Last day in paradise

We awoke with mixed feelings. Our big holiday was just about over which was sad but it will be great to see the family again. We finished packing and had our last breakfast at our posh hotel. We packed the car and the. Went for a walk around the extensive hotel grounds.

We drove back into Guildford to look for some nice things to take home to the kids. We walked around the town which was interesting. Another medieval town with lots of history. It was originally a Saxon town and had a Norman castle with the keep still intact.

So of course we had to climb it.

Beautiful clock built in 1600's in return for the clockmaker to have the right to trade in the town.

Almshouses which have been used to house the elderly residents of the town for 400 years. Still in use.

Unable to find anything worthwhile to buy so we set off on a crusade to find antique shops which may have things of interest but with no luck. Hard to find anything that is lighter enough to take home and would be of any interest to the kids.

We still have hours to fill in before taking the car back to the rental place at Heathrow so we decided to go for a walk. As has happened so often over here we pull off somewhere randomly and we end up with an Iron Age fort up on a hill with fantastic views.

Remains of the Iron Age fort

We clean out the car and head off for Heathrow with great trepidation. We just hate driving on the motorway near there as drivers just go so fast and it is very confusing. We manage to get back to rental place but then have to go off to find a petrol station to fill up the car. Eventually we get it all sorted and catch the shuttle bus to the terminal.
Checking in through the security was a nightmare and it took ages, not least of all because my hand luggage tested positive for something and it had to be searched and checked again etc. We went from having lots of time to fill in at he airport to just grabbing a sandwich which we stuffed down.
Finally we boarded for the six hour leg to Dubai. Within an hour they served a three course dinner. We had assumed seeing it was a late evening flight they wouldn't serve dinner but we did our best to eat it! They served breakfast about 3 hours later.
It was a very short night because we were flying east. By 2am it was light. Geoff slept for a bit but I think I only dozed for a few minutes here and there
Then we landed and waited at Dubai for our connection which was running late.
Oh my gosh the next 14 hours dragged on. It is so difficult to sleep without being able to get comfortable. By the time I reach Sydney I swear I will never travel outside of Australia again!! Once we land we have to wait unit her 20 minutes for a spot to berth. We do however get through customers fairly easy using our e passports. At least I mustn't resemble a terrorist like last trip!
Into the taxi and back to Kingsgrove to see Dad. I am so glad he is OK and has coped with our absence. We stay with him for about 6 hours. Geoff had a bit of a sleep as he is driving home but I managed not to fall asleep as Dad talked.
Ashley came straight around and it was great to see him. Both Jenny and Matthew rang to welcome us home and Fletcher was just over the moon!!
We have had the best of times these last 9 weeks. We have learnt tons about our heritage, we have learnt more about each other, we had disagreements over navigation and how much sightseeing should be fitted into each day and we have persevered when tired and frustrated.
What really struck us however is that after being married so long we still really love being with each other. The other observation was how much we missed our wonderful family and we are so glad to be home.

THE END

Boating on the Thames

Today is our day for boating on the Thames with Brian and Sue. We left our hotel near Guildford early and drove to Kingston before catching the tube and DLR to get to Limehouse where their boat is waiting for us. kingston was a nightmare for parking. It took ages to find somewhere.

Brian's boat.

When we arrived at the boat we spent a few hours chatting to Brian, Sue and Janet. We went to a very old pub for a drink before coming back to the boat for some sandwiches for lunch.

Sue once again drying the chairs.

After lunch Janet and her daughter left and we set off to the first lock to get out into the Thames proper.

Lock gates closing

Water police headquarters.

The old favourites again. Hard to see this time through the driving rain.

The weather deteriorated as the day progressed and several times we got very wet. The rain was horizontal at times and stinging to the face.

Anther lock.

Several times the sun popped out and we went back up in deck only to get rained on again.

Brian and Sue dropped us off at Kingston and we drove back to our hotel after some tea at the pub.

Adventures in Landy Land

Today was another Landrover extravaganza. Twice a year the largest private landrover collection in the world is opened up for the weekend and it happened to be this weekend.

After the morning at the expo we moved onto Shalford Mill which is a fine example of an early eighteenth century water mill that was used to mill corn

The national trust guide was quite elderly and spoke very slowly. After an hour we excused ourselves as we were starving

Then we went onto to see the river Wey. It was one of the first British rivers to be made navigable, and opened to barge traffic in 1653. This 15½-mile waterway linked Guildford to Weybridge on the Thames, and then to London. The Godalming Navigation, opened in 1764, enabled barges to work a further four miles upriver. We spent some time in the visitor centre at Dapdune Wharf in Guildford and took a trip on an electric barge and the guide told us the story of the Navigations and the people who lived and worked on them.

Model of how locks work.

When we got back to our accommodation we took some photos of the place.