A Great Adventure, part 1

Off on my travels

(All photographs in this post were taken by my Other Half)

Although Storm didn’t accompany us beyond the first day, I have chosen to put this series of posts on this blog for two reasons: (1) because it involved a fair bit of walking, and (2) because it was quite an adventure and this blog is already associated with Adventures

Sunday, April 30^th 2017

Having packed ready the night before, we loaded up the car with our bags and Storm and set off at about 9.15am. we collected my Dad, added him and his suitcase to our vehicle and left his home at around 9.30am. from there, we drove to Shropshire, just inside the English border with Wales, where we were welcomed by none other than my friend Sandra, (with whom I had attempted the Dales Way walk) and her family. They provided us with lunch, my Dad with some travelling respite, and a home for Storm for the next two weeks.

Storm did not seem to remember Sandra, despite having been so friendly towards her while on the Dales Way (though Sandra later told us she thought Storm had been faking it!!) I was worried how they would all manage, given that Storm doesn’t seem to like many people (including how Storm would manage) for a whole fortnight. This was compounded by Storm growling, snarling and snapping at several of the family before we had even left. It might of course have been the fact she was puzzled – the look on her face was definitely bemused when we brought her bed-crate into the house. She kept looking at it and going in and out as if to say ‘this shouldn’t be here! What’s my bed doing here?’ Anyway, we left her and hoped for the best. I was determined to forget all about her while we were away.

We left Sandra and co around 2pm and resumed our journey south. Our next stop was Haywards Heath in Sussex, where Dad was getting out. He wanted to visit his late wife’s grave as he had not seen it since the headstone had been installed, then he was to spend the night with his step-daughter. My brother was driving over from Cornwall to take Dad to stay with him while we were away. Plans were also in hand to have something of a celebration – it was after all, Dad’s 89^th birthday. What a way to spend it!!

We arrived at Haywards Heath at about 6.15pm and set off again within half an hour – minus Dad, of course. We drove to Barcombe to put some flowers on my mother’s grave

St Mary's Church, Barcombe

My Grandmother is buried nearby, too

then had a bite to eat somewhere near Tunbridge Wells, 

before continuing to London, where we were scheduled to spend two nights with our daughter.

It was 10pm when we finally arrived in London, after a very long day of travelling, but our missions for the day were accomplished – Storm was in Shropshire (hopefully not being too reactive); Dad was in Sussex, en route to Cornwall; and we were in London. We watched ‘London’s Fallen’, then I went to bed, leaving OH and our daughter watching something else.

Monday, May 1^st 2017

We had planned a relaxing day, but one that involved a lot of gentle walking having been sat down for around 13 hours yesterday. With that in mind, all three of us went to Greenwich Park. As it was a Bank holiday, S was not at work, so she was able to come with us.

I'm the short, fat one!

When we arrived, we went to the café and ate a Panini and had some coffee. I am not convinced the coffee was actually decaffeinated, as I was rather hyper afterwards (I’m allergic to caffeine), but it might just have been the brand – some decaff has more caffeine than others and I have been caught out like that before.

After the Park, we visited a sandwich shop, then into a lovely old church nearby, called St Alfege. Wikipedia says the following about it:

The church is dedicated to Alfege (also spelt "Alphege"), Archbishop of Canterbury, and reputedly marks the place where he was martyred on 19 April 1012, having been taken prisoner during the sack of Canterbury by Danish raiders the previous year. The Danes took him to their camp at Greenwich and killed him when the large ransom they demanded was not forthcoming.^[1]

The church was rebuilt in around 1290. It was in this building that Henry VIII was baptised in 1491.

It's a modern interior, due to some storm damage that took the roof off, but nevertheless it is tastefully done.

By the time we exited the church, it had started to rain, or rather, pour! Well, it was a Bank holiday so what could we expect? Across the road from the church was a vintage market, so we had a quick look around that before heading into the indoor market round the corner as the rain was getting heavier. After coffee/wine in a pub inside the market area, we wandered around the stalls. 

These are all Richard's photos - you can see that food is definitely on his mind!

There were some interesting works of art and photographers’ stalls. One of the photographers explained in great detail how he created his pictures – some taking eight months to complete – before photographing the art for sale. His creations were things like London buses, or phone boxes, in the shape of Daleks and other random items. It was very interesting.

We walked back to S’s house and the rain had let up. Dinner was eaten at The Ledger at West India Quay; we travelled on the DLR to get there, but walked back afterwards. 

There are some weird buildings in London!

I went to bed when we returned, but I couldn’t sleep – the next stage of our Great Adventure was to start the next morning!