magical Hogwarts

Alnwick castle was very special, for any Harry Potter fan everywhere you looked seemed familiar. I couldn't resist the white owl he looked so at home on the castle wall.

YORK Fri 10th

York was fantastic, we took advantage of the park and ride system and caught the bus to the castle, then walked to the shambles and got back on. The views are spectacular no matter where you turn there is something to see. The shambles are narrow and twsity and the buildings almost touch across the street. Chas climed the castle. There was one point while we were waiting for the bus that three buses tried to squeeze into the narrow street at once - interesting to say the least

Antique Heaven Thurs 9th

Chas was in his element at the Newark on Trent antiques fair. There was so much stuff I would have loved but we just wouldn't have been able to get it home. They had everything from furniture and nick nacks to vintage clothing. I must have tried on 50 antique rings but couldn't find one to fit "bugger" Chas bought a couple of little brass things for his shed and I bought some silver charms and a dinky little red double decker bus matchbox car for Ty. We were footsore by the time we got back to South Scarle. We had lunch at the fair - the servings were HUGE, three types of potato and enough sheppards pie to feed six men it was amazing. Needless to say we didn't have tea - we just headed to the Grey Horse in Collingham for a few pints. Greystones was gorgeous Sheena was wonderfull. The room was exactly as it was in teh pictures, the floor actually slopes down quite significantly which was interesting - as the bed sloped a bit as well - felt like I was going to role out all the time.

Avebury Wed 8th

wow this place is AWSOME you can feel the energy when you arrive, the stones are all around you, unlike Stonehenge you can just get out of your car and meander through them. There are several paddocks with circles but our favorite was this one that had the path. you could close you eyes and imagine the ancient druids using it for their ceremonies.

Tewkesbury Surprises

we arrived in Forthampton not really expecting to find anything much but we ran into Peter the treasurer of St Mary's church and he told us to wander around as we liked, we were about to leave when we stumbled across Chas's grandparents Chas and Fanny's gravesite.

Stonehenge

Wow Stonehenge is something I have wanted to see IRL for as long as I can remember. I did2 circuits the first it was quite overcast but by the 2nd the sun had come out and it was just glorious. The sun was setting and the difference that the light changes made to the stone were unreal. We are off to Avebury today then up to Tewkesbury and then to Newark tonight.

UK at last

Well guys posting at last. The trip wasn;t as bad as I thought it might be - we both coped really well - we were buggered by the time we got to Dover last night but we walked into town and had a drink and a feed and walked back which I think helped. We both slept really well and woke around 7am. We wandered back to town and took photos of the streets - they are awsome - windy narrow - cobbled, the buildings are gorgeous. Then we headed to Dover to see the cliffs and the castle. The cliffs are just magic, this pic was taken on the way to Margate from the car. The castle was fantastic, we did a tour of the secret war time tunnels from where they orchestrated the rescue at Dunkirk. The English drive like maniacs park on either side of the road facing any which way - which confuses the hell out of you when there are cars parked both sides and the road is so narrow only one car can go through at a time - we kept thinking we were in one way streets - the WRONG way, but they are patient and courteous and let each other through. After the castle we headed for Glenda and Rons, we were late but I couldn't contact her as I had no bloody service on the phone, we had no idea where we were going and couldn't ring for directions so I found a lovely policeman who gave us great directions - we had been very close 3 times. We had a ball asking questions about how life was in each country and Glen cooked traditional roast beef with all the trimmings and made her famous Black forrest trifle it was YUMMY. We are off to Southhamton in the morning and stonhenge in the arvo and then off to Tewkesbury for the night

Cheers all

A miracle occured

I managed to get all the stuff on the bed into the cases and didn't even have to use the extension zip. The customs man may smile if he checks Chas's case though and wonder why he needs a makeup bag and 2 pair high heels - but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do to get her shoes there. The bags are packed and tagged so we are ready to go. We are just about to take Snow to Skip and Jacks, then there is only the lap top and bits to pack in the morning and it's done and dusted YAY.
Not sure I will sleep tonight for the excitement. Next post will be from the UK.

2 more sleeps

I just finished the ironing and have revisted my to do list from a few weeks ago - have completed the lot except for actually putting stuff in the suitcase so I can relax for a short time. I had a text from Leah in Scotland yesterday and she is going to spend the day with us and come to Loch Ness with us which will be really cool. Next post will be from the UK.