Travelling with Cockys

Bright and early in the morning, John took Cocky to hand the hire car back, while Goanna tried to round up the last bits of our luggage. Finally we were ready to set off on the leg of our adventure to which we were really looking forward to (London, Paris and Disneyland), but also which Cocky & I were quietly dreading. This day marked the start of the leg of our journey in which we would be entirely reliant on public transport. It also marked the start of the time were we felt that would be really on our own for the first time since leaving home. The next time we saw a familiar face would be five weeks away when we arrived back home in Melbourne. As we prepared to set off that morning, both ... read more

Almost as if being sunny the day before was too much effort, Sunday brought more rain which lasted all day. With the exception of Little Cocky, who was up early to go out swimming with Margery and John, we enjoyed a slow start. After a bit of a sleep in, we pottered around over breakfast, taking our time to get organised for an afternoon out. Once James returned from the pool (which was apparently a traditional Victorian style swimming baths), we drove up to see historic Oxford. Little Cocky loved the trip there, as we left the car at a Park & Ride stop, boarding a local double decker bus (alas, it was green, not red!) for the trip into the old town centre. Once in Oxford, we had a look through the Ashmolean Museum, and ... read more

Yet another cold and rainy Welsh day saw us on yet another historic Welsh Highlands slate train, this time the Ffestiniog Railway, which runs from Porthmadog to Ffestiniog-Blaneau. The engines used on this railway are Fairley Patent engines, a double boiler articulated engine that looks like two engines joined back-to-back. The route of about 20 miles was more of a valley run compared to its sister railway, the Welsh Highlands railway which we had travelled on earlier in the week. While there was less spectacular scenery, the run was still very pleasant, passing through dense forests and past some fantastic waterfalls and lakes. There was even another castle or two to be seen for good measure. Unlike the other days, there was to be no sunny breaks in the weather all day, so we headed off ... read more

Off to an early start for the day, with the Welsh Highland Railway being our first stop. The railway runs for about 40 miles, from Caernarfon Wharf, up into the highlands and down to Pont Croessor, about 3 miles from Porthmadog. An extension to the line, to join the railway with the Ffestiniog Railway is due to open later this year. Our engine was a Garrett Patent engine, a double articulated type of engine especially designed for steep narrow gauge lines such as this. There is another Garrett engine at Puffing Billy railway, back at home, which we’ve also ridden on. We really enjoyed the 4 hour return trip, despite the cold rainy day and foggy windows! The scenery was beautiful, passing through quaint Welsh villages, old slate mines, past several lakes (including the one where ... read more

27 SEP 2010 - MONDAY SHOPPING IN MEADOWHALL, LAST NIGHT IN SHEFFIELD Another cold and wet day in Sheffield. With Mark away for the day at work, Tracy and Jean introduced us to Meadowhall shopping centre - or “Meadowhell” as the locals call it. There we were able to discover the delights of English department stores - Primark (“Primani”), Marks & Spencer, Debenham’s, H&M, and more... Little Cocky found a Busby outfit (Queen’s Home Guard) for his Build-a-Bear, and we found Possy’s Christening outfit in Monsoon. Poppy found a soft monkey for Possy in Mothercare, she loved it and snuggled straight into it for a sleep. Our last dinner in Sheffield was cooked for us by Mark, with help from Cocky. Buritos and nachos, with fancy ice-cream for desert, mmmm!!!! We gave the kids a fairly ... read more