England Phase 2 (2)

On this, our last Sunday in England, we wanted to head for somewhere closer to Heathrow so we wouldn't have to rush anywhere on Monday - they day we were flying home. We left Salford heading south to meet up with the A44. This would take us generally south east through places like Moreton-in-Marsh and Chipping Norton on the way to Oxford and other points south. In Chipping Norton we were briefly held up due to a Remembrance Sunday processsion. When we got to Oxford I thought it might be nice to drive through the city so that Pat could have alook at the old colleges, rather than just stick to the boring ring road. Bad idea! Oxford was also chocker with traffic and roads had been closed to divert traffic onto side streets to avoid processions. Following the example of other drivers we turned around and headed back to a likely-looking side street. This took us past the processions but the traffic was very slow. Eventually we emerged on the south side of the city ending back up on the ring road. Sometimes good ideas just turn to rubbish.

I had thought we might overnight at Henly-on-Thames, famous for the annual rowing regatta between Oxford and Cambridge. Traffic wasn't too bad heading into the town and I was looking for what might be a car park close to the centre of town. Not knowing the place we ended up just past the town centre with a forced left turn onto a bridge across the river. No problem thinks I. I'll just drive across the river turn around and head back into town from the other direction. Right? Wrong! Traffic coming into town from the south east was stopped and stretched right back up the hill for a bout 1.5 miles. Oh well, we're flexible so just carry on to Maidenhead.

At Maidenhead, we found the centre of town and parked in a multi-story carpark while we had a break and a bite to eat. Parking wasn't free, it was the kind where you pay on your ticket on your way back to the car and then use it to get out of the boom gate on the way out. Despite charging for Sunday parking, they dain not to operate the elevators on Sunday so you have to trudge up umpteen flights of stairs to your car - very unfriendly. I told Pat to wait by the way out while I went up to get the car and I'd pick her up as I came out through the boom gate. She jokingly remarked that if I was going to get rid of her this might be the best chance I'd get. Prophetic words. As I drove towards the boom gate I didn't see any sign of her. I was distracted by another way out which was for people who hadn't yet paid but properly bypassed that lane and took the correct way out but no sign of Pat (that I could see). I thought "OK - I'll park somewhere close then walk back and find her". Wrong again. One way streets, no on-street parking for miles, and no idea where the one-way system would take me in a town which I didn't know at all. Well, nothing for it but to drive and keep track of my heading and try to circle back around. I was able to u-turn in a side street about a mile and a half away and completed the loop back to the carpark after about ten minutes. Fortunately Pat was waiting on the side of the road, wodering whether I had taken her up on the offer of leaving her there. Fortunately we were able to have a good laugh about it.

After such an experience we decided to head a little further south to Windsor and check out accomodation around there. We found a hotel in our voucher book which looked like a good prospect and on calling them discovered that they had rooms available. This was just a bit further south from Windsor near the A30 near a village called Englefield Green, Egham. This is just outside Windsor Great Park and in quite a nice area. The girl at the hotel gave me directions on how to get there and we found the right road with no problems. However, even driving up and down the road about three times we still couldn't find the hotel. Eventually I called in at the pub at Englefield Green and asked one of the girls how to find the hotel - and she didn't know - but an American lady overheard my enquiry and was able to tell us how to get there. It turned out that we had driven past the discreet entrance several times.

The Saville Court Hotel is now run by the McDonalds group but was originally the country home of some Baron or other (Cohen?). It is set in about 10 hectares of parklike land. It has apparently been renovated in the last year or so and we found it very comfortable. It has over 140 rooms but there were apparently only about 20 people in the hotel while we were there. It was at this time that we discovered that we did not have our book of vouchers from Qantas and couldn't find them even though we practically unpacked and repacked our suitcases in the back of the Zafira. No point in worrying however. We thought that we must have left them in the cottage in Wales.

In the morning we saw squirrels frolicking under the trees and I saw two groups of parrots (yes, parrots) fly over. Then while we were watching out from our bedroom window, a small deer came across towards the building. We also saw a woodpecker busily looking for grubs in the lawn - very special.

Our last day in England was a bit of a non-event. We decided just to drive for a while so headed down to Basingstoke where we had lunch. AFter lunch we headed up through Newbury, where our friend George works, and then onto the M4 back to Heathrow. We got to the airport a little too early and they wouldn't let us check in for a couple of hours so we just found a seat and read our books for a while until it was check in time. The flight to Singapore wasn't as good as it could have been as they had put us into inside sides in the middle group across the cabin so we didn't have an aisle seat between us. Having an aisle seat makes it much easier to get in and out to go to the toilet without disturbing others. The young bloke sitting next to Pat was a bit of a mongrel who made his displeasure at being disturbed well known - tough!