‘Kinnear’ing the End

Hello, Bryn here. I’ve been procrastinating on this blog, as usual, however this one has been especially difficult to sit down and do. I have been trying to soak up every last minute as our time is quickly coming to an end (whaaaat)?!

We last spoke from Split, Croatia, on our way to Amsterdam. This stop wasn’t originally on our itinerary but we thought it would be an easy and quick detour on our way to London, with cheap connecting flights.

Well. It was quick, but not easy or cheap, as we missed our flight out. I will get to this in a bit...

The houses of Amsterdam

One of MANY canal views.

The weather was sunny but quite cold as we weren’t used to anything below 22 degrees for quite awhile. We noticed everything to be very high tech, including our first dinner where we had endless beer and wine controlled by scanning a hotel card. I got a little too excited and the next morning took awhile to get going...We spent two full days there and explored the beautiful canal-lined streets on foot and by bike (my fav), took a ferry across the river to the artistic or “hipster” side of town, and visited the Body Works Museum. It was apparently too fascinating for our nerdy Physio minds, as we weren’t able to fully get through it all before closing. Yes, we did a walk trough the Red Light District. And yes, Mitch did run into a pole (it still makes me laugh). I think he was a bit ... distracted. 

The happiest body works display?

The negative was our shuttle to the airport was stuck in traffic and we missed bag drop by FOUR minutes. No big deal, you think? Huge deal for British Airways, apparently. We weren’t allowed on the flight. Pardon me?? After some frustrating conversations, we finally accepted the loss, booked another flight for later that day with another company, and pouted (mostly me) on the grass outside with some wine. Amsterdammit!

[Public service announcement #1: British Airways always oversell their flights, and therefore, don’t care about telling you that you can’t fly. On top of that, customer service is piss poor. #2: DO NOT, I repeat, do not fly to Luton Airport “London.” It’s far away, the construction has been ongoing for ever, and it takes an insane amount of time to get through passport control].

The positive was that I successfully landed a job while in Amsterdam. I will be working for Interior Health in... Kamloops! Mitch will be at a private clinic downtown. 

It’s actually more difficult to find a parking spot for a bicycle, than a car in Amsterdam.

A quick sleep and a traditional English breakfast later, we got over our incident, and set out to see as much of London as we could in one day. Our stops included: Kensington Palace (no sign of Meagan and Harry), the Marble Arch, Hyde Park with the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey (where Kate and Will were married), Palace of Westminster, Big Ben (under construction), Trafalgar Square, Stamford Bridge (where Chelsea plays), St. Paul’s Cathedral, Flat Iron square, and finally a picnic on Primrose Hill. This was a beautiful stop with a great view of the city- the best part was that it was a recommendation from a local with minimal tourists. If this wasn’t a busy enough day, we also FaceTimed a landlord to see our new home in Kamloops. A crazy few days...

Buckingham Palace.

Westminster Abbey (above and below).

And this is where we started our “Kinnear Roadtrip.” When Mitchell was in grade 11, he did a two month exchange to St. Andrews, Scotland. He was blessed to be paired up with the lovely Kinnear family: Sally, Douglas, Ben, Duncan, Hamish and Fiona. After reaching out to them, they so kindly offered up their homes, beds, and couches to stay with them throughout the UK. 

Our first stop was two nights with Hamish who took us around his home base of the Docklands (still London) while we scrambled our way through the city to pick up our rental car. My favourite was biking by the river to make it to this really old pub. Not only was it full of history but it came equipped with a hanging gibbet, which was used (in the 16th century) for sailors who were drunk and got out of hand. Their executions were made public by being put on display over the River Thames, as an example of what will happen to those sailors who do break the law.

Hamish and Mitchell standing on opposite sides of the Greenwich Mean Time timeline.

We made our way over the Tower Bridge, out of London with a half hour detour to Windsor! Confession: I have realized I am slightly obsessed with the Royal Family following Harry and Meagan’s weddings, and my binge watching stints of “The Crown” on Netflix. I was so excited to see the Castle and St. George’s Cathedral (where the wedding took place), and Mitchell was so amazing to drive out there and give me a whole... seven minutes to explore it... when it wasn’t even open yet. So basically I saw the gates. Sooo I guess I’m going back to London one day.

Windsor Castle

Apparently a little bit late, and slightly underdressed.

His madness did have a method, though, as we needed to meet his cousin Tyler in Oxford to explore the city before heading on to Bristol. Tyler did a wonderful job of showing us around the real life “Harry Potter World,” aka the colleges of Oxford University. The architecture was stunning, and it definitely felt like we were in a story book. 

Quidditch playing field (Magdalen college)

Magdalen Chapel

Tag! Mitchell here...

The youngest Kinnear, Fiona, has been fortunate enough to buy her very own flat in charming Bristol. We were fortunate enough to sleep on her brand new (and super comfy) sofa. While she is amidst her PhD in dietetics, she made time to show us around her hood, including taking us to some delicious and gluten free restaurants.  Bristol is where many people, who want the city atmosphere without the madness of London, end up. It seems they even get better weather, too!

Soaking up sunshine in Bristol in the walls of River Avon.

The houses of Clifton (Bristol).

With the vast network of roads in England, it’s relatively easy to get from one place to the other.  The only real hassle is the mass of vehicles.. and the parking.. and the navigation. Nevertheless, we managed to drive in to the countryside to visit my exchange friend, Tim Ennis and his lovely family, in Dursley. After a nice stroll in the hills, they treated us to a lunch of “snacky bits” in their sunny garden.  I hope it’s not another 12 years before we get to visit again!

On our way to Cardiff, we made a short detour to Bath, where we soaked in the beauty of the Roman buildings and variety of “cute” shops.  The first stop in Wales, was Cardiff castle.  Parking was once again the limiting factor with regards to how much time we could spend on the grounds but we managed a tour of the house, before wandering into the Keep and then exploring the bunker. The bunker was neat but very creepy, as they had an actual radio broadcast recordings of sirens and bombs dropping. It is thought that 1800 people used this bunker during the bombings by the Luftwaffe.

Bath Abbey

Cardiff Castle Keep.

Moving on, we met up with Auntie Val’s relatives for a glorious evening of tea, supper, conversation and the adventures of Tintin. We also met a beautiful labra-doodle named Juno, who made a strong case for her breed as the right type for Bryn and I (eventually... but sooner rather than later, probably). I think we lapsed in telling them that we’d just be visiting for one night, because hey had fully stocked their pantry and fridge with gluten free food and beer—enough for a week!

[Side note from Bryn: Auntie Val has been a neighbour of ours for years and years, and is one of the most amazing ladies I have ever known. Her and my Uncle Dick were quickly “adopted” to our family, and have been such a support to me since I was born. Interestingly enough, their Welsh heritage led to their suggestion to name me “Bryn.” Uncle Dick has since passed away, but it was so touching to meet his side of the family across the ocean. They were so amazing in taking us in, and it felt like we had known each other for years].

Eve, Alan, Suzanne (Auntie Val and Uncle Dick’s relatives) and us.

Juno and Mitchell 

After saying goodbye in the AM, we made tracks north, to meet up with the next Kinnear, Duncan.  The drive through Wales was glorious, and enroute we saw several Bryn’s, sheep-speckled mountain landscapes and even the Mach loop, where military aircrafts practice low level flying maneuvers.

One of the many Bryn’s spotted in Wales. Bryn means “hill” or “hillside.” 

We met with Duncan and his girlfriend, Kat in the region of Snowdonia, on lake Bala. They were well equipped for activities and camping, but the weather was less than favourable. Instead of SUPing, we went for a nice walk, before getting into our first camping mode of 2018.  Sure, we had an air mattress, but the tent that Duncan and Kat so generously provided was not large enough to house it. Regardless, after a few rounds of monopoly deal, we squeezed into our cave and had surprising sound sleeps. The wind was howling something fierce the next morning, but no trees tumbled on us and we were up and at ‘em in time enough to get to Lake District at a reasonable hour.

Duncan and I with lake Bala in the background.

(Side note:  I can’t be certain if what you’re reading is the same as it sounds as I am writing it, but I feel as though the Irish have influenced the way I see and speak/write the English language... maybe more on this later)

Though we were tired, we managed to get out for a lovely 10km walk through the most beautiful of England’s countryside. Our walk consisted of walking through farmland, sheepful hills, and along waterfalls and riverbanks.  It would have been easy to spend at least one more day exploring Lake District, but we had to make moves towards Scotland.

Fox slippers

Bryn finally understands the difference between sheep and lamb.

River Brathat passing through Skelwith Bridge (Lake District).

Not as brave or nimble as I used to be, but I managed to climb this big (oak?) tree.

The drive to Scotland was like driving through a playing board of Catan, except Bryn didn’t hate every moment of it... there were patches of hayfields (grain), forest (timber), quarry (ore and brick) and an over abundance of sheep.

Now, ever since our arrival in the United Kingdom, most people have been hyping Edinburgh up, and despite some of the most terrible weather we’ve seen in 6 months, it didn’t disappoint.  It was cold and at times VERY rainy, but when we finally found my old friend, James Kennedy, we climbed Arthur’s Seat, relatively unscathed.  That evening, we walked to a couple of pubs, enjoyed some tapas and met some wonderful people.  The next day, we signed up for not one, but two walking tours! The first was to get a glimpse of Edinburgh’s history, and the second was to get a rundown on the infamous, Edinburgh Castle.  I’d love to get into the history of it all, but I won’t.  This blog is already too long and my memory of the tour has gaps, probably due to the sporadic torrential downpours that had us seeking cover. One thing that I will mention, is there is a piece of land declared to belong to Canada, just outside the walls. Neato!

A night out with James Kennedy and company, in Edinburgh.

St. Giles Cathedral.

Finally, not the last of the Kinnears, but the last of the ones we would get to visit in the UK. My original billet mate, Ben, was away on his honeymoon, but his parents, Sally and Douglas, were so kind to host us for three nights in St. Andrews.  I remember the Kinnears being an active family and they haven’t slowed down a touch! They have done heaps of work on their house, have an immaculate garden and on top of upgrading me from the basement to the top level, they managed to get us out on two Fife coastal walks! That’s not even all! They fed us amazing home cooked meals, drove us to see some highland cows and took us out for a few holes on the St. Andrews Links. 

Sally and Douglas Kinnear along a portion of the Fife Coastal Walk.

The iconic Swilken bridge of the 18th hole at St. Andrews Old Course.

Coffee break with Harris and Douglas.

Sally pressured Me to go for a swim in the North Sea at East Sands.

The remains of St. Andrews cathedral.

[Bryn again, as Mitch missed a very crutial bit of information about St. Andrews. I think it’s safe to say that it was my favourite stop in the UK. Of course, the hospitality and beautiful scenery had a lot to do with it, but also, it’s where Prince William met Kate! Word on the street is it may also be where she dumped him the first time]. 

As much as we loved Scotland, it was time to hop the north channel to Belfast, Ireland. This is where we met up with our moms, after leaving them alone for 4 days on their long journey from Kelowna to Dublin. A lot of people asked if they knew each other well enough to leave them alone for that long, but after receiving videos and pictures of them singing and partying with the Dublin locals, we knew they would be just fine... We had an excellent Airbnb for 4 nights, and though some said it would be too long in the capital of Northern Ireland, it was the perfect amount of time. We saw all the main sights via the “Hop on Hop off,” did a tour along the Giant’s Causeway coastal route, and visited the St George’s Market, all while fitting in an ample amount of Guiness drinking.

View of the Giant’s Causeway coast, from across the Carrick-a-rede ropebridge.

The hexagonal columns at Giant’s Causeway.

Unusually sunny days for Ireland and record breaking temperatures in the forecast!

We are currently in our very busy “Overland Tour,” hence why it’s taken us so long to get an up to date blog post.  We will save this tour for a post of its own, though... sadly our last week of travel.  Thanks for tuning in and sorry for the delays!