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Published: September 18th 2023
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Days 22-26
We left Cockermouth headed for Muncaster Castle on the western coast of Lake District National Park, however on arrival we discovered it did not open till midday, lack of planning on my part, so we kept driving to Holker Hall & Gardens on the southern end of the Park. This was a terrific find, the old mansion & gardens are immaculate, hosting many Queen's, Lord's & Lady's through the 17th Century, a lovely morning tea of scones & tea before leaving for our next destination of Sedbergh & Hawes (again) through the top half of Yorkshire Dales National Park, once again, narrow country lanes across the top of the mountain with plenty of roadside sheep & cattle to dodge. Fought the traffic into Ripon and onto Harrogate for the night. A Friday night in this majestic town certainly didn't disappoint. Pat & Andy advised us this was a beautiful town, and they were absolutely spot on! Beautiful parks & gardens, old magnificent buildings intermingled with modern bars and restaurants in trendy back alley's made it a great night out.
We found a very cool bar, The Banyan Bar, for a couple of pre-dinner drinks, before a short
stroll next door to the Giggling Squid Thai Restaurant for most likely the best Thai meal we've had. Breakfast and another walk around Harrogate this morning before leaving for to the ancient and historical town of York. We wanted to visit the Jorvik Viking Centre, but on arrival the queue was over 100 people with a wait time close to an hour, so we decided to walk the market area, not aware it included the famous Shambles Markets, complete with back alley's including some very famous Harry Potter stores, tea rooms and cafes.
A long and tedious drive to Boston for the night, again through the backroads and villages.
So.....We have arrived in the home of 'ol Billy Shakespeare & Anne Hathaway's cottage - Stratford-upon-Avon - a town full of ancient history, which we'll discover tomorrow as we're here for two nights before flying home on Tuesday. Our room at the Premier Inn looks out onto a waterway complete with long boats, so very peaceful for our last nights.
Our last day of playing tourist before driving to Heathrow tomorrow, a lazy day walking around Stratford-upon-Avon seeing the sights and history of this town. Stops at Shakespeare's
Birthplace, Shakespeare's New Place & his and Anne Hathaway's graves in Holy Trinity Church were done after breakfast, then a boat cruise on River Avon, lunch then another wander along the river before taking a 'foot ferry' back across the river to head back to our room.
At lunch we met 6 Americans on a tour, a couple from Colorado wanted to know where we'd been on our last visit, so a long chat to them over a beer before they went to join the group. As with most Americans they were keen to know what Australia is like and promised their next tour would be to Oz!
So as this will be the last blog from UK, we really must thank our wonderful friends, Pat & Andy, for looking after us for the 10 days spent with them. They took us to some amazing places around Cornwall, took us for wonderful meals at local Inns & Taverns and looked after us whilst at home. Andy had the bar well stocked with our favorite drinks & Pat kept the snacks coming, just like we did many times at home. Four years seemed like 4 days since we'd been
in their home at Maleny. Thank you both so very very much for your hospitality and friendship!
By this time tomorrow we'll be at Heathrow ready to come home.
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed our travels!
Perry & Ange
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