Back into England

Wed : 9^th July, 2014.  Although the weather wasn’t brilliant, with grey skies, drizzly and windy, the channel crossing this morning was relatively smooth and we arrived safe and sound in Dover at 12.15pm. 

It then took three hours to travel from Dover to Hertford, on the M20, M25 and through the Dartford Tunnel, a slow trip, barely moving at times but eventually arriving at our destination for a happy reunion with our son Paul, who will travel with us for a few days.  The three of us trained into London to meet and eat with friends of Paul’s who are on holiday from Sydney, spent a couple of hours catching up with them before returning to Hertford, collecting Boris and heading for the nearby campsite where we are spending tonight…totally exhausted after a long couple of days.

Mon: 14^th July, 2014.  Since meeting Paul last Wednesday, we have roamed the countryside in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire, with visits to cousin Emily and her family, Uffington Castle, White Horse & Dragon Hill,

Cambridge on a very warm Saturday, not the best day to visit as the city was packed with tourists and thousands of students freed from their studies,

on to a lovely little country pub for an excellent Sunday roast and countless lovely little villages and towns along the way.  

Fri :  18^th July, 2014.  After enjoying nearly a week with Paul, we parted company on Tuesday to continue our separate journeys.  We then spent two nights at a campsite in Maidenhead, on Wednesday cycling on the towpath alongside the River Thames to Windsor

and as we arrived mid morning before the crowds appeared, it was much easier and more enjoyable to stroll around than on our previous visit.  It was also a good deal easier to park the bikes than to find a place for Boris, which was a struggle last year.  A leisurely 6 mile ride back to camp and a lazy afternoon completed the day. 

We left Maidenhead late yesterday morning for the drive to Donnington Castle

near Newbury, a striking, twin towered, 14^th century gatehouse, the focus of a Civil War siege and battle which survives amid impressive earthworks, ate lunch in the carpark and continued on to Yeovilton, passing Stonehenge on the way.

We stayed last night at a small campsite near the Fleet Air Arm Museum which we visited today, spending quite a few hours there, in awe of the excellence of the exhibits, including the Concorde. Highly recommended.

Leaving Yeovilton, we drove about 19 miles to a campsite in Bawdrip, our overnight stop and have just demolished a superb roast lamb dinner cooked in the Remoska, accompanied by a bottle of red bought in Cahors, France…it has just begun to rain and it’s time for lights out and bed.

Sun :  20^th July, 2014.  Yesterday we spent a lovely day at Marion's belated birthday celebration with her family.  She had gone to a lot of trouble to provide lunch for us all and Mike had borrowed a gazebo for shelter in case the predicted rain arrived.  Fortunately, apart from a brief drizzle, it was a beautiful afternoon and the gazebo was used to shelter from the sun, not the rain though in the early evening there was a very heavy rainfall which resulted in some localised flooding. 

There was no evidence of it today as we four enjoyed a fab lunch at the Green Olive Restaurant in Bridgwater, followed by a stroll through town and a couple of hours watching the British Open golf on TV followed by the Grand Prix.  A lovely, relaxing day.