UK Trip

Uk 2013 on Tripline

Europe Trip

Europe Trip 2013 on Tripline

Wonderful Land of Oz

Landed at 6.30 am after an 8.5 hour flight from Hong Kong.

Cleared customs without any holdup and check luggage through to Hobart.

Some beautiful sunrise views over the coast of Sydney but seated over a wing proved difficult to get a decent photo!

The sunrise over the east coast of Australia

A five hour wait now for our flight to Hobart.

Just boarded flight to Hobart - but a further delay while they check an electrical problem!!!!!

Arrived Hobart - at 5.00 pm.  Journey ended after 34 hours!!!

It is great to be home.

Hong Kong

Arrived in Hong Kong for a short stopover. 1.5 hours!

Good flight so far - be back in Oz tomorrow morning early!

Hong Kong airport

London - Last Hurrah!

Warm night but did grab some sleep! Big breakfast before a final repack of the cases. Things didn't look good at the start but all seems to be within the weight requirements.

Later in the morning we caught a bus for Oxford Street to purchase a couple of USB cables left behind in the van! Spent time in Selfridges looking at all the things we couldn't buy but it shows where we are in this world of consumerism! 

Selfridges London

Checked out the green squares in the locality to sit quietly and have lunch - could 't believe the notice indicating that it was a subscribers keyed-park only! 

It was lovely to meet up with Tony and Lyn for a short time this afternoon - funny that they arrived the day we are leaving.

Still very hot as we made our way back to the hotel to collector bags. James picked us up at 6.30 pm to take us to Heathrow for our flight home.

Checked bags in and got our boarding passes for the Virgin Atlantic flight to Sydney via Hong Kong.

Terminal 3 at Heathrow - what a shambles! 

Seen here loading our luggage - hard up for a photo at this stage!

Sad to be leaving our adventure behind and that we are saying good-by to James. It has been a great adventure and one we will look back on with the fondest of memories.

London

The last 9.2 miles this morning. After 4,200 miles this was an easy way to finish our wanderings! The morning was significantly cooler and a much heavier dew had formed on the van and the ground. Time we went home!

Took the van to the storage area in Harlow - a very pleasant reception there with the owner offering to drive us to the station for our trip to London.

Arrived in London at Liverpool Street station - a short walk to James' unit. Had a quick lunch with him before getting a London Cab to our hotel.

Trafalgar Square - warm day paddling

Settled in for a while before walking down to Australia House to vote. Having done this we continued down the Strand to the National Gallery. Spent some time in the 18th and 19th century rooms - always a pleasant experience.

After the Bath - Degas

Back to the hotel before heading out to the Angel for dinner with James and his mates, Mark, Barry and Gary.

Mark, James, Gary and Barry

Home just before midnight.

Hertford

Beautiful morning here in Hertford. We decided to stay another day before delivering the van to storage at Harlow.

This time was needed to leisurely clean and empty the van of all the build-up of three months on the road! 

Campground at Hertford

Chatted with some other Aussies who are on the road for 18 months. They purchased their van from a dealer in Germany - brand new for only €42000.00! 

Looking forward to delivering the van to storage in the morning and then catching the train to London where we have a hotel booked.

Hertford

Congestion tax in London starts at 7.00 am on a Monday morning - so an early get-away was required if we didn't want to be snared by the system! A 6.30 am start from Fann Street was the order of the day. At this time in London the traffic is starting to heat up a little but nothing like the trip into the city on Friday afternoon.

Early morning - Fann Street

The trip to Hertford seemed painless, taking about an hour. We stopped to have breakfast at a parking area.  Arriving at the caravan park before nine meant we had to wait for the office to open!

For our last two days with the van we wanted somewhere that provided all the facilities to wash, clean and relax at the same time. This provided just that. All the linen and clothes we are leaving were washed, and the lovely weather ensured this was all perfectly dry before packing it away.

Hertford - relaxing

We had time to relax and chat with other travellers. Another Aussie couple had purchased a van in Germany and were travelling for over 18 months. Way to go!!

Enjoyed the late afternoon sun and a tasty evening meal.

London

An early start this morning with Petticoat Lane market being our early morning destination. This historic market  is mainly a clothes market, as it has been  for hundreds of year.    

Sculpture - Broadgate London

Shoes - Petticaote Lane market

The old and the new!

Returned to Fann Street for a late lunch with James. The remainder of the afternoon was packing our large cases which we were leaving with James to be picked up in Wednesday when we return to London.

A "selfie" - on the London tube.

Later in the evening we all went out to a restaurant down in Covent Garden. For a Sunday night there were thousands of people still out and about. The meal was delicious! 

Covent Garden

Returned for a good nights sleep.

London

A quiet night in old London Town! Warm, and awake early.

Away early to purchase tickets for a show tonight - Dirty Dancing! But not with Patrick Swayze I hear Helene complain!

... at the Picadilly Theartre

Later took the underground to Pimlico for the Tate Gallery. Still an outstanding museum and perhaps my favourite had to be The Flatford Mill by Constable.

Tate Britain

Returned to Fann Street for lunch with James and later for a delightful walk around the Barbican complex. The residents of this magnificent t development have a keyed-access to private gardens within the complex.

Barbican Lake Terrace and St Giles Cripplegate

An exhibition in the Barbican demonstrated - for a fee - 3-D printing!

3-D printing at the Barbican

Later returned for a bite before heading off to the Piccadilly Theartre for the performance of Dirty Dancing.

Piccadilly Theartre

London

The dog-walkers of Cookham were out early this morning. But what an interesting walk for all - along the Thames towpath.

Away at a leisurely pace to re supply before visiting  Osterley House and before doing battle with the London traffic. 

 Ivory carved Chinese junk

Osterley is a little oasis situated near Heathrow airport - the former residence of the Child family who made their money in banking and controlling the East Indian Company's  trade into England.  Many of the items on show in the house were of East Asian heritage. The ivory carved Chinese junk, the large Chinese vases, the Japanese screens, the silks and cotton drapes, all reflect this trading activity of the 18th century.

Osterly House

Later in the afternoon we set out on an 8 mile journey into The City - exactly two hours later we arrived at our destination.I understand   why we don't do this lightly! 

Night out in Angel

Caught up with James shortly after arriving and later enjoyed a very delightful Italian meal up in Angel Islington. What an alive and vibrant part of London. A lovely summers evening evening and London with the able population out enjoying the last throws of summer! Home to bed by midnight after a night-cap o Jaegermeister with James.

Bampton

How long can this wonderful weather last! Another beautiful morning with sun reflecting off the Thames as canal boats smoothly cruise by ... but we must leave!

Thames at Bampton

Breakfasted and then move on to Farringdon - a village steeped in history with every era of British history being reflected in the town from Alfred the Great having a place here, the Baron's War in 1135, Charles I's defence line here etc. now a quaint market town.

Corn market - Farringdon

Later visited Bampton, the village used in the Downton Abbey drama. A busy little village of the mellow stone build houses. You can see why a TV company would choose it as a setting for a series - but down the road a little there was another village that equally could have been a location!

Bampton Church

Bampton

On to Ashton to the pottery works - nothing special but seems to be very popular.

Onto  Abingdon, another Thames town worth a visit! Perhaps you can become a little braise about how gorgeous some of these villages and towns are - but being on the Thames there is a little more incentive to be cute and cuddly! 

Because we are lining up to go into London tomorrow afternoon what better place to stay overnight than at Cookham - so that's where we ended up!  Beautiful village with a  lovely walking track along the Thames.

Buscot

You can often forget just how important a river like the Thames has been throughout history. The area by the Thames that we are staying at is a long way from the wide bustling river you see in London but nevertheless it was vital to the old community around Buscot. The clearing where we staying is known as the Old Cheese Wharf - a location where the Thames winds its way through a large agricultural area with mellow stone villages dotted along the river. From here cheese was one of the important trading products of the area, and this was collected by the barges plying along the waterway.

Cheese Wharf - Buscot

Thames at Buscot

Opposite us is an old WWII pill-box, one of many along the northern bank of the Thames, built in 1940 as a defensive line against an invasion by the Germans. Keeping an enemy on the southern side of the Thames was thought to be a very effective defensive strategy back then! The pillbox is heavily marked because of the artillery practice target it became in 1944!

Overnights!

We took ourselves along the road this afternoon to Buscot Park and house. We were quite surprised at the extent of the art work in the house - the Faringdon Collection.

Burn-Jones' 'The Rose Bower'

 The grounds were extensive with an Italianate water garden and many other features to keep a visitor interested 

Buscot  Park

We returned to the Cheese Wharf Area via a visit to the Buscot village and weir. A pleasant and relaxing day.

Highclere

Left Upper Clatford for our van's MOT in Andover this morning. We had no issues with any problems with the van but MOTs can be a little tricky for the mechanics go through a thorough check list for legal requirements. No further follow ups were needed.

MOT in Andover

From Andover we ventured north to Highclere Castle - the castle used for the Downton Abbey production. An interesting place - not quiet as glamorous as it looks on TV. It was interesting to note that when we asked how much of the castle was open for visiting, the reply was only the first two floors because the third floor was still derelict.  Nevertheless, interesting.

Highclere Castle of Downton Abbey fame!

Is Earl Grantham at home?

We then headed for the upper reaches of the Thames at Buscot where we parked up on the banks of the Thames for the remainder of the afternoon and evening. 

Upper Clatford 3

A other great night sleep - very quiet and peaceful. Breakfasted and away on a morning walk around the village walking tracks. Some of the tracks run along the back perimeter of the village and have been walked for over a thousand years.

Ancient pathway along the back of the village.

View from pathway.

Visited the 11th Century church before returning for a coffee.

12th Century Church - Upper Clatford

Some beautiful blackberries were crying out to be picked - so I obliged with a lovely bucket full to enjoy later in the day. 

Beautiful blackberries

Helene off to help Fran deliver the village monthly news.

We were invited to lunch at Liz and Peter's home in Andover  - friends of Fran. What a lovely way to spend bank holiday Monday! Fantastic people, very welcoming and fun to spend time with.  Left late and spent our last night with Fran.

Charles, Fran, Nicki, Jim, Peter, Helene and Lizzie.

Upper Clatford 2

Must be getting close to the end of our trip - the disciplined approach to the blog is slipping a little! This is a day late!

Had a sleep-in and listen to the rain on the roof - how lovely. So a late breakfast followed before we joined Fran late in the morning to spend the day with her. 

Later in the afternoon I did some repairs on the van before the MOT on Tuesday. A tail light needed fixing and the electrical connector for a trailer needed replacing. All completed successfully - now just hope the MOT is successful too! 

Another lovely meal with Fran before retiring for a good night sleep.

The classic English pub in Upper Clatford!

Upper Clatford

Raining again this morning but still a delightful view down across the valley.

Near Winchester

We were in the area of the world motorcross championship so traffic was starting to build up. We made our way to Winchester and then to Andover. 

Later in the day we arrived at Upper Clatford to visit Fran for the long-weekend. Great to catch up again. 

Quaint and beautiful Upper Clatford

Had a lovely evening with Fran and other friends. Home after midnight.

... and good company

South Coast

Off for an early morning walk along the beach. A very pleasant part of the country.

Goring by Sea

£25000.00 for this beach shed!

Nothing much of a day except for a number of traffic jams on the motorways! This is a continual way of life for a lot of Brits - the radio is full of reports of hour long traffic jams on motorways and other roads. Too many people  with too many cars trying to get to too many places too quick - and yes we can be accused of the same!

Spent most of the morning trying to organise our storage depot for the winter. We think we have located a suitable venue in Harrow. 

Later in the day we located our overnight at Cheesefoot Head viewing area in Temple Valley. We watched a farmer late into the night trying to get his wheat harvest finished before the forecast rain came - which it did during the night.

Passed Arundel Castle on the way.

Bodiam

Rained most of the night and again this morning. Still, a great view across the English Channel whilst enjoying breakfast and a slow morning.

An old Victorian water tower - now converted into a home!

Left for Rye mid-morning and then onto Bodiam and the famous castle.

Bodiam Castle

Old portcullis at Bodiam

Weather had cleared by the time we arrived at Bodiam Castle. A large number of visitors already there but we were surprised by the numbers arriving after us. We could see how quickly the car park filled. 

Bodiam

Later in the afternoon we moved on to the south coast to Goring-by- Sea for our evening and overnight stay.