After waving farewell (for now) to another city, and another wonderful host and friend. We continued our journey south, to more wonderful hosts and family!
This is where I must admit, the camera was often left idle and forgotten while we nattered away and caught up with people. It’s often difficult to keep it at the front of my mind while busy drinking my weight in tea and reminiscing with loved ones. Hopefully however, we’ll be able to paint a good picture of our tour for all our dear readers (yes thats you too Mums!) and for our own memories too!
Continuing on, our next stop was a lovely little town in Warwickshire, where we would be spending time with my Auntie Charley. Upon arrival we were greeted by a puppy , a unicorn, and an offer of a cup of tea. If that’s not an excellent welcome I don’t know what is!
It wasn’t long before the lego came out so we got down to the important stuff..
After the little one had hit the hay we enjoyed some scrummy cider in pumpkin pots and a scrummy dinner, and chatted away into the early hours.
The next day we had a little time to explore before we were to meet up with everyone again and so we decided to go on Charley’s recommendation and head to the nearby Stratford-Upon-Avon.
We headed along the high street to browse the shops and the town.
Beginning to feel a little peckish, we dipped into one of the many bakeries and cafes present on the street to grab a treat to keep us going.
Tasty pastry in hand, we continued walking until we had left the shops behind and were near the river banks of the… Avon. Where we were treated to views of the river and surrounding autumnal England, river boats and lots of river birds. (Although fortunately they didn’t get a look in on my pastry, that was scoffed up quickly by yours truly)
We were never too far from the beautiful architecture that the town boasts however and managed to spot some of the attractions that bring so many to the wee place.
Wanting to explore more of the other side of the river we were looking for a way across when..
Luckily we found a bridge and used our own two feet to cross the river before exploring further and heading back to the car.
Our afternoon in Stratford-Upon-Avon had passed quickly and so we headed back to the house in time to meet everyone returning home from work and school. And with just enough light left to capture some of Charley’s most recent work.
We spent our evening together chatting, laughing and eating lots more delicious food before it was time for us to head onto our next stop the next morning.
We headed further south once again this time to Wiltshire where a certain Grandma and Grandad of the Epic Sort – or Pam and Robin to some – reside. We were greeted with freshly baked cake and tea, frankly I could get used to that!
We spent another lovely evening reminiscing and catching up. Grandma even dug out some old photos for us to sift through and there were some real gems!
The next day we were lucky enough to receive a guided tour of the area with my G’ma. I say lucky enough because when walking anywhere with her, it becomes quickly apparent that she seems to be somewhat of a local celeb.
Starting off strong we stopped in at Glad Rags the costume shop started and ran by my G’ma and her lovely business partner Jan. They’ve managed to amass innumerable amounts of costumes in their time with the shop (and before) so it was wonderful to look through, and for James to see what such busy bees they’ve been. Most of the costumes they have made themselves over their careers. And they’ve been used in everything from fancy dress parties to pantos to broadway!
We eventually made our way into town where we stopped off for some lunch at The Ugly Duckling Cafe which had the perfect warming dishes we needed on such a cold and windy day.
After returning home and warming up by the fire, with warm food, we ventured out again. This time to the arts centre where we had been invited (I say we, more like Pam but we tagged along) to a birthday party and evening of music.
After a night of music and a little dancing, we headed home to rest our weary heads for another day.
The next morning it was once again time for Farewells Till Next Time’s and we hit the road. Our final stop of the day would be just north of London, but first we were able to stop in and have a quick catch up with my Auntie Alice!
Alice has moved since we last visited so it was a lovely opportunity to explore her new home as well as spending time with the lovely lady!
After more tea (yum) and catching up we went for a walk round the village to explore the surroundings – and the local cosy pub because what self respecting village wouldn’t have one?
Unfortunately our time with Alice was all too brief and we needed to continue our journey up to Hertfordshire. So we said yet more See You Soon’s and continued on.
Within good time we reached our final destination before we would be heading back Down Under. James’ mum, Adeline, in her usual splendour had organised a get together for the whole family and we spent a wonderful evening in wonderful company, with wonderful food!
It was lovely to see everyone again and catch up over the happenings of the last 3 months, it seems everyone had been very busy too!
Our next few days were spent chilling out, organising last minute bits for our next adventure and enjoying our last few days in the UK.
There was also a package waiting for me to open upon arrival, which is always exciting. The time had come to retire my old Janoski Max’s, they’d stepped their way through exciting Visual Art Festivals and projects in Aberdeen; they’d stomped through all of our organising and dashing about the city in the last few weeks before we took to the skies in August; and they’d strutted around the world with me everywhere from metropolises like Tokyo and New York, to quad biking in Cambodia, to the open hills of New Zealand and the deserts of California, and everywhere in between. If shoes could tell stories, they’d probably have a blog too. They’d never once let me down and so the only sensible thing to do would be to get the exact same pair again..
After penning such a love letter to a pair of trainers we decided the best way to try ’em out would be a day in London.
That’s not the reason we went but it ties into the narrative well.
We hit the streets the next morning ready for a day of London exploration.
Our first destination of the day was Dulwich Picture Gallery where a very interesting temporary exhibition was taking place.
Dulwich Picture Gallery’s retrospective of Tove Jannson’s work was beautiful and insightful. It showed everything from her famous Moomin comics and stories, to her early paintings and political works. She was strong willed and a talented and hardworking artist with excellent draughtmanship. There was also a little snug where people were invited to sit and read some of her books in a lovely setting. If you’re interested and in the London area, the exhibition is running until the end of January.
Moomined out we decided to stop for a spot of lunch in the gallery cafe.
After refuelling with warming food we headed back into London’s centre.
The shorter days of late autumn are still a shock to us and the light was already fading as we emerged at London Bridge.
We were heading to the Tate Modern as every time James and I are in London, we end up there. Walking along the river front, we were treated to some excellent reviews!
The Tate Modern had a special treat in store for us: swings! The three of us spent some time enjoying the pendulum effect – in an arty way of course – for a while before heading into the new extension of the gallery to grab a cup of tea and a look at London’s skyline by night.
For dinner we met with James’ school friend Adam and enjoyed another lovely catch up before heading back home for the night. We forgot to take photos again.
On our very last day before our flight, James was keen to stretch our legs in anticipation for such a long time cooped up. So we went out for a quick cycle around the area to make the most of our last few hours before take off.
We got back and tucked the bikes back in, in just enough time before we were heading off on our next adventure. We’re both excited to see what the next few months hold for us, and are definitely looking forward to the sun!
We would both like to say a massive thank you to everyone who managed to meet up with us during out time in the UK, and to those lovely enough to put us up in their homes and treating us oh so well! It was excellent to get to see you all and we’ll be back before we know it!
But until then, our next adventure in ‘straya calls and we can’t wait to take you and this blog along too!
Hatti x
Great blog Hatti and James – really enjoyed your company and wishing you lots of fun in Oz!
What an amazing time you had. Hopefully you slept well on the plane to Australia as you must have been tired. Lovely photos ❤️