Blogs from Herefordshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

We traveled about 60 miles Saturday to see our dear friend, Jenny Harmes who has moved here from New Zealand. This area is called the Chilterns and it was quite different from the Cotswolds. We were much closer to London and some of the towns were very new and very big. The countryside though was delightful. Rolling hills with each field marked by hedges. The villages charming with their old churches and usually a pub being the center of the village. Jenny took us for a scenic drive at the Ashridge Estate which is now a National Trust reserve of over 5000 acres of woodland, walking paths and cycling paths. We saw one small herd of deer. It was just about the coldest day, so we were happy to look from the car. The view of ... read more

This is a trip we nearly didn't make... I wanted to record it anyway. The plan was to take off from work early Thursday and head down to Froxfield, Friday morning head off to Symonds Yat. Then, on Tuesday, just before dinner, I (Hilary) fell unconscious in the downstairs corridor getting a spectacular black eye in the process. Ashley couldn't rouse me so he called 999. I was in hospital for 72 hours where no good explanation for the black out was found. Out in time to head out to Froxfield a little later than planned. The weather was not good. Intermittent heavy showers meant that when we arrived at The Pelican the bike was no longer shiney. We were tired and wet. We managed to completely mistime things so that we missed visiting Ashley's brother. ... read more

Hi everyone We've just finished watching the royal wedding and it was a splendid occasion. The weather was fine and sunny at times which made it a much nicer event for the crowds. They were forecasting 600,000 people along the route but I'd be surprised if there weren't more than that. The pomp and pageantry was quite majestic and the bride's dress was stunning (as you all know). It was quite a contrast from Princess Diana's meringue dress. There were a few references to Princess Diana by the BBC correspondents but they didn't harp on about it. Helen, bless her bought some bunting that we put up as part of the celebration...you'll be able to see that in the photos. We also had union jack serviettes and paper plates. So it was a very British event! ... read more

Short Night The clocks went forward tonight so not too much sleep. Not sure if either of the pillows he had bought yesterday was quite right. It's a bit like Goldilocks. The memory foam was a little small (but it would save space), the other one was too big (though it would probably compress with age). We are having a pillow review when we get home! We walked up the old railway line into the centre of Ledbury for a guided walk with the retiring chairman of the Civic Society. Found out a lot I didn't know but it was so COLD. As soon as he finished we rushed back to the Plume of Feathers for Sunday Lunch, only to find a couple of us who were half way through theirs as they had not completed ... read more

List making I attempted to form a list for our first trip and that was pretty comprehensive. I deliberately missed out some things I should have taken. Water management is a question and which camping club is the best to join. Embarrassment Arrived at Ledbury Rugby Club and parked up in neat lines on car park. Some had taken to the grass, but they were staying longer and looked a bit too close to the action. The large puddle under our van was put down to overfilling the cold water tank........ I had done this at home on a slope so seemed a reasonable explanation. Over 25 Murvies due for the weekend, our first chance to compare and contrast. Warm welcome from all and invited Simon (Garf) and Jess (the other local owners who we knew ... read more