coming to birmingham, if so, im happy to help :)
Ah 'The 'Liner' , yeah know it well. I get the train in and out of Lime Street station when i head up to watch football, so we were probably very close at one stage ! Did you make it to the Mersey Maritime museum down in the docks? Really interesting stuff on smuggling and tax evasion.
"There is room at the top" - An advertisement from my family's old dealership. I climbed two mountains yesterday. Well I climbed one, and hiked across the ridge to the other. It was thrilling. I never climbed a mountain before and I never thought I could do it. At several points, it was a struggle. Mainly mentally. But I did it, and so far, was a real highlight of my trip. I wish all of you were there! Now, off to Glasgow. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Andrew, I forgot you were in Glasgow. I'm here right this very moment, in the town centre, using the Carphone Wearhouses wifi! Are you around? I'm here for a day or so, basically if there is nothing to do tomorrow I'm outta here. Are you -in- the city? I'm at the YHA Hostel. If you could, PM me your # and I'll come by here later tonight and we can do something! Best Regards, Paul
Hey Paul, sorry for the slow reply... I was off to work from 4:00pm-midnight. I'm just to the north of the city. Want to meet up for Tuesday lunch? All the best, Andrew.
Sure Andrew, that would be fantastic! How should we go about communicating? I don't have a number here so the best thing would be to pm me yours and I will call you around 10:30-11am. How is that?
It was really good meeting you today Paul - I had a great time! Hope the rest of your UK trip goes well, and good luck for deciding where to explore next. All the best, Andrew.
Well, yesterday I met up with fchats very own Andrew. We went to a pub in town and I tried haggis! I can't believe how good it was- I am a picky eater but it was very nice. Great texture, and fantastic flavour. I would never have guessed that I was the eating liver, heart, and brains of an animal! Afterwords Andrew took me on a journey to the Auchentoshan Distillery. We got there but sadly they were not doing any more tours for that day. However, a guy there heard about us and took us on our own private one instead! I have been to a distillery before, and also the place where they make Guinness. Both of them actually moved production off-site, so that you only get to see replicas of what things "would look like" if they actually produced it where they should. It was so nice being able to see a completely functioning operation and actual people working on the stills. We got to taste and smell the alcohol at different points in the process which really added to the experience. Afterwords our guide took us into a warehouse of where they store the whiskey, and I found that quite interesting as the whole room had barrels of all diffrent vintages and I have never seen that before. Andrew, I had a fantastic time! I thank you so much for taking me around and for your company. Next time you are in the USA, in my area, please get in touch mate!
Paul, glad you had a good time with Andrew - he's an OK bloke! But one thing to beware of if you don't want to make enemies of us Scots. Scotch whisky is spelled without an "e". Irish and American whiskey has an "e".
I'm so glad you had a good time too! And now you can tell everyone back home you've enjoyed haggis - that's certainly something not many in the States will have done. I really should have phoned ahead to the distillery to check the tour schedule, so it was very kind of Chris (our guide) to squeeze us in. That was my 8 or 9th tour around there, but that one was particularly good with just the two of us on it. High praise indeed - thanks Francis! Paul's definitely an OK bloke too! Had to try to (unsuccessfully) fight him off with a pointy stick every time it came to paying for something - he's quite keen (and quick) to be very generous. lol I'm sure we can spare him the punishment this time. Are you originally from up this way? I had thought you were a Berkshire local. All the best, Andrew.
Hey all! Sorry about the late response- I finally have access to wifi that actually works! I'm here in Inverness, to go see the famous Loch Ness and the Castle that sits upon it. As for the whisky name, I do apologize about that as I knew it was the one or the other and I couldn't remember. Where is a good place to see some old castles, that I can get to by rail?
In Scotland... I'd say Francis' hometown of Edinburgh. Easily accessible by public transport and I would rate it as one of the very best castles in the UK. In England... I'd say Windsor. Arguably the best castle in the UK. Although, I realize you've started South and are proceeding North, so that one might not be an option at this point. All the best, Andrew.
Indeed. Edinburgh castle is a must, as is Edinburgh in general. If you are heading south from Inverness you could also stop off at Stirling (quite big and very historic castle) and Linlithgow where there is a ruined place/castle. Both worth visiting.
I was in Edinburgh a few days ago. Wow, what an amazing city! Extremely unique. Sorry about the lack of updates- free reliable internet has been hard to find. I'm in Stirling right now, trying to figure out what to do in London as I am heading there tomorrow before I leave to go back home. I was in St. Andrews today and yesterday. The weather was perfect!
I'm here in London and I couldn't be more bored! I've been here a few times so there really isn't much to do. Is anyone down to meet up and do something?
