Back to Britain

Another flight was complete (a bit bumpy in places) and we landed at Bristol to the fantastic sound of our very English pilot explaining the weather. Not great windy, cold and raining  …. however we were excited to be in the Motherland again. 

We collected our rental car, and felt so much better as we drove on the correct side of the road.It took a bit of navigating to get out of the airport and finally into the city itself (Georgia was at the front again!) We had an alternate route planned. Thankfully James had warned us just how narrow and small British roads can be. We made it to town and found out hotel. We then headed out for a meal in a mall. It was a gourmet burger kitchen and had lots of NZ connections. Georgia got very excited when she could order an L & P!! It was lovely food – and turns out 2 kiwi businessmen set it up in the early 2000’s with lots of kiwism’s -Kaitaia fire, Steinlager  beer etc, and you could even donate 25p to a Whakatane Save The Kiwi Fund.

The following morning we got organised and went for a tour around the town. It is on a river and is reasonably industrial. The street artist “Banksy” is from Bristol so we wanted to check out some of his work. Turns out lots of his stuff has gone – due to the nature of it – content and it was termed graffiti. In 2006 the council invited some of the world’s best known street artists to spruce up one of the streets. We walked down it and saw some of the amazing work they had created – using 13,000 cans of spray paint. Some of it was really creative.

We then walked through a farmers market and decided to hit the road as the dampness had returned! We decided to head to Truro via an outlet village so it was a bit of motoring!!

Luckily the roads are very good and it was practically divided motorways all the way to Cornwall. We experienced the M5 and the A30 on a wet Friday afternoon – some hopefuls were travelling with boats and caravans determined to find clear skies, near sandy beaches??

We made it to Truro and the Hogg flat at 9.00pm. James came out in a towel – (what’s new?) as he was getting ready for work at the nightclub. We had a quick tour of the pad and shown our mattresses before he headed out working the 10-2am shift. We settled in and got organised. It has been good being in one place for more than a few days. We have been guests of Truro School and have been to the dining room most nights to have dinner. The food is pretty good, and there is a variety. Georgia has found it an eye opener. James is lucky he has some very nice people that keep an eye out for him and have been a tremendous help in his life here.

Since being here we have done some exploring. We went to Land’s End and saw where things often begin and end in the UK. A rustic windswept coastline, that even had the remains of a shipwreck visible on the rocks. We managed to go to St Ives on the finest day we have had. It is a small seaside town 45 minutes away. It has a couple of nice beaches, a Tate gallery and loads of holiday makers. We had a great day nosing around, and took in the gallery and some art. We sat on the beach and noticed the differences.. The British make small fences on the beach to protect their patch and themselves from the elements!

We went to the bar James works at, and experienced a  football match. England was playing Ukraine in the Euro Cup, thankfully the right team won. We heard some of the footy chants and plenty of advice for the team from the local lads. Another day we drove to St Agnes – another bay, but it was freezing cold and grey. We managed to finish our picnic lunch before the rain started pelting down. We went for a drive to the top of a hill to look out over the bay – but had visibility issues. So we headed back to Truro.

On Thursday we decided to head for the big smoke – Plymouth an hour away. The weather was still grey and windy, but thought if the worst came we could roam around the cities warm shopping malls. By the time we arrived the drought had broken, so we found Black Friars and the Plymouth Gin Distillery. We booked a tour and had a great time learning about the drop and all the history behind it. The ‘botanicals’ were very interesting. We had a tasting and then were offered a gin and tonic in the bar or a minature to take home. We opted for the latter, but decided to get some navy strength to hopefully share at home. We walked around the port area and got soaked doing so, and then we did retreat to the mall. Plymouth is a lovely place full of history and some very relevant to NZ. They put the  Plymouth into ‘New Plymouth’ – settlers  arrived from this part of the world. Captain Cook sailed from here – his three voyages, and also the Mayflower to America. Sir Francis Drake was born in the area and also sailed from here.

We took James to Perronporth on Saturday – complete with surfboard stashed in the rental car. His good friend Mitch is there doing a stint as a lifesaver. This is one of the best surf beaches in Cornwall. We managed to get a beach pub lunch in before the rain started! We also managed to gate crash a wedding being held at “The Watering Hole” I’m not sure why you would want to get married at a pub on the beach on a Saturday morning when every man and his dog literally would be there. However everyone was good, and the show went on.

On Monday we took the rental car back to Newquay a bigger town 30 minutes away. It is another coastal spot – but once again the rain spoilt the party. We did get 20 minutes before it set in. We took a bus back to Truro where we started to pack for our departure on Tuesday. We decided to get smarter – and just have one pack operating – the other two for stuff that is out of use at present. So Tuesday came and we were up early to catch the train to Bristol – a 4 hour trip. We had a good trip – the carriage was full of middle aged women on a work trip to the big smoke. They were very chatty! Not much to see out the window. There was very low cloud, and rain. What’s new??

The biggest problem here is parking – it is expensive and rare as we have found out. Guess that is why the public transport is so good.