oxford to glasgow

Out the door at 7:30am, hugging everyone we were leaving behind and trying to keep the tears from coming while simultaneously getting jittery from excitement.

So began the backpacking phase of my travels around Europe after Oxford!

The first day was a simple jaunt from our home in Oxford, up to a Headington self-storage where we left my suitcases, back down to the Oxford train station where we caught a train to King’s Cross London, along the underground to Paddington Station where we caught an express train to Heathrow where we left Sonya’s suitcases, back to Paddington, onto a second train which took us up to a Glasgow train station in Scotland from whence we walked to our first hotel. Waiting for us was a hotel tea spread to warm our hearts and the peace to sit and eat the food we’d packed: a carrot, green beans, banana bread from a wonderful friend, digestives, oranges, nuts, and, of course, chocolate rations.

It also gave us the time to think about how heavy our packs felt even while walking the short distances we went while not on the train. We both made little piles of things to leave…a sweater, large toothpaste, leggings, etc for Sonya, and a pair of nail clippers for me. Every little bit makes a difference, right?