Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt
Tuesday 28th of June
08.57 Music in the form of "Everybody wants to rule the world" by Tears for fears is played on the local radio channel BBC Radio Solent via Christer's mobile phone. We have spent the first of two nights at Linden Guest House (https://www.lindensouthampton.co.uk) here in Southampton. Speaking of the channel, there will be no boat trip on the English Channel to the Isle of Wight today. We stay on land instead. We have read a bit about the neighboring town of Winchester and think it sounds more interesting than the island. Also, bus is cheaper than ferry.
09.50 Work sounds from the street pour in through our open window. Does it attract us? Does it call us to commitment? Prompted or not, here in this room we cannot remain.
10.30 What on earth is this? We can't find the bus stop for the bus we're supposed to take, Bluestar line 1 to Winchester. We have walked to the place where we saw the bus last night. There is only a red light there. Presumably the bus stopped because it was red light. There was no bus stop there at all. Now we have to find where it departs from.
10.50 A little walking and hunting has yielded results. We found a stop for bus 1. On the way there we saw two street musicians. They stood separately along a pedestrian street. He was good at guitar but worse at singing. She had a barely recorded comp but a beautiful voice. Maybe they should unite.
11.26 We have passed Eastleigh and Chandler's Ford on our journey to the north-east. Soon we should roll into the first destination of the day.
11.44 Now we have arrived in the old English capital of Winchester. We got off the bus along Jewry Street. Nearby is the beautiful Saint Peter's Catholic Church. Here in the city we will spend about two hours. It remains to be seen what we make of that time. As mentioned, Winchester was formerly the capital of England, during the 9th and 11th centuries, and before that the capital of Wessex. Then London took over until the present day. There are 48,818 inhabitants here and Winchester will be the sixteenth city we visit on this trip.
11.57 We are now close to one step down from The Great Hall. Inside The Great Hall is a replica of the round table that is said to have stood in Camelot, according to Celtic mythology King Arthur's legendary castle. There are many theories about where Camelot was located but it is most likely just a myth. Camelot may also have been the city itself where King Arthur had his castle of the same name. This is based on an old text from the 9th century. In front of us where we are sitting is some kind of monument from 2003. It is connected to Queen Elizabeth II. A search online tells us that it is the Hampshire Jubilee Sculpture. It is linked to the Queen's 50th anniversary in 2002.
16.00 We got off the slow train at Portsmouth & Southsea station. Now we are looking at some kind of war memorial. It is about casualties, civilians as well as soldiers, during the First and Second World Wars. It is called The Guildhall Square Cenotaph or just Portsmouth War Memorial.
18.40 Now our train is here. Goodbye Portsmouth! Thank you for this moment. When will we meet again?
Wednesday 29th of June
Saint Peter's Catholic Church, Winchester.
Westgate with one of Hampshire's hares in front.
High Street, Winchester.
The Great Hall, Winchester.
The car-free part of the High Street.
Alfred the Great, King of Wessex 871-899.
Guildhall, Winchester.
Peaceful in Abbey Gardens.
Winchester Cathedral.
Portsmouth & Southsea Railway Station.
Portsmouth War Memorial.
Christer is taking photos and Victoria stands where she stands.
Portsmouth Guildhall.
A beautiful pub on Guildhall Walk, Portsmouth.
Christer visits Costa Coffee in Portsmouth.
Cascades Fountain on Commercial Road.
The crew of HMS Orlando is honoured in Victoria Park.
Soon we will leave Portsmouth.
The Mayflower Village, Southampton.
Christer enjoys a good hamburger.
Peter visits The Mayflower Village.
09.00 We have just finished today's bedside breakfast here in the room at Linden Guest House. What used to be occasional events is this year standard. Christer's landlords Mitthem have announced via e-mail that they do not know the name of the man who claims to have moved into Christer's apartment. It is therefore not a new tenant who accidentally entered the wrong apartment number.
10.13 At check-out the host, an elderly man, seemed most confused. However, the hostess, an Asian woman with both a face mask and visor, was in full control. Now we are sitting in the light of the sun and the noise of the city at the medieval city gate Bargate. We're going to take it easy here in Southampton before heading to the train station in an hour or so. 10.38 The noise and the light are still around us. With packs on our backs, we walked along the High Street in a southerly direction. Now we are down at the ferry port. We are near the ruins of the Watergate and the ferry we never took yesterday. From here Red Funnel Ferries run to East Cowes on the Isle of Wight. 11.02 With remains of the old city wall next to us, we are now step by step on our way back to the railway station. 11.07 We have stopped at Arundel Tower in front of the Westquay shopping centre. There is a large-screen TV sponsored by the Southampton FC football team and a pleasant square with a built-in fountain. The TV shows tennis from the Wimbledon tournament in London. 11.36 The train ticket we wanted to buy has risen significantly in price. The price has dramatically increased from five pounds to thirteen pounds. Perhaps it can be smart not only to check online what the tickets cost, but also to buy them when the price is good.11.53 A new train journey has started. Now we will enjoy the expensive journey. It does little good to be bitter.
Holyrood Church, Southampton.
Christer at The Watergate Ruin.
14th century house on Upper Bugle Street.
Southampton FC sponsor TV broadcasts at Westquay.
The steps outside Westquay Shopping Centre, Southampton.
Southampton Central Station.
Station Roundabout, Bournemouth.
Lansdowne Roundabout, Bournemouth.
Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth.
Beale Place, Bournemouth.
Cenotaph, Bournemouth War Memorial.
Strong green colours in the Central Gardens.
15.17 Think how far everything we've done up until now during this trip feels. Even yesterday feels far away. At least now we're watching tennis from Wimbledon. We experience this with the help of the room's TV. Soon we will leave the hotel for a while.
15.55 The Wimbledon tennis tournament may be a summer travel tradition, but we usually do other things with it. It is for this reason that we have now set out to see more of Bournemouth, a nice city but difficult to get to grips with. We find no real center. 16.20 We are at the green area West Cliff Garden and are above the beautiful beach and sea. We now look out over the West Cliff Zig Zag. It is a zigzag-shaped walkway that leads from the height we are standing on down to the beach. The sea rolls in towards the sandy beach. It's windy and sunny, but no swimming weather. 16.43 Now that we have zigzagged down to the beach, we are at a cliff lift, some kind of mountain railway. This particular one is called the West Cliff Lift. If you want to take it back up to where we came from, it costs £1,85. It is also possible to buy an annual pass for 37 pounds if you are really fond of going up and down a slope. Along the promenade there are lots of small cabins/shacks for changing before swimming and for other uses. 17.00 We walked along the promenade and the beach. On that walk we have met various people and have just seen a large ferris wheel, the Bournemouth Observation Wheel. 17.15 The fun of four Frisbee-throwing guys just got a temporary break. One of the party failed to catch the flying object which smoothly dived into a stream. The Frisbee was quickly fished up and airborne again. I assume it air dries. We sit and watch this folk entertainment in the park Bournemouth Lower Gardens. 17.36 We are back in the heart of the city, more specifically in the area from where we left to get to the hotel. We begin to feel some hunger. There hasn't been any real lunch today. We're really bad with the eating on this trip. Is it lack of time or what? At least now we are at the Anglican Saint Peter's Church. Somewhere here Mary Shelley rests, the author who wrote about Frankenstein.
Lynden Court Hotel. Here we stay one night.
Peter takes it easy in the room.
Bournemouth has wonderful beaches.
Some find it warm enough to swim.
A view from West Cliff towards Bournemouth Pier.
Beach huts along the West Undercliff Promenade.
18.01 We did not find Mary's grave even though it was marked in Google Maps. Maybe she rests inside the church. However, we found the stop for tomorrow's bus. It's good to know.
18.14 We have made a decision to buy an ice cream each before the upcoming dinner. Unfortunately, we cannot find an ice cream vendor. It makes eating ice cream very difficult. 18.45 There was no ice cream. Instead, it was a chicken meal each in different forms at KFC. We were struck by a sudden lack of energy at the triangle-shaped square The Triangle and decided to prioritize the need for nutrition before style and finesse. 19.18 After the meal we looked into the neighbour's, namely the supermarket Tesco Express. There we bought a little of each for the evening. 19.51 Now we are back at home in our hotel room. A lot has been done today with. Bournemouth certainly has a lot more to offer but we have seen the beach, the central parts and some nice park areas. 22.03 We have just seen the American John Isner beat the British player Andy Murray in the Wimbledon tennis. In addition, we have seen the end of an episode of the British crime series Lewis. Now it's evening coffee. It's never wrong. 22.15 The planned coffee hour has come to nothing. The kettle is stone dead. Sadness and disappointment spread in our room. 22.39 The corpse lives! We had given up on the coffee and instead watched our comrade Roberth's first recorded video in season 2 of his biking adventure in Sweden. In the middle of watching, the kettle suddenly started. Pure magic! Now, however, we have already eaten our muffins. Can we really drink coffee without muffins? Yes! 22.58 Like last year, Roberth's video was really entertaining. He has started this year by taking the Inlandsbanan train from Brunflo to Mora and from there start cycling west through Dalarna province.
Peter writes in his journal at the West Cliff Lift.
Bournemouth Observation Wheel.
Saint Peter's Church, Bournemouth.
Thursday 30th of June
07.26 We are up earlier this morning in Bournemouth. Soon a trend, almost a tradition, will be broken. There will be no bedside breakfast in the room this day.
09.12 The first and who knows, maybe even the last buffet breakfast of the trip is over. There was no high-end selection here at the Lynden Court Hotel but it filled us up. The average age of the others who ate breakfast was the same as in a typical home for the elderly. Now we will get ready to check out and depart from Bournemouth. 09.34 We have checked out of the hotel and will now walk to Westover Road where our bus will be waiting for us. 10.09 Fresh air is always good. We take a bench break not too far from the bus stop. Here near Bournemouth Lower Gardens we are surrounded by wildlife. Most are birds and squirrels, but a rat has also been targeted. Through the park runs the small stream, The Bourne, which gave the town its name. 10.34 The public transport vehicle (bus) from Salisbury Reds will take some German speakers and us north to Salisbury in Wiltshire. In any case, I assume that the Germans are going there. There is not much else of interest along line X3. We had intended to make a trip to the famous Stonehenge outside Salisbury this day but advance booking was required and the prices were quite steep to see stones. In addition, there is a risk of rain today. In other words, it will just be Salisbury, no Stonehenge today. 12.13 Instead of sitting on board the bus, we are now sitting on a bench at Guildhall Square in Salisbury. The city has England's tallest cathedral and the English city with the most pubs per inhabitant. 46,692 inhabitants live in this historic city. 13.17 It started to rain, just as predicted. We set out on a cafe hunt. The Costa Coffee we found here at the square was being renovated and only offered Take Away coffee. Another cafe was probably too small for us and our bags. The rain picked up and we found another Costa Coffee in Old George Mall. It drips from my rain-soaked hair into the travel journal. It's bad, the ink flows out.
Breakfast time at Lynden Court Hotel.
Then we thank another room that took care of us.
We hung out with squirrels before leaving Bournemouth.
The bus to Salisbury is waiting for us.
We have arrived at Salisbury in Wiltshire.
The Guildhall, Salisbury.
13.32 We have once again ordered baps here at Costa Coffee. You can buy these breads with pork sausages or with bacon. Of course, there are vegetarian options as well, but we have not investigated them further. Now we dry off in here and hope for a break in the rain.
14.06 We sensed a relief in the rain, although it has not stopped completely. In light drizzle we have walked through the city along the High Street. We have passed a city gate, the High Street Gate. It has stood here since the 14th century. Now we are at the city's medieval cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, with its 123 meter high church tower. In there, among other things, there will be a copy of the Magna Charta. Magna Charta means "the great treaty" and was concluded in 1215 between the English king, the nobility and the clergy. The document contains a part that can be said to have inspired the freedoms and rights of the constitutions in force today and the UN charter on human rights. Here outside the cathedral, there is a shortage of dry benches to sit on. 14.12 Christer has called home to Sweden. He had received a text message saying that he needs to move his car tomorrow. It will be a bit tricky to solve that from here in England. The landlord Mitthem now knows in any case that this is not possible. Maybe they can still trim the grass even though the car is nearby? 14.31 We haven't come that far since the last time. It's raining and thundering. Rain is unnecessary. We want sun and heat on our summer trip. You shouldn't stand under trees when it's thundering, but that's exactly what we do. Otherwise, both we and our backpacks would be completely drenched. 15.16 There was a long wait for the rain to decrease in strength. Finally we got away and are now at the railway station. Here we have again redeemed an expensive ticket in a ticket machine. If we had bought the tickets by mobile, it would have been significantly cheaper. We need to plan this better in the future. Bus is clearly cheaper, but there are few bus routes between different regions of the country. 15.48 Great Western Railway's train takes us from Salisbury to Bristol. The friend Roberth has been in Hagfors today on his bicycle trip.
The River Avon flows through Salisbury.
Christer at Costa Coffee in Salisbury.
We pass the High Street Gate.
Salisbury Cathedral.
Christer in miserable weather in front of the cathedral.
Bristol Temple Meads railway station opened as early as 1840.
16.59 We have arrived in Bristol and are at the large railway station Temple Meads. Trains have passed here since 1840. The station was designed by the famous British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who was of great importance when the English railways were expanded.
17.13 Bristol Temple Meads has been left. We had some problems finding the right exit from the main station. The question now is whether we can find and have the energy to reach our next accommodation here in Bristol. It will be quite a long walk before we get there. Another question is if we can walk without getting rained on? 17.25 Our walk began along the River Avon. There is a little rain in the air but not too much. You can also take a ferry along the River Avon if you don't have time to walk. Along the river there is a lot of interesting architecture and bridges. Bristol is England's eighth largest city and the tenth largest in Great Britain. 465,900 inhabitants live here. 17.40 We have made it to the more central parts of Bristol, the part known as the Bristol Shopping Quarter. There are plenty of people on the move here. 18.16 Sure enough, we found our way to The Full Moon Backpackers (https://fmbristol.co.uk). Here we stay in room E. Around our necks we have been given key cards that we have to flick to get around. In addition to the accommodation itself, there is a popular bar and a restaurant that serves pizza. Before we checked in, we visited a small convenience store along the street Stokes Croft where we bought drinks and sandwiches. We start our stay here with a snack. 20.21 Now we have an idea about what's happening indoors here at The Full Moon. We found a toilet, shower and kitchen. What's happening out there is that it's raining. The accommodation is spacious and nice but the surroundings are quite depressing with scrawled brick walls.
We follow the river through Bristol.
Peter in room E at The Full Moon Backpackers.
The water bottle for our pasta.
Peter is having dinner at The Spaghetti Incident.
21.18 The fancy Vietnamese dinner restaurant The Viet Kitchen only took cash, something we miss. We are not going to look for an ATM just to eat there. Now instead it will be dinner at the Italian restaurant The Spaghetti Incident (https://www.thespaghettiincident.co.uk). Sure, we could have looked a little more for cheaper restaurants, but we want to eat now.
22.09 What was served (homemade pasta) was good and just enough for a good price. So why is the restaurant named as it is? When the Italian owner was visiting a cousin in Germany, he was asked what his restaurant in Bristol should be called? When he then saw a child in the family completely covered in spaghetti and meat sauce, the choice of name became natural. 22.55 We are at home in room E and a rainy day is coming to an end. We hope for better weather tomorrow. Then when a new month begins, we will make a day trip and also see more of Bristol. We will be staying two nights here at The Full Moon Backpackers.
Friday 1st of July
08.48 So it is July again, it is a month when we are rarely in Sweden. However, that tradition was broken due to the pandemic in the years 2020 and 2021 when we traveled around at home in Sweden. The weather could have been better this morning. The last time we entered the month of July on foreign soil was in Tucumán, Argentina in 2019.
09.40 It's only +15 degrees outside. We have again had bedside meals as breakfast. Soon we will get down to business and do something on this day as well. 10.09 At some point every summer trip, what happened today happens. My sandals can stay in the room. Today it will be tennis shoes and socks that apply in the rainy weather. My feet seem surprised. 10.29 We are back in the bear pit. The Bearpit is the name of the small low square that is close to our accommodation. Various viaducts and walkways meet there. We are on our way to the bus station, Bristol Coach Station. From here we will take a bus both today and tomorrow. 10.50 Now let's say we'll see you later today to the city of Bristol. It's time for a bus trip to the neighbouring city of Bath. The bus line we travel with is called X39 and the company is again First Bus. 11.11 The bus makes many stops. We still haven't made it out of Bristol. The journey takes its time. In front of Christer sits a worn-out young man with a bottle of red wine. 11.37 We pass the suburb of Twerton on our way into Bath. Twerton Park football stadium can be seen. Today, a fairly unknown team, Bath City FC, plays here, but previously it was an arena for league football. Bristol Rovers borrowed this arena between the years 1986-1996.
The Full Moon Backpackers, Bristol.
A seagull scouts at The Bearpit.
Bristol Coach Station.
Plenty of butterflies on St Lawrence Street in Bath.
The Roman Baths have given the city its name.
The medieval abbey church of Bath Abbey.
11.54 Ahead of us the river Bristol Avon flows calmly by. Around us we have the city of Bath. We have just left the bus station and are sitting on a bench at Bath Quays thinking about what to do with our hours here. Bath takes its name from the Roman baths in the city and has had two periods of greatness. The Romans liked the area so much that they built bathhouses around the city's natural hot springs. The nobility in the 18th century built grand houses and streets that make the city feel bigger than it is. There are 94,782 inhabitants living here.
12.23 After we have been outside the Roman baths and the monastery church Bath Abbey, we now take a bench break. The coffee places we found, Costa Coffee and Caffè Nero, are popular. In other words, it was really full. There are a lot of people on the move in the city today. 12.42 Now we must have coffee and pastries. We are at a coffee chain we have been at before. No, it's not Espresso House, Costa Coffee or Starbucks. It's Caffè Nero. I don't remember exactly when we last visited this chain. We found a different branch than the well-visited one we saw before. Old Bond Street is the address for this one. Here we have stepped down into the basement to find seats. 13.16 There is a long and narrow staircase from the entrance and cash desk down to the seats and toilets in the basement. A number of stiff-legged pensioners have complained about it in polite British English as they struggle down the stairs. All of a sudden we feel young and fit, which easily takes us up the stairs to new experiences. 13.28 Next to us is now the square/roundabout known as The Circus. Here it is green and it is surrounded by beautiful 18th-century Georgian-style houses. On the way here, we also passed Queen Square.
The big maple tree at Kingsmead Square in Bath.
Christer in the basement of Caffè Nero.
Lansdowne Road, Bath.
We have reached Bath Abbey from another direction.
Pulteney Bridge, Bath.
Pulteney weir in Bristol Avon.
13.44 With rain in the air, we are currently documenting the Pulteney Bridge in pictures and on video. It is a beautiful covered bridge that spans the Bristol Avon. The bridge was built in 1774 and contains both shops and cafes.
13.57 We have walked from the views at the Grand Parade down to Bath Spa railway station. There we temporarily sought shelter from the pouring rain. 14.19 So it is time to return back to Bristol. The rain is back in full force and we are inside the bus station waiting to board. The gate opened and we boarded the bus. Our cycling friend Roberth has reached Karlstad at home in Sweden. 14.43 For a while we have been standing still somewhere in Bath. Is there something wrong with the bus? 14.53 The bus had problems with the brakes. We had to get off and have changed buses at the Park Lane stop. Someone has forgotten their glasses here. They are set up on a gate. 15.22 We are slowly moving back towards Bristol. The bus has been filled with students from Oldfield School who will then get off at all possible stops. The journey is slow. Now we will try to see as much of Bristol as possible during the rest of this Friday. 16.00 Once back at Bristol Coach Station, we bought lunch bags at the Greggs bakery chain. Now we have to find somewhere to eat our baguettes and drink our juice.
Parade Gardens, Bath.
Saint John The Evangelist's Church, Bath.
Someone has brought a handsome car to town.
Peter switch buses at Park Lane in Bath.
Saint Peter's Church was bombed during World War II and is now a ruin.
Advanced gymnastics at Saint Peter's Church.
16.08 We have walked through the center and made our way up to Castle Park. There is the church ruin after Saint Peter's Church, which was bombed during the Second World War. In front of it, a man stands on his hands and performs some form of gymnastics or yoga.
16.24 Now things are starting to happen again. We have found a bench in the shade inside Castle Park. Here we will have our snack. 17.01 After the lunch bag, we mostly walked around a bit. We have tried in vain to find a toilet here in the park but it is only on information boards, not in reality. Instead we went to the Cabot Circus Mall to find one. We are now back in another part of Castle Park. 17.19 We are now at Queen Square. Here, a young man from the language travel company EF is dividing two teams. They are going to play football. 17.40 As tradition dictates, we will soon cross a bridge where couples in love have hung padlocks. This time it's Pero's Bridge. We are now in the Bristol Harbor area. It's Friday night and people are enjoying themselves in the bars and restaurants here in the area. Pero Jones, after whom the bridge is named, was a slave from the Caribbean who was brought here to Bristol in the 18th century. 17.52 As so many times before, the task of the afternoon or evening is to find somewhere to have dinner. We don't have an obvious alternative so far. We walk from the harbour north and document a little bit of everything we meet on our way. 18.18 So another cathedral has received an at least superficial, external visit from us. In addition to the great Bristol Cathedral dating back to the 12th century, we have seen the city's library and Bristol City Council, loosely translated as the city's town hall. Now a Dalmatian dog walks by. 18.28 On the way from the cathedral, we saw lots of young people gathered at the luxury hotel Bristol Marriott Royal. Possibly there could be a prom or something similar going on.
Cabot Circus Mall, shopping center in central Bristol.
Peter in Bristol.
Christer in Castle Park.
The weekend has started in Bristol.
Queen Square, Bristol.
Bristol Marina.
18.56 The sightseeing this afternoon ends along Colston Avenue at another monument to the victims of the world wars. These monuments are called cenotaphs. Some distance away an Asian man is sitting with a newly purchased frying pan. He is removing the packaging. Across from us on a bench sits a man with a take-away mug and a flower broom. Is he waiting for someone?
19.16 Today's dinner will be simple. We are tired of looking for restaurants. The ones we find are usually full of people or have Take Away. At the small restaurant Rayan Kebab Pizza on Baldwin Street, it will be a kebab meal. 19.40 It was a simple meal, but we got what we needed at a good price. Now we will find our way through the center back to The Full Moon where we live. 20.07 Before heading back to the accommodation we detoured up to Stokes Croft to buy some more for breakfast tomorrow and to look at local mystery artist Banksy's mural Mild Mild West depicting a teddy bear throwing a molotov cocktail. 20.53 Home sweet home. After seeing two cities, it is now nice to have already eaten and just have a quiet evening in the room. 21.10 After some trouble (difficult booking website), Christer has managed to book bus tickets with the bus company National Express for the trip to Exeter and Torquay tomorrow. It will be a longer and a shorter trip. We had planned to travel a lot with that bus company because they have cheap tickets but we have found that they are often sold out and are only really cheap if you buy them well in advance. 23.30 After a while in the literary world, I will now shortly check into the realm of sleep.
Bristol Cathedral.
Bristol City Council.
War Memorial (Cenotaph) on Colston Avenue.
Mild Mild West, street art in Stokes Croft, Bristol.
You can see 69 photos from June 28 in this photoalbum.
You can see 59 photos from June 29 in this photoalbum.
You can see 38 photos from June 30 in this photoalbum.
You can see 80 photos from July 1 in this photoalbum.