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Published: July 31st 2015
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Gloucester
The Cathedral Sunday 26 July 2015
It is time to head back to London after an enjoyable week in Wales and the Cotswolds. The experiences we have had are more memorable than the changeable weather. Our fellow guests at the hotel, a football team from the Northeast of England, are looking the worse for wear after last night's celebrations following their championship win. For them it will be a seven hour bus trip. For us it will be an all day to drive that normally takes two hours. We like to meander.
We start the day with a wander around the centre of Gloucester. The rain stopped as we walked past the cathedral and into the city. A wet quiet Sunday morning is not the best time to visit any city and Gloucester was no different. Having seen names of Ethelred, Alfred the Great, and Edward II on plaques around the city we realised this is a very historic place. Driving out of the city we pass some grand houses. After some quick communications with London we head to Oxford for lunch.
Our drive takes us through some wonderful countryside, a mix of arable and pastoral land and the occasional
Gloucester
The Cathedral forest. The roads are quiet so everything is perfect, except for the rain. That is until we approach the outskirts of Oxford. Everyone in this part of England has plans for lunch in Oxford. Once we get out of the tail back we find a Park and Ride, the perfect answer to grid lock in UK cities, only to find it closed on Sundays. The drive into and around the city looking for that elusive carpark meant a rapid change of plans. Polly comes up with the idea of taking us to Abingdon for lunch.
Like many villages and small towns on wet Sundays Abingdon appeared to be closed. But no. We find a hotel serving all-day meals - the Crown and Thistle. The menu is very tempting but we are expecting to be well fed in London so we choose a soup and starter. The soup is minted pea soup. The emerald green colour would go well in the Irish Republic. It was hot and tasty. Our starters were grilled scallops for her and beetroot soaked trout for him. So delicious. The chef was from Sardinia. Time to head for London.
We had planned to arrive about
Gloucester
Pedestrian precinct. 5:00 pm but Polly had us arriving at 4:45 pm. Not to worry there are bound to be delays on the roads closer to our destination. The traffic was moving quite steadily in spite of people heading away on holiday. With just a few kilometres to go the expected happened. Road Closed. Diversions are in place. Polly just doesn't know how to cope with such interruptions to her planning. We thought by now she would understand that Kiwis are very flexible travellers.
As we drive along a quiet road we notice a sign indicating the location of some Anzac War Graves. So we make a quick deviation into the grounds of St Mary's Church (Harefield) and find a large number of headstones marking the graves of WWI Australian soldiers who died at a nearby field hospital.
All deviations are successfully negotiated and we arrive on time. It is great to be back in London with our daughter and son-in-law. We anticipate much talking, much laughter, and much good food.
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