With a heatwave being forecast for the weekend, we headed away from the coast today hoping to avoid the crowds. We drove north to Wimborne Minster and then took the B3078 towards Cranborne. At Moor Crichel we took once again to the lanes and motored through Gussage All Saints, Wimborne St Giles and Boveridge on our way to Sixpenny Handley for morning tea. Jim seems to know all of the best eating places within a 30 mile radius!! After morning tea we drove on to Tollard Royal where King John had his hunting lodge and used to go hunting on Cranborne Chase. From Tollard Royal we continued on the B3081 to Win Green where we enjoyed breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside. In fact, Jim and Marilyn could not remember enjoying better views from this viewpoint ... read more

We had an early start this morning so that we could catch the ferry over to the Isle of Wight from Lymington. We were aiming to catch the 10.45am ferry so wanted to arrive in Lymington by about 10.15am. We pulled up at the ferry terminal closer to 10.25am and with no booking we were told to join queue 5 and we would be fitted on the 10.45am ferry if possible. When loading started we inched our way forward to the head of queue 5 and it was looking like we were going to be first on the 11.45am ferry when all of a sudden they decided they could fit one more car on. Yay, we made the 10.45am crossing! On our arrival at Yarmouth we turned left towards Newport. Just short of Newport we took ... read more

Not much done today apart from washing, ironing and re-packing ready to head off down to Poole tomorrow. We ventured down to Stalybridge after the last load of washing was on the line so that Bernie could have the No. 2 comb run over his head and chin again. That should keep him looking neat and tidy until we arrive home?! We took Kath and Albert out to dinner at Bowerfield Spice, their local Indian restaurant. We enjoyed a very nice meal before walking back up the road for a last game of cards. After a dreadful run of luck in Spain I had a marked change of fortune and won everything tonight! My money jar was very low, but now has almost as much in it as when we arrived. Unfortunately Bernie’s money jar is ... read more

Oh dear, I am in trouble today. After being a bit grumpy for the last day or so Bernie has finally revealed that he really, REALLY wanted to go to Port Aventura while we were here. I didn’t realize it was on our ‘must do’ list, more something that we might do. I thought that we came to Spain to enjoy the sun and have a really relaxing time just lazing about, but Bernie thought that if there is an adventure park handy that we should visit that too. I must say, though, that I had been a bit shocked to discover that it was going to cost about €40 (each) when we looked at the brochure when we first arrived last week. When I said that we could go today, Bernie decided that it wasn’t ... read more

Oh dear, it was a bit overcast and drizzly this morning so we took the bus into Tarragona to check out the shopping centre. We had decided earlier in the week that if we had a bad weather day that we could have a look at the shops. Unfortunately it is not a very big shopping centre - more Endeavour Hills than Chadstone - so it didn’t fill in quite as much time as we would have liked?! And we certainly weren’t tempted to buy anything with the price of most things about the same or slightly more expensive than at home. While we were at the shops we had a bit of a look for some more books to read. We have read all of our books and nearly all of Kath and Albert’s books!! ... read more