Heather and I just got back from a couple of weeks in England visiting her family. Not too much to say other than we had a great time and her family is all doing well. I will say that as I get older, I’m finding traveling much harder than it used to be. Distances seem further, suitcases heavier and the effects of jetlag much worse. Still I love being there, just don’t like the traveling to there part.
Here are a few pictures:
One of the things we did was attend The Three Counties show — An English county fair. Animals, food, shows and fresh air. Nice day altogether.
Here they are getting ready for the horse jumping competition:
A couple of days later we took a walk on the hills above the show grounds and I got this picture of the from high above:
Turns out that the show grounds covers around 80 acres and looking down at it, I doubt we walked more than a 10th of it.
We had another nice day out walking around an old country house. Brockhampton House is managed my the National Trust. Here’s a picture of the outside. I didn’t take any pictures inside. I should have but didn’t
After visiting the family in the midlands we traveled down to London and took in a show in the West end:
Yup, the Lion King. Fun show and just plain good entertainment — nothing intellectually challenging just music, dancing and a few bad jokes — loved it. We went on a weeknight and discovered a lot of school groups joining us for the show. Their young excitement just added to the energy of the evening.
On our last day we visited the Victoria and Albert Museum. Heather had been wanting to see this for years and we weren’t disappointed. We took a guided tour, had lunch in the cafe and then walked around until we couldn’t walk much more. I was so interested in the exhibits that I only took this one photo of an exhibit on marquetry (one of my favorite woodworking arts):
We also managed a walk through Kensington Gardens, had dinner at a nice place near Paddington station. The hotel in London was small and overpriced but that’s true for most things in London. Still, we had a great time. I will admit that age is slowing us down a little and instead of trying to get around on the underground, we mostly opted for taxis as they got us point to point with the minimum of walking, stair climbing and rushing around.
That’s it for this week. Now it’s back to garden, woodshop projects, and all those quilt blocks I promised to make. If you need me, I’m studying my todo list.
Andrew's View of the Week 
Hi Andrew, it sounds like a wonderful trip. Travelling does get harder as we get older.
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It does get harder, but it was a great trip.
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👌💛
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That was way cooler than my little Midwest trip! I like the look of that little cottage even more than the mansion we visited!
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Sounds like a wonderful trip! With so much to see and do, no wonder you’re ready for a breather. Here’s hoping your to-do list isn’t too overwhelming! 🙂
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It was a great time, but it’s also great to be back home.
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That house looks like something out of an old story. It looks fascinating. Yes , as we get older we recognise the changes in us. We engage a driver when we go to our village and have not travelled by bus or train for a long time. Thank you for sharing.
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I have to say that on this trip we used a lot more taxis than we’ve ever done before. We thought about using the tube in London, but decided the cost of a taxi was worth with it. We did take a train from London to Heather’s home town where her family picked us up at the station but I did thinking about hiring a car and driver instead. I might next time.
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What a wonderful trip. Something you’ll always remember. But I get it about the traveling. Anymore, I just don’t.
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I’m getting close to not wanting to go again.
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Thanks for the trip down memory lane. We lived in the UK (south of London) for two years and spent every week-end going to castles and manor houses, fairs and gardens, and of course, London!
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If I lived there, I’d be very busy seeing all those sights.
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And that my friend, is what retirement is all about. Doing whatever you want, albeit slowly. 😉
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This is exactly what it’s about!
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Looks like you had a great trip! England has always been on my bucket list to visit since many of my ancestors hailed from there but the thought of the travel to get there makes me weary. I agree with you that aging slows us down and we aren’t the spry young’uns we still think we are. 😉
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I love being in England and get to go often since my wife’s family is there, but without that connection I’d be reluctant to make the effort.
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That looks worth the trip, but I’m with you. Traveling is a lot harder than it used to be.
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Between getting older, prices, and airline/government regulations I’m amazed anyone can get anywhere these days.
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What a great trip! I’m the same way about any traveling these days. If I could only just BE there. . .
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If travel was easier, I’d do a lot more of it.
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Sounds like you had a very nice trip and visit. I’m all in for county fairs 🙂
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The county show was a highlight of the trip.
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“I love being there, just don’t like the traveling to there part” — that’s the whole truth of family trips in one line! The Lion King surrounded by buzzing school groups sounds like the best kind of night; that young energy really is contagious. And a marquetry exhibit at the V&A would absolutely have been my one photo too. Welcome home — sounds well worth the heavy suitcases.
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It was a heavy suitcase — gets heavier every year.
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It sounds like a fun time, albeit a busy one. I am glad you enjoyed everything rather than worrying about photos. It is nice to hear.
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It was a great time and I’m not a big picture taker. I’d rather just enjoy a place.
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