My Trip to the United Kingdom

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A different type of traveling

While camp hosting last year I decided to go to a place that was on my wish list, so I went to Ireland.  This year my choice was the United Kingdom, where I visited England, Scotland and Wales.  I booked my trip through CIE Tours which was the same travel company that I used last year.  I will probably continue doing this every year as long as I continue working at my camp hosting job with PGE.

Day 1-2 – Portland to Heathrow Airport to Windsor

The plane took off at 5:45pm from Portland and I flew nonstop to Heathrow Airport outside of London, England and arrived about 11:15am.  It was a long flight, but I was able to nap a bit and watched a bunch of movies.

I booked an additional day at the beginning of the trip in order to adjust to the jet lag.  I am so glad I did that as I was very tired upon arrival.  I hoped in a cab and they drove me to the MacDonal Windsor Hotel in Windsor.  I was fortunate that I was able to check in upon arrival.  I took a short nap and then decided to check out Windsor.

It was raining, but that didn’t stop me from checking out this beautiful town.  The Windsor Castle where the Queen lives is right down the street from my hotel.  My tour won’t begin until 2:30 the next day so I was on my own for the rest of the day.  Lots of small shops with lots of souvenirs.

Day 2 – Windsor Castle

At 2:30 the group gathered to meet our Tour Director.  We walked across to the Windsor Castle the residence of the Queen.  The Queen was on vacation at the time so not at the castle.  Here is the entrance to Windsor Castle.  There were very long lines to get in at times, but we side-tracked all of them since we were a large group with CIE Tours.

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A great pic of St George’s Chapel (except for my thumb in upper left HA!).  This is where Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were married. Unfortunately it was closed during our visit.

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A nice view of this huge castle.  The Queen’s residence is at the far end.

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One of the Queen’s Guards.  They never make a move.

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The Queen’s Walkway.

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This was taken from the entrance to our hotel showing the Windsor Castle at the end on the right.

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Later in the day we met for the introduction of the tour and a Welcome Drink as well as a great dinner.  I also met many of the people on the tour.  They came from all parts of the world.

After dinner we had a short tour of Windsor by a local guide.  She was very informative, but my pics didn’t turn out good.

Tomorrow we are off to the city of York.

2 thoughts on “My Trip to the United Kingdom”

  1. Yes. This UK trip is on my bucket list as well. I visited the UK many years ago when I was stationed in Germany in the Army. I want to see other parts of England and Wales and Scotland though, especially after watching Netflix crime dramas from those parts. I agree with you on CIE tours. Several years ago I arranged a self driving tour through Ireland and Northern Ireland through CIE, staying at bed and breakfasts. It was fabulous.

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