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This page contains links to online photo albums. Each album contains thumbnails. If you click on the thumbnail you get a larger view of the photo.
Bath is a city in south west England that has a rich history dating back to Roman times. The city contains a hot springs that was used by the Romans as a health spa. The baths that the Romans built are still visible. Bath is also a show case for Georgian architecture from the 1700's.
Conwy is a walled town in Wales. The castle and the town wall were built by Edward I as part of the "ring of iron" (a series of five castles in North Wales). These were built in 1283 to discourage any further rebellion by the unruly welsh.
Caernarfon is another castle built by Edward I as part of the "ring of iron". It was built after the Conwy castle and patterned after the city walls of Constantinople. He wanted to position himself in the eyes of the Welsh as the logical successor to the Romans. This is where the Prince of Wales (the heir to the English throne) is invested.
Beaumaris is last of the five castles in the "ring of iron". It never was finished. Eddy got distracted by Brave Heart. The castle has a massive footprint and is virtually impregnable. It is the most symetrical castle built and has two complete sets of concentric walls. It was originally planned to have much higher towers but the Scots needed pounding instead.
Edinburgh has some amazing architecture. There are a lot of wonderful, high, pointy buildings. The middle of the city is dominated by the Edinburgh Castle, which has a very long and busy history. This castle has never fallen into ruins like many others we saw. It is filled with museums.
I believe that this is the finest museum in the world (and I've seen a lot of museums). They have displays from the Greek, Egyptian, and Hittite empires. It is phenomenal to go back 3000 years by touring this museum.
The National Maritime Museum is the old seat of the British Navy that ruled the high seas. You can see the naval observatory where the prime meridian is defined. You can also see John Harrison's clocks that allowed the navy to have an accurate recording of longitude.
This river runs directly through London. There is a lot to see just within sight of the river. We have some photos of a boat trip that we took from the West Minster to the Tower of London.