Monday 23rd June 2008

Mon 23th June
Taking advantage of our new NT membership we decided to come home via Corfe Castle or maybe Avebury. The decision was made for us when I realised I’d left my camera at the hotel reception when I settled the bill and we had to drive back to pick it up. Luckily we were only about 20 mins into the journey when I discovered it’s loss but it still delayed us long enough to make Corfe castle a step too far so we did Avebury which is the more direct route home.

While we were there we bought a new waterproofed picnic blanket and also a tripod folding stool (like a sort of shooting stick) for me to be able to have a sit down when out shopping or walking.

Sun 22nd June
Our last full day away and happily the forecast was again much worse than the actual weather. As Phil had been doing so much driving and still had the trip home on Monday and then the drive to Marsden on Tuesday we decided to stay a bit closer to the hotel today.

We went to a castle for a wander around (free as we are English Heritage members), there was a nearby Manor House which was National Trust and lots of other local Nat Trust properties so I suggested we find out how much it would cost to become NT members. We prefer the English Heritage but are running out of new castles to visit we often just was a quick look at a place and the cost of entry to NT properties makes that an expensive proposition. Anyway we did sign up so we’ll give them a year and see how it works out.

In the evening we went to a super restaurant called the Olive Tree which was lovely.

Sat 21 June
Phil checked on the net and we found the best beach for fossil hunting, the weather was still forecast to be very bad on Sunday so we decid3ed to try the beach again while it was only light rain. It might have been light but it managed to get us thoroughly wet together with the spray coming off the water. We didn’t find anything on the beach but after a warming cup of tea I found some nice examples in the fossil shop (grin).

Once we’d dried off a little the weather took a turn for the better so we went on to a deserted village further along the coast that Phil wanted to see, it was very interesting if a little sad.

Fri 20th June
We were quite keen to do a bit of fossil hunting so we drove down to the south coast and tried to find a good beach for fossil hunting. The weather wasn’t great but much better than the forecast. Phil found a fragment of fossilised shell but we didn’t have too much luck so we headed north to Bath where we had dinner in one of our favourite eating places (the Walrus and the Carpenter) our very favourite restaurant in Bath used to be the Wife of Bath but that changed hands last year and we still miss it dreadfully.

Thurs 19th June
We stayed in a Premier Inn at Bridgewater just a few steps away for the conference so we were able to sleep in a bit on Thursday, Phil keynote speech seemed to go well and we left shortly after so we had a good part of the day to sightsee. As Thursday was the only day that was forecast to be nice we decided to trot over to Glastonbury to see the Chalice Well and mooch around the shops. We drank lots of water from the Chalice Well and sat in the beautiful peaceful gardens for a while and then bought some bits in the shops; I got a lovely rose quart crystal which sits in my palm like it was designed for me.

Afterwards we drove back to the hotel we had chosen near Bridgewater; it was a lodge hotel which we’ve not used before but it was nice having our own space in a little lodge rather than a conventional hotel.

Wed 18th June
Phil was giving a talk in Cambridge in the morning and then speaking at a conference down at Bridgewater on Thursday so we decided that as I had a bit of a chemo break we’d take advantage and have a long weekend away. While Phil went off to his morning talk I got everything ready to pack so when he got home we just had to have lunch and then throw some stuff into the suitcase to get off.