LONDON to PERTH

TUESDAY 9th and WEDNESDAY 10th JULY, 2019

Rajid our taxi driver arrived on time at 7.15am on TUESDAY and for the sum of 10 Pounds, delivered us to Heathrow Airport at 7.35am.  By the time we'd checked our bags, been through security, eaten a granola and yoghurt each and walked the long walk to our gate, it was time to board the flight to Singapore for the first leg of our journey.

Our flight was on an Airbus A380-800 and although we've heard and read mostly favourable comments on this plane, we have found other planes to be much more comfortable.  The flight was okay, without incident although as we took off, an overhead hatch flew open and as it was directly in line with Mike's seat, it could have been nasty if the bags inside had shot out.  Members of the air crew and several passengers were aware of this and all kept a close eye on the offending hatch until we reached our cruising height and levelled off, when one of the stewardesses was able to close it.  (Perhaps it hadn't been checked properly before take off!)

We watched a couple of films, dozed on and off throughout the flight and arrived in Singapore at about 5.45am on WEDNESDAY.  After another long walk followed by a train ride from T3 to T1 and a mediocre iced coffee/iced chocolate at one of the airport cafes, as well as another security check it was almost time to board the flight bound for Perth.

The second leg was on board a Boeing A350-900, a considerably more comfortable plane with wider seats and more leg room than the A380,

helped a little by the fact that we had our favoured aisle and window seats with a vacant seat between us.  There's not really much that can be said about air travel, it is a means to an end and it ended on time in Perth at 12.50pm on WEDNESDAY.

In a world record first, we were through immigration quickly, retrieved our luggage almost immediately and were ushered through customs and out into the fresh air in no time at all.  Three minutes wait for the uber to arrive and twenty minutes later....home!

And so ends this year's European holiday/bike ride with a total of over 900kms ridden, but as we sold the bikes in England it is unlikely that there will be a similar trip undertaken so, we'll just have to think of something else!





















































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ENGLAND 2

SUNDAY 7th JULY, 2019.

I don't like goodbyes but there are times when they are necessary,  this morning was one of those occassions when we said our farewells to Marion and Mike.  It's always sad to part with good friends.

The drive to the outskirts of London was free of incident but ever so slightly boring along the motorways so we were pleased to reach our accommodation.  Having checked in and deposited our bags in our room, we drove to Heathrow to return the hire car, took the courtesy bus to the airport and a train back to our hotel.

Later in the afternoon, we went for a stroll around the neighbourhood, which seemed a little 'dodgy' though the hotel is a good one, then visited Tesco's next door for some dinner and breakfast supplies as we have a kitchenette so can self cater, and after we'd eaten, watched TV for a while and had an early night.....a bit of a nothing day!


MONDAY 8th JULY, 2019

We have had a most enjoyable day out today.  Deciding not to  walk all over London looking at sites we have seen on previous visits and when we lived here half a century ago, after catching a train to Paddington then another to Westminster, we arrived just in time to join a cruise to Greenwich.
One of the crew provided an entertaining commentary as we cruised along, adding to our enjoyment and on reaching Greenwich, we almost immediately came across a pub where we had a pie and mash each for our lunch.

House made pies, they were delicious and we shared a table with an elderly gentleman who was a local and remembered the times when, as a boy, his Mum sent him to the pub to collect his Dad's pie....that was in the 1930s!  We walked around a little, through the Greenwich Markets

and in and out of a couple of interesting shops, into a cafe for coffee then back to the river.

On our return to Westminster we strolled along the embankment,

through the Whitehall Gardens

and called in at the Princess of Wales pub for refreshments before catching our two trains back to the hotel.  An easy, relaxing, enjoyable day, our last in England.

Tomorrow morning we will leave for home.

ENGLAND 1

SATURDAY 6th JULY, 2019

Since arriving in England the weather has been glorious, albeit a bit late but better late than never!

THURSDAY and FRIDAY we spent on a mini tour, visiting Symonds Yat for a magnificent view of the Wye River and valley,

then into the Cotdswolds

followed by a visit to the Thames/Severn Canal & Tunnel we investigated after seeing a sign leading to it, sadly it is in disrepair but an interesting side trip

and finally, Bath.

Our previous visits to the aforementioned have been in the autumn or spring when the crowds were minimal.  This time there were hundreds of tourists out and about and parking was a premium, particularly in the smaller villages so we were pleased we had been before and disppointment was lessened.

After leaving Bath, we spent the best part of some time crawling along on the motorways M4 and M5. due to heavy traffic on both so were pleased to eventually arrive back in Somerset and a delicious meal of coriander chicken cooked by Mike M.

Today has been another lazy day, doing very little and tonight we will have our farewell dinner with Marion and Mike, tomorrow we'll drive to London for our last couple of nights in England.

ENGLAND

WEDNESDAY 3rd JULY, 2019

The ferry crossing on SUNDAY from Roscoff to Plymouth was a smooth one, the sun shone for the duration,

we chatted for most of the journey with John from Ryde who had completed three months of cycling in Europe so exchanging stories with him helped while away the time and we met him again later in a Plymouth Pub for an evening meal.

We found our B&B easily after leaving the ferry and spent a very comfortable night there, followed by a full English breakfast on MONDAY morning.  The B&B was excellent and the hosts, James & Marie, were warm, friendly and extremely helpful.  After breakfast we strolled into the city centre to have a wander around, Mike bought a haircut from one of the many barbers in the town, we had coffee in a cafe that had Portuguese tarts so Mike was in heaven and then we walked to the car rental company to collect a van to transport us and the bikes to Somerset.  First, we had to return to the B&B to load the bikes and bags and then we set off on the A38 and later the M5 north to Somerset.

With mixed feelings, on MONDAY evening we sold the bikes but as we have bikes at home will keep on cycling.

TUESDAY was a lazy day, spent doing as little as possible and this morning, we exchanged the van for a car and are now in the Wye valley, having driven to Ross on Wye via the Dean Forest Steam Railway and the Forest of Dean.

Our hotel is a couple of kms out of Ross, we chose a nearby pub for a meal but found that it wasn't providing meals tonight.  Very friendly fellow drinkers recommended another pub within easy walking distance, we took their advice and enjoyed our shared seafood platter whicch we weren't able to finish, though we did our best!