Heathrow via Windsor Castle



Outside Windsor Castle

We said a sad goodbye to our hosts Kev and Sue who have looked after us so well for the past 4 days then headed for Heathrow. As we were going to be so close we decided on a side trip to Windsor Castle. This meant we went down the M1 instead of the A38 and M40. It was a very easy drive with one stop near Luton for morning coffee.

We could see the castle from quite a distance and it is an impressive sight. Windsor is a nice little town and we enjoyed wandering through the streets. Took lots of photos of the castle but did not go inside as we didn’t have time to do it justice.

Have made it to the Hilton at Terminal 4 and much to Phil’s relief the car has been returned without incident. Busy repacking our suitcases with the summer stuff handy for KL and getting our clothes ready for tomorrow’s flight. Hope to check in at around 9am.

More Derbyshire

Kev and Sue at home

The Crescent Buxton Derbyshire Style

The Pavillion Buxton

Arbor Low

The Indian Buffet on Thursday night was unbelievable. The restaurant was huge and there were so many things to choose from. A lot of the food was cooked in front of you. Wish we had something like this near us - don't even think such a thing exists in Australia.

Friday morning was spent shopping with Sue in Derby. The men decided not to come and stayed home and watched the Rugby World Cup. Sue and I had a lovely time in the Co-op, a store where other minor stores rent out space and then we went to Boots. What a paradise that was for me! There were so many different types of perfume and all the brands of makeup. We had arranged to meet the men at a pub called the Spotted Cow in Holbrook near Belper. at 1pm. Naturally we were late. We had a lovely 2 course lunch for €15 per couple. We then took a long scenic tour home through Kedleston before returning to Derby to finish off our shopping (sans men of course).

This morning after a shower overnight the sun came out and we headed for Buxton. Buxton is a spa town (another place in the 1800s where people went to take the waters) located in Derbyshire’s Peak District. It has a Pavilion like Brighton and a Crescent and Bathhouse like Bath. The Pavillion now has indoor craft stalls and the Bathhouse has been converted into shops – some of which still contain the baths. The Pavillion also has lovely gardens.

We then drove to Youlgrave near Arbor Low (see below) for lunch at the Farmyard Inn another typical English pub. Had another nice lunch and Phil continued his investigation of English pints of beer.

Next we drove to Arbor Low, a prehistoric site in Derbyshire. It is said to be similar to Stonehenge (we didn’t get to Stonehenge but Kev and Sue say it is a smaller scale Stonehenge). It is situated on a farm and we had to walk through a cow paddock (with cows in it) to get to the site. It does differ from Stonehenge because Arbor Low has burial mounds. Anyway it was worth the visit and the view of the surrounding countryside was fantastic. We would have lingered but as is often common in these parts it decided to rain.

On the way home we went via Tissington another charming English village before stopping for supplies in Ashbourne a large town close to Shirley. Ashbourne is where Sue and her sisters went to school.

We have had a fabulous time here in Derbyshire and have been amazed at the amount of things there are to do. Sue and Kev have been wonderful hosts (even though Kev was cheering for Ireland in the Rugby today).

Off to Heathrow tomorrow where we will stay the night before our flight to KL at midday on Monday. We will arrive in KL at about 7.30 am Perth time.

Derbyshire

The Back of Kev and Sue's House

We left Oxford at 9.15am on Wednesday and managed to get in the wrong lane at a roundabout we had been around 4 times before in the preceding days. This meant we had to make a left turn instead of going straight ahead. Unfortunately, this meant we had to drive about 10 miles before we could turn off and head toward the highway.

It only took us about 2 hours to get here to Shirley a little village about 12 miles from Derby. We were amused at one stage when the GPS took us onto the M6 Toll and the large amount of traffic that had been with us before disappeared. There was only one other car on the road. The locals have worked out how to avoid the toll.

It was great to see Sue and Kev again and they had many things planned for us to do while here. We all headed out to Ripley near Denby for afternoon tea. Had fabulous sandwiches with really yummy fillings, scones with clotted cream and cakes. We had to take the cakes home as we were all full. Suffice to say we didn’t need any dinner but we did enjoy the cakes later with a wee dram of Kev’s Glenlivet single malt whisky.

Had a fabulous night’s sleep and woke to the sun shining. On the agenda for today was more exploring of the area. We had an extra passenger, Grace, Kev and Sue’s granddaughter. We drove north passing through Matlock Bath an inland ‘seaside’ resort, built alongside the River Derwent in a steep and beautiful gorge. Sue and Kev then wanted us to see Chatsworth an historic estate north of Bakewell, owned by the Duke of Devonshire. At present it is shrouded in scaffolding as they are doing restoration work so this was a bit disappointing.

Next stop was Eyams a village made famous during the plague in the 1600s because they quarantined themselves so that the disease would not be spread. After a look around and a read of the history we set out for Bakewell. Here we had lunch and finished it off with some Bakewell Pudding. It was very nice. Not a morsel was left in any of our bowls. Explored the town and visited their Whisky Shop where we bought a bottle of Cardhu single malt for €34 around $55 AUD a saving of about $40.

We are going out for dinner tonight to Kev and Sue’s favourite Indian Restaurant in Derby.

Oxford Day 2

Hertford Bridge, New College Lane, Oxford (a remarkable similarity to the Bridge of Sighs)

Cornmarket St, Oxford City

Today was a very quiet day compared to our travels in the countryside yesterday. Walked down to the local shops to get the bus into Oxford (found out later we could have caught it from outside the Guesthouse). It was a quick trip into the city centre passing the Schools of Engineering and Mathematics. Oxford is busy at present because the school year is beginning. We have a family from South African (they are actually originally from Ghana and the United States) staying here as their daughter is starting at Oxford.

Had a look around the shops and some of the colleges of Oxford and browsed in the covered markets. We really liked looking at the meat and vegetables which seem quite reasonably priced and of a high quality. Had lunch in the city centre, shopped some more and then caught the bus back to the local shops and walked back to the Burlington (as we weren’t sure there was a bus stop nearby – only across the road). Dave and Jill then had to get ready for their flight as they were due to fly to Singapore at 9.30pm. We were driving them to the airport and not being too familiar with traffic patterns set out at 4.15pm so they could be there before 6.30pm. Didn’t take as long as we thought and in fact we were back in Oxford at 6.15pm. Actually we were really surprised as the traffic was similar to Brisbane Airport/Gateway Motorway at peak hour and in fact probably not as bad as we never came to a dead stop like you do in Brisbane.

We have enjoyed our stay in Oxford. The guesthouse, the Burlington was lovely and it has been nice not to have to pack cases every morning.

Off to stay with our friends Sue and Kev Humphries who live near near Derby, tomorrow.

Oxford and the Cotswolds

Warwick Castle

Anne Hathaways Cottage

Stratford upon Avon

E&P at Stratford upon Avon

View of the Cotswolds from near Broadway Tower 

We left Maidstone later than normal (10am) on Sunday as our drive to Oxford was only about 100 miles. The drive was mainly on motorways so for once we did pretty good time.

Dave and Jill had planned a lunch with her cousins at Botley on the outskirts of Oxford  so we dropped them off and continued on into Oxford to see if we could book into our accommodation early. This was no problem and we were pleased with our room which, was just as well as we were staying 3 nights. Next on our agenda was our laundry and we spent the afternoon at the laundrette doing ours and Dave and Jill’s laundry. Luckily the locals are usually very helpful as each laundrette has different machines and it can be a bit confusing. We had a look around the area while we were there and selected options for our dinner. We walked down later and had a very good pizza.

Into the car again this morning and we drove to Warwick Castle. It’s an impressive looking castle with lovely grounds and is sort of a theme park nowadays for families with parts dedicated to shows such as Merlin and The Princess.  

Next stop was Anne Hathaway’s Cottage just outside Stratford upon Avon. Looks exactly like the pictures. We then went into Stratford and walked along the river Avon. Had a look in the Shakespeare Theatre Centre and then lunched in a pub across the road.

We then headed for the Cotswolds stopping off at Broadway Tower and enjoying the view. It is very pretty countryside. It was however blowing a gale (the end of a hurricane has come across the Atlantic causing extreme gale force winds across the UK). We then drove into Stow-on-the-Wold for a look around and some afternoon tea. It was a pretty tourist town but we preferred our next stop which was Burford.  Burford has a river running through it and the view from the bridge is lovely. It also has wider streets than normal and lovely architecture.

Time for home then and we drove the approximately 20 miles back to Oxford. Another day that has flown past. We have been here now for 28 days.

Kent



The Leas, Folkestone

Dover Ferry Terminal

White Cliffs of Dover

Canterbury Cathedral



After a good night’s rest, we woke up to sunshine and a view over the English Channel.  We had enjoyed a great dinner the night before at the B&B/Guesthouse/Pub (don’t quite know what to call it) and then had one of the best breakfasts of the trip.

Had to pack the car again but as it was parked on the seafront we took an opportunity to sit and enjoy the warmth and the view of ferries, cargo ships and the coast of France. It really was quite humid. Dragged ourselves away from the solitude and made the 2 mile trip up the road to Folkestone for our travelling companion Jill to see her old boarding school (from the 60’s). It is now converted into flats and Jill had a trip down memory lane. We had a look around The Leas in Folkestone – sort of a promenade near the seafront with some old buildings that have been rejuvenated into up market flats with a fabulous view of the channel.

Our next quest was the White Cliffs of Dover and on the way we chanced upon the Battle of Britain Memorial. It is a very interesting memorial with spitfire and hurricane replicas and the names of all those who flew during that period inscribed on a wall of remembrance. Set out again and found our way to the White Cliffs site where we walked along a track to get a view of the cliffs. Eileen’s fear of heights kicked in once again as there is not a lot of railing or fencing at places like this in the UK, but she did get to see the cliffs before scurrying back to safer ground.

Moved on then to Ramsgate and Margate but weren’t really impressed by them, especially Margate where the tide was out and the seafront was very muddy and odorous. By then it was 12.30, we had left Sandgate 3 hours before and had managed to travel only 14 miles.

Next stop was Canterbury where we took advantage of the Park and Ride to get into the city centre. We strolled through the shopping area to the Canterbury Cathedral. Unfortunately the Trinity Chapel was closed for Evensong but we were able to look around the rest of the historic Cathedral where Thomas Beckett was murdered. It has a wall where all the Archbishops of Canterbury’s names are inscribed, Thomas Beckett (served in Henry the 2^nd’s time until murdered by his knights), Thomas Cranmer (served in Henry the 8^th,, Edward the 6^th and Elizabeth the 1^{st’s time)} before he was executed by Queen Mary) to more modern day ones such as Robert Runcie (who married Charles and Diana). There are also numerous memorials to local soldiers from many wars.

From there we went to a place called Strood near Rochester to visit Jill’s grandparents’ old home. We then  called it a day after driving in the gloomy and rainy conditions where we managed to get confused on a couple of double roundabouts, even ending up going in the wrong direction on one motorway (back towards Dover). By the time we got to our overnight destination of Maidstone we were looking forward to a drink.



Newquay to Sandgate (West Coast to East Coast)

We are now on the east coast of England in Sandgate in Kent overlooking the sea.  We can’t see across the channel because there is a sea mist.

It seemed like we spent all day yesterday in the car after driving through Cornwall, Devon and Dorset to Lymington in Hampshire.  Once again the boys had to lug our luggage up many floors of stairs to accommodation that was ok but nothing like the brochure indicated.

Phil, Dave and Jill set out to stroll to Hurst Castle they returned some time later having each given up at different stages of the walk and none of them even catching sight of the castle. This morning we found out why – it’s miles away from Lymington. We found it eventually shrouded in mist so photos were out of the question and on finding photos of it on postcards thought it a bit depressing.

We then decided to make a detour via Beaulieu which has an Abbey and open garden. Unfortunately they were having a promotion called an Auto Jumble and a traffic jam several miles long was in progress. So we wisely avoided becoming involved in it.

 Still on the hunt for a castle we stopped at Arundel Castle but couldn’t get a decent photo of it and didn’t have enough time to do a tour. As many who have been to the UK will know there are not a lot of opportunities to stop and take photos on the narrow roads.

We then tried to find the site of the Battle of Hastings – we went through both Battle and Hastings but missed the sign and with such a distance to travel did not have time to turn back.

We were a bit concerned about what we would find at Sandgate as we drove through Hythe on the way here and were underwhelmed with it. Sandgate is much brighter and more cheerful. We have a sea view from our room (once again up 4 flights of stairs).