Trips around United Kingdom
England - Yorkshire Moors
For the second hike of my visit to England, I decided to go into the Yorkshire Moors. I found a hike/walk around the village of Goathland where, just like in the Peak District, there are many, many more sheep than people (and almost as many pubs as people). Also, like in the rest of England, there are trains everywhere, and so goats and trains seem to make up a disproportionately large number of my photos.
The moors are beautiful, with lots of heather growing everywhere. The sheep here seemed to be a bit more aggressive than in the Peak District - one tried to chase me over a bridge. But it was definitely a fun hike.
England - The Peak District
The Peak District is a beautiful, somewhat mountainous (at least by English stands) area just east of Yorkshire. A decent number of people live there and even more sheep. I stayed in Sheffield, which is a somewhat industrial city just outside of the Peak District and took the train to the village of Hope for my day in the district itself.
Hiking in England is called "walking" and typically involves small paths through the countryside, often with a stop at a pub or two. For the first walk of my trip to England, I went from Hope to Castleton, then up through some dales and to Mam Tor. From there, I went along the Great Ridge back to Hope, to finish off a full day's hike.
England - London, York, Oxford, and the Coast
I went to England for a week long conference in Oxford and decided to spend a few more days in England before the conference. I had to spend a day and a half in London, but decided to go to Yorkshire for most of my time. I spent two days hiking (or walking, as the English call it), and those are two separate posts (the Peak District and the Yorkshire Moors).
In London, I had to visit the Greenwich Observatory and Buckingham Palace. London was a wonderful city, but too international for me. I got a lot more of the British culture when I headed north. Sheffield was not much to write home about, but York (particularly the minster) is beautiful, as is the surrounding country side and coast. The cliffs over the North Sea are amazing, and, of course, the fish and chips there were great. And I had to stop at a proper tea room and have some tea.
