In 2002, my family and I went on our second overseas trip. This time backpacking it through England and Scotland. We had utilized the hop on and off again buses frequently throughout our trip. In London it helped to orientate us, and we learned a lot of the history.
When we arrived early to Bath our bed and breakfast wouldn’t let us in yet. So with all of our luggage we bought a day’s ticket for the hop on and off again bus. It was the slow season, so no one else was aboard, so we put our luggage on the bottom level and headed upstairs. The countryside around Bath is so beautiful and the guides very knowledgeable about the city.
After going the entire loop our guide waited for us to get off. We looked at our watches, and realized it was still too early. Nothing was open, and we were tired from traveling. So we stayed on. Again we were the only people on board, so the guide strained their knowledge on the second time around giving us more history. She spoke on ley lines, the Royal Crescent, druid trees, duels, and the roman baths. I was entranced with her stories.
And then it was over and we were back at the beginning. Our guide went on break, and a new guide came on. She had explained to the guide that we were just riding it around and around. He looked at us like we were crazy, and struggled to find more things to tell us about. When we returned again, there were new passengers waiting. As this was our 4th time around, I decided to sit inside and read a book.
Finally it was around the time when we could check in, and so we grabbed our belongings and made our way to our hotel. I think both the guides, driver, and ourselves were relieved!
Travel Missteps is an every-other week series on how sometimes part of the journey is making mistakes and getting lost.
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