Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt
Wednesday 3rd of August
07.05 The last week of this long British trip has begun here at Chadwick Guest House (https://www.chadwicksguesthouse.com) in Middlesbrough. Next Wednesday I will be in Sweden and at work. Christer will have his summer break one week longer. We have given up trying to understand the logic behind our various long summer holidays in each municipality.
08.01 How many more English breakfasts will there be? At least this one was good. The only downside was that it was served so early. What follows next is pure routine.
08.27 That's it! It is time to leave this place to go somewhere else. It's time to walk to the bus station. We are in no rush so we take a long, leisurely walk there. The distance to walk is approximately two kilometers.
09.20 We arrived at Middlesbrough Bus Station. The bus that was supposed to leave by now hasn't even come in yet. We and many others wonder why. There are more fun things to do than wait.
09.48 We have just bought a day ticket each on Arriva Bus. This shortens the length of stay in the next town. Our intended bus was canceled and now we go with the next one. As a result of the canceled departure, this bus is overcrowded. We were lucky to get on at the bus station. It's not as fun for the passengers who step on along the way.
10.21 We travel east near the North Yorkshire coast. Now there is really not enough space on the bus.
10.35 We drive through a heath landscape. There is grass, bushes and heather. It is simple, wild but also beautiful. The weather is at its best today. The sun is shining and it's a lovely summer day.
11.11 Our bus has taken us to Whitby which we now have around us. We are not alone in visiting this small cozy coastal town. There are people on the move just about everywhere and there is nowhere to sit. Here we make a short stop before traveling on with the next bus.
14.15 Unfortunately we got much less time than planned here in Scarborough. It is also not possible to change our plans because we pre-purchased a train ticket from here. Right now we are with hordes of other people on the Westborough pedestrian street. From here we will soon turn off and go towards the sea to see the beach and some sea views. Scarborough is a popular tourist resort here in England and has 61,830 inhabitants. The town was founded by the Vikings and is best known for its 45-day Scarborough Fair, which is also the title of a well-known traditional folk song about the market.
18.31 Now that we have rested a bit and are refreshed, we feel ready to see the city. York must be included in the long list of English cities that get too little time from us. In any case, it's better to have a little time here than no time here. Luckily the summer evenings are long and bright, even now in August.
19.52 We turned towards the center again at York Castle Museum. Now we are going to start what we spent so much time on during many trips, finding a restaurant where we want to eat.
Thursday 4th of August
The early breakfast at Chadwick Guest House.
We arrive in Whitby later than we thought.
Whitby Bridge across the River Esk.
Boats in the River Esk.
Toilet hunt in Whitby.
Sandgate is not a wide street.
The Summer Queen boat shuttles some tourists around in Whitby.
Buses come and buses go. Which one should we take?
Christer is waiting for the right bus in Whitby.
Beautiful views near Robin Hood's Bay.
Westborough Street in Scarborough.
South Bay Beach, Scarborough.
A man on the platform just photographed a locomotive, is it trainspotting?
15.38 A Transpennine Express train set will now take us from Scarborough to York. We are sitting in the seats that Christer booked last night, seats 19 and 20.
16.32 Today's biggest station is the one in York which we have just arrived at. Here is a man with four leashed dogs.
17.01 Between the station and the upcoming accommodation we found a Costa Coffee, everything to our liking. Here at Museum Street we stop for a while before continuing to our next home.
17.35 On arrival at The Beckett Guest House, Christer was welcomed as Christin from Norway, no, the Netherlands. However, we did not have to change gender or nationality to stay here. Instead, we received information on how to get in and also the WiFi code. I thought I managed to memorize it, but not at all. It was time to go and check again.
Scarborough Beach.
Queen Victoria in Scarborough.
Peter is ready to leave Scarborough.
We follow the city wall into York city centre.
We cross Lendal Bridge in York.
York Oratory.
Exhibition Square, York.
Bootham Bar, a medieval city gate in York.
The Beckett Guest House, York.
The fat badger owns a hotel and restaurant in York.
York Minster.
Constantine was named emperor of York when he succeeded his dying father in 306.
Peter looks at Mulberry Hall, a building from 1434.
York & Selby Magistrates' Court.
Clifford's Tower, York.
Peter is waiting for dinner at Taas Restaurant.
07.48 Our shower here at The Beckett Guest House can be likened to a phone booth housed in a bathroom closet. It's small, but it does its job.
08.35 Once again we have finished a breakfast in the room, a breakfast on the edge of the bed. Within an hour we should be at the train station with the first train tickets of the day firmly in hand. We would have liked to stay one more day here in York but we are running out of days before we have to fly home. 09.41 Such a start we had on this day. At first we had trouble getting out of the room. The key and keyhole were of an older model. The correct position of the key is required, otherwise you will not get out. Once at the station, we realized that the train leaves at 09.48 and not at 09.54 as we first thought, and it was a bit of a rush. The final straw was that I read the wrong letter in the ticket code I wrote down when we were going to pick up our tickets. There was a letter that could not be selected on the display. However, rereading led to a solution and we made it to our train. There is a lack of space for the legs, ours that is, on the train. 10.29 A fellow passenger tells some friends around her about her younger siblings. We just saw some cooling towers. We are now in Howden just north of the town of Goole. 10.41 On the way to the next destination, Hull, we have just seen a large bridge across a river. It is the Humber Bridge across the river of the same name, the Humber. The area here is sometimes called Humberside, although it actually belongs to Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. 11.14 Now we have just over two hours in Hull, or more correctly Kingston upon Hull which is the city's official name. We are sitting by the City Hall and the obligatory statue of Queen Victoria. There is also a fountain where children play. You probably don't get more central than this in this city. Hull takes its name from the River Hull which here flows into the Humber. The oldest parts of the city are also by the river. We'll see if we can get there. Approximately 95% of Hull was destroyed by German bombing during the Second World War and there are few historic buildings left. As a curiosity, it can be mentioned that the city coat of arms in Hull is three yellow crowns on a blue background, just like Sweden. Today, there are 267,014 inhabitants living in Hull.
Morning at York Station.
We pass the Humber Bridge.
We have arrived at (Kingston upon) Hull.
The Punch Hotel is actually an old pub.
Queen Victoria stands in front of Hull City Hall.
In Hull, there are 42 puffins deployed in the city. Here is one of these.
11.32 There are big fish in the water outside the Princes Quay mall. However, there was no suitable place where we could buy something to eat. We are looking further.
11.51 At the Cooplands bakery on Whitefriargate we have bought drinks as well as cheese and ham baguettes. This can be today's simple lunch. Now we are sitting on a blue bench in Queen's Gardens. 12.01 An email from the airline KLM with the heading Important Covid-info regarding your flight has arrived. However, it does not apply that we have to test ourselves before or after a canceled flight. It is mostly a recommendation to wear a mask. It should be over the mouth and nowhere else. 12.14 We finished our snacks in the park and we have walked further. Unfortunately, our time is not enough to make it all the way to the River Hull. On a tall pillar in front of Hull College we have seen a sculpture of William Wilberforce who was born in 1759 here in Hull. He was a British Member of Parliament, and activist for Christianity and human rights. He was also one of the main forces behind the abolition of the slave trade and slavery, in Britain and also globally. 12.26 The cathedral Hull Minster is beautiful and that is precisely why we have photographed it. A dog barks less nicely and in the shadow of a bench someone is eating. 13.04 Between us and the combined bus and railway station is a cenotaph, a monument linked to the First World War. Pigeons coo, the wind blows and now a guy who has just been to McDonald's passes by. So far we have avoided eating there. 13.30 We are now at gates 8 to 11 at the bus station part of Hull's travel centre. We are waiting to board the bus that will take us further south to Scunthorpe. A man passes us with a red broom and a red shovel with a handle. 13.46 Further forward in the bus, among strangers, my backpack is now placed in a luggage compartment. Christer and I are further back in the bus from Stagecoach. For the first time this summer, the driver was not behind glass but sat completely freely.
Beautiful plantations at The Rose Bowl, Hull.
Fish-filled waters at Princes Quay.
Up here stands William Wilberforce.
Hull Minster.
Fountains are always fun.
We go by bus across the wide river Humber.
14.03 Our bus is now on its way over the Humber Bridge, the same bridge we saw from the train earlier today. It is long and majestic. This bridge is the seventh longest suspension bridge in the world. The total length is 2220 meters. The bridge was completed in 1981 and was the world's longest suspension bridge between 1981 and 1998.
14.35 The surrounding land is cultivated or built on. The road we're on could have been smoother. 15.05 It was easy to get off the bus at the bus station in Scunthorpe. We also had no problems finding Costa Coffee. Then it came to a screeching halt. There was a curtain over the shelves with the sandwiches we wanted to buy. Why was that? Are they too old to sell? Oh well, maybe there are more Costa Coffees to go to? 15.13 The next Costa Coffee had no curtain but no sandwiches either. All there was was a note to ask the staff about what was available. On previous visits, it has been full of sandwiches. Why is it like this in Scunthorpe? Have there been any problems with deliveries? Scunthorpe is probably not one of England's more exciting cities, but here we will change bus to train and continue to the next night's accommodation. We are now in the northern part of Lincolnshire and in yet another place that got its name from the Viking era in this country. The city is known for its steel industry and has a population of 81,576. 15.37 We are now instead at Starbucks Coffee on the High Street. Their sausage sandwich only has three sausages, although they are instead longer. Here, as in other cafes in this chain, they absolutely must know our names, why? OK, if there are many orders and a long queue, but here it is completely calm. 16.11 We had time to see one more church. On our way to the railway station we passed Saint John's Church. 16.31 There was another bench break in the wind and sun. A little further away, another railway station awaits us. Soon we will go there. 16.50 Such a fun day it is today! At the station, the ticket machine didn't look like it usually does, but we still got our tickets for seats 3 and 4 in carriage F. The train coming in soon, the one we're going on, has only three carriages, A, B and C, according to the display. 17.05 In the absence of carriage F, we simply went and sat in another carriage. We'll see how it goes.
High Street, Scunthorpe.
Starbucks has sausage sandwiches too.
The sculpture Scunthorpe Steelworkers.
Saint John's Church, Scunthorpe.
Grimsby Fishermen Memorial.
Grimsby Minster.
17.15 The conductor came, still liked our tickets and scratched something on them.
17.32 What a temptation! The train has stopped by bushes with large juicy blackberries. They are so close yet so unattainable. We´ll soon arrive at the railway station in Grimsby, another place with a clear connection to the Viking Age here in Great Britain. 17.50 On our way to the accommodation in Grimsby, we have stopped at a square with a church and a statue of a fisherman in the process of netting. It is a memorial to the fishermen who drowned and is called the Grimsby Fishermen Memorial. The square is called Saint James Square and the church is Grimsby Minster. The town of Grimsby by the North Sea has 86,138 inhabitants. It was founded by Danish Vikings in the 8th century. The founder was a Dane named Grim, hence the name Grimsby. By the middle of the 20th century, the town had the world's largest fishing fleet. Now are worse times. 18.25 We have been received at the small Regent Guest House by an eager and quick older hostess. She has shown us the room, WC, shower and other things. When it comes to restaurants, she recommends a taxi trip to the neighbouring town of Cleethorpes. She claims that Grimsby is not very nice. 19.03 We speculate and think. What and where are we eating tonight and what are we buying for dinner and breakfast tomorrow morning? How do we travel on tomorrow? 19.25 Soon we are going out for dinner and buying breakfast. 19.45 Yes, alright, the restaurant we found on the internet is closed. The blinds are down. There have been some curtains down today. 19.50 Screams and thumps are heard inside another local. Apparently it's a wrestling club. A guy in shorts and shirtless walks past on the other side of the street. 20.05 We can't get to Burger King, which we selected as an emergency solution for dinner. It is on the other side of the railway. But surely there are no good hamburgers there? It seems our hostess was right. Here in Grimsby there is not much to find, at least not in the way of restaurants.
Plenty of algae at The Barge floating pub.
Regent Guest House, Grimsby.
Hainton Avenue, Grimsby.
Our room at Regent Guest House.
Christer is eating a simple dinner.
20.15 We have given up on restaurants. Now we go to the ASDA Supercentre instead and buy as much good as we can find. It's a really big supermarket so we'll probably find something.
21.15 We wandered around inside the store for quite some time looking for both dinner and breakfast. The former is now to be eaten at home in the room. Unfortunately, we do not have an internet connection. 21.45 Christer finally got in touch with internet and now we have connection and contact with the outside world. Now it's time for dinner or whatever we should call this meal? 22.08 Four sandwiches with boiled ham became our dinner. To this we drank milk. Now we are planning tomorrow's journey. We know at the moment that we have to travel, see cities and meat something. Then we will see how the details become more precise. In any case, we should have time to see four cities tomorrow. 23.07 We have almost finished buying our various tickets for tomorrow. We end the evening here in Grimsby by drinking our purchased evening beers. Today is International IPA Day, so of course we drink IPA beers. International IPA Day falls on the first Thursday in August each year. We realize that we forgot to celebrate it on previous summer trips.
Friday 5th of August
08.31 It's been a long night here at Regent Guest House. English nights are now coming to an end for us.
09.25 There will be no more nights here in Grimsby and soon the stay at yet another one of our accommodations will be over. 10.30 We said thank you and good bye to our ambitious hostess. After collecting our train tickets, we are again ready to travel between cities and stations. This day begins with a train journey south west through Lincolnshire which is quite a large county. 11.46 The wind is cold here in Lincoln. We have just arrived here by train and are now sitting along the pedestrian High Street. This will be another city that we are forced to see with backpacks on our backs. it always drags the experience down a bit. We will spend some time here in the city before moving on to new goals. Lincoln is the capital of Lincolnshire and has a population of 103,813. The city has a long history and was called Lindum Colonia during Roman times. 12.05 Our plans to get up to the famous cathedral have temporarily fallen through the cracks. It is hilly in the city to say the least and we are now sitting on a bench in Saint Martin's Square about halfway to our destination. Between us and the cathedral is now an even steeper hill. 12.23 Steep Hill, as the street is called, certainly makes sense for the name, but in spite of a little sweat and bags on our backs, we have now arrived at Lincoln Cathedral. The cathedral, which today is England's fourth largest, began construction in 1072 and is built in the Gothic style. Historians have slightly different opinions on the matter, but it is claimed that Lincoln Cathedral with its 160 meter high spire was the world's tallest building from 1311 until the spire collapsed in 1548.
High Street, Lincoln.
A smooth car in crowded cities.
The River Witham flows under the High Bridge.
Peter is exploring Lincoln.
Steep Hill is a name that suits this street.
Castle Hill, Lincoln.
12.54 Lack of time here in Lincoln led us to avoid visiting the classic Costa Coffee. Instead, we bought some goods at perhaps an upcoming classic, Greggs. Now we will consume the purchased baguettes outside the railway station.
13.38 We travel on rails again. From our train, we see farmland and verdant trees parading by. Our tickets have just been viewed. 14.02 Traveling has taken a toll on me. I fall asleep every now and then. I'm even about to fall out of my seat. 14.21 It's time for a train change in Worksop, which is in Nottinghamshire. From this city comes Bruce Dickinson, the singer of Iron Maiden. Other celebrities from here are actor Donald Pleasence, football manager Graham Taylor and golfer Lee Westwood. 14.38 According to the information on the platform display, we were not to enter the train that rolled in. People did anyway and so did we. It has proven to be a correct and good choice. 15.21 We arrived in Mansfield, a town Christer had actually visited before. He was here one evening in 1997 watching a football match (League Cup) between Mansfield Town and Stockport County. What should we do during our short stay here? How do we travel further? One thing is for sure, I need more energy. 15.41 To remedy the lack of energy, I bought a double espresso and a small energy cake at Costa Coffee at West Gate. Mansfield with 110,500 inhabitants belongs to Nottinghamshire and is only two miles north of Nottingham which we visited just over two weeks ago. Outside the city limits is the famous Sherwood Forest.
Lincoln Cathedral.
Lincoln is home to England's fourth largest cathedral.
Lincoln Castle.
Christer is waiting for the next train in Worksop.
Mansfield Bus Station.
Mansfield Old Town Hall.
16.17 It was quite a short stay here in Mansfield. We are already on the go again. We have now been waiting for a while at the bus station. There is a bus at gate 1 with the correct destination, Chesterfield. However, there is no driver. It's good to have.
16.26 The driver appeared after a while and the other passengers and ourselves got on board. It's really short acquaintances that we have with the cities this summer. 17.24 Below us there is a wall and behind us we have Chesterfield Borough Council and around us we have the city of Chesterfield. We got off the bus here and walked a short distance to this little break. The sun warms while the wind cools. Chesterfield with 103,672 inhabitants belongs to Derbyshire and is a pleasant town. 17.37 Chesterfield parish church has a twisted spire. The old spire was built around the year 1362 and the reason for the curvatures in the spire is probably that the roof coating is made of lead. The closer causes would then be partly the weight of the metal, partly its expansion in the sunlit parts of the spire, while the metal in the non-sunlit parts does not expand in the same way. There is also some folklore surrounding why it has become bent. The name of the church is Church of Saint Mary and All Saints. 17.43 It is not saints who surround us but pigeons. We take a bench break in Rykneld Square, a square near the church with the strange spire. It has again become time to plan the next few hours. According to the city's information center, they have listed various famous people with connections here. Some have only lived here or been active here for a period. Railway engineer George Stephenson has lived and is buried in the town. The soccer goalkeeper Gordon Banks has played here for a few years and the wife of the scout movement's founder Robert Baden-Powell came from here. 18.09 After buying an ice cream each, we are now sitting in front of the church. In the grass, a small child crawls around among pigeons. It resembles a cheetah sneaking up on gazelles. The bench we sat on has a plaque that says that the municipal board arranged the bench in connection with the 50th anniversary of the peace after the Second World War.
West Gate, Mansfield.
New Beetwell Street, Chesterfield.
Beautiful pub in Chesterfield.
Chesterfield Market.
A customer with an expensive car has parked.
Rykneld Square, Chesterfield.
18.38 At the Chesterfield railway station, we each redeemed a train ticket. Unfortunately, the carriage shelves on the train are not suitable for receiving the backpacks.
19.05 After a very short fast train journey we were spit out together with the other passengers at Sheffield Station. After documenting a fountain we are now sitting on a black marble bench thinking about which way to go to get to our next accommodation here in Sheffield. We will spend two nights here in the city which is the capital of South Yorkshire.
19.26 Sheffield's city center is refreshed and almost feels a little American. Now we take another bench break. We are so slowly making our way to our future home in the city. 19.47 Our walk through the heart of the city has taken us to West Street which has a number of simpler restaurants. We have managed to find a KFC that we have not been to before. Also, we have eaten something we will never eat again. 20.29 It's nice to have dinner finished when we check in after a long, intense day. Along the way we bought juice and a piece of chocolate. Now we are in room 17 at the Wilson Carlile Center (https://www.wilsoncarlilecentre.org.uk). Breakfast will be delivered to us outside the room door tomorrow morning, a holdover from the pandemic routines. The delivery is made by a porter. Isn't that one at a college? The Wilson Carlisle Center is a conference center and accommodation facility operated by the Church Army. It is a charitable organization that to some extent has similar activities to the Salvation Army. However, it is not a church. 21.39 Now we're going to treat ourselves to coffee and cake. It's nice to mostly relax after this long day.
Church of Saint Mary and All Saints with its peculiar spire.
Chesterfield Station with Gerorge Stephenson outside the entrance.
We have just got off the train in Sheffield.
Furnival Square, Sheffield.
22.20 We start looking forward to tomorrow. Then we will see more of Sheffield, which is one of England's largest cities with 556,500 inhabitants. It is named after the River Sheaf which flows through the town. During the 19th century, Sheffield became world famous for its steel production. Several industrial inventions were developed here, including the crucible and stainless steel. Sheffield also has the world's two oldest football clubs, Sheffield FC and Hallam FC. You don't notice any of these in our times when the big teams in the city are instead Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday.
22.36 Our plans to go to football tomorrow don't seem to be going as we wanted. We only find tickets to seats behind the goals. The game we plan to watch is Sheffield United's home game against Millwall from London. It's the second round of games in The Championship, England's second highest football series. 23.23 It's a hell of a lot of trouble to get tickets online. The number of tickets per person is limited to one and it is unlikely that it will be possible anyway. 23.40 There will be new plans. We give up buying tickets online and visit the ticket office on site tomorrow morning instead. There we buy tickets and check if we can take the small backpacks into the Bramall Lane football ground.
Saturday 6th of August
07.49 Outside the room door were our breakfast bags as promised. However, we did not see any porter. In the bags were an apple, a small juice package, a muffin and a piece of chocolate each. It's not much, but always something. We can top up with more nutrition later.
08.54 It wasn't a piece of chocolate as I first thought. It was rather a piece of compressed muesli. How will it go for us today on the last Saturday of the trip? Will there be any football for us? What do we have time to see here in Sheffield? 10.14 It was almost flawless to find all the way to Sheffield United's home stadium. We went in the wrong direction for a while but soon realized our mistake. Is it just as easy to buy tickets here at Bramall Lane, a fine arena with a capacity of 32,750 spectators? 10.28 We queued for a while inside Sheffield United's Ticket Office. It certainly went well for us. There were no problems with ticket purchase. We have paid £29.00 each for our places on one of the rows behind the goal. The girl who sold the tickets was helpful and educational. Ahead of us in line was a man who wanted to transfer his old father's place in the stands to himself. There are many who have season tickets and a fixed seat for every home game. Now we're going to do something else before kick-off at 3 p.m. Another good news is the fact that the small backpacks are welcome inside. 10.36 On the way from Bramall Lane we saw the Swedish flag hanging in the window of The Cricketers Arms Pub. That's because Bramall Lane was one of the stadiums used during the Women's European Football Championship. Here Sweden's ladies played 1-1 against the Netherlands, won 2-1 against Switzerland and lost the semi-final against England 0-4. 10.50 Some distance from where we are currently sitting there are some acquaintances, Greggs and Costa Coffee. Are they going to assist us today as well? We are currently a bit more central in Sheffield.
In this building is our room.
Wilson Carlile Centre, Sheffield.
Morning walk towards ticket purchase.
Saint Mary's Church, Sheffield.
Bramall Lane, home of Sheffield United FC.
Memories from the recently concluded football European Championship.
11.14 It's noisy around us where we sit at Costa Coffee's outdoor tables. We are close to the Peace Gardens square. On the way here, we walked along The Moor shopping area with its wide pedestrian street.
11.40 On our continued walk through central Sheffield, we have found the city's "Walk of Fame". There were stars dedicated to local heroes such as the rock band Def Leppard, singer Joe Cocker, runner Sebastian Coe and not least Monty Python member Michael Palin. Now some Millwall supporters passed. They are going to prepare for the upcoming match in a pub. 11.55 The church tower of the city's cathedral, Sheffield Cathedral, stretches high into the sky. Behind me is a tram. Wondering how to pay if you want to travel with these means of transport? 12.07 The answer to the question just asked about the trams is that you buy a ticket on board. We are now sitting on a bench in front of Sheffield City Hall. At the other end of the square is a police car and some policemen. At the time of writing, two other policemen are riding by. They seem to be preparing for the visitors from London, the Millwall fans who will be watching the same game as us in three hours. In addition to these, there is a war monument here on the square. The 27 meter high monument was erected in 1925 to commemorate the Sheffielders who lost their lives in the First World War. 12.41 On the way home to our room, bought drinks and baguettes at Greggs. We need something to eat before the football game. At home, the room has not been cleaned. it has become increasingly common to skip the cleaning of rooms in various accommodations. Sometimes it is referred to the pandemic and sometimes to environmental reasons. Now we will relax and recharge for the upcoming match. 13.38 Once again we have eaten baguettes from Greggs. I think the trash we left outside the bedroom door this morning has been picked up. However, I know for sure that it has not been cleaned in this room.
The Moor, Sheffield.
Peter grabs a bite at Costa Coffee on Pinstone Street.
Sheffield Town Hall.
Peace Gardens, Sheffield.
Sheffield remembers the city's heroes.
Sheffield Cathedral.
13.47 Now we hand over the room to a potential and possible cleaning patrol. We ourselves will walk towards the summer football experience. Sheffield United will host Millwall in the second round of The Championship. Christer has actually seen Sheffield United play once before. It was at the end of July 1992 when the team was on a summer tour in Sweden. It was then a 4-0 victory against the village team Offerdal.
14.21 It took its time to walk to Bramall Lane. We weren't the only ones heading there and the pubs along the way were packed. It took at least as long to find our seats inside the arena. We were sent here and there by young match hosts who knew nothing about anything. 14.56 The warm-up on the field is over and we in the audience have been given the chance to pay tribute to a European champion. It is national team player Alex Greenwood who is on the field together with her boyfriend, Sheffield United player Jack O'Connell. Soon it's kick-off between Sheffield United and Millwall FC. 15.03 So at the start of the match, soon everyone got to feel the ball. 15.08 A long ball from the goalkeeper finds Iliman Ndiaye in the attack and it's 1-0 to Sheffield United. There are calls for offside, but it wasn't. 15.14 One of the best players in the home team is centre-back Anel Ahmedhodžić, a Swedish player of Bosnian origin who repeatedly makes offensive runs. The guys behind us in the audience are really impressed. Anel was born in Malmö and previously played in Malmö FF. He has chosen to represent Bosnia Herzegovina at national team level. 15.21 Sheffield United dominate in possession and goal chances. Will we finally get to see a home team win a game we watch on our travels?
Police officers await a visit from London.
Sheffield City Hall.
We have arrived at Bramall Lane.
Christer's match ticket.
In good time we have taken our seats.
The players warm up at Bramall Lane.
15.24 A quick attack, an opening pass, a rounded goalkeeper and the Norwegian player Sander Berge scores 2-0 from an almost impossible angle. The audience is in a really good mood.
15.43 The home team has just received a penalty which away keeper Bartosz Białkowski saves. It's still 2-0 and almost half time. 15.55 At half-time I took the opportunity to stretch my legs. Things look bright for the home team. 16.06 The second half has barely started and Sheffield United are already pressing. If we're lucky, we'll see more goals. 16.19 Millwall have played much better for a while, turned up the tempo and entered the game seriously. They just had a good chance on a corner. Now the game turned and 3-0 was close. 16.30 Today's attendance is 27,738. I wonder if I've ever been to a match with more spectators? That is an impressive number for a game in the second highest division. 16.40 There are good chances from both teams but the result 2-0 stands. 16.49 There will be five minutes of added time. Wow, we'll finally see it happen, a victory for the home team! 17.10 Having previously seen two ice hockey matches and five football matches on the trips without the home team winning, it was finally a home victory. Sheffield United have beaten Millwall 2-0.
The match has started.
There are 27,738 attending Bramall Lane this afternoon.
Final minutes of the match.
We two travelers on the stand.
On the way home after the game.
Tonight we have a Turkish dinner at Efes Restaurant.
17.41 On the way home from the match, we visited Al Amir, a small shop (nothing for the claustrophobic) with an international selection and bought coffee snacks and drinks there. Now we are back at home in our room. No one has been here and done anything resembling cleaning since we left.
17.58 We look up some curiosities from the match we just saw. It was not offside at the 1-0 goal. 19.26 We think about what to do during the last days of the trip. What do we see, what do we do and how do we then set up the journey home? First, however, we have to plan the last evening here in Sheffield where dinner will be the main activity. 20.28 Now we go out to see which restaurant seems most appealing. 20.58 It was the Turkish Efes Restaurant (https://www.efesbargrill.co.uk) on Glossop Road that caught us. Here we will of course drink Efes, Turkish beer. It was something we chose because it said draft, draft beer. Now it's just a draft beer in name. In addition, there will be Mixed Shish as solid food. 21.55 Turkish food is always really good, but the downside is that there can be quite small servings of food on the plated sometimes. 22.30 It's time for another evening with coffee and final planning about how we will get around during the coming day. There is, hopefully, an overnight stay left on this long journey.
Christer has received his food at Efes Restaurant.
Mixed Shish, a good dinner.
You can see 116 photos from August 3 in this photoalbum.
You can see 68 photos from August 4 in this photoalbum.
You can see 82 photos from August 5 in this photoalbum.
You can see 80 photos from August 6 in this photoalbum.