The first stop in England was the city of Bath.  The city was built around natural hot springs and has been a popular tourist/vacation spot since the Romans first built a bath there.  The Roman baths have been excavated and the site is now a very well maintained historic location.  The water is very hot and quite green in colour.  You wouldn't catch me bathing in it!

In the northwest of England is a fabulous series of rock formations set on a cliff top - The Brimham Rocks.  They are very stable and visitors are allowed to climb and clamber on them which makes it much more fun.  Each of the formations has a name and many provide spectacular views over the farming country below.

Although I love the castles in Scotland and Wales, the Abbeys would have to be my favorites in England.  Most are currently ruined, but are now under the protection of English Heritage which maintains them and does restoration work. Both Fountains and Rievaulx Abbeys provide endless hours of fascinated wondering and both have grounds to explore.

While staying near Lancaster we happened to catch the Westmoorland Rose Show with many juried exhibitions of both individual roses and arrangements.  Many vendors were also on location and I was glad I didn't really have a garden of my own or I might have spent too much money on plants. 

Our last few days we drove east through the Yorkshire dales and then back west along Hadrian's Wall.  The dales are an experience all their own.  The roads are all very narrow and windy with rolling hills all around.  Each meadow (not pastures :) has its own stone barn for storing the hay and the area is protected so no new buildings can be built.  All the farms are still small with quite a bit of dairy farming to supply the milk for the Wensleydale Cheese Factory.  All the milk for that factory comes from the local area and supposedly the wildflowers in the area give the cheese a distinct flavor.

Following Hadrian's Wall back to the west we stopped at one of the Roman forts.  It was quite large (only ruins now) and had a wonderful museum of artifacts found on the site.  The wall itself is about 4 feet wide and now only 2-3 feet tall in the best preserved sections.  Its quite amazing to think it once spanned completely across the UK (73 miles) and was over 10 feet tall.