Blogs from Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Faversham was a brilliant place to catsit as we were close to many villages to explore on foot and luckily for us all had old historic pubs for us to quench our thirst at the end of the trail! We are now settled in our last catsit in Amesbury just north of Salisbury and within walking distance of Stonehenge. We have been there previously but will go again before we leave as the site just has this amazing feeling of mystery and intrigue. At the moment the UK is having yet another mini heatwave and far too hot to walk out in the midday sun! We played lawn bowls at the local club today and it was stopped at 12.30pm because of the heat. It reminds me of when we lived in Darwin! Rugby World cup ... read more

Day 7 - The Loch Weir Keeper We headed off about 8:30 this morning towards Cricklade. Google Maps said it was 56kms away. The forecast was for a top of 28C, it's starting to feel a bit like summer. I was navigating today and started following the route which was anything but inspiring. We were on an "A" road with lots of traffic and very little to enjoy in the way of scenery. We stopped a short way out of Oxford to look at options and decided to go down a small lane and reach Crickdale via some minor roads. It would be longer but hopefully more enjoyable. We were instantly rewarded. Hiding just off the main road was a Toll Bridge over the Thames (bicycles were free) and as we glanced right we caught sight ... read more

How time flies when we spend it with our Norwegian family. As explained in my last blog, life in Bergen with the kids is full of events and sport, with interesting places to be and some lovely family occasions. Great family meals with the kids. Great evening pancake Fridays at Rune and Lillians, and the opportunity to celebrate Sofia's birthday at Thomas and Anne Lena's house. So fortunate to be included in these family get togethers. The day before leaving Bergen we celebrated Lilly's 15 birthday as we would not be there for that occasion, and they would celebrate it in the sunshine in Spain. Our 6 weeks just disapeared but the memories of all that we did will remain with us. So, so nice to catch up with everyone and enjoy being part of the ... read more

Hello everyone again We have been out & about again,visited Lacock Abbey which is Britains birthplace of photography. In August 1835 William Henry Fox Talbot captured the worlds first photographic negative at his home in Leacock Abbey.this tiny image of a window would go onto change the way we see the world,for the first time an image could be fixed on paper and reproduced several times. Today we went to Bath on the train and hopped on a on and off bus to see the sights,it was cold and windy and not much sun. We visited Bath Abbey,in the 8th century after Christ,Bath Abbey was founded as a Benedictine monastery Today the Abbey is now a parish church. Kevin is getting used to driving the Land Rover each morning,when we both go to take the 4 ... read more

Upon arising and looking outside it became apparent that today was likely to be somewhat different from a weather standpoint. Our fears were well founded. By the time we got to the parking lot for the visitor center and to catch the shuttle bus to Stonehenge it was spitting rain. The air was noticeably cooler, and with the blowing wind and rain it had become the sort of raw day that you want to avoid as much as possible. Having previously had an extensive visit to Stonehenge, I would have skipped it entirely on a day like this. But Jm had never seen it, and since it is one of the iconic travelers' destinations in the world, we all felt we should go. By the time we stepped off the 5 minute shuttle ride, the wind ... read more