Wellington Fruit Farm 3 - More berries During the visit, my auntie was fascinated by the berries. She works for MARDI, an agricultural research agency. She is convinced that we can grow these berries in Malaysia.

Wellington Fruit Farm 1 - Young strawberries

Wellington Fruit Farm 4 - Wild lavender

London 10 - Buckingham Palace The Palace was usually closed to the public. However, due to the big fire in Windsor Castle, the Queen's other residence, the Royal Family decided to have it open for a limited time during the summer to generate income.

London 12 - Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace The Queen's Gallery is a public art gallery located at Buckingham Palace, home of the British monarch, in London. It exhibits works of art from the Royal Collection (i.e. those works owned by the Queen "in trust for the nation" rather than privately) on a rotating basis; about 450 works are on display at any one time. The gallery is located at the west front of the Palace, on the site of a chapel bombed during the Second World War. The gallery opened in 1962. In 2002 it was renovated by the architect John Simpson, who added the Doric entrance portico, and re-opened by the Queen. It is open to the public on a daily basis. The gallery was barely a year old when we visited it back in 2003

London 11 - Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality, and a major tourist attraction. It has been a rallying point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and crisis. Originally known as Buckingham House, the building which forms the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 and acquired by George III in 1761[2] as a private residence, known as "The Queen's House". It was enlarged over the next 100 years, principally by architects John Nash and Edward Blore, forming three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace finally became the official royal palace of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. The last major structural additions were made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the present-day public face of Buckingham Palace. However, the palace chapel was destroyed by a German bomb in World War II; the Queen's Gallery was built on the site and opened to the public in 1962 to exhibit works of art from the Royal Collection. This was taken through the front fence.

London 9 - Tower Bridge On the rare occasion, the bridge does lift up to allow ships on the Thames pass through. I was lucky that this happen while I was there to snap this picture up.

London 8 - Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name. It has become an iconic symbol of London. The bridge consists of two towers which are tied together at the upper level by means of two horizontal walkways which are designed to withstand the horizontal forces exerted by the suspended sections of the bridge on the land-ward sides of the towers. The vertical component of the forces in the suspended sections and the vertical reactions of the two walkways are carried by the two robust towers. The bascule pivots and operating machinery are housed in the base of each tower. Its present colour dates from 1977 when it was painted red, white and blue for the Queen's Silver Jubilee. Originally it was painted a chocolate brown colour. Tower Bridge is sometimes mistakenly referred to as London Bridge, which is actually the next bridge upstream. A popular urban legend is that in 1968, Robert McCulloch, the purchaser of the old London Bridge that was later shipped to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, believed that he was in fact buying Tower Bridge. This was denied by McCulloch himself and has been debunked by Ivan Luckin, the seller of the bridge.

London 6 - Street Performer at Covent Garden Covent Garden (pronounced /ˈkɒvənt/) is a district in London, England, located in the easternmost parts of the City of Westminster and the southwestern corner of the London Borough of Camden. The area is dominated by shopping, street performers, and entertainment facilities, and it contains an entrance to the Royal Opera House, which is also widely-known simply as "Covent Garden", and the bustling Seven Dials area. The area is bounded by High Holborn to the north, Kingsway to the east, the Strand to the south and Charing Cross Road to the west. Covent Garden Piazza is located in the geographical centre of the area and was the site of a flower, fruit and vegetable market from the 1500s until 1974, when the wholesale market relocated to New Covent Garden Market in Nine Elms. Nearby areas include Soho, St James's, Bloomsbury, and Holborn.

London 7 - The Guards I can't remember exactly where this was but it was around Buckingham Palace somewhere. The guards do move from time to time and when you indicate to them that you are taking pictures they will politely nod.

London 3 - St James's Park Anita, my parents and I. Check the spelling, as St James' Park is the home ground for a certain non-Premier League team in Newcastle. We walking around there to get to Buckingham Palace. St. James's Park is a 58 acre (23 hectare) park in Westminster, central London, the oldest of the Royal Parks of London. The park lies at the southernmost tip of the St. James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St. James the Less. St. James's Park is bounded by Buckingham Palace to the west, The Mall and St. James's Palace to the North, Horse Guards to the east, and Birdcage Walk to the south. The park has a small lake, St. James's Park Lake, with two islands, Duck Island (named for the lake's collection of waterfowl), and West Island. A bridge across the lake affords a view of Buckingham Palace framed by trees and fountains, and a view of the main building of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, similarly framed, to the east. The park is the most easterly of a near-continuous chain of parks that also comprise (moving westward) Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. The closest London Underground stations are St. James's Park, Victoria, and Westminster.

London 2 - The London Eye No, we did not get on it since the queue extended round the building .... and it's not free.

London 4 - Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north-eastern end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is often extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. Big Ben is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world. It celebrated its 150th anniversary in May 2009 (the clock itself first ticking on 31st May), during which celebratory events took place.

London 5 - Big Ben Yup! Anita by the Big Ben.

London 1 - The London Eye The London Eye (also known as the Millennium Wheel), at a height of 135 metres (443 ft), is the biggest Ferris wheel in Europe, and has become the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over three million people in one year. At the time it was erected it was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, until it was surpassed by the Star of Nanchang (160 m) in May 2006, and then the Singapore Flyer (165 m) on 11 February 2008. However, it is still described by its operators as "the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel" (because the entire structure is supported by an A-frame on one side only).

Trafalgar Square 2 You have not been to London if you have not visited Trafalgar Square. In fact, on the August day that I first landed in London back in 1990, I remember a group of nine of us converging on the square. This photo was taken within 10 days of leaving England, where I visited it with my wife and parents. One day, I'll bring my kids there.

Trafalgar Square 3 Me and Anita at the square. The weather was gorgeous that day.

Trafalgar Square 1 Trafalgar Square is a square in central London, England. With its position in the heart of London, it is a tourist attraction; and one of the most famous squares in the United Kingdom and the world. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. Statues and sculptures are on display in the square, including a fourth plinth displaying changing pieces of contemporary art, and it is a site of political demonstrations. The name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars. The original name was to have been "King William the Fourth's Square", but George Ledwell Taylor suggested the name "Trafalgar Square". The northern area of the square had been the site of the King's Mews since the time of Edward I, while the southern end was the original Charing Cross, where the Strand from the City met Whitehall, coming north from Westminster. As the midpoint between these twin cities, Charing Cross is to this day considered the heart of London, from which all distances are measured. In the 1820s the Prince Regent engaged the landscape architect John Nash to redevelop the area. Nash cleared the square as part of his Charing Cross Improvement Scheme. The present architecture of the square is due to Sir Charles Barry and was completed in 1845.

Larkhill 2 While visiting, I noticed that the fields were just been harvested, leaving these 'tumbleweeds'!

Larkhill 1 My father-in-law attended Sandhurst Military College prior to his commission, Every time we pass by, Anita will insist on visiting, even though she was not born yet then.

Stonehenge 5 - Just to prove that I was there I was definitely there, even though this photo taken by Anita was somewhat shaky.

Stonehenge 2 - Nice Boulder This lone boulder sits just by the entrance. Apparently it is of the same material used to build the main structure. One wonder if the original thing extends right down to her. It was a good 300m away from the main perimeter.

Stonehenge 6 - Good Bye! Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) west of Amesbury and 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones and sits at the centre of the densest complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds.[1] Archaeologists had believed that the iconic stone monument was erected around 2500 BC, as described in the chronology below. However one recent theory has suggested that the first stones were not erected until 2400-2200 BC, whilst another suggests that bluestones may have been erected at the site as early as 3000 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986 in a co-listing with Avebury henge monument, and it is also a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument. Stonehenge itself is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage while the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.

Stonehenge 1 When my Mum confirmed about coming to UK to visit us, she insisted that I take her to visit Stonehenge before we leave.

Stonehenge 4 - Wonder how they lifted this thing?

Angel of the North 1

Angel of the North 2 The Angel of the North is a contemporary sculpture designed by Antony Gormley, which is located in Gateshead, England. As the name suggests, it is a steel sculpture of an angel, standing 66 feet (20 m) tall, with wings measuring 178 feet (54 m) across — making it wider than the Statue of Liberty's height. The wings themselves are not planar, but are angled 3.5 degrees forward, which Gormley has said aims to create "a sense of embrace".[1] It stands on a hill, on the southern edge of Low Fell overlooking the A1 road and the A167 road into Tyneside and the East Coast Main Line rail route, and just south of the site of Team Colliery

Angel of the North 3 The Angel of the North is a contemporary sculpture designed by Antony Gormley, which is located in Gateshead, England. As the name suggests, it is a steel sculpture of an angel, standing 66 feet (20 m) tall, with wings measuring 178 feet (54 m) across — making it wider than the Statue of Liberty's height. The wings themselves are not planar, but are angled 3.5 degrees forward, which Gormley has said aims to create "a sense of embrace".[1] It stands on a hill, on the southern edge of Low Fell overlooking the A1 road and the A167 road into Tyneside and the East Coast Main Line rail route, and just south of the site of Team Colliery

Alnwick Castle Revisited 3 Taken at the Garden.

Alnwick Castle Revisited 4 Taken at the Garden.

Alnwick Castle Revisited 2 Anita was keen to try out the fountain

Alnwick Castle Revisited 5 As mentioned earlier, there are many Harry Potter fans here.

Alnwick Castle Revisited 1 I revisited Alnwick Garden on the way back from Edinburgh, taking along my parents. If this looks familiar, this piece of turf was used as the Quidditch field in Harry Porter movies.

Tatton Park with Parents 3 That's my Dad at the top of the stairs.

Tatton Park with Parents 4

Tatton Park with Parents 2

Tatton Park with Parents 1

Derwent Reservoir, Yorkshire Peak District 6 A snap before taking the plunge and getting soaked.

Derwent Reservoir, Yorkshire Peak District 3 I decided to take a plunge, but before putting on some homey touches.

Derwent Reservoir, Yorkshire Peak District 1 Winter is customarily bleak in this part of Yorkshire, so on this nice warm summer day, I took a bicycle ride with Anita and Itul.

Derwent Reservoir, Yorkshire Peak District 7

Derwent Reservoir, Yorkshire Peak District 4 The stream is nice an cool.

Derwent Reservoir, Yorkshire Peak District 9

Derwent Reservoir, Yorkshire Peak District 8

Derwent Reservoir, Yorkshire Peak District 5 Derwent Reservoir is the middle of three reservoirs in the Upper Derwent Valley in the north east of Derbyshire, England. The River Derwent flows first through Howden Reservoir, then Derwent Reservoir and finally through Ladybower Reservoir. Between them they provide practically all of Derbyshire's water, as well as to a large part of South Yorkshire's and as far afield as Nottingham and Leicester. Derwent Reservoir is around 1.5 mi (2 km) in length, running broadly north-south, with Howden Dam at the northern end and Derwent Dam at the south. A small island lies near the Howden Dam. The Abbey Brook flows into the reservoir from the east. At its peak the reservoir covers an area of 70.8 hectares (175 acres) and at its deepest point is 34.7 metres deep.

Lake Bala 2 Lake Bala in Gwynedd, Wales was the largest natural body of water in Wales prior to the level being raised by Thomas Telford to help support the flow of the Ellesmere Canal. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) long by 1 mile (1.6 km) wide and is subject to sudden and dangerous floods. The River Dee runs through it and the waters of the lake are famously deep and clear. The town of Bala sits at its northern end and the narrow gauge Bala Lake Railway runs for several kilometres along the lake's southern shore. Sailboat ahoy!

Lake Bala 1 Lake Bala, in Gwynedd, Wales was the largest natural body of water in Wales prior to the level being raised by Thomas Telford to help support the flow of the Ellesmere Canal. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) long by 1 mile (1.6 km) wide and is subject to sudden and dangerous floods. The River Dee runs through it and the waters of the lake are famously deep and clear. The town of Bala sits at its northern end and the narrow gauge Bala Lake Railway runs for several kilometres along the lake's southern shore. We went here straight after our trip to the Lavender farm. It was a warm summer afternoon. We then had some tea at a nearby cafe. That is Anita and our friend Itul.