Touring Britain

Two decades after I had first visited Britain, A tragic fire swept through Windsor Castle and left it in shambles. Faced with a massive repair cost, one which her personal fortune in the hundreds of millions of dollars could hardly sustain. Then the “Old Lady” reluctantly agreed to allow personal tours of her beloved Buckingham Palace for a hefty price.

All the rumors proved correct and how embarrassing it must have been for “Her Majesty.”

All that aside, I had always a desire to visit the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
How would it be possible? Transatlantic airfare was so very expensive. And the task of renting an automobile and planning the long sequence of successive hotel stays seemed a travel agent's nightmare. 

On a given day, I went to my mailbox and in it was my monthly Frequent Flyer Statement. When opening it, I simply could not believe my eyes. I had somehow accumulated enough points for a round trip from North Carolina to London. 

My travel agent suggested that I book an escorted tour rather than renting a car, and this I did. After touching down at London Heathrow, the magnitude of the itinerary lying ahead suddenly overwhelmed me.

I was scheduled to go from London, through Berkshire and Wiltshire, and all the way southwest to Somersetshire and Devonshire, then continue north to Glouchestershire and Herefordshire, looping through Central and North Wales, continuing through Cheshire, Lancastershire and Cumbria, entering the Scottish Highlands, taking a ferry to the Isle of Skye, continuing east along Loch Ness to Inverness, then south through Edinburgh, then re-entering Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Do I know my shires, or what?

All that being said, could I accomplish such a demanding task in a mere twelve days? “You must read my publication to ever know.

All that being said, could I accomplish such a demanding task in a mere twelve days? 
 
You must read my publication to ever know…”