Taking a trip ‘round the Isles in 16 days

Homer Graham

Last May, Homer and Judy Graham of Costa Mesa, accompanied by Ted and

Darlene Flory of Huntington Beach, flew to London and boarded a

Trafalgar bus tour through southern England. After making stops at

Stonehenge, Bath and Cardiff in southern Wales, our tour bus boarded

a sea ferry crossing over the Irish Sea to Ireland.

In Ireland, we stopped at the Waterford Crystal Factory and

Blarney Castle for a chance to kiss the Blarney Stone and acquire the

gift of gab. We didn’t kiss the Blarney Stone, but Judy might have

acquired just a little bit of that gift of gab.

Venturing on a scenic, coastal, 100-mile drive around the Ring of

Kerry is a photographer’s delight. Our eloquent, well-read tour guide

kept commenting on how extremely lucky we were that the weather was

so clear and that most of the groups he takes through the area don’t

get to see half of what we did. Heading northeast to Limerick and

Dublin, Ireland, crossing County Clare en route to Galway Bay, we

boarded another sea ferry to cross back over the Irish Sea to

Northern Wales. We continued North to Edinburgh, Scotland.

After a scenic drive through the beautiful Lake District, we

visited the grave of William Wordsworth at Dove Cottage in the hamlet

of Town End, Grasmere, described by the poet as the fairest place on

Earth and where he lived, wrote and found inspiration.

Heading back south toward London, we stopped at many popular

places, including Coventry and Stratford-Upon-Avon, and visited

Shakespeare’s birthplace. The next stop was the little church yard at

Bladon to see Winston Churchill’s grave. Then it was on to Oxford

Colleges.

Our 16-day, memorable trip ended back in London.

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