Arrived in Freemantle on 20th October after a short train ride from Perth. It was a really nice little town, reminded me of a chilled out Covent Garden with all the coffee shops bars and street entertainers- the only thing was missing was the heaving crowds. There were also lots of markets stalls everywhere selling anything and everything- lots had Christmas countdowns already (you'd have loved it Alan!)We were only there for 5-6 days but managed to pack a lot in while maintaining the 'chilled' vide which went with the town. The first night we were there we visited Freemantle Prison for a touch lit tour. It was built in the 1850's and never changed until its closure 15 years ago so the conditions were rather bad- the inside reminded me a bit of Shawshank! As it was a night tour they sprung a few surprises to scare us which added to the fun.

Also managed a quick tour of a submarine which was quite good- very cramped conditions but a nice little culture injection!

An unexpected surprise was bumping into the 'Blessing of the Fleet' parade which basically consisted of lots of pensioners dressing up in uniforms, sashes and holding banners parading around the town while canons were going off in the background. Was more of a piece of comedy for us though! We also bumped into the guy I mentioned I met in Perth who was from Bromely again (well it was actually just his mate- he was asleep at the time!) and discovered that not only does he live near me but his Dad works with my mum. To add to the coincidences, I shared a room from a guy from Beckenham (lives very near you Robhypnol) and a girl who is from Guernsey!The night life was good also in Freemantle. Evenings used to consist of eating fresh fish on the quay, having a few pints in the bars, many of which brewed their own beer (Little Creatures Pilsner is a cracking drink!) and heading down to the hot spot called Quayside which the bird watching is possible superior to that of Perth!