Today we leave Montacute, it has been an interesting and very enjoyable time spent here. It is has historical significance, been a source of absolute amazement, and surprise. We join the younger Hockeys and travel on to Stone Henge. A trip of an hour, and we find we get there on time for when our ticket booking are for. There is a small wait at the ticket counter, then we advance to wait in line for the shuttle buses that take people to the stones. Fortunately, we don't have to wait that long, as buses leave every 5 mins. We get to Stone henge, and I am in awe of the formations that are before me. These rocks, were placed here 4000 years ago. There are two types of stone here, Bluestones and Sarsen stones. The largest of the Sarsen stones weighs 50 tonnes, as was transported 25 miles from where Stonehenge is. The Bluestones, came from Wales, a distance of 140 miles away, and they weighed 3 to 5 tonnes each. Blows one mind to think about how they managed to get them here let alone stand them on their end. Another interesting fact, is they are not just sitting on top, they have been sculptured so that when they are in place they are jointed together, with holes having been carved out so that the pointed piece fits securely into the carved out hole. In the fields around are mounds of land, which are burial sites called Burrows. There are around 300 of these bronze aged burial sites within 3 kms of Stoneheng. It was a most fascinating place, and full of wonder.
This is where we say farewell to Sam, Marnie and Angus, as we each have different ways to go. Sam, Marnie and Angus are going to Paris this afternoon, and we to London. Arriving in London, we check into our motel, just before a deluge of rain, then we take the hire care back to where we picked it up, and head back to our room. It has been a good day, but the end of our UK adventure. I have loved England, and more so Scotland and Ireland.
Tuesday, 13th August 2019
After a light breakfast at the motel, we check out, and cross the other side of the road to hail a cab, as the man in the motel reception said that would be the quickest way to get one. After about 10 mins we manage to hail one that is empty, and make way to the Victoria Bus Terminal. We have an hour to wait for the bus to leave at 10, so we just watch the world go by. Once on our bus, we are on our way to Dover. This is a 2 hr and 45 min trip. with a couple of stops on the way. The bus started of 3/4 full, but by the time we get to the P&O Ferry terminal, there are not so many onboard.
We check into the ferry terminal, and the lady asks us if we want to catch the next ferry, as we are in time to take it, and we wouldn't have to wait and hour for the next one, so this is done. We go through the customs and get our Passports stamped, which is a bonus, as getting ones passports stamped these days is a non event when you enter into another country. Our Ferry trip is a two hour trip, and the waters are calm, and the trip was pleasant. It was awesome seeing the White Cliffs of Dover. they are something to be seen,
When we disembark from the Ferry at Calais France, we have the man for the car yard waiting to meet us, to take us to collect the car we have for the next 169 days. It was organised that he would be there with Bobs name waiting, and he was. Bob has never had that happen, so it is now ticked off the list. As we wait for our luggage to catch up with us, he suggests he bring that car over. And while he does that our luggage arrives, and when we turn around to find our man, he is driving a black Hummer. This is our ride from the terminal to the depot where our car is waiting for us. Trust me, this was a real buzz for me, and Bob, another thing to tick of the list, even though it might not have been on it to start with, it was now and ticked off.
Ok so to the depot, we to collect out car, a Dacia Sandero Stepway. We go though the paperwork, and set off for our next stop, a motel in Calais. With this done, we settle in, have some tea at the restaurant, and call it a day.
Wednesday 14th August, 2019
Today we have some distance to travel, and set off after breakfast, onto our next stop for one night in Valframbert. It is a 4 hr trip, and that's not with fuel and food stops.as the car didn't come with a full tank and we are making a detour to Dunkirk. So we put into the navigation system fuel stations, and get to the first one, ok, its only for trucks , next fuel station we go to doesn't take visa cards, and same thing with the next station we go to. Who would have thought that getting fuel would prove so difficult. But we did strike this problem when we were in France before. Eventually we find a station and refuel. We get to Dunkirk, have a bit of a look about, and head off. Once on our way again, we continue to our destination, and check in. Once again, the room is small and the shower is even smaller, but all we need a somewhere to sleep.
Thursday 15th August, 2019
Today would have been mums Birthday, so she has been in my thoughts today. August, in particularly this week is a very busy week for birthdays.
We have breakfast at the motel, and head of for our next place to stay for a month. We are both looking forward to being able to relax for a while with out having to pack up every couple of days, and just to relax. Clesse, is our next destination, this is roughly a 2hr trip. Next stop we make is at
Le Mons, the 24 hr racing circuit. Today is a public holiday apparently, so there is next to no one here, we walk though to the race track and observe there are bikes racing, and figure it must be a practice day. For those who do not know, like I didn't, this is where they hold a 24 hr formula car race. On the road again, continue onwards towards our destination. The roads become narrower and narrower as we get closer to Clesse. With today being a public holiday, it is strange not having much traffic on the roads. We get to Clesse, and it is a very tiny village, and as we drive through, don't see anything in the way of shops or even pubs.We wanted small villages and this is what it is. Anyhow onto where we are staying, and it is 3 kms out the village. We find the place, and we have arrived early and not everything has been done, but that is ok, we wait. Once we get in and take the luggage out, we have to go into somewhere to get some groceries for the next few days. We ask our host and she suggests Parthenay. So off we go to find a shop that we are able to get some supplies. Parthenay is about 20 mins from where we are so not to far away, but the shopping centre we find is just one huge shop. All is good. we get what we need, and head back, have some tea, and settle in. Our host called in on us while we were eating dinner, and gave us a bottle of Apple juice that they make on the farm here as it is an apple orchard were we are staying,
Friday 16th August 2019
A morning of washing, and just relaxing.
In the afternoon we went for a drive into a place called Bressuire. A nice place, and as we were walking along the shops we asked a lady who was stacking boxes outside ready for the recycle men to collect, if she could tell us if there was a local grocery store near. And in her perfect English she gave us directions for the shopping area. She was from London, and has been here for 14 years.
Saturday 17th August 2019
Bit of a rainy, windy day today. Didn't do much throughout the day. A day of forced resting. We did however drive back into Parthenay to find some tea. So we checked out what wss about, and decided on Vietnamese. Set the gps and tried to find the Resturant. Couldn't find it, even though we tried three times. But w know where the Gendarmerie station is. As that is where the gps took us each time. So we scraped Vietnamese , and decided on Chinese. Turns out it was a great choice. This place, the Panda Wok, is huge. It is a all you can eat Buffett, including drinks and desserts. Wines, beers, soft drinks, juices, and many other drinks on offer. It is sort of something like a sizzler set up, and line ups just as long. Luckily for us, we were second through the door, as we were waiting for the place to open. There was so much food, and if you knew hood top speak French, you could select raw meats and fish, and the chefs would cook it for you.
Sunday 18th August 2019
Another day of forced rest, as the weather is not favorable to be out and about. Rainy, and windy.
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