And The Bells They Toll
Trip Start
Jun 24, 2010
1
3
10
Trip End
Jul 20, 2010
Market Harborough, England, United Kingdom
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Bright and early this morning to catch the morning trains out to the English midlands. We were going to visit my third grandmother ( Uncle's mother) in Market Harborough, a small town 5 minutes away from Leicester by train and about an hour away from London by the nonstop express service.
Trains here are quite interesting and would give Via Rail a run for their money. Our first train to Birmingham was probably the most high tech of the bunch. Each individual carriage is separated by an button activated sliding glass door. Above every set of seats is a small electronic screen indicating the reservation ( or lack thereof) of the seats. The seats were an upholstered hard plastic shell, so they weren't particularly comfortable. However, it was a relatively short journey. We were on this train for about 1.5 hours passing over the english countryside before getting off at Birmingham New Street Station
Birmingham Station is CHAOTIC. Just the sheer number of people trying to transfer from one platform to another is insane. There are like 16 different platforms and each platform is further split into A and B for the shorter trains. The schedule screens have so many trains crammed onto them that it's impossible to find your train until it's almost departure time.
Oh, and travel tip: pee on the train. At the stations, you have to pay 30p to go to the bathrooms.
We had a little time before the next train from Birmingham to Leicester Station, so we went up to the station concourse to find some food. We found a place that makes Cornish pasties, which are sublime. They are essentially meat and potato encased in a pastry shell. They are delicious, but they have to be eaten rather quickly before they cool. Also got some organic coffee from Camden Food ( Camden is a pretty nice part of London. Camden New Jersey is also the most dangerous city in the united states). Although it was organic, I was beginning to miss my Tim Hortons already.
Birmingham itself was a product of the boom during the industrial revolution. It's still an interesting sight seeing the new glass skyscrapers and the new massive metal blob of a shopping mall juxtaposed on the old industrial buildings of the city.
The second train was a 1/2 hour ride to Leicester. The train was pretty packed and uncomfortable but we managed. Again, English countryside. It arrived late at Leicester Station, which was fine because the London St Pancras Train we were taking to Market Harborough was also delayed.
A five minute train ride later and we were in Market Harborough, a city I've heard about ever since I was a kid. The town is very traditional and most of the building has a long history. We passed places like St Mary's Place and the Old Grammar School, both places from the postcards I've received over the years from Grandma. It's still kind of a shock that I'm actually here. Uncle Matthew picked up the ladies and the luggage to Grandmas home while my uncle and I hiked our way over to the restaurant.
We set up for lunch at The Sugar Loaf, a pub in the city. The food is very decently priced and it's a very classic pub. I finally saw Grandma for the first time since I was 6. It was wonderful seeing her again in the place that I grew up seeing in pictures, postcards, and guidebooks that I received over the years.
We later walked about the town. It's pretty classic with a few newer "hip" establishments like a tattoo parlor and a "rebellious" clothing store. Because nothing says rebellion quite like an ugly t shirt. "THAT'S RIGHT MOM! UM GONNA WEAR A METALLIC PURPLE SHIRT IN PUBLIC! WHATCHA GONNA DO NOW?". Uncle had a field day in the liquor store's wall of beer. We also had a chance to see the inside of the local Cathedral, called St Dionysius of all things. It's a beautiful building built in the 1300s. You can hear the bells ringing all the time within the town, even from home. Right next to it is the Old Grammar School, a building that used to be a school for the children of the rich. It is a really small building, but the anticipated attendance was only about 5-6 kids anyways. It's now a rentable venue for meetings and other such things
Visited St Mary's Place and bought some European sim cards before going home.
I remember seeing Grandma's house on Google Earth last year, but this was just something else. Walking in, we met up with Auntie Fiona and her three kids: Hannah, Gabrielle and Lily.
The kids are really interesting. The younger two, Gabe and Lily, are just little balls of energy flying around the yard, while Hannah is calm and quiet. The young ones are completely extroverted, while Hannah is shy. Even down to the smallest details. While the younger two rip open the wrapping paper on their gifts, Hannah does what I do and carefully removes the tape and unwraps the present the same way it was wrapped. The younger two gave me about 18 different new names before the night was over : Mr Man, Mr Blue Man ( on account of blue shirt and blue jeans), Mr Necklace man, Mr Pom pom ( something about my necklace. I still don't know what it is), Mr blue Pom pom mp3 pipecleaner man ( and some other combinations).
Dinner in the garden. It was absolutely wonderful. Roast chicken and British sausage in the backdrop of the cricket field and the orange moon.
