"My travels from July 2011 - February 2012" Personal Page by spidermiss

I spent the first weekend in July in London. The main reason was to see a particular actor in Phantom of the Opera and it was a great night especially meeting him and some of the cast in person.

I spent a weekend visiting my Aunty and Uncle in Uiverston, in the Lake District, and also visited Manchester. We spent a day exploring the Lake District, stopping at Cockermouth, Windermere and having dinner in Barrow. On the Sunday I had a wander around Ulverston, town famed for Laurel and Hardy, before returning home.

The final weekend was, again, spent in London where I celebrated my birthday. I did a fair bit of sightseeing including trips out to Kew Gardens and Chiswick House and Gardens. I also celebrated and reflected with friends where we had drinks, dinners and seeing musicals. In all it was a great weekend and probably the best birthday I ever celebrated!

Dawn at York Castle Museum Prison

I did a couple of day trips to York and Sheffield. In York I visited the Castle Museum and saw 'Legally Blonde' at York's Grand Opera House. I met up with Sue (Suvanki) in Sheffield where we did The Norfolk Heritage Trail.

Mum and I went down to London where we saw 'Love Never Dies' and visited Gunnersbury Park in West London (unfortunately we had heavy rain whilst at the park). A week later I spent the Bank Holiday weekend with my friends where I saw shows and I did somesighting including a trip across to Ealing where I visited Pitzhanger Manor.

Temple Mill, Leeds

September was a quiet month because of a lack of finances. However, part of the Heritage Open Days, I joined a guided walk, arranged by Leeds Civic Trust, and we visited Holbeck which was the main hub for activity during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th Century.

I went down to London at the end of September to celebrate the Phantom of the Opera's 25th Anniversary!

Dawn and Phantom 25!

The first weekend was spent in a hot and sunny London! I saw the Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary at the Royal Albert Hall. It was amazing to be part of something amazing! Other than Phantom 25, I saw 'The Wizard of Oz' at The London Palladium and did some sightseeing.

I also visited Northallerton where I met up with a friend and we spent the day in the North Yorkshire Market Town. The following weekend, I went across to Manchester for two days where I went to a concert and took the opportunity to make side trips to the Salford Quays and Liverpool.

Dawn with fellow VTers at the VT Meet:D

I had a busy month of travels in November.

I visited Plymouth for the very first time where I saw a concert at The Pavilions. Despite the very long train journey I thorough enjoyed my short but sweet visit in the maritime city and look forward to returnng in March.

Of course, there was Gillybob's Manchester Christmas Markets Meet and was great as usual. It was fun spending the day with fellow VTers:D The following day, I took a friend around the Leeds Christmas Markets and enjoyed the German sausages and mulled wine:D

Leeds Christmas Markets

I started this month by making my final trip for 2011 to London. I saw "Tosca" at The London Colliseum. I did a backstage door at The Royal Opera House and also a historical experience tour at Benjamin Franklin's House.

This more or less rounds up my travels (except a family visit) for 2011 and there are many more planned in 2012 even if I don't plan to go abroad.

Best wishes for the festive season and happy travels for 2012xxx

Bolling Hall, Bradford

Happy New Year!

January was a quiet month. I hadn't been well at the beginning of the month but I was able to make a couple of day trips.

I spent one Saturday in Bradford where I took trips to its districts and visited Bolling Hall and Bradford Industrial Musuem. It was an enjoyable day and nice to learn about Bradford's fascinating history.

I made a day trip to London at the end of the month where I met up with friends and we got day tickets to see "Wicked", the musical. We had a great time at the show and it was nice enjoying one another's company.

VT and proud at Leeds Bridge!

Despite the personal issues that are happening in my life at the moment I've managed to do a little bit of travelling. I held my very first VT Meet (first ever one for Leeds) on the 18th February and I can confidently say it was a success! There was a nice number of us and we had fun doing the Leeds Owl! I've decided to host another one at the end of October where I'll plan more fun things for us to do!

I made a last minute spontaneous trip to Carnforth in North Lancashire. As the weather was miserable, time was spent keeping warm at the station's interesting visitors centre!