Serpentine's Travel Diary Thingo-Whatsit

[Serpentine]

Nuuuu, don't waste your last holiday on that! I'll be there long enough to say goodbye at some point without using that up.

[Serpentine]

Hey Grlump, can you wait 'til about Tuesday for really solid stuff - specifically, the booking of the tickets? Thufir's gonna be too tied up to confirm anything 'til then.

[factotum]

Darn, looks like I'm going to miss you when you pass through Bradford since it's not at a weekend...

[Heliomance]

- Meet Heliomance.

Stonhenge got revamped a few years back. I think you can get quite close to the stones now - there's a walkway that winds round them or something.

[The Succubus]

Nuuuu, don't waste your last holiday on that! I'll be there long enough to say goodbye at some point without using that up.

It's cool, hun. I need to use up that day before the end of September as that's when I get my next allocation of annual leave. So I can either use it on the final day or if you fancy a little extra company over a weekend, I can do that instead. =)

[GrlumpTheElder]

Hey Grlump, can you wait 'til about Tuesday for really solid stuff - specifically, the booking of the tickets? Thufir's gonna be too tied up to confirm anything 'til then.

Think so, although I'll have more solid internet on the Monday, so I'd prefer to book them then...

[Brother Oni]

I think it's gonna be too tricky to see the Rollright Stones on that trip down, so I think for that part of it I'd like to stop in Wiltshire on the way to Bath. It's near the Uffington Horse which I wanna see anyway, and it's actually where Stonehenge is (I thought it was further north for some reason), and there's a whole mess of other interesting stuff around there too.

Bath is a world heritage site, so looks very pretty. Driving around it is a pain in the arse though.
The Roman Baths site (half way down Bath high street) is informative and easy to get to, although a bit expensive. Stay out of The Pump Room restaurant above it though - the prices there are liable to give you a heart attack.
There's also several museums and tours in Bath, including the Jane Austen one if that floats your boat.

Since you're going to be in the area, you may want to go to Castle Combe too. Very pretty village, used a lot for film sets (Harry Potter and Stardust among others).

Just down the road from Castle Combe is Lacock, again often used for films and TV series, but with the added advantage of having multiple pubs with good food.

The only castle we have in Wiltshire is Old Wardour Castle, although if stately homes are more your thing, we have a large number of them (I think Longleat is the biggest of them and it has a more famous safari park on the site too.).
If castles are your thing, Devon and Wales would be a better bet, but may be a bit out of your travel range.

At the end I intend to stay in London for a couple of days before I get the plane out of there somewhere around the 13th or 14th of September (think I've got the flight picked, but I'm not sure whether a 1 1/2 hour wait in Kuala Lumpur will be enough to ensure I get the next flight, or if I should get the one with a 4+ hour wait).

Having just flown out and back from that general region, I'd suggest checking for any possible tropical storms/typhoons before choosing. Typhoon Vicente caused a number of delayed/cancelled flights (we landed a couple hours before it got close enough to Hong Kong to shut down everything) and there were at least two other storms to be watched carefully in the following two weeks.

Which airline are you flying with? If it's a good one (Cathay Pacific, ANA, etc) I'd suggest going for the 1.5 hr layover as if you miss that one, a good airline will get you sorted on the next available flight (probably the one 4hrs later).
If it's not a major carrier, then I'd suggest the 4hr one as you never know what can happen (and it does - got delayed in HK airport for 2hrs while they tried to hunt down a mouse that was spotted on board, then gave up and loaded us on a different plane, which took another hour, then 13hrs later, was delayed from departing the airplane for another hour while armed police officers took a bloke off the airplane due to an alleged incident. The sooner I forget yesterday, the better...)

[--Lime--]

Wait, Hong Kong? I thought I was the only one!

[Brother Oni]

Wait, Hong Kong? I thought I was the only one!

I was in Hong Kong to visit my family, then went to stay with the in-laws in Japan.

Am currently back in England again, trying to stay up long enough so I can attempt to reset my body clock.

[lesser_minion]

Any expressions of interest for hanging out, or assistance finding cheap (ideally cheap as free) accommodation anywhere, are most welcome.

Bath is only one stop away from here on the train, so I'd be happy to meet up with you there. I might also be able to make my way up to London at some point before you leave.

[Serpentine]

Know of anywhere in the area where we could stay for cheap (or free <.<)? And you'd definitely be welcome to join us

[lesser_minion]

Know of anywhere in the area where we could stay for cheap (or free <.<)?

I can't really do much to help you there, unfortunately.

[Serpentine]

Spoiler

Show

(Mon 13/8: National Express ticket sale ends)
Mon 20/8:
Tues 21/8:
Wed 22/8:
Thurs 23/8:
Fri 24/8: Digital staff going out?
Sat 25/8:
Sun 26/8:
Mon 27/8: FiftyEyedFred in Sussex
Tues 28/8:
Wed 29/8: Grlump arrives in Bradford doing Morris Dancing
Thurs 30/8: We leave Bradford, get to Derby
Fri 31/8: Leave Derby, get to Hastings
Sat 1/9: Grlump must be in Sussex
Sun 2/9:
Mon 3/9:
Tues 4/9:
Wed 5/9:
Thurs 6/9:
Fri 7/9: Grlump leaves for France (the bastard)
Sat 8/9:
Sun 9/9:
Mon 10/9:
Tues 11/9:
Wed 12/9:
Thurs 13/9: Flight from London
Fri 14/9:
Sat 15/9: Arrive in Sydney
Sun 16/9:
Mon 17/9:
Tues 18/9:
Wed 19/9:
Thurs 20/9:
Fri 21/9: Family event in Sawtell

I'm gonna lose a day...

[Keld Denar]

Does this mean you aren't coming to the US?

[Serpentine]

Not yet But I will! ...when I have monies again

Calendar:

Spoiler

Show

(Mon 13/8: National Express ticket sale ends)
Mon 20/8:
Tues 21/8:
Wed 22/8:
Thurs 23/8:
Fri 24/8: Digital staff going out?
Sat 25/8:
Sun 26/8:
Mon 27/8: FiftyEyedFred in Sussex
Tues 28/8:
Wed 29/8: Grlump arrives in Bradford doing Morris Dancing
Thurs 30/8: Grlump, Thufir and I leave Bradford at 2.10pm, get to Derby 4.50pm
Fri 31/8: Grlump, Thufirand I leave Derby at 12.20pm, get to London at 2.04pm, then to Hastings
Sat 1/9: Grlump must be in Sussex
Sun 2/9:
Mon 3/9:
Tues 4/9:
Wed 5/9:
Thurs 6/9:
Fri 7/9: Grlump leaves for France (the bastard)
Sat 8/9:
Sun 9/9:
Mon 10/9:
Tues 11/9:
Wed 12/9:
Thurs 13/9: Flight from London
Fri 14/9:
Sat 15/9: Arrive in Sydney
Sun 16/9:
Mon 17/9:
Tues 18/9:
Wed 19/9:
Thurs 20/9:
Fri 21/9: Family event in Sawtell

Map:

Spoiler

Show

Anyone wanna hang out in Sydney for a bit?

[Thufir]

Wait, we have definite travel times? When did this happen?

[Serpentine]

About an hour ago, when I bought the tickets. You and Grlump owe me 27.50gbp, btw (although I already owe both of you, so uh...).

[Totally Guy]

You go from Bradford to Derby on 30th. When do you arrive in Bradford?

You fly out on my birthday.

[Serpentine]

It's your birthday present!

Either the 29th or the 30th, not sure which. If we were to go to Richmond on the 29th, would be interested in meeting us there and exploring with us?

[Totally Guy]

I'm afraid that I'm working those days. I've booked my time off already. I've got Halloween in NYC.

But if you are around in the evening then I'd be up for it.

Are you available for a day trip Saturday 25th or Sunday 26th? If so I might just have an idea...

[Serpentine]

Aw Halloween in New York sounds great, though!
Nah, Richmond would be on the way down to Bradford (unless I went there for a day trip in the week or two before then). Unless you wanted to join us in Richmond and drive us the rest of the way, we'd be in Bradford then - and still happy to catch up, of course.
Available in Newcastle on the 25th or 26th? Yes, why?

[Totally Guy]

I noticed there are Forbidden Corner tickets for that weekend. It's just the 7 hours to total driving that it'd take that's putting me off.

[Serpentine]

Oh hey, that's right near where Earthfasts is set... Could do a double whammy.
I am very, very interested in going to Forbidden Corner! How many tickets are there, and how much do they cost, and would you be okay with others coming?

[Totally Guy]

Forbidden Corner Booking

From 3PM the site seems willing to book plenty of tickets at £9.50. Are any of the interested others able to drive down there? Then if I drive up I don't have to go through the madness that is going there via Newcastle.

[Serpentine]

Only Qwaz, and I'm not sure whether he'll be willing and/or able to come. But I'll ask! Tonight!
Otherwise I guess public transport?

[Heliomance]

Ooh, potential Serps meetage! I'm probably going to London sometime next week, unsure when though. Depends on my sister. It might be Friday! Maybe.

[Serpentine]

I'm not gonna be in London 'til a few days before the 13th of September. How close to Sussex do you live, though?

Guy: Qwaz won't be able to come at all that weekend, which means I won't be driving down there (unless Thufir and Tasroth's mum wants to come, I suppose, or unless Avaris has a car and wants to come). Which day do you want to go? Apparently Digital is gonna be open on the weekend and will be very busy, so Qwaz was tryna guilt me into staying for it, and apparently it's extra pay on the Sunday, so I'm considering working on the Sunday which would mean we'd have to go to Forbidden Corner on the Saturday, but I'm still undecided whether I want to work anyway.
We gonna do this? Can I confirm it?

[Totally Guy]

Is it possible for you to use public transport to get to Northallerton or Darlington? I could pick you up and drop you off from one of those without major hassle.

[Serpentine]

Darlington would be good. Would you be interested in wandering around Richmond a bit, too, seeing as it's so close, and it's where Earthfasts was set?

More generally: anyone else wanna come? Thufir, Avaris, Dvil? (and would you be alright with that, Guy?)

[Totally Guy]

As I'd have to drive from Darlington to Forbidden Corner I'd only be able to transport me, Serp and two others if they're Thufir sized, three at a push.

The Forbidden Corner tickets are available for 3:00pm. So if we meet earlier, say 11:30am, we could check out Richmond first at 12:00pm.

Forbidden corner can be done in a couple of hours. Then I take you back to Darlington to go back north for about 6:00pm.

Edit: As it's possibly not just you going I'd like to make you responsible for booking your tickets. I'll book my own once I know we're on.