We left Winnipeg on July 2nd at 2:00, immediately following the memorial service for my beloved father who had passed away very suddenly a week before our departure. So on one of the saddest days of my life I also set out on one of my greatest adventures. We chose WestJet for our flight which is a Canadian Airline which had the option of purchasing more roomy seats called “premium” which were pricier than economy seats but still less than half of a first class ticket. I really appreciated the extra care and comfort we received from the WestJet staff on this trip. We landed in London at about 10:30 a.m. and headed straight to our campsite to set up. Abby Woods is a small village about 30 minutes from central London. The campground is located a seven minute walk from the station. Google maps says 16 minutes, but we walk faster than google predicts. The tenting area of the campground is located in a circular grass area where you are allowed to pitch your tent wherever you desire. This is typical of tent areas around the UK and Europe. They are almost always in an open, grassy area that everyone shares. We paid a few extra pounds for the right to plug into the communal electric pole. (More on electronics and Europe in a later blog). The total for three nights stay with electric service was 88 pounds. We have generally paid a minimum of 100 pounds in the UK or 100 Euro in Europe for a mid range hotel so you can see how much of a savings this can be in your travel budget. However price is not the main reason we camp. We love to be connected to nature, to meet new people and experience the local culture wherever we are. Camping provides these experiences in very unique ways and we often find ourselves chatting with locals and other tourists, and experiencing more of the actual culture of the area. We found this campground to be super-clean with excellent showers, toilets, and even separate change rooms with sinks. The staff was also very helpful, giving us maps so we would not get lost, and having their maintenance person help sort out why our adapter was shooting sparks and smoking when we went to plug it in. If camping in a tent is not “your cup of tea” as they like to say here in England then you can simply pay to tour the country in this rolling hotel that pulled up at our campground in Abby Woods. Each of those little windows is a bed, and the driver cooks you breakfast each morning. They must have an ongoing agreement with certain campgrounds to stop in their parking lots. We spent two days sightseeing in London. As mentioned we have already seen many of the main tourist sites on our last visit, so this time we were looking for something a little different. I had recently read a historical novel on the history of London, which was written by someone connected to the Museum of London, so we decided to tour there. All the museums in London are free so it’s a great way to enrich your vacation without spending a lot of money. The Museum of London covers the history of London from pre-Roman times up until the present. It was very interesting. The photo above shows some scenes from the Suffragette movement in the early 1900s. These women were fighting for the right to vote but there were deeper issues at stake, as women had very little personal rights at all, and in fact everything from their property to their children belonged to their husbands... We’ve come a long way ladies! The next day we toured Windsor Castle. We were glad we pre-purchased our tickets because it allowed us to skip the line and we were escorted in very quickly. Windsor Castle is extraordinarily beautiful and it was amazing to see the “originals” of the famous portraits of Henry the Eighth and Elizabeth the first hanging on the walls and imagine them in this setting. We ended our day by meeting up with our kids (Blake and his wife Mel) who were passing through London on their way home. They took us to Camden Market which is home to hundreds of artsy stands, interesting venues and souvenir sellers. Today’s Tenting and backpacking tip: How to choose a tent The first time we headed to Europe we had two dome tents with good rain flys. Our camping equipment was divided between four people so we each had a roller bag with a small duffle tied to the top. Once our equipment was unpacked, our suitcases easily fit between the edge of our beds and the door. Here is a photo from our last trip. So for this trip we purchased what we though was the same tent, only to find out once we arrived that our new tent was six inches narrower. There was nowhere to store our bags at night and for security reasons we did not want to leave anything outside of our tent. So on our first night we covered a bit of our luggage with a tarp knowing that we would need to buy a bigger tent. Here is a photo of the tent we arrived with. I’m not sure if you can see it in the photo, but it is narrower than our older tent. The blue tarp was pulled down over our gear the first night. Below is the tent we ended up buying in London to replace ours. I think it is an ideal tent for our trip. It has a large sleeping area on one side and a large storage area on the other. This tent is so roomy inside that we were able to pack up our entire camp from the inside of the tent while it rained on us in Scotland. And it only weighs 3.8 kilos, which is a little heavier than our previous tent, which was 2.5 kilos, but worth it for the storage gained. I would say that out of our experience in tenting across Europe that having storage room in your tent is essential. You need to be able to sleep comfortably, and go out site-seeing while knowing your equipment is both dry and secure. Below I have shared a security tip that has worked well for us in all of our travels. Here is a link to the store where we purchased this tent. You can look at the specs and hopefully find something similar. https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/p/vango-scafell-300-tent-D1414060.html?colour=98 Finally.... Here is a simple key for securing your gear. - I always bring a large supply of zip ties with me when we come to Europe. Whenever we leave our tent, we zip tie the zipper closed so that the only way to open the zipper is by cutting the zip tie. (We bring all major valuables with us) It’s not perfect security but it is definitely enough to make it a noticeable hassle to get onto our tent. In our whole time traveling in Europe we have never returned to find a zip tie cut open. I carry a small pair of scissors in my purse to snip open our “lock” each day when we return. In my next blog I will talk about our time camping in Scotland and show you how to choose the right bags to carry all your gear.
1 Comment
Linda Thacker
7/14/2019 08:59:23 am
Great Blog. Keep it coming.
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Wendy Peter is the North American Director of Events for the Women on the Frontlines Organization.
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