In October 2025 I was involved in a performance project in Lancashire, and I decided to take some time before and after to see some more of England.
Besides a stopover in Heathrow in 2023 I hadn't spent any significant time in the U.K. since the summer of 2013, more than a decade ago. In the last few years most of my travel budget and energy was spent visiting family in California several times a year, but now that family is in Halifax (and just in time!) that's no longer a concern. I'm at a point in my life where I have the combination of flexibility and health and savings that I can do more travel, so I'm thinking of visiting more places around the world while I can. I figured that the UK would be a good starter trip, since there's a direct flight from Halifax, I already speak the language, I've been there before, and I probably wouldn't stick out too much as a tourist. Maybe eventually I'll work my way up to Japan or Thailand or Kenya, but this is a first step.
The performance (which I'll talk about later when the time comes) was scheduled for October 25 in Morecambe, Lancashire, and we would need about a week of prep on site beforehand. I decided to fly across early and start the visit with some time in London. Then I'd go up to Morecambe. I figured it would be good to find a way to decompress after the intensity of the show, so I booked several days in a village in the Peak District for some long country rambles or at least sitting by the fire. Then, since I was sort of the North/Midlands area anyhow, it seemed worthwhile to visit Birmingham. My late father had grown up in Birmingham, but I had only been there once when I was 9, and all I had really seen of it since was from the first season or so of Peaky Blinders – so it would be good to finally see what it was like.
I often have big plans for blogging but then get overwhelmed by the scope. I've found it easier to do shorter posts, so this trip will be described over the next while in a bunch of smaller posts interspersed with pictures. Less like one big epic feast and more like tapas (or more appropriately a roaming collection of street food – or a pub crawl).
In the meantime, here's a view of central Nova Scotia I caught while taking off, before clouds covered the view for the rest of the trip.
I like flying around Nova Scotia, as you're never too far from a distinctive shore feature like Cape Split or the salt marshes near Lawrencetown. In this view, looking north as the plane heads east, you can see Cobequid Bay, the start of the Minas Basin, the Shubenacadie river, and a bit of Truro.