United Kingdom

Just Go Explore the UK

19 Comments

On Monday morning, we had set up a trip to pick up our motorhome with our first London Uber driver, Dhanashekar. He was so helpful to us the first trip, we knew he would be perfect for the trip up to Just Go motorhome hire on the north side of town. He even carted our luggage into the building for us upon arrival.

We were happy to find the people at Just Go to be wonderful and the facility to be spotless. Our motorhome appeared to be brand new, even though it had a full summer’s use and 16,000 miles on it. After a familiarization tour, we spent a half hour or so moving in. With that, I climbed into the drivers seat and we were off!

Driving on the opposite side of the vehicle was a bit strange at first, but a helpful post and video by the RV Geeks when planning the trip left us no surprises when we headed out. After a day or so, it became second nature. We stopped to get groceries and headed to our pitch, which is what they call a campsite over here.

Diana proceeded to make us a delicious spaghetti dinner. Pardon the pile of stuff on the bed, as we hadn’t totally settled in yet.

You can see the great layout we have: a full bed and bath in the back, huge fridge and freezer, kitchen with oven, sink and hob (range), a big table and front seats that swivel. Tons of storage too…all packed into 22 feet of length! Four huge skylights that open, plus one in the bathroom. It even has solar.

Our first full day on the road took us to Lincoln. Our goal there was to see the Lincoln Cathedral.

Our little Scout slid into this car park just fine. A word on the car parks: While researching for the trip, we found that most of these have a low clearance bar across their entrances. That most likely is to prevent people from using them as overnight facilities. We scoped out the ones that do allow motorhomes before we left the States (that’s what they call the U.S.) so we weren’t fighting that battle once we got here.

To get to the cathedral, we had to walk the northern perimeter of the Lincoln Castle, which was a nice stroll by some really quaint buildings.

It was on that stroll that we caught our first glimpse of our destination, Lincoln Cathedral. At that moment, to our delight, the bells started ringing. Construction on this beauty was begun in 1072. For 238 years, beginning in 1311, it was the tallest building in the world. Interestingly enough, the building it surpassed was the Great Pyramid of Giza.

At that time, it had a lead-clad wooden steeple nearly as tall as this central tower that gave it that title. That spire was lost to a windstorm in 1548.

The gargoyles are so amusing.

This one is leaning on a lead downspout. The building is covered with them, no two sculptures are the same. It is believed that they ward off evil spirits.

When we visited, Lincoln University was holding their commencement in the cathedral. Until that was over, we were only allowed to see the rear portion of the interior.

Believe it or not, this is the back….

…and this is the area where the choir sits. While we were in this area, we spied a woman dusting. When Diana mentioned to her how nice it was to see everything being so well cared for, she said “I just like to polish and shine.” Westminster Abbey could learn a thing or two from her. Lincoln Cathedral was spotless and smelled good too! Listening to the hoots and hollers from the graduation ceremony made it feel alive and current, not just a part of history.

While we were there, the pipe organ played at the end of the commencement. It reminded me so much of how my mom could lift the roof off a cathedral when she played the pipe organ. I think she was smiling down on us as we enjoyed the moment.

Once the organist was finished and applause faded, we were allowed into the front of the building.

The view looking straight up into the central tower.

Looking from the main entrance towards the center of the church. The organ sits directly under the central tower in the middle of the cathedral.

This baptismal font dates from the 12th century. It is one of seven surviving Tournai marble fonts in England. Can you even imagine the generations that shared the rite of baptism in this jewel? It is mind boggling.

Next up is a trip to York. Harry Potter fans might find that one interesting. We even had a slight hiccup on the way there, which you will definitely want to stay tuned for. Until then, safe and happy travels to all!

19 thoughts on “Just Go Explore the UK”

    1. Some were scary, but most were funny :). Traffic signs are WAY different. Speed limit signs are round and are outlined in red, Mona Liza. They really stand out. Turns were tough at first, as a right turn requires you to head to the left side of the road on the road you are coming into from the left lane of the road you are on. Also, slow traffic rides in the left lane on the motorways…the equivalent to our interstates.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. Your little rig looks so cozy and well-designed! I’m impressed with how at ease you both seem to be with this big adventure. Even driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road, LOL! Love the gargoyles. And I can’t wait for your Harry Potter post!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Laurel! Having the front seats that swivel makes all the difference. We are both very comfortable in here. The adjustment to the different ways over here was pretty easy, but we attribute that to the language being somewhat the same. Also, trailblazers like the RV Geeks, Linda and Steven (thechouters.blogspot.com) and Wheeling It have helped with the RV operation, as the hookups are different in Europe.

      Like

      Reply

  4. Love the RV you rented. Looks quite comfortable. You were very brave to head out to drive on the left in something large. Way to go, Jim! The cathedral is magnificent!! I can only imagine how beautiful it was in person. It was nice that there was a graduation so you could hear the pipe organ.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Pam! I did hit the left curb a few times at first, but (knock on wood) I haven’t clipped anything yet. Been close on the mirrors more than once. I have a video of the organ, but WordPress isn’t being cooperative with me inserting it into the post. We even tried Starbucks, to no avail. It’s sad, as the organist was outstanding! I really wanted to share that with everyone. With any luck, I might insert our videos into a wrap up, once we are back in Florida.

      Like

      Reply

  6. What a gorgeous cathedral – inside and out! And getting to hear the bells and the organ, what a treat. Love your cute little motorhome. Sounds like you’re well prepared for driving and parking and all the challenges of RVing in another country! Can’t wait to see your Harry Potter stop.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Parking has been the real challenge, as many towns don’t allow motorhome parking….most likely because people abused their parking privileges. There are a LOT of little motorhomes over here, Jodee.

      Like

      Reply

  7. What a beautiful cathedral. And, of course they played the organ and rang the bells for you two! Looking forward to hearing how your camping experience goes as well. Did you reserve beforehand? I will definitely stayed tuned. Cheers! Sharon &(David)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.