MONDAY 21st MAY 2012

LET THE TOURING BEGIN!!!!

Had an early brekky and got our cases packed up, then climbed into our taxi to head to Marble Arch to pick up our hire car from the Hertz depot. We pre booked a maxi taxi through the hotel and for about twenty five pounds the four of us and our luggage were deposited in Edgeware Road in about 10 minutes!
We started to get the paper work out of the way, then Den and Sue realized they had left their document file with all their bookings etc ack at the hotel! Den grabbed a cab and raced straight back to get it while I got the booking organized! Wasn't a great start to the day but these things happen on holidays and it was no real drama - way better than remembering later in the day when we were miles away!
Our car was supposed to be a Vauxhall Insignia, a station wagon that would have enough space to hold our four big cases, but as is usually the case with hire car companies we had been allocated a different model! It turned out to be an Audi A4 Avant which was way more up market, similar size and had a GPS installed!
We started to load up the cases and very quickly realized that it was gonna be a very tight fit, having to have about half a dozen tries before we got all the gear in! After trying for a while to actually get the Audi started (it has one of those key fobs that you insert into a little hole in the dash and press to start) we programmed Stonehenge into the GPS and braved the mid morning London traffic!
We had been warned to stay out of the "congestion zone" that London has in place or face a ten pound fine each time you cross the boundary - which just happened to be straight opposite the Hertz place - so it was a bit nerve wracking as we drove along Edgeware Road, then along many twisty narrow streets, before getting out into the suburbs and a bit less traffic! The GPS quickly got our confidence - putting us on the A40 and then the M4 motorway passed Heathrow and into open country - and once we got the hang of all the road signs and speed limits it was quite easy driving!
The black Audi is very comfortable and being a turbo diesel, has heaps of power and is very frugal on fuel, which a godsend with diesel selling at one pound forty per litre! That's about $2.25 in our language! The GPS is inbuilt and it will take us a while to figure out all the menus etc., but it is an essential piece of gear!
It took very little time to reach Stonehenge, motorway speed limits are 70 miles per hour as are dual carriage ways, and we crested a hill to see the famous stones sitting out in a beautiful green field ahead! We paid the fee to get in and to get an audio guide and spent a while wandering around the weird stones! Hundreds of people there, with lots of very strange types (wizards and witches I guess, ha ha!) gazing intently at all the interesting spots! Such a mystery as to what it all means but we pondered a while and then set off in a south westerly direction, hoping to get to the coast somewhere in Devon by late afternoon.
We got off the motorway and took some lesser roads which turned out to be a winner because although it took a lot longer the scenery along these roads was amazing! Mile after mile of rolling hills, with lush green paddocks, crops and postcard like towns and houses! It was all exactly as I imagined, seeing thatched and shingle roofs, lots of cattle and sheep, but it was the delightful windy tree lined roads and the walls and hedges that made it feel like we were REALLY in England! Bloody great!!!!!
We stopped at Lyme Regis where we got our first glimpse of the Channel, had an icecream on the pier and watched lots of white poms swimming! It was about twenty degrees, a beautiful sunny afternoon and the locals were making the most of it!
From there it along the coast and through lots more great scenery to Exmouth where we tried to get a place to stay but the B&Bs were all very old and grotty, most had several flights of stairs to climb and they didn't appeal at all!
We found a Premier Inn down the road a bit that was reasonably priced, checked in and then sought out the nearest pub! The Premier Inn chain of hotels has basic, comfy rooms and are clean!
So we are on the second part of our trip and already the decision to get a car and drive around a bit has panned out well! If what we have seen today is any indication, the remaining fortnight will be very enjoyable!
The car is great and I had no problems handling the driving conditions, although the bit getting out of London was a wee bit stressful!