England

Supermarine Spitfire, England's premier fighter during the London blitz.  It had a Rolls Royce engine.  The US used that same engine, under license, in its P-51 fighter.

I confess to poor planning for our stay near London.  I did not realize how horrific traffic is in that area.  We chose a hotel halfway between London and Heathrow, thinking it would be convenient to both: it wasn't.  If you want to visit London proper, use the train system.  If you want to visit outlying villages, get an accommodation outside the metro area.  Our hotel was near a park, and we could go for evening walks along a path surrounded by fields and trees, but....  The only nearby public transport was a bus stop.  We had a rental car but had to fight traffic for about an hour to get past the convoluted traffic and narrow streets.

This is a typical street near our hotel.  You travel at the speed of the buses around you.

We did take that public bus one day to visit a nearby shopping mall.  Nice mall, but it took an hour to go the 8-9 miles to get there.  Fortunately, it was a double decker bus, and we got to sit up front on top and enjoy the scenery.

Europe loves 'roundabouts' as a way to avoid stop lights.  They work well with moderate traffic.  Unfortunately, in the London/Heathrow area traffic is so thick that the roundabouts are choked.  The solution has been to place a traffic light at each point in the roundabout where traffic enters or exits.  Now, to get through, what should be an intersection, you have to deal with at least three traffic lights plus the complexity of the traffic circle just to stay straight on the road you are following. 

GPS is a great aid, but not infallible.  A few times our auditory guidance was telling us to turn in one direction while our route chart was indicating the opposite direction.  Exits may be only a few car lengths apart, and if the auditory guide is slow or fast in its announcement, "Turn here!", you will take the wrong exit and need to do a U-turn somewhere down the road to get back on course.  In busy traffic, don't look down at the GPS screen; have someone act as navigator (usually me).   

We were able to leave the metro area to visit the village of Castle Combe, west near Bath.  The village was scenic but small.  You could enjoy all of it in less than an hour, hardly justifying the several hours it took to get there.

Church at Castle Combe village, with a graveyard in the foreground.

We also visited the imperial war museum north near Duxford.  This museum is an actual working airfield where historic aircraft can not only be seen in static displays but also in flyovers, takeoffs and landings.  They have a large group of WWII Spitfire fighters.  There is also a large building where other historic aircraft are actively being restored to flyable status.  World War I is a special interest of mine, and I was able to view examples of some of the most noteworthy biplanes of that era (Spad, Nieuport, Bristol, Fokker, RE8).

German Messerschmidt BF-109 fighter, shot down over England during the Blitz.

Backyard landscaping in Village of Castle Combe, scenic but small. There was no open parking in the village, it was atop a hill several hundred yards away.

Heathrow has a reputation for being difficult to navigate.  The complex consists of five large terminals, each with a large number of concourses and gates.  The concourses are not arranged linearly; may be far apart.  Dawn and I enjoy long walks between long flights, but they have shuttle trains for the less mobile.  We have now been through Heathrow four times with no troubles.  Read all the signs, and don't hesitate to ask for guidance.

Weather was perfect for our visit.  Our hotel itself was very comfortable; near the Thames River, a 200-acre park, with surrounding green fields and a walking path.  The daily struggle started when we left the Syon Park grounds.  

With England's moderate and wet climate, gardens grow well.