2013 Eurpoean Tour

Day 47 Home today

Day 47 Home today

We arrived home today at 5.15 am.

It was an uneventful and reasonably comfortable flight. It will be interesting to see if "jet lag" gets us this time around.

It has been a terrific time with wonderful people and magnificent sights. Fritz made it home to find his place comfortably next to Paddington Bear - picked up during the last trip to London and the Nick Walker tour.

The one regret we did have is not packing the binoculars - note to self start a check list and don't rely on memory.

Most frustrating was internet access - while it is more freely available in Europe and we had signal but we had a lot of difficulty actually getting on - hence some of the delays in updating the blog.

Now we are looking forward to the next big adventure - and the simple pleasure that comes from driving old cars and the sometimes crazy people who own them.

As a footnote: we covered nearly 3000 miles (~ 5000 kms) in these old cars with not too many issues to note. Mike and Ruth took out the "golden spanner" award for the corroded core plug while in the Tarn but even this was fixed quite quickly by a local garage ...I think Mike is convinced by his own advice to others and only using steel core plugs!!

Day 46 From Great Longstone (Chesterfield) by rail to Heathrowe

Sadly - today we are packing up to head home.

Mike and Ruth at home

Mike and Ruth kindly took us to the train in Chesterfield and on the way we had a quick look at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. It is a magnificent building, currently undergoing refurbishment which includes a little over the top application of gold leaf on the doors and window ledges. This is the beautiful house used in the BBC's production of Pride and Prejudice - my favorite Jane Austen book. It was a thrill to actually see it set in the magnificent gardens. I could just see Mr Darcy riding across the lawns.

First view of Chatsworth House - Derbyshire

Another little gem that Mike had in store was the church spire in Chesterfield - which is quite fascinating. It was built with wood that was too green at the time and has twisted into a bent spiral, and it apparently isn’t fully attached to the building but has still managed to sit there for hundreds of years!

Chesterfield Church spire - interesting twist!

Chesterfield Church spire - a different angle...on the spire!

The East Midlands train ride to St Pancras was uneventful except that we were assigned to seats in carriage "J" which happened to be at the back end of the double train and with our luggage in tow we had no choice but to scramble on board around the middle section then walk down the length of 5 carriages!! Dale was not amused. It would have been helpful if there was some indication of the carriage locations on the platform before the train arrived.

Sculpture outside Chesterfield Station.

Once at St Pancras - we headed for the taxi rank queue which was quite long. Unexpectedly Alan and Noeline appeared - they had stayed overnight in London (near St Pancras) and where taking in a few local sights before heading off for their flight later this evening.

We took a taxi from St Pancras to Paddington station then the Heathrowe Express to Heathrowe Airport. We arrived with plenty of time and after checking in went to the Emirates Lounge (shared by Royal Brunei) and had lunch. With ample time permitting I was able to squeeze in a massage!

Day 45 Bath to Great Longstone

This morning we said goodbye to Alan and Noeline as they set off to take the 12/50 home to Jan and Phil. It was a little sad to see them drive off as this marked the closing phase of our trip.

Parked (packing up) outside the B&B in Bath .

Dale and I opted to to have a look at the Roman baths before heading off to Greater Longstone to take the MG home. The baths are truly amazing and well worth the visit. We found a parking spot near the baths as it was just on 9 am which apparently can be quite tricky later in the day. The baths have an audio tour which is most informative and included as part of the entry. It is quite fool proof to use - which is needed in my case.

Roman baths - in Bath (UK)

Statues around the baths - more modern additions

Flowing hot spring water that feeds the baths

Wonderful detailed displays explain all facets of life in and around the baths during the Roman times

We planned the route back to Great Longstone and figured it would take around 3 hours. Most of the travel was on the motorway. We did however manage to miss the turn off from the M4 to M5 and found ourselves heading towards the Severn Bridge and the tollway to Wales however it was luck we came across a roundabout before the toll and could make our way back.

Rest of the navigation was fine until we got near the Peak district and we took some time to find Great Longstone due to detours in place. We arrived a little later than expected at about 4pm.

We gave Mike his birthday present that Noeline and I had sourced in Torquay. Given the space in the MG was at a premium I had to nurse it all the way to Mike's - but he seemed to love the glasses and in fact we used them tonight. We had an excellent meal and spent the final evening with Ruth and Mike. We are extremely grateful to them for all their kindness. It is people like Mike and Ruth that make Alvis (in this case MG) motoring such a joy. Big big thank you to you both.

Day 44 – Display and competition day at Killerton House then travel to Bath.

It was a short drive from Paginton to Killerton House and gardens which is a National Trust Property. There were about 200 Alvis on display, a few people even looked at the MG parked at the back of the field in row "G" for the non Alvis moderns.

Kaye and David's Firefly at Killerton.

Alvis's lined up at Killerton - post war in front.

We were amazed at how many people we now know even though we have only been to IAD once before. It was a great day however we needed to set off quite early as we had a long drive to get to Bath for our over night stay. Once in Bath we did have some problems in finding the B&B but a couple of able bodied young firemen were more than keen to help - and get a chance to look over the 12/50. They were most impressed. In our round about travels in Bath we may have crossed the ancient bridge in the centre of town which is a big No-No - I suspect a fine may be in the mail!

Some wonderful old signage on the A39 on the way to Bath.

Day 43 – IAW – Day 1 Steam trip to Dartmouth and surrounds

The Alvis car park - Hotel in Paginton

The IAW organisers provided 3 choices for today's outings and we had decided on the steam train from Paginton to Dartmouth, ferry across the river then later a 1hour cruise up the river from Dartmouth. But first we shopped (and picked up fish and chips for lunch) at the market and shops in Dartmouth village.

Gathering for the steam train in Paginton

We had a couple of hours to kill before boarding the cruise at 3.15 pm. The markets and shops were quite nice - a bit touristy but we did manage to find the odd trincket to add to the luggage.

Car ferry across the river in Dartmouth

Our steam paddle boat for the cruise up the river.

It was a lovely day - although bit too much sun and it became quite hot. We then returned on the steam train back to Paginton and the hotel. Great day and no driving involved.

The formal dinner was tonight. Once again the precision of the wait staff was amazing. Menu included fanned melon (which I studied carefully just in case Ruth asked me to do it again), succulent chicken breast in a white wine sauce and a selection of vegetables followed by a lovely crumble (apple and pear).

The evening was also very warm and we had to step outside a couple of times to get some fresh air. There was dancing until midnight which most people avoided however a small hardy group of party animals stayed and enjoyed the evening naturally this included we Aussies!

(No incriminating photos available - dam !)

Day 42 Arrive in Plymouth then to Paginton for International Alvis Weekend (IAW)

We were awoken (gently at 5.15 am) and deciding not to have breakfast on the boat the night before we felt at liberty to linger in bed for a few more minutes. Left the ferry at 6.15 am after docking in Plymouth (UK).

It did feel a little strange without our tour leader Mike and able navigator Ruth but we were now two and had to manage. At the petrol station we were advised the the best local breakfast was at Wetherspoons pub in Barbicon – but it didn’t open until 7 am after battling to find parking we decided to wait the 10 minutes until it opened but wouldn't linger as the peak hour traffic would be awful in the older cars. This was the first real tea (hot) in 4 weeks and it tasted great!

We discussed the route we would take to Paginton which was only around 25 miles down the road.

Navigating the increasingly busy roads to Paginton.

Even the small roads are quite congested with traffic.

Arrived in Paginton via the long route – but it was busy! at 10.30 am and once we found the hotel we were advised that check in (at the earliest) was 12.30 pm and as any self respecting tourist with time on their hands we went shopping in nearby Torquay. Being the home of the cornish pastie we all decided to have one for early lunch back at the hotel before check in.

Lunch on the foreshore - Paginton

At checked in we caught up with many faminliar faces from 2 years ago plus Clare and Norman who had come to the National rally in Australia just 2 months earlier and David and Kaye who had also stayed with us mid last year.

I was struggling once again to deail with mounting washing and needed a laundrette - which Alan located a couple of streets away - true to form we found the longest way there!

The car park quickly filled up with Alvis's and Alan and Dale were "in car heaven". Noeline and I went to have our nails done in the "Salon de Beaut" ...as you do at these events.

Fortunately we were early enough to get a space in the carpark. It filled quickly

It was terrific to catch up with so many people who had come over for the JNBC and travelled on the Nick Walker two years ago.

Dinner was meant to be a casual affair – but not really. The hotel is quite nice and given there are about 150 – 170 people the wait staff did a marvelous job – very professional group.