It seems such a shame to go on about it because really we are having a lovely time... but... this has been the wettest April in 100 years!
Though officially still in drought, Great Britain is certainly doing it's best to rid themselves of that designation.
At the moment I an writing while sitting in a lovely warm sun room looking out over a small lake in the home of family (now friends) in Wotton-Under-Edge. This could be read as Wotton-Under-Water as they do live in a converted Grist Mill and the bedroom we are using is actually below lake level! This peaceful setting is so wonderful that we decided, after a night in Wales, that we had to come back. Actually there's more to the story which involves a pair of forgotten boots and a yet unopened bottle of champagne. However, I will get back to that (and the ducks) but there is more to our journey that I must record.  
 With (yet another) full English breakfast sticking to our ribs we set out from Blue Anchor towards Wotton-Under-Edge. Again we avoided the main highways preferring to take the narrow back roads. Just past Wookey Hole (?) is the city of Wells with one of the most amazing Cathedrals I've ever seen. In fact the whole area has a very distinct character. Not only do they have the Cathedral but it is a center of learning as well. They began construction on the present site in 1180AD but as far back as 909AD Wells had been chosen as the site for the Cathedral of Bath & Wells. As they say:  "the Cathedral has been a silent witness to over 800 years of life, death, plague, rebellion, war and reformation".
From Wells we stopped in at Dyrham Castle, a rather grand family estate boasting, yet again, a wonderful National Trust tea room. The estate had been closed because of the storm the day before. Damage from the rain was evident as water continued to cascade down the hill digging deep ruts where before there had been only grass. Again there were areas where we could not walk. We even got preferred parking as much of the parking lot could not be used.
Then we arrived at our home for the night, receiving a very warm and friendly welcome. We have been so well received by family here in England. Today was not to be the exception. Shane's cousins were both here as well as their mother. As Lucy Shane's cousin's wife and a wonderful lady!) cooked a delicious dinner the stories, questions and queries kept coming amid much good fun and laughter.
We didn't get off until around lunch time the next day. Leaving behind a bottle of champagne for them to enjoy and unknown to us, a pair of boots which meant we just had to return.
However, not knowing about the boots, we headed west towards Wales for the next leg of our journey. Passing the 'Welcome to Wales' sign we headed north through the Wye River Valley. Very pretty part of the country though it was extremely wet. Huge trees were coursing down the river threatening the old bridges that have withstood so much in the past. People were coming out for a days drive just to watch the flooding. At one point we thought of pulling in to a B&B to wait out the storm, then thought better of it as the house could only be accessed by bridges and the water was still rising. So we stopped at Tintern Abby for some pictures and lunch at the Inn before heading to Ewyas Harold (which we didn't find) and then turned south to Abergavenny to find a place for the night. Though it was early it was so very wet (and we had some banking/booking issues to clear up) we booked in to the first B&B we found that had wifi and clean rooms. Little did we know that they also had many (many!) ducks and chickens. Found out later that they also had birds, fish, cats and two dogs...but it was the ducks that kept waking me up at night. Who ever heard of guard ducks?! Guess they were happy with all the water, or maybe they weren't, but they did wait until I just managed to nod off before deciding that now would be a good time to quack.
So, still tired and still frustrated with the internet, we hopped back in to the car for our 'boot retrieval' return trip to Wotton-Under-Edge. With a stop off to view Raglan Castle we arrived late morning. Again we were greeted with open arms, but more than that there was an invitation to spend another night with them, which we gratefully accepted. With their internet connection and a little help we sorted out our problems and now all is well with the world.
There are always little set backs when you travel. What we have to remember is that it's not how much you see it's how you see it. Here, in this peaceful setting (with the sun actually shining) we have received peace of mind as well as some R&R.
Tomorrow it is back to Wales, perhaps feeling a little less rushed.