That is, until 3 minutes past the due time, a lovely English voice came over the loudspeaker to cheerily advise us that the train was delayed due to signal failure and would be at least another 11 minutes. At this point my brain had signal failure and it took all of Hayden’s skills to talk me down off the ledge and wait for the train. I made a quick call to the tour operator to let them know we were on our way but delayed and they assured us if we were only 2-3 minutes late they would wait. Cue second meltdown!
So tube comes, onto the train off the train and rush from Victoria Station to the Victoria Coach Station and push through the milking crowds to our tour bus. Public transport in London is great when it’s working but a nightmare when it’s not!
But what started as an ordinary day, redeemed itself as we drove out of the drizzly London weather and began the 350 mile round trip. Windsor castle is always a treat, regardless of the weather and it was exciting to see the Royal flag flying from the top of the Tower, signalling Her Majesty was in residence today. They also have a display there at the moment of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle - with her dress and his suit, photos from the day set in the rooms that the photos were staged in. The dress is beautiful in its simplicity and the flower girl and page boy outfits worn by Princess Charlotte and Prince George were adorable.
The chapel wasn’t open to tourists today, much to my disappointment. St George’s Chapel is the final resting place of Henry VIII and Edward IV - two of my favourite kings and I do like to pay my respects when I’m here. Additionally, because HM was in residence the changing of the guard didn’t happen today either, so we took ourselves down the Main Street where Hayden indulged in the World'sLargest Mocha and a bacon turnover (yep, it’s really a thing!)
Back on the bus and I had a delightful snooze as we made our way through the beautiful English countryside to Stonehenge. Our tour guide is a qualified archaeologist and was able to give a really thorough history of the digs, however as expected, still no explanation of what the actual purpose of the henge was for. I’d love to come back here one day to tramp through the fields connecting the henges and burial mounds to learn more about the history of the area.
As with so many tourist attractions these days, there is the “Disney” exit through the gift shop where
I avoided purchasing another shirt that claims “Stonehenge Rocks” but did pick up some local chilli sauce to go with the local gin I purchased at Windsor Castle!
An hour to Lacock - a quaint little medieval village, where we had a delicious pub lunch in the George Inn, which dates back to the 1300s. I had my first drink of 2018 with lunch. A delicious local apple cider and happy that I had an entire pint without falling over and giggling like a schoolgirl!
Being a medieval village, many film and tv productions have been set there, including two BBC Jane Austen films, Downtown Abbey and most happily for me, Harry Potter films. Rooms in the abbey were used as the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and the room where the Mirror of Erised where kept. A small cottage next to the church was used as Lily and James Potters’ house in Godric Hollow and Professor Slughorn’s house is just down the street. Even the pub features in the background as Harry and Dumbledore walk down the street.
So with my HP need quota satisfied for the day, our final destination was Bath, home of Jane Austen, Roman Baths, Bath Abbey and some pretty cool Christmas markets.
Hayden and I just did a walk around the main square, enjoyed a gelato and then wound out way back to the bus for an uneventful (read - Sue slept) ride home. A long day but plenty seen and done.
Tomorrow is a full HP nerd day followed by a spooky Jack the Ripper tour tomorrow night. Then it’s off to Paris!
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