2026 Summer travels, Update 4

Hi all!

This update [was started] in London, more specifically, at the café of the Imperial War Museum. Friday has been a long and productive day of history and books—I am writing this as a break from my notes. The British Library had a Fairy Tales exhibition that exceeded expectations, and the Imperial War Museum has both a large First World War gallery and an entire floor dedicated to war art. It is where I spent my “one day in London,” which was very on theme for my history and fantasy interests.

I got to town yesterday afternoon, following a rather draining morning of travel. A bus, a sprint (up and over to the other side of the platform), and a train. One that got progressively more and more crowded as it got closer to town. By the time we arrived, people lined the walkway and crammed into already full seats. It was a very hot and smelly journey.

Once I arrived, I set off with a mission to find my accommodation. I stayed in student apartments near Baker Street Station. The unit was small, very small, but it worked well for my two nights. I was even able to put laundry on yesterday and sit and rest in the common area for a few hours while it worked its magic. Sit, rest, eat (too much) chocolate, and write.

I admit that it was hard to pull myself from the quiet peace of my keyboard and back into the bustling city, but it was well worth it for an evening at the West End. I got to see Hercules the Musical. And while I was extremely disappointed that they cut Pegasus, the movie soundtrack is one of my favorites. I love, love, love the Gospel interpretation of the Fates, and I have always been inspired by the song Go the Distance—so to hear both live and expanded upon felt really very special.

I exited the theater to find a cool evening breeze and a restless city. There were very few tourists out at that time of night, and it felt like I had the Thames to myself to sit and wonder at the moon and the skyline and how it is that I am so far from home. It was an electric feeling. One that I wanted to replicate, and thus, before I had even gotten out of the doors of the theater, I had tickets purchased for another musical, Six, the following evening...

Before London, however, I was traveling around the Cotswolds, where I spent three wonderful nights in a tiny home in Bourton-on-the-Water. I was there to see the Shire, I was there to see St. Edward's Church. I was there to hike and to write and to research. It was productive. Many pages written, many documents read, and about 20 miles of hiking. My most memorable moment was hiking part of the Monarch's Way. This historical route follows the escape route of Charles II after his defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The path takes you across the rural countryside, into animal paddocks, along the edges of active agricultural fields, and deep into forests. All in one afternoon.

And before that, I was in Birmingham. I was in Birmingham to see the other side of the Shire. The industrial side. Birmingham is a spiral of a city. It almost feels like you cannot escape, yet even here there is green space sprinkled around. Tolkien spent four of his childhood years in an area called Sarehole, just outside of Birmingham proper. There is a mill here, the one which inspired the Hobbiton Mill House. He returned as an adult in 1933, when approximately 60 percent of the local farmland from his childhood had been converted into residential estates. I sat for a while in the Shire Country Park and Moseley Bog and thought about the significance of place and nostalgia…

But now it is time to leave the UK for Ireland, and by the time this is posted, that is where I will be. My week here is the last leg of my summer 2026 adventures. I am so happy, and so tired. I have gotten so much work done, and yet there are still so many mountains to climb (...literally). My heart aches for home and the people there

And with that, it is back to homework for me!

Yours in fellowship, fatigue, and fervor,

-HK