTower of London
The fashion for a “bucks” night in London is very different to Sydney.
I ended my first night in London at a West End show, Choir of Man. What a wonderful way to end the evening. Must go and see these talented men. And you get free beer.
Tomorrow will be a rest day. What a great introduction to London. I have to thank a Tinder date, Howard, who offered to show me around London. I did not realise I would be doing so much in one day.
I imagine most people would choose something very different for their first day in the UK. But, I am a little different. I took the Number 8 bus down the road from my airbnb, into Watford Junction (£3 one way and found out later that I can get an all day pass for £4), where a Harry Potter shuttle bus takes you to the studios.
Entry is £49.95 and seems a little steep, although the sets are very elaborate.
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the people who dressed up in their favourite characters. Their joy at being at the studio was a pleasure to experience.
some serious fans from SpainThis gentleman oozed delight at being here
I spent 4 hours enjoying all the displays. It is fascinating to see how much work is involved to produce something like Harry Potter. Some of the memories of Harry Potter brought on tears. I remember going to the first movie with my friend Sue Biber. We were worried that the movie would not live up to the book. When the doors of the Great Hall opened, tears started in my eyes as they had captured the Hall exactly as I had expected. Today, walking into that Hall brought on those tears of joy once again.
I left Sydney with some apprehension. The Russian war on Ukraine is worrying and the East coast of Australia is being ravaged by floods. I am a volunteer for the Red Cross Emergency Services and had received requests to assist in evacuation centres or in the Public Information Centre and felt guilty I was going away on a “holiday” while people are suffering. I don’t think my travel insurance will cover my guilt though. So with a couple of farewell dinners with the too much Sambucca I kissed my family and dear friends goodbye for 6 months.
My Singapore Airlines flight included a 2.5 hour stopover in Changi. The 8 hour flight was comfortable. After a 14 hour second flight, I arrived in London on 2 March 2022 for the first time. Had a giggle when propositioned by an airport worker who thought I was an American. Getting through border control was quite easy although it took 40 minutes. I was expecting Covid to have made it difficult but completing the passenger locator form before flying made the process of entering the UK very efficient.
To get to my airbnb at Watford, I had the choice to take an Uber or start my adventure testing my skills with the public transport system. Adventure won and I walked to Heathrow Central to get the 724 bus to Watford Junction at a cost of £12. Unfortunately my UK SIM card did not yet work and I didn’t have any wifi to get an Uber from Watford Juntion to the airbnb so I took a cab for £9. I did pretty alright. An Uber from Heathrow to Watford would have cost £67 and although 20 minutes longer, the bus and taxi trip saved me £46 or $AUD92. I think I will be ok with UK public transport.
Airbnb – my home for the first 7 days to get my bearings
I chose this place in Watford as it was well priced, had a separate granny flat with a garden in case I got Covid I didn’t want to be stuck in a hotel room in London with no window. Watford is known for Elton John purchasing their football team many years ago and the Harry Potter Studio which I am going to tomorrow.
Driving back to Adelaide for New Years Eve I found a night stopover in Kimba. What a cute little town. It claims to be the the town in the Middle of the Australian east and west coasts. First had a rest stop in a place called Wirulla, population 104.
They have a “secret”. A dry jetty which was erected as a joke but is the 5th tee on the Nullabor Links golf course. Said to be the longest golf course along 1365 kilometres of the Eyre Highway across Western Australia and South Australia on the Nullabor Plain.
Mambray Creek South Australia rest stop
Wudinna is the home of a granite sculpture celebrating the spirit of farming life communities ” The Australian Farmer”. 17 years in the making by a father and son team Marijan and David Bekic represents the sun, grain crops, sheep farming and commemorates the early settlers.
Kimba from the aboriginal word for “bushfire”. Population around 600. Has “The Big Galah” which marks the halfway point between East and West coasts of Australia.
The town also provides low level Radioactive Waste storage. The facility provides 25 ongoing jobs for the community.
Lovely silo art.
Local art
Edward John Eyre was an English explorer, the first to cross Australia from Sydney to Swan River in Perth Western Australia. The sculptures located at Whites Knob Lookout represent Edward Eyre and his indigenous tracker Whylie.
Mallala has a population of around 900 and is home to an impressive World War 1 Memorial in the centre of town
I arrived in Adelaide on 30 December and the previous evening I was notified the Masquerade Gala to be held in Glenelg was cancelled due to COVID19. So, after another marathon drive for 6 hours, I returned my hire car, went and had a rest at a friend’s home before getting an 8pm flight back to Sydney to celebrate New Years Eve in my home town. May 2022 bring the world some normalcy and better health.
I had a marathon day today. Drove over 600 km exploring a place I did not imagine I would drive alone. The Nullarbor means treeless in Latin. Although I found the changing landscape not as barren as the name suggests but is ever changing. Although I am aware this is the Eastern part of the Nullarbor and it gets more and more arid further west.
Leaving Ceduna I stopped off at Penong for the windmill museum.
Along the way I snapped some cute Christmas decorations at the entrance of several properties.
Roadsigns and you know you are in the outback
The Great Australian Bight. I had no idea the Bight would be so turquoise and violet. Breathtaking. At the bottom of the centre of Australia.
What a pretty place!! A population of around 2000 friendly people. Great feed at the Ceduna Foreshore Hotel Motel Bistro. Lovely beach. Only problem is that it is soo windy at this time. I understand that it is not normally this windy. Walking along the jetty is very scary. There is a railing on only one side and down at the end, there is no railing at all and I was too worried I would be blown into the ocean. Taking photos I thought my phone would blow out of my hands. The water is so clear with changing colours.
Whyalla is a steelworks and mining town and parts look a little old and disadvantaged but the area near the jetty has lovely old homes. I did a quick drive through and a little stroll. I love the smell of the beach in this part of the world. Even when low tide, it is a clean ocean smell. It is very windy and I wonder if this is why there are no people on the beach.
Next stop was Cowell. Known for their crabs. Apparently it is so easy to find blue swimmer crabs. When I have more time I would like to explore this. I stopped off to snap a photo of the silo art.
I bought a lovely pair of earrings in the Jade Shop. Cowell has the largest deposit of Jade in the world. The mine is run by Japanese but you can pick up some locally made jewellery from the Jade Motel where the stones are cut, polished and set on site.
Then on to Arno Bay to check this beachside village.
On my way to Port Lincoln for Christmas and I have broken up the trip a little. First stop was Lochiel to see the Pink Lake (Lake Bumbunga). Lochiel has their own legend or a sense of humour with their own Lochness monster known as the Loch-Eel.
Next stop was Port Germein to walk what was once the longest wooden jetty. I had a blustery 3 km walk on a very hot day. I should have stayed overnight in this quaint fishing village. Perhaps on the way back to Adelaide.
View out to seaView from the Sea end looking back to shore 1.6km away
On to the Arid Botanical Gardens. I had a very quick stop here as I didn’t have much time but the gardens had a very particular scent I would liken to herbs and pine trees.
On the way the Port Wakefield tank art required a short stop.
Overnight stop at Whyalla. Very, very windy but the cabin I am in is very warm. I am too tired to check the new jetty in town but I did capture this pretty sunset.
Almost 2 years into the Covid-19 pandemic and a month ago Australia opened to the rest of the world. I was working with the Public Health Response in NSW and so excited that I planned my second retirement. Who knew a week before my retirement a new variation, Omicron, would start causing havoc and uncertainty. New testing and restrictions in place, but no lockdowns. Yet. Everyone testing crazily to ensure they are well enough to spend Christmas with family and friends. I was invited to my daughter-in-law’s for Christmas in Port Lincoln. I said a bittersweet farewell to my work colleagues at The Response, I felt guilty like I was abandoning them at a new level of uncertainty. But I might go back if the world shuts down again. I booked my flight to Adelaide, booked a car so I could do a road trip to Port Lincoln and beyond.
72 hours before leaving Sydney I had the obligatory PCR test. Even though the day before I had a negative RAT test at work. All up so far during COVID-19 I have had 14 negative PCR tests. So I arrive in Adelaide and needed to do the test required within 24 hours of arrival. The testing queue was so long at the airport, my Adelaide son, Luke, took me to a drive through for testing.
After an hour of waiting and then advised there would be a further 5 hour wait, I headed back to the airport and stood in line for a much shorter 1.5 hours.
Then back to my room to “isolate” until the negative result. South Australia has a booking system for COVID-19 testing so while “isolating” I started looking for where to have my Day 6 test in the Port Lincoln area. Nothing. Port Lincoln is over 6 hours drive from Adelaide. It meant I would need to “isolate” for 2 days until I got another negative result, once I was able to find somewhere to have a test. Not looking good for my time with my daughter-in-law’s family. I know when travelling there are always pitfalls and you cannot get too upset with things going wrong. The important thing is how we react to these things and how to fix them. That is what I have learned to be a “traveller”. You have to have a plan A, B and C and if needed D. So on Day 2 of this trip, the best news from the South Australian Premier “no more Day 1 and Day 6 tests”. Yay!! No need for plan B!!
I did not lose any time in going outside to enjoy this fabulous city. It is small compared to other Australian cities and world cities but it isn’t small in its beauty. Luke and I went off around the city on scooters.
Hello Adelaide
Scootering around Adelaide was a lot of fun. I was apprehensive at first and very frightened if there were people around. So I would stop and wait until they passed. But after 30 minutes, I had a lot more confidence. It is a great way to zip around, although stopping to get my travel pics is a little annoying. Great way to zip from your hotel to a restaurant. No need to find parking. Just leave it where you stop. A little pricey at $30 for one hour, although you can pay $30 for a whole week.
Adelaide StationWomen’s Pioneer GardenSt Peter’s College Boat Club
Some of my favourite photos were around University of Adelaide.
University of Adelaide footbridgeTorrens RiverLove locks on the University of Adelaide footbridge
Rundle Mall has all fancied up with Christmas.
These piggies have been in Rundle Mall every time I visit
Over 50 Aussie female solo traveller USA road trip and beyond 