Afternoon drive to Romsey

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After a quiet morning preparing our wedding clothes we headed on a mid-afternoon drive to the wedding venue, Romsey, near the south coast city of Southampton. When we were planning our trip we decided it would be a very good idea to be in the UK for our daughter’s birthday. This year it coincided with our daughter’s brother-in-law’s wedding and we were invited. So with all our wedding clothes carefully packed in the car we headed out of town. It seemed as though everyone else had decided to head out of town at the same time. We were assured the traffic is often even busier.
The rest of the drive south went relatively quickly although there seemed to be occasional slow periods as we passed off and on ramps that lead to other motorways or large towns. The sun was shining and it was quite warm with temperatures in the mid 20s, our best day of weather so far in the UK.
Romsey is quite an old town with several buildings dating back to the 10th and 11th centuries. It is set out like most rural towns with a town centre and narrow roads radiating out from it. Our hotel was in the town centre. Part of the hotel is original and dates from the 16th century with original walls and some original frescoes. Fortunately our room was not original. The hotel is the venue for the wedding reception next day so it is a convenient place to stay.
We ended the day with a large group meal where we had a chance to catch up with the groom and his parents and meet the future bride and her parents. It was a great gathering with lots of eating and talking to prepare us for the big event tomorrow.

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