Dover Ferry

Thursday 17th July: Farewell England! We managed to drag all of our bags onto the ferry as foot passengers. An hour and a half, calm seas and a nice lunch, it was all quite relaxing, with no seasickness experienced! The White Cliffs are very prominent as they disappear as the ferry steers off to Calais. At the other end we had to wait for the French car hire desk to reopen after a lunch closedown. That's OK, just takes a bit of getting used to.... A turbo diesel VW Golf Estate was provided, rather than the Alfa Romeo 159 sedan, which was impressive anticipation, as we would not have fitted everything into the Alfa - I'm sure! Our English friends timed their rendezvous with us perfectly, and helped us find the VW Golf lost in the car park somewhere, once we found it is was great to drive. Back to the right hand side of the road again!

Butchery Lane

Wednesday 16th July: We couldn't stop walking around the streets of Canterbury when there were sights like this and the twilight evening was still balmy. This is a perfect place for a pub crawl, due to about every other building selling ales in welcoming establishments. I just had to publish our Butchery Lane view, so here it is....

Canterbury Cathedral

Wednesday 16th July: We were able to walk around the town and enjoy the sights and the areas around the river and the west tower gate and adjacent gardens and sculptures in the river. This is as close as we could get to the cathedral due to a religous convention which shut the doors to the cathedral grounds and the building itself. Oh well, we were able to see it lit up as seen in this picture.

Canterbury Weavers

Wednesday 16th July: We had Dinner at the Weaver's restaurant shown here. It is next to the River Stour, which was used to duck and try to drown suspected witches in mediaeval times. The river is very clean, although in times gone by it was quite dirty. This building was built in the 1500s and was a safe house for fleeing weavers from the continent. We were lucky to find a great B&B right in town, within the walls in the cobbled areas, literally 100m from this location. We had a room on the top floor with a view of the West Tower Gate. We'll come back here again one day for a longer stay!

Brighton & Eastbourne

Wednesday 16th July: Our holiday tour left Oxon, around the M25 madness, arriving at the Southern coast of England at Brighton for lunch. We also saw Ali for a quick visit, which was great 'cos its been so long! We continued along the coast (not recommended in retrospect due to the average 30 miles an hour or less), through Eastbourne (this is the pier) and Hastings, stopping at Rye and on to Canterbury in the garden of England in Kent. No-one could be seen swimming in the sea, although some were sitting in deckhairs or playing on the pebbles. Many were on the pier for the funfairs or rides.

The Three Horse Shoes

Tuesday 15th July: This local pub in Benson serves good food and great ales! We were introduced to this pub, and have been here a few times during this trip for group meals. We are led there along the historic Littleworth path, so no driving is required! The gourmet bangers and mash are well worth it, and the scampi is also very popular. Friendly company, a few pints of Loddon, and a long summer twilight, and what else do you need? This pub has many seats and tables, inside and in the walled garden outside, despite its small appearance at the front. As you enter the pub, just about everyone needs to duck until you pass the bar, then you can stand up properly. Thanks to Jon, Sheila, Katie, Luke and Chris for making our stay very welcoming and comfortable, and making these evenings such good fun!

Oxford County

Tuesday 15th July: The abundant wheat and barley was being harvested this week around Oxfordshire. On the way back from Reading, the car radios here broadcast road reports which automatically interrupt your CD or other radio station so you can avoid any impending problems, which are fairly frequent, especially on the major roads. Tomorrow we will drive around the M25 to Brighton, and this facility is very useful.

Reading and Goring

Tuesday 15th July: Our last day in Oxfordshire started with a trip to Reading town and some shopping in preparation for our return to France and Australia at the modernised mall 'The Oracle'. We took the scenic route along the Thames via Goring and Pangbourne, through the many avenues of trees shading the roadways. Goring lock is often used as a postcard image of England, very pretty location on the Thames. Water is very turbulent over the Weir due to the recent precipitation!

St John's Wood

Monday 14th July: The old light bollards at St John's Wood were still operational, a typical entry exit to a tube station. It was a convenient place to park in London, next to this inner tube station, outside the congestion zone. We discovered that it was also used a car park for cricket visitors to Lords, which did slow us down slightly on the way out to Ruislip to visit family. Thank you to John and Dominique for a great dinner evening, complete with piano entertainment! We must do it again soon! When are you coming to Oz?

Big Ben

Monday 14th July: A much cheaper London activity is to simply walk past all the icons of the city. Lunch at the recommended Café in the crypt at St-Martin-in-the-Fields, followed by a leisurely walk from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace, via the Houses of Parliament, was a pleasant way to discover London for ourseleves, and introduce it to our children. We could also audibly keep track of the time with the Big Ben Westminster chimes every 15 minutes. We also experienced the London wildlife in St James' Park, with very tame squirrels, as well as various waterbird species around the ponds.

Madame Tussauds

Monday 14th July: This is a waxwork of Shirley Bassey, which is amazingly lifelike and flattering, like many of the figures in this exhibition in London. We took many of the obligatory photos with well known contemporary and historic characters, celebrities, sportspeople, political figures, famous artists, etc; but it was so crowded, that it was almost a fight to get a clear shot, and even harder to get near the model. A suprising mini taxi cab ride at the end, is a great improvement. It was fun, albeit expensive, an extremely popular place to see in London!

Turville and Chilterns

Sunday 13th July: One place we had to visit locally was Turville, a beautiful part of the Chilterns, well known as the location for the 'Vicar of Dibley' and the film 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'. The church in the village, and the windmill on the hill are recognisable as they were both used on the screen. We visited the very welcoming small church and had a local Brakspear ale at the 'Bull and Butcher' after walking around the valley and up and down the hill for some magnificent views of the surrounding countryside on a perfect English day.

Checkendon Black Horse

Sunday 13th July: This wondeful pub is in the heart of the Chilterns countryside, and only a very short drive, healthy cycle ride, or even a pleasant morning walk away from Benson. You can hit your head in this pub, but the atmosphere, country air, the baguettes and the ale is really worth the visit. We could easily come here every Sunday lunchtime! The rural setting is reinforced from the horses opposite over the fence greeting you as you arrive. Eight of us enjoyed lunch here in the English sun! Thank you, Jon and Sheila for taking us here!

Broadway & Friends

Saturday 12th July: It was summer in the morning, but this afternoon we needed our coats and umbrellas! The country air, the Broadway views, and the company of our friends more than made up for this change. The nearby tourist shop closed fairly abruptly, as its inside space was cleared of visitors to magically turn it into a garage shelter for a vintage Bentley!

Broadway Tower

Saturday 12th July: You can read about this famous tower on the internet. I think it is a must-see in the Cotswolds as it is historic, it is on a high ridge and there are fantastic views across the heart of England. Its also part of a short stroll high in the country and has excellent displays of its history inside. It was last used a a farmhouse to bring up a family of 3 children prior to the 70s when it was converted for public viewing.

Venisian Tea Rooms

Saturday 12th July: We had another trip to the Cotswolds shared with our good friends, and lunch upstairs at this typical English tea room, Riverside Café, with a perfect view of Bourton-on-the-water and the crystal clear river Windrush. Very tranquil strolling around what is called the 'Venice of the Cotswolds', and browsing in the many interesting and varied golden shops. The china and sweetshops tempted us in particular.

Benson Lock

Friday 11th July: A late night back from Wales meant a rest day around Benson. This one at Benson is a typical lock house on the Thames, which is also along a pleasant English walk across the river from Benson to Wallingford. We watched a narrow boat and pleasure craft go up and down the river, at the maximum speed of 5-9 miles an hour. The weir at Benson is almost overflowing due to the amount of rain that has fallen this summer.

John, Paul, George and Ringo

Monday 7th July: All 4 of us spent a whole 3 hours transfixed at this most excellent exhibition of 'The Beatles Story'. The story uses all facets of audio visual presentation methods, including an exact replica of the Cavern Club, where we could experience the Beatles scene and music in the 1960s. Photos, videos, music and interview recordings from the actual band members and their personal associations in the 60s were all excellent. We are all very much more knowledgeable of the most influential and successful bands in history. This is a truly amazing exhibition!

Albert Dock

Monday 7th July: After short drive into Liverpool via beautiful Chester, the industrial scenes around the Wirral and the slick Merseyside tunnel, and we arrived at the Albert Dock, in the 2008 European Cultural Centre, Liverpool. Immense civic buildings on the edge of the Mersey estuary demonstrate days-gone-by prosperity from shipping industry at this world heritage shipping port. But the docks have now been revolutionized, with shops, arenas, galleries, museums and many other tourism facilities. We managed to see the 'Beatles Story' and the 'Tate Liverpool' gallery, as well as check out the interesting shops, and watch the yachts en route on a oceanic race. Apparently on the following weekend, they were expecting 70 tall ships also in the dock!

Holly Cottage

Sunday 6th July: Getting back to Benson after a 1:30 am night in London, meant that today was recovery and also packing for our Liverpool and Wales journey. Pictured is Holly Cottage, which was where we stayed in 1994 when living in Oxfordshire. It was built in 1799, renovated, it was very comfortable, but typical of the flint and brick houses in this area. There was still a reasonable cottage garden, with screening hedges, but some of the local shops, including the post office had gone :-( ***** We left Benson at 5pm and arrived at a little town near Chester called Tarporely for a B&B at a cute hotel.