Sunday in Edinburgh (31 July)

Shabbat shalom! This morning we took a bus to church. If you can imagine the scene: 29 dressed up people getting on a double-decker bus. We get on and a guy asks Brother Gardner if we’re going to church. Turns out there were three ward members on that ride. At least we knew we were on the right bus! It was a fun ward to be in and a great way to hear all the different accents.

After church everyone took naps and I worked on my blogs (you’re welcome). Then at 4:30 we met up with some of the group and went to Arthur’s Seat. This is where Scotland was dedicated for missionary work. We thought it’d be a nice Sunday stroll. Turns out it was quite a hike! Not everyone went all the way up, but Chrisse, Lori, and I did and it was so beautiful. The whole thing took about 3 hours from our hostel. It was really nice.

Some ruins we went up to

Edinburgh from the top

The colors here are fabulous!!!

Now Lori and I will go make dinner. End of story.

To Scotland (30 July)

Well here goes . . . the last leg of this trip has begun! All of the sudden we can say we’re leaving this week (well, leaving the British Isles). Now everything seems to have gone so fast.

We slept at the hostel at Hawkshead/Ambleside in the Lake District. This was definitely my favorite hostel of all time because of the location. Some of us got up early to run around the lake—perhaps my favorite run of the entire trip (and that’s saying a lot). The only bad part of the run was . . . okay . . . story time. Preface: I promise I’m not a complete klutz normally (you might laugh, but I think I’m a relatively coordinated person and I do manage to run on rocky trails quite successfully). At the very beginning of the run (ON PAVEMENT, not rocks)—we’d seriously been running for one minute—my right foot caught in the loop of the shoelace of my left shoe and I totally wiped out. Knees, hands, elbow, hip all took a blow. My right hand and left elbow were the worst. Apparently the thing that saved my left hand was the fact that I was carrying my camera to take pictures of the beautiful scenery we were to encounter. The bad thing is that I dented the lens shutters and now they won’t close. I’m taking precautionary measures to protect the lens, keeping a piece of gauze over it and wrapping the whole thing in a soft cloth. I think I can still take pictures, but I am very sad for the camera.

I kept running and it was great. We went about 5 miles along the gentle hilly road. I saw swans, misty fog hanging over the lake, mossy woods, beautiful flowers, many sheep, and darling lake country cottages. The worst part was afterwards when I had to clean up my hand and arm, cutting of the skin and all. Mmmmmm. So far I’m winning with the most falls this trip. Dr. Anderson says he has a week to take another one and catch up with me.

Morning view from out our hostel window

Moo

The lake we ran around. Our hostel is on the far side, but you can't see it in the picture.

In the morning we went to Hilltop, the cottage of Beatrix Potter. She wrote the children’s tales about rabbits and such (I can’t think of the names of them right now, but you can Google it if you want). It was very quaint and lovely. It reminded me of that huge hardcover children’s storybook I read a billion times when I was learning to read . . . you know the one with the lion who gives his hair to the birds to make nests (okay, only mom might remember this)? Anyway, it was a fun peek into childhood.

The rest of the day consisted of driving, driving, and more driving. Everything takes longer when you’re with 30 people and in a gigantic coach that is too large for the small England roads (not the best for the members of our group prone to car sickness). But my goodness—the scenery was absolutely beautiful. We stopped at Hadrian’s Wall, too. This wall was built under the direction of the Roman Emperor, Hadrian, to keep the Scots out of his empire. This was in the first century AD. In the 4^th century, the wall was abandoned because it was out in the middle of nowhere and the Roman Empire was falling apart. It was fun to see. The best part was when Suzanne, Lori, and I were trying to act out a siege for a photoshoot. It had to be complete with sound effects, of course, and a lot of slow-motion climbing and falling (don’t ask how you fall in slow motion). It was really funny. It wasn’t until we finished that we realized that all of our group was watching and Brother Gardner was videoing the ordeal. Ha. The photos are on her camera, but I’ll get them from her soon.

We arrived in Edinburgh around 8. It was slightly disappointing to be in a city again after all the beautiful country we’ve been in. But we head to the Scottish highlands on Monday! Then we’ll be back in Edinburgh for our last two days and then Saturday we fly out. Woah.

York Minster, Fountain Abbey, and the Lake Country (29 July)

Walking to the minster in the morning. We walked along the old city wall-it's a Roman wall.

Today has been great! We first explored York Minster, the largest gothic cathedral in northern Europe. It’s where Lori and I went to Evensong last night. It was fun to look around some more. There have been buildings on that site ever since the Romans founded the city in AD 71. Later the Normans built a cathedral in the same location. The larger gothic cathedral was built over that. It was fun to see the ruins and elements of all these buildings.

We rode about an hour north to Fountain Abbey. This is a huge ruined abbey. It was so beautiful. We could walk all around and see various lakes and ruins. I loved it and it was a beautiful day.

A small piece of the ruined abbey

Then we drove about 3 or 4 hours to the lake district. WOW! I have been so excited to be here and I haven’t been disappointed. Words can’t do justice to the beauty here. It reminds me of Ireland, except it has a different feel. There are many green fields, but also trees and rugged hills. I love it. I’m so excited to go running in the morning!

Lori and I walked a mile to our hostel while everyone else rode the bus. We really enjoyed the country roads and the scenery. We even ventured into a sheep and cow pasture so we could be closer to the lake. I think I will fall asleep to the baaa-ing of the sheep. Love it.

Preston to York, where unicorns fly (28 July)

First thing this morning we drove north to Preston, England. There we met up with a local church member and tour guide. He walked us around Preston for two hours, explaining the local church history to us. It was really awesome. I learned that the Preston branch/ward unit is the oldest continuing unit in the church to date! Preston is where the Church really started to take off in 1837. England was really a stronghold for the Church—in 1850, for every 3 members in States, there were 8 members in England.

We saw places where John Wesley, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, and Gordon B. Hinckley all preached. We also went to the River Ribble, where thousands of converts were baptized. Our guide, Peter, told us a lot of really neat stories. I’ll recount one. The context of Preston is important—it was a cotton manufacturing town. The living conditions were terrible: 50% of children under 5 died and the average working age was 18 (which reflects an early death age). One time, Orson Hyde was in the town center, preaching against infant baptism and about the plan of salvation. He was being heckled at and another minister made him stop preaching and took his place. The people, however, wanted Orson back because they loved the message. They had seen so much death and were ready for the message of the Gospel restored. Events like this happened time and time again; the people, called “the pick n’ flower of England,” were ready.

 

We drove about 10 miles to the Preston Temple. This temple was dedicated in 1998, so it’s not too old. Of course it was beautiful. The Church has a whole complex of land there, including the MTC, a stake center, a family history center, temple missionary accommodation, patron accommodation, and distribution. It felt like a lovely sanctuary. We really enjoyed being there for a short while. I got to talk to our bus driver a little bit more about the temple. He told me he wanted to bring his family up there and go in the temple. I could tell by his questions and thoughts that he felt the Spirit very strongly there. He has had a tumultuous life—is an immigrant from Romania and doesn’t get to see his family much because he drives buses—and he appreciated the simple peace he felt around the temple. We talked for a while and it was really good. I guess talking about the gospel around temples just comes a bit more naturally to me now.

River Ribble

Oblisk where many preached and we ate lunch

Preston Temple

We next drove two hours to York. Lori and I dropped our stuff in the hotel room and then ran to the cathedral to see if we could catch the 5:00 Choral Evensong. It turned out to be at 5:15, which was perfect. The music was really beautiful. We were located right behind the choir, which was fun. Tomorrow we go back there for a tour of the cathedral with the whole group, but I’m glad I got to go tonight too.

After that we got some food and ate along the river. On our walk home, we saw a big unicorn mylar balloon floating down the street. It kept catching various wind currents and bobbing up and down, even going under a parked car and popping back up again. I just found this quite humorous. I guess flying unicorns do exist!

I guess I should say a word about York. I was originally a Roman City and it has one of the best-preserved city walls in the world. Tomorrow we’re going to walk along the wall and hopefully learn more about the rich history.

Liverpool (27 July)

Ahoy! I’m in the port town of Liverpool, England.

Question for my personal curiosity: What is the first think you think of when you think of Liverpool?

Question for your interest’s sake: What do you call a resident of Liverpool? A Liverpoolean? A Liverpoolite? No. They are Liverpuddlians. No joke.

This morning I started the day with a glorious 5.5-mile run along the Avon River outside of Stratford. It’s the longest I’ve gone in a while and I really loved it. The countryside is beautiful and it’s so fun to run through it and feel so free.

The bus ride to Liverpool was nearly 3 hours. Upon our arrival, we checked into our hotel and went right to the docks. There we talked about the early church members who traveled through Liverpool before joining with the other Saints and heading west. We sang a few hymns there at the docks and I enjoyed thinking about those pioneers and especially about my ancestors. (Dad, did Robert Clifton come through Liverpool? That’s the main name I recalled today.)  I wondered what they felt as they stood on those docks. Were they certain that they were making the right decision? How did they know? Did they have a plan once they landed in North America? I really admire their tenacity and their willingness to give everything for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We found a statue the Church has given to the city to represent immigration to the new world. It’s estimated that 9 million immigrants went through Liverpool.

Liverpool docks

Doesn't it just have the church-statue feel?

Next we went to the Beatles Museum. I learned a bit about the Beatles so I can be a bit more culturally literate, but this was not the highlight of my day. 

Beatles Museum

Then I went with a few people to the international Slavery Museum. Liverpool played an important role in the slave trade. I enjoyed the contrast between this museum and singing hymns at the docks outside because I thought about how one place can be used for good or evil—the gathering of Zion or the commodifying of human beings. I saw two docks still standing that were constructed for the slave trade in the eighteenth century. They have left them there as a memorial and a reminder.

We went to the grocery store to get some stuff for dinner. Imagine eating food straight from the grocery store every day and having no way to prepare or refrigerate it afterwards. So, I ate a yogurt with blueberries, a whole wheat pita, and green beans. Interesting, huh? But it’s the least expensive way to go.

A bunch of us sat around in my hotel room enjoying our hodgepodge dinners and then Lori, Suzanne and I went for a walk along the docks. It’s Lori’s birthday! We ate strawberry trifle and looked around at the various statues and buildings. 

 City sites along the water

Liverpool is a pretty exciting place. The reason for my initial question is this: Kathryn and I were talking a lot about how much history is here, yet many people think only of the Beatles when they hear Liverpool. I thought of immigration. And from this day forward, I’ll think of a nice city where I enjoyed some history, thought about some ideas, and enjoyed the good weather.