Days 21 & 22 Tuesday April 30th & Wednesday May 1st Around Shenfield and then to Penzance

 Two days combined as we were doing personal stuff and travelling by train.  After sorting ourselves out with breakfast etc in No 6 we were ready for our first day back in blighty.  We had some tasks to complete over the next two days which we could only do on the mainland.  Initially Ruth drove us to Chelmsford whilst Ian had to work 😒.  We had a brief meeting at a hotel concerning a gathering later in the year.  We enjoyed a cup of coffee and then drove back to Shenfield.

I & R's azalea

I & R's rhododendron

We had some lunch and in the afternoon Christine went for a walk with Ruth and Ian as I stayed at the house to do some blogging.  We later enjoyed a very nice meal which Ruth had prepared.  Christine took some good pictures of some of their outside plants. We talked some more and Ian and I watched Ipswich Town win a very important game (actually Ian slept through half of it).  It was soon time for bed.   

In the morning we were soon mostly packed.  We breakfasted, finished packing and Ruth and Ian drove us to Shenfield station.  We said our fond farewells and we hope we will meet again soon.  We caught the Elizabeth Line straight to Paddington which was so much more convenient than changing (stuck in the lift at Stratford previously!).  We were at Paddington in very good time and waited in the lounge until our train arrived.  There was some signalling problems around Newbury which delayed subsequent movements and so we left about 10 minutes late on a shorter train but we were lucky and found seats.  We were provided with refreshments for the journey to Plymouth but they dried up thereafter.  The delay became worse and we arrived in Penzance about 30 mins late.  Not good but by our recent standards very acceptable.  We checked into the adjacent Premier Inn, sorted ourselves out and went down for dinner.  It was not brilliant - typical pub fare - but went down well. Tomorrow we have things to sort out in Penzance and on Friday we go home - I shall combine those days into one blog.

     

Day 20 Monday, April 29th Nieuwpoort, Belgium to Shenfield UK

 It was a lovely sunny, warm morning as we awoke and went to breakfast in the Dunes Hotel, Nieuwpoort.  We took advantage of the usual sumptuous breakfast.  We managed to drag ourselves away from all the wonderful food and returned to our rooms to complete the final packing before checking out and beginning our journey back to the UK.  We left the hotel and headed towards the tunnel but because we were not due on a train until early evening Ian had looked up some 

sheep and Bergues wall

suitable stops.  The first one was in France - the small town of Bergues  - with it's city walls and traditional feel.  We parked just outside the walls where some sheep were grazing and walked towards the centre passed the old cattle market.  We had a quick

Bergues belltower

 walk around the modern market being held in the town square and listened to the bells from the belltower (you couldn't avoid them!).  We found a cafe and enjoyed some refreshment.  

remains of abbey

After this we made our way to the remains of the abbey which dominated the town.  The original abbey was destroyed after the French revolution but some parts obviously remain.  We walked around the site and marvelled at the construction before wandering back to the car.  We then set off towards Calais and Ian drove until a patisserie was spied as we approached it. We stopped and Ian went to purchase essential 

tourists!

more tourists!

WW2 remains

supplies. We carried on through the town until we reached a car park behind the beach to the south of Calais.  We parked and decided to walk along the beach.  The tide was out and the sand was fine so we enjoyed quite a walk along the beach.  We passed some of the Atlantic wall from WW2 which was gradually falling into the sea.  After a fine walk we went back to the car and drove to the Cite d'Europe where found a restaurant for a meal. Fully fuelled we went to Eurotunnel and we arranged to get on an earlier train and waited for our time.

A smooth journey through the tunnel and we were back driving on the left hand side.  An hour or so later we arrived at Ian and Ruth's home.  We settled in and enjoyed even more chatting before it came to bed time. 

 

Day 19 Sunday, April 28th Brugge

 It was an overcast day but hopefully was going to stay dry for our trip to the wonderful city of Bruges.  After a very healthy but substantial breakfast we were set up for the fairly short journey to this famous city.  We took waterproof jackets but as we were assured the temperature was going to be quite mild we did not 

the belltower 

take our warmest available clothes.  We arrived and Ian expertly found an underground car park close to the city centre.  We were then ready to

the central square

 explore and soon saw the bell tower which dominates the city square.  Ian and Ruth's daughter, Michelle-Hannah, and her young son were coming to meet us from their home in Frankfurt (5 hours train journey) and we were looking forward to meeting them.

We mooched around for a while and then found a cafe to sit out of the drizzle which had intermittently started.  We consumed our coffees etc and waited as Michelle made her way from the nearby train station.  She soon arrived with welcome greetings all round with Joel especially pleased to see his grandparents. 

We walked around a bit more admiring the ancient buildings and squares.  It truly is a place worth visiting.  It was then time for lunch and we were near a good restaurant we had visited when we had a long weekend in Brugge and so that was our venue.  We all had good hot meal as the weather was quite cold and then 

the canal with boats

swans on the canal

explored some more.  We

on the canal boat

 went for a canal boat ride which proved to be a good decision all round as we saw some swans towards the end and went under some very low bridges.  After this we returned to the belltower square and as it was still very cold we went into a cafe to have Belgian waffles etc.  There was much laughing and catching up with Michelle, we all warmed up and the waffles were very good, some relaxing and the time flew by.  We went outside and were able to touch one of the horses of the pony and traps in the square which was a good experience before it became time to say sad goodbyes to Michelle and Joel.  It had been so good of her to come all that way to meet us and it was much appreciated all round.  We have now seen both Ian and Ruth's daughters on our holiday.    

We then made our back to the car park via the fairground which was literally in full swing. Ian again expertly made our way back to Nieuwpoort and we had a short recovery period before it was time to  find dinner.  We went to restaurant along the seafront in Nieuwpoort and enjoyed a snacky type meal.  It had been a terrific day, the highlight being the meeting up in Brugge and at the end we returned and retired to our hotel.