Gulliver's Travels 02/02/2026

DALE SIEVERT (GULLIVER)

England and Scotland--March 2025
 
   My granddaughter, Olivia, and her boyfriend accompanied me on a trip from London to Edinburgh, Scotland.  After they returned to work, I toured Scotland, eastern England, and London on my own (via trains and buses..see below for explanation).

   England and Scotland are deceiving, as one would think they would be larger.  Wisconsin is 65,000 square miles and holds 5.9 million people.  England is only 50,000 square miles but has 60 million people.  And Scotland is 30,000 square miles with 5.5 million people.
  
   I often had real difficulty understanding people, so as Olivia was more "skillful" I sometimes called her my "translator."  A few times in Scotland and Newcastle I could barely understand five percent of what I heard.

   Though I've successfully driven on the "wrong side" of the road several times before, I was booted out of MY rental car;

(and was told by Olivia that I could not drive with her home worrying to death about me)

That was after terrorizing my two companions the first day in crowded traffic with confusing signs and roundabouts. 
Kids!!

Edinburgh Castle, built from 11th Century to 1633

Scottish Highlands

Inverarry Castle on Loch Ness (the Monster is in the black vertical area)

An abandoned house on the English Channel coast

Clifford Tower, part of the demolished York Castle, where 150 Jews committed suicide to avoid forced Christian baptism in1190 in the city of York

Tower of London, built in 1073 A.D.

Tower Bridge over the Thames River, built in 1894

St. Paul's Cathedral in London, built from 1675-1710

Buckingham Palace, built from 1703-1837

Victoria and Albert Museum in London built in 1852

Windsor Castle, founded by William the Conquerer and built in the 11th Century

Winchester Cathedral, finished in 1093, is 558 feet long

Stonehenge, built from 3100 B.C. to 1600 B.C.

Roman baths, built in 70 A.D. in the city of Bath

Birthplace of William Shakespere, built in the 15th and 16th Centuries in Stratford-on-Avon.

Ann Hathaway's Cottage, home of Shakespere's wife

Yorkminstir, built in York from 1220 to 1472

Cliffs of Dover, made of limestone and 350 high

Canterbury Cathedral, founded by St. Augustine in 570 A.D.

Church in Canterbury

Parliament, or Westminster, and Big Ben, built in 1016 A.D.

British Museum in London, built in 1753

Statue of Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square, victor over the Spanish and French at Trafalgar in 1805

Kew Gardens in London, started in 1869

Hadrian's Wall, Roman fortification against the Scots, 73 miles long, begun in 122 A.D

Stirling Castle in the Scottish Highlands, mainly built from 1490-1600

Olivia and Nate in the Lake District

Cavern Club, Liverpool, where the Beatles gained fame

Epilogue


   My wife, Dorothy, never visited England...and probably never would have, as once when we watched an English TV show she asked me, "Why do they TALK that way?"  She also probably would not have liked driving on the "wrong side" of the road.  But then she would have missed the enormous amount of historical, architectural, and natural sights that are jammed into such a "tiny" country.  It does pack a wallop, so if you've never visited it, consider going there.  And as the folks there speak English (sort of, that is), you should be able to get along.