BEKONSCOT A MODEL VILLAGE OFFERS A FINE DAY OUT

As the sign says, Bekonscot is a model village and railway.

We boarded a train at Marylebone London and headed west to Beaconsfield. A short walk took us to Bekonscot.

We followed the winding path in the miniature village to see a great variety of scenes- cottages, castles, industrial works, airports, waterways, a zoo, a circus and more.

Watch this video to get an overview of the village.

The circus tent




A lion at the zoo

The race




Trains continually run everywhere throughout the village.

And many scenes are animated like this model farm and windmill.

There's a lot going on at the Bekonscot circus.

Here, the children are on the playground by their cottages.

Enjoy a funfair in this creative scene.

And then there was trouble--in the distance, a cottage is on fire.

Enjoy some more scenes from our visit.

See more places to visit in the   United Kingdom

Bekonscot Model Village is located at Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. 

Bekonscot in Beaconsfield on GOOGLE MAPS

Here's the link to their website http://www.bekonscot.co.uk/

There is a modest entrance fee.

You can buy refreshments onsite or enjoy a picnic lunch at their facilities.

It wasn't crowded when we went 6 May 2016

You might like this fun and informative guide to British words and phrases.

Mind the Gap 2 on    AMAZON      and    GOOGLE

Please check out my website  suttong.com 

KEW GARDENS ENGLAND

The Royal Botanical Gardens (Kew Gardens; www.kew.org) offers a floral feast, a pleasant place to walk, and a place to learn. The gardens are open every day except 24 and 25 December.

We visited in May 2016. We took the train from London to Kew Gardens Station, which is near the Victoria Gate. You pass several local shops between the station and the gate. There's more information on the website.








In addition to a variety of gardens, you can visit Kew Palace and Royal Kitchens. The first royals here were George II and Queen Caroline. Perhaps a more famous monarch is George III. His wife, Queen Charlotte has a cottage nearby. The buildings are not open all yar so check the website.








One of several interesting features is the Treetop Walkway.





There's a lot to see so we'll have to go back.




There are places to eat at Kew. And there are places to enjoy a picnic.

The shop has a range of affordable gifts.

You might like this fun and informative guide to British words and phrases.

Mind the Gap on AMAZON  and  GOOGLE

BLETCHLEY PARK ENGLAND

Bletchley Park is a beautiful campus famous for British codebreaking during World War II. It is the place where teams from MI6 and the Government Code and Cypher School performed intelligence work, including breaking the Nazi Enigma cipher system.

Enigma

Perhaps the most famous person associated with Bletchley was Alan Turing.



On our visit, we read story boards, examined machinery in the museum, participated in an informative tour of the campus, and looked at various buildings with restored rooms depicting various aspects of life at Bletchley during WWII.






When we visited in May 2016, props from the film, Imitation Game, were on display.





There's more to Bletchley than codebreaking- for example, pigeons served an important role in communication.





Plan on spending several hours. You can eat inside or enjoy a picnic lunch amidst beautiful scenery and local residents.








Tickets can be purchased online or onsite.

We obtained a discount using a Days Out Guide booklet available from Euston Station in London. That offer may not be good but you might search for other 2FOR1 offers.

Bletchley is within walking distance of the Bletchley train station. The trip from London can take 45 minutes or so.

You can purchase food and drink in the Coffee Shop at the Visitor Centre. And there is a cafe in Hut 4. Find out more on the website https://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/

You might like this fun and informative guide to British words and phrases.

Mind the Gap on AMAZON  and  GOOGLE

Bergen Norway

Bergen, Norway is a clean, colorful, port framed by mountains and water. The rich colors of many buildings draw attention to their architecture and stimulate thoughts of children's stories.

After arriving by ship, we walked a short distance to the center of Norway's second largest city, we walked through a fish market, which also sold inviting fruits and vegetables. Close to the market is a tourist center with free WIFI.







A local item of interest is the brown cheese featured below.






Part of the attractiveness are the shops along the waterfront. The quaint shops and restaurants of the Bryggen (Hanseatic Wharf) link the city to the Viking Age some 900 years ago.




You can ride a tram to the top of the nearby mountain (Floyen).






--or walk up like we did.







-- to enjoy fantastic views of Bergen







There are historic places as well including St Mary's Church and the Bergen Museum.








We found the people friendly and helpful. Most of the people in the shops spoke English. Credit cards were widely accepted--even for small purchases.

The local currency is the Norwegian krone or crown.

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Wildlife Safari Kenya

My trips to Kenya rank high in my list of favorite places to visit. The wilderness landscapes and wildlife were the highlights.

I visited with a friend , Grant Jones, and several university students. We capped off a week of helping children and families with a visit to a wildlife park and animal preserves near Nairobi.

We had not been in the park long before seeing this lion eyeing a giraffe. Even better, I got video of her chasing a giraffe. See video below for those scenes.




It was good to see people invested in the care of animals- for example this refuge for giraffes ( aka Giraffic park).




The care facility for orphaned elephants was a winner with our whole team.

Elephant

These vehicles are relatively inexpensive inclusive of a driver from Nairobi.





I'll add a few photos to wet your appetite for a safari.

Buffalo

Rhinoceros

Impala

On our way back from the park, we saw a sign about a boat ride to view hippopotamuses- so we turned in- an amazing close to the day!

I'll close this off with some notes. But first, here's a link to a YouTube video from the adventure.

A few notes.

We found the people of Kenya very friendly during both visits.
We exchanged U S dollars for Kenyan shillings at a Nairobi bank.
We hired vans and local drivers rather than risk our own driving skills. Besides, we were busy taking in all the scenery.
you can travel light by having clothes washed inexpensively in town.
It can be really hot in the summer months.

We did not have problems but you do need to be careful- there are pick-pockets.
Our return flight was full but we were well taken care of by the Kenyan Airline who put us up at a five star hotel near the airport. A few of our team did get on the scheduled flight-- bumped up to first class.
You'll pass a lookout over the rift valley on the way to the park. The toilet stop is not fancy.




You might work up an appetite - all of us enjoyed The Carnivore.




I recommend the show put on by locals at the park where we spent the night.




Connect

Website www.suttong.com

Twitter  @GeoffWSutton https://twitter.com/GeoffWSutton


Facebook Geoff W Sutton

Author Page- recent books: http://wipfandstock.com/author/view/detail/id/11609/