Back in Southampton for the weekend. Not such a quiet start however because Ches was concerned about our car giving urgent warnings about "battery failure". What if there is something seriously wrong and we break down in a country lane … or motorway AND despite the fact we have brought our old phones and purchase O2 sim cards, we can't call for help. That's two issues actually. The car is one. The other is 02. You think Vodafone has patchy ...

Just over a week ago, that's last Friday, we left our cottage at Coombe Florey and headed back to Southampton via three sites we had planned to visit. We hadn't been overly busy while there in Somerset. My grandmother used to travel to the UK in the 50s and 60s and always said that Somerset was her favourite county. I'd be hard pressed to choose between Somerset, Dorset or Devon. I mean, where does one end and the other begin? The countryside and cottages, v...

Not all of my blogs are solely about our travels and the historic or scenic sights we experience. Sometimes they are about reflection on past experiences in light of things we discover at those places. For example, staying in Puddletown has revived my interest and love of Thomas Hardy's novels … and I suppose I should also take a closer look at his poetry for which he is buried in Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey. Here in Somerset, on what's left of a...

Ches has cracked the whip …. And it's had little effect. Too much happening to find the time to write a blog every night. Apart from posting it here, I use it to put together a photo album when we return home, so it will get written. Here we are a week later, Father's Day here in the UK and tomorrow we leave for Brighton and the easter counties. Back on Monday, we left Puddletown and on to Combe Florey. The name Puddletown means 'farmstead on the River P...

If Saturday morning was a slow start, Sunday was almost a non-event. A long sleep in by all except I, who as usual is awake and up by 5:30. The sun is up then and stays up till around 10:15pm. We spent the late morning at Tolpuddle. I don't usually like to quote Wikipedia, however on this occasion, it's the only site that summarises the story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs. We spent some time in the museum, walked the streets, sat under the memorial shelter beside the...