By Barb Hale

In August 2022 I took my two granddaughters, Lilian 16 and Natalie 22, to show them the village of Marple, Cheshire, where I grew up, to visit my 2 nieces, Sian and Wena who live in North Wales and Liverpool, and to show them a little of London.

We left Pearson airport August 1st.  After Covid it seemed that everyone wanted to fly. Airlines have been in lock-down too, so they are not ready for this. My daughter Nancy is taking Lilian and me to the airport and insists on getting us there 6 hours ahead!! We meet up with Natalie who is stressed after flying from Edmonton. The girls insist that I get a wheelchair! I am a person who does not accept the fact that I’m an old lady, and this does not make me happy! But, well, it did make things easier! I can’t walk as fast as them and we breezed through the handicap lines and were first on the airplane. Being an old lady does have its advantages!

The seats are cramped and uncomfortable and don’t tilt back. The plane is delayed, and we leave at 11pm and have a meal at midnight. Then try to sleep. Maybe 3 hours and it’s time for breakfast, and soon we are landing at Manchester Airport at 10.30, although my watch says 5.30!

Tuesday August 2nd: We have carry on luggage, so we follow the signs to the “Train Station” We walk and walk through a long tunnel. At last, we reach the station and the trip to Manchester Piccadilly station takes 10 minutes and we search this huge station for the train to Marple. It was almost empty and we had a carriage to ourselves. Stations go by, a screen announcing the next. By this time, we are very tired and do not get up in time to be ready to jump out at Marple! The train leaves before we can open the door and we are on our way to the next stop! It’s a small country station with no sign of any population. Natalie finds a machine to buy a ticket back to Marple and we wait for that train. This time we do not sit down.

 We walk uphill to our hotel, have a shower and snooze until supper. We walk to a nearby hotel where we sit in the garden and have wine and a very nice meal. I then realize that I had booked a ride on a barge along the canal. Even though we were late I phoned and apologized. To my surprise the woman said she would come and pick us up, and they took us on the barge for about an hour. It was lovely, peaceful, and quiet, but we had a hard time staying awake! To cap it all, the lady who came with us, walked us to our hotel along the canal past 10 locks. We slept very well that night!

Wednesday August 3rd:  We just managed to wake up in time to go down for a full English breakfast at 9am, sausages and baked beans as well as bacon and eggs. Oakfield Lodge is a large house renovated as a guest house. Beautifully done, so that it keeps its old charm. A large wooden staircase goes up to the circular first floor, and another staircase disappears up to the attic. Stained glass windows and a well-kept garden surrounded by trees adds to the pleasant ambience. My niece, Sian arrives with her son’s car, which is big enough for the four of us, and the first thing we do is visit 10 Clifton Drive, my childhood home. It looks exactly the same!! Built in 1937 on a half acre lot that slopes down to a steep river valley. I knock on the door and explain to the owner who I am, and who I’m with. She seems a little suspicious and not too pleased, but reluctantly lets us see the back garden. The nooks and crannies of my childhood adventures at the bottom of that garden are all overgrown and the swing on the sycamore tree is no longer there, but it still has that adventurous exciting feel, and my granddaughters are impressed. Natalie says “The house is so big. You always talk as though you were poor.” I tell her “There was a war. Everyone was poor.” Marple is known for its aqueduct, so we went looking for it. When we asked someone where it was, the man said, “you’re standing on it!” Sure enough, we were beside the canal and below were the three huge arches of the bridge carrying water across the Goyt River valley. Built in 1800 when canals were used for transportation of commercial goods.

August 4th:  Sian took us to her home in Waunfawr Caernarfon, N Wales. A delightfully renovated old stone cottage with a view of fields and hills. In the distance is Snowden, the 2nd highest mountain in the UK. The drive there through the countryside of North Wales and then the mountains of Snowdonia was lovely.

August 5th: Castles and beaches, Llandudno, Colwyn Bay, Anglesey, Criccieth. An amazing whirlwind tour of Wales! The largest castle is Caernarfon. Built in the 11th century, it is recognized as one of the greatest buildings of the Middle Ages. Huge walls encircle a village as well as the castle. When I asked Sian who built the castle, she said “The English, and the walls were to keep the Welsh out!”

August 6th: On the first half of our drive to Liverpool, Sian took the scenic route. Narrow (oh so narrow!) country lanes and pretty villages with old stone row houses. I was so glad I wasn’t driving! Then we took freeways and a magnificent bridge over the Mercy River. My niece Wena and her husband live in a modern house in the suburbs of Liverpool. So different from Sian’s rustic little house in the countryside. Liverpudlians are so proud of their Fab Four and life size statues of the Beatles are prominent in the centre of town.

August 7th: Sad to leave Sian and Wena, but all things come to an end and Wena drove us to the train station. On the way, she took us to the old dock, a three and half acre area of water surrounded by docks, which have been converted into shops and restaurants and the upper floors to offices and residences. An amazing pedestrian friendly area.

The train was packed and the journey uneventful, except trying to maneuver the hordes of people at Euston Station. Natalie used her Uber app to get a taxi and we arrived at Oxford Street Youth Hostel. I know! I am far from ‘Youth’, but I wanted to show my young relatives the benefits of hosteling. Two bunk beds and a single bed in a small room, with shared toilets and shower, but clean and safe and much cheaper than a hotel. London was having a heat wave, so it was hot, and we didn’t sleep very well.

August 8th: Lazy morning. We were sleep deprived and grumpy, and not used to the noisy, busy life of a big city. A bus tour was the solution and we sat on the upper deck of an open double decker, seeing much of London, we wouldn’t otherwise see. In the evening we saw the musical “Come from Away” at the Phoenix Theatre. It’s the story about planes having to land in Gander, Newfoundland, on 9/11. An excellent musical.

August 9th :  The London Eye is one of the largest carousels in the world, but really, I’ve found swinging in a chair of an old carousel more exciting than standing in an enclosed cage going much higher. We did enjoy the views of London, especially the Parliament building and Big Ben and the Thames River. We then walked across Westminster Bridge to Westminster Abbey, a magnificent building, famous for the many royal events that take place there. Then to Trafalgar Square to see lions and Lord Nelson standing high on his column. For our evening meal, Natalie and Lilian bought groceries and cooked a very tasty meal in the hostel kitchen. The wine I bought at reception.

August 10th: The train back to Manchester was uneventful and we checked into the Micro Hotel to be ready for the early morning flight the next day. Some sightseeing but mostly clothing stores!

August 11th: And so our journey ended with a flight back to Toronto. A very special time for us all.