We get up at 4.30am....get sorted out, shower etc...then lug the bags down the steep stairs of the hotel....then a quick walk to Victoria Railway Station....we manage to get a London Black Cab....and head off to Liverpool Street Station...very quickly. The Cabbie floors it ..cursing everyone and swearing merrily away...he jumps about 8 red lights and gets us there within 7 minutes..impressed, he gets left a tip.

It's a Maccy Dee Breakfast Wrap for Grant......and then we hop on the 6.00am train to Norwich. We change at Manningtree and a quick coffee in the ticket station that's been converted to a cafe and pub. The connection train to Harwich shows up shortly and we board it. Blue skies but the temp had definitely dropped a bit. Autumn is in the post.

We get to Harwich international and with a bit of faffing we get through customs and passport control....really it's quite quick and nothing like the modern horror of doing the same thing for an international flight abroad. We're impressed by the Stena Britannia Ferry...it's big...very big..and we head to deck 9....where all needs are catered. The sea looks choppy enough to make the journey interesting. We set sail and spend the time walking the outdoor decks, playing the slot machines, generally exploring the ship......and have some grub. It's fun and the time flies by. You're not alone in the English channel and we see plenty of other ships plying the channel. occasionally we see a small fishing boat bobbing up and down then disappearing in the swell. The sea is far choppier than it looks from the 9th deck. There's plenty of wind turbines out in the channel.....so many that whoever runs them sees it fit to only have 2 out of 30 actually spinning around. Possibly a scam going on there, I think.

We arrive at the Hook of Holland and quickly make our way onto the railway platform, the winds up and the temps are lower than they were in merry olde Blighty. It's not long before the sprinter comes along and we're heading to Rotterdam for our next connection. The train is better than my usual commute back home. At least this one hasn't been cancelled. We don't see much of Rotterdam. It looks modern and grey, like our politicians.