Day 26 - The Angel of the North
Today we set of for North England to where Nikla, Dawesy and families come from. We hit the road around 10.00am after I took the chance to have a quick haircut and made our way to the M1 which takes you north. After travelling about 2.5 hours we stopped at a Service centre on the side of the road. If you have ever driven to Geelong on the Princes Highway and see the wayside stops then you have seen nothing. The service centres along the M1 are a combination service station, supermarket and food hall all packed into 1 huge building. In addition to this, the eating area sits directly over the freeway making a tunnel for the vehicles to pass under. It was quite an experience eating lunch and watching the traffic pass directly underneath.
After lunch the next stop was Leeds and a visit to the Headingley Cricket Ground. As there were no games, the gates were shut so we decided to walk around the ground to see if there was an open area in which we could grab a glimpse of the ground. Having found one and taking some pictures we then continued onto the Leeds Rhino rugby league ground which is located directly beside the cricket ground.
As we walked passed the rugby ground I noticed a gate had been left ajar so always the opportunist and under the guise of going ahead and asking for forgiveness if caught as opposed to asking for permission and risking being declined, I entered through the gate and commenced walking through the rugby ground. I then noticed that there was no barrier between the 2 grounds so continued to walk into the cricket ground. Jacqui, Nikla, Talia and Zac followed whilst Stephen had returned to the car to meet us on the other side of the ground from where we commenced. As we were not stopped or questioned by anyone, I walked around and took some photo's. It is a beautiful ground even though quite small on international standards with the surface in immaculate condition. After taking some photo's and enjoying the opportunity to look around the ground we started to head off when a security guard approached and asked why I was taking photo's. I then explained that I was an Australian tourist who was taking an opportunity to check out the cricket ground. The security guard was satisfied with this and I think even happy that someone was that keen to check out their cricket ground. As it turned out, the gate was open as there was a rugby game being played that night and the gate was open to let players in who had turned up early.
After checking out Leeds, we then proceeded to Newcastle where on arrival we spotted the Angel of the North and diverted to take a closer look. This is an amazing sculpture and has become one of England's iconic symbols as it signifies that you have entered North England. This also gave us a chance ot ket Zac out for a run and a toilet trip. As he had sat in the car for nearly 6 hours and had consumed a reasonable amount of sugar he was ready to take off and burn some energy. He then proceeded to find a tree to ensure the bladder was also empty prior to continuing the trip.
After spending time checking out the sculpture we then headed to Blyth where Nikla's parents and brother Martin live (as well as the home of the famous Blyth Spartans Football team). We stopped beside the beach and checked out the boardwalk and the beach houses. Again it was great to see where our hosts and their families grew up and to get some fresh sea air in the lungs.
We then took a trip through the streets of Bedlington where Nikla and Stephen went to school before arriving in Morpeth where Stephen's parents live and where we will be staying for the next 3 nights.
Tomorrow we will be heading to some of the castles around Northumberland including that used in the Harry Potter movies prior to playing the Ashes golf game. The girls are spending some time getting haircuts and checking out the local area a bit further.
The famous ashes urn complete with the original ashes from the worst score card have also made the journey in readiness for presenting to the winning nation.
After lunch the next stop was Leeds and a visit to the Headingley Cricket Ground. As there were no games, the gates were shut so we decided to walk around the ground to see if there was an open area in which we could grab a glimpse of the ground. Having found one and taking some pictures we then continued onto the Leeds Rhino rugby league ground which is located directly beside the cricket ground.
As we walked passed the rugby ground I noticed a gate had been left ajar so always the opportunist and under the guise of going ahead and asking for forgiveness if caught as opposed to asking for permission and risking being declined, I entered through the gate and commenced walking through the rugby ground. I then noticed that there was no barrier between the 2 grounds so continued to walk into the cricket ground. Jacqui, Nikla, Talia and Zac followed whilst Stephen had returned to the car to meet us on the other side of the ground from where we commenced. As we were not stopped or questioned by anyone, I walked around and took some photo's. It is a beautiful ground even though quite small on international standards with the surface in immaculate condition. After taking some photo's and enjoying the opportunity to look around the ground we started to head off when a security guard approached and asked why I was taking photo's. I then explained that I was an Australian tourist who was taking an opportunity to check out the cricket ground. The security guard was satisfied with this and I think even happy that someone was that keen to check out their cricket ground. As it turned out, the gate was open as there was a rugby game being played that night and the gate was open to let players in who had turned up early.
After checking out Leeds, we then proceeded to Newcastle where on arrival we spotted the Angel of the North and diverted to take a closer look. This is an amazing sculpture and has become one of England's iconic symbols as it signifies that you have entered North England. This also gave us a chance ot ket Zac out for a run and a toilet trip. As he had sat in the car for nearly 6 hours and had consumed a reasonable amount of sugar he was ready to take off and burn some energy. He then proceeded to find a tree to ensure the bladder was also empty prior to continuing the trip.
After spending time checking out the sculpture we then headed to Blyth where Nikla's parents and brother Martin live (as well as the home of the famous Blyth Spartans Football team). We stopped beside the beach and checked out the boardwalk and the beach houses. Again it was great to see where our hosts and their families grew up and to get some fresh sea air in the lungs.
We then took a trip through the streets of Bedlington where Nikla and Stephen went to school before arriving in Morpeth where Stephen's parents live and where we will be staying for the next 3 nights.
Tomorrow we will be heading to some of the castles around Northumberland including that used in the Harry Potter movies prior to playing the Ashes golf game. The girls are spending some time getting haircuts and checking out the local area a bit further.
The famous ashes urn complete with the original ashes from the worst score card have also made the journey in readiness for presenting to the winning nation.
