Epic United Kingdom Trip

As alluded to last time, Shannon and I joined some other family members in September for a trip to the English village of Combe Martin, where my great-grandfather Richard Norman was born in 1850. He emigrated as a young man to Utah, and now lies interred in the city cemetery within walking distance of my current home.

While in the area, it seemed appropriate to see a bit more of the United Kingdom. We spent a few days in London, including visiting the places I lived near Baker Street back in 1991 when doing a summer internship.

Back then, I went on a day trip with some other students, where the last stop was supposed to be Warwick Castle. Unfortunately we arrived just as it was closing, and they wouldn’t let us in. So having the chance to go there again on this recent trip, I ran around like a little kid in a candy shop, while Shannon, who had already seen enough castles, thank you, relaxed.

Another stop was in Stratford-upon-Avon, where there is another family tie. I just recently learned that William Shakespeare is my first cousin, fourteen times removed.

We also spent some time in Yorkshire, where Shannon’s ancestors are from, and made it up to Scotland to see Afton Water, after which our daughter is named. Edinburgh’s surprise highlight for me was a Harry Potter walking tour. I hadn’t known that J.K. Rowling had written the books there, and it was fun to see some of the inspiration for elements of the stories.

Stirling was as far north as we ventured, and by then even I had seen enough castles for a couple of weeks, thank you. We skipped the long drive back down the country with a flight from Glasgow to London, then made the trip back to Lehi in considerably less time and discomfort than great grandpa Norman certainly endured.

Here are the epic highlights from the trip; full screen with sound is recommended 🙂