Breakfast at Regency Cafe in London
Despite how tired I was after having a fun weekend in Glasgow, it was very hard to sleep in the uncomfortable seats on the overnight Megabus. Tiredly arriving in London, our first goal was to find coffee and breakfast. My brother in law, Todd, is our personal London guide because he has several extended visits under his belt. He had emailed us a list of pubs and a breakfast place we couldn’t miss. Being 7:30am, we headed to the breakfast place, Regency Cafe, which was just a few blocks from the Victoria Station. Walking in felt like a throwback to the 1960s. It was a cute little neighborhood place where the set breakfast needed to be ordered just right at the counter (thankfully Todd gave us a heads up). Everything was delicious. The large portions in the typical English breakfast was the perfect thing to recover from a rough night of sleeping and a weekend of drinking.
After a filling breakfast and wandering around a few blocks looking for a toilet, we headed back to Victoria Station to find a train. Our next destination was Hastings to meet up with Sara’s cousin Brynna and her husband, Josh, who were in the UK for a wedding. Through emails days prior, we coordinated that we would all meet in Hastings where we would be staying with their friend Berry. Berry is basically a rhino whisperer and is currently working with black rhinos at a local zoo. I was hopeful that we would get a chance to visit. We only saw one rhino in Africa and that was from a distance, so seeing one up close would be amazing.
On the train south, we realized we had not been on wifi since leaving Glasgow, but we had Berry’s address with entry instructions in case we beat everyone there. Before leaving on our world tour, we looked into the best option for our cell phones and how to keep in touch with home. After some confusing research, we decided to suspend our phone numbers and only use wifi to stay connected and communicate. Overall, it works but it does make it harder for plan changes on the fly. Consequently, Sara and I arrived at Berry’s to find out that Brynna and Josh were in London picking up a rental car and offering a ride. Also, because Berry was working at the zoo, they were going to head straight there and suggested we meet them. We set a plan to meet at the train station in Ashford and then we’d head to the zoo.
Platform 5 pub in Ashford
Sara and I arrived in Ashford but again had no wifi on the train or in the station so we went to a nearby pub looking for a connection. We ended up drinking beers at a great little pub called Platform 5 while using their wifi to ensure we kept plans up to date with Brynna. Brynna and Josh eventually found us and we met their friend, Eli, who was also visiting for that wedding. By the time we all made it to the zoo, Berry had already gone home for the day. Our excited little group was a bit less happy, but our spirits picked up when we arrived to a feast at Berry’s house.
After a great nights sleep in a real bed, we all pitched in to cook a proper English breakfast. (If I keep eating this way, I will gain all the weight back that I’ve lost!) After breakfast that turned more into lunch, we piled into two cars to try and visit the zoo, again. By the time we finally got to the zoo, it was almost 6:00 in the evening – what happened to the day? But it was worth the wait!
Port Lympne Wild Animal Park was built in 1973 by John Aspinall who made his fortune running gambling houses and wanted a zoo because of a love for animals. Unlike other zoos, the animal enclosure were huge and looked very natural. I was amazed at the size of the enclosures. Our private tour started with cheetahs, lions, tigers, monkeys and gorillas. Walking towards the rhinos, I heard a silly sounding bark. Brynna immediately recognized the noise as a tapir from her previous work at the LA Zoo. Two tapirs wandered towards the fence for a photo shoot. I’m curious about the evolution of the tapir because it is so funny looking and sounding! What kind of environment requires those unique skills?
Finally after being distracted by all the other cool animals, we reached the rhino enclosures. There used to be around twenty rhinos at Port Lympne but now there are only six which seemed to be a result of a shift in funding. Similar to the other enclosures, the rhinos had huge open areas for grazing. It was very exciting to see the rhinos approach the gates as they recognized Berry. I never thought I would be so close to a rhino in my life! Sorry Ngorongoro Crater, this rhino encounter was much more exhilarating and one that I will never forget. All of us were enthralled being so close to such a powerful creature that eventually Berry had to pull us away.
Rosie giving Berry some love
Leigh’s sculptures
That night, we met several of Berry’s friends including a local musician and artist – talk about talented friends! Stan from Larry’s Lounge had everyone emotional while playing heartfelt tunes on the piano and Leigh had us mesmerized by his beautiful metal sculptures. We gathered in Leigh’s studio which was an amazing space filled with interesting tooling for shaping the metal. Then after we all enjoyed a tasty Indian dinner, we had a short tour of Old Town to see a few of Leigh’s pieces which are displayed around town.
The next day, Sara and I explored Hastings on our own while Brynna, Josh and Berry visited old friends. From Berry’s, we walked down to the ocean and followed the coastline into town. It was a typical summers day with a misty horizon that seemed to be threatening rain. But as we reached town, the sky suddenly cleared into a beautiful day. We walked past the Hastings Pier (currently under construction due to a fire), through Old Town (where we revisited Leigh’s sculptures), and around the Stade (where fishing boats launch from the beach).
The Stade
Sara and I then hopped on the train to Bexhill where we were going meet everyone before going to Barry’s moms house for a traditional English Lamb roast! Pulling into the house and walking inside was like stepping into a dream. The house and surrounding gardens was exactly what I would dream up of a quaint countryside home. And then the meal was fantastic. Everything was cooked to perfection and tasted wonderful. This was the perfect way to end our short visit to England.
The next morning, we were booked on the Eurostar train to go under the English Channel into Europe. While in Ashford days prior, we noticed the Eurostar stopped there so instead of going all the way back to London (and spending money on a hotel), we could get the train in Ashford. Berry graciously offered to give us a ride to the train station on her way to work which made catching the 7:30 much easier.
Sara and I were sad that our visit to the UK was so short. You would think with taking an entire year to travel we would have plenty of time, but we keep feeling that we are always rushing around and almost always want to stay longer. Next, we need to work our way to Norway where we’ll be meeting Will’s parents, but first a day in Brussels to enjoy their amazing beer.
Walking to Berry\'s in Hastings
Will with fellow burley travelers
Finally together with Brynna and Berry (loving Berry\'s glasses)
Selfie at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park
Port Lympne Wild Animal Park animals - tapir and gorilla
Young male, Nkozi, coming to greet us
Rosie giving Berry some love
Adult female, Rosie
Group selfie at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park
Old Town Hastings at Leigh\'s studio
Leigh\'s sculpture in Old Town
Weather station in Hastings
Hastings seaside
Hastings
Old Town Hastings
