HEADING SOUTH

Today, we headed South for Bristol, a day ahead of meeting up with the Marco Polo, which we are due to embark tomorrow.

Most of the journey down was spent dealing with the small annoying voice in the back of my head nagging me that we must almost certainly have forgotten something. Then the sensible side of my brain would put me at ease by pointing out that we can’t have left anything behind – we have it all with us – including, tucked away somewhere in one of the suitcases, the kitchen sink. Needless to say, the van is packed to the rafters with a very large amount of luggage. The marco Polo should be okay for ballast.

I’m pleased to say that the journey south was smooth and uneventful. The Travelodge we’re stopping in has a Steakhouse right next door, which seemed overkill (and a bit too posh), for for our needs. Neither of us fancied a steak, which was the only thing on the menu (surprisingly), so we went hunting for an alternative, and found a ‘Farmhouse Inns’ establishment (Redwood Farm) a short walk down the road, which, despite being chaos when it came to queuing for food of drink, laid on a perfectly good carvery for less than a tenner and Abbot Ale on tap. It’s amazing just how high you can pile food onto a medium-sized plate, without it falling off, as you negotiate your way back to your table through the milling queues for the bar.

It’s been a long day, and a long journey, but tomorrow, the adventure really begins…