| Blenheim Palace, Cotswolds, England, continued | |
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| We walked out to the street gate when we wanted to leave, but it was closed and locked. We were told to walk back towards the palace and leave by the "town gate," a door in the wall. | The door opened into the town of Woodstock. We didn't have a clue to where we were and where to catch the bus. That's moi, Gordy, and Lisa ahead searching for a bus stop. |
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| We finally found one. It got colder, windier, and wetter. We're miserable, but still smiling, as we wait about a year for a bus to come by and take us back to Stratford to catch the train. | Back in Stratford, between bus and train, Craig made a bakery run for Cornish Pasties. They're great homey warming food on a cold wet night. |
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Leaving the Warwick cottages
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Friday, our last day at the cottages, was designated laundry, packing, and cottage cleaning day. The laundry took hours and hours.
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A few games of euchre made the time go faster. Craig and Lisa whalloped Amy and me. Josh kibitzed. |
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| On Saturday morning it was goodbye to Whitley Elm Farm and Portia Cottage. | Arthur and Jennifer picked us up for the last time |
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| Here they are, the salt of the earth. Their entertaining ways and helpful information endeared them to us. We would liked to have packed them and taken them along with us. | This is our main mode of distance travel in Great Britain , the National Express buses. We were scheduled to arrive in Bury St. Edmunds at 2 p.m., but due to traffic holdups, didn't get there until 4 p.m. |
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Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England
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Closer still.
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| If you travel anywhere by bus or train in south-central England, you go through Victoria Station in London. We got a quick birds-eye view of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben's tower on our way into London to change buses for Bury St. Edmunds. | We arrived in Bury St. Edmunds in late afternoon on July 7. Our first stop was the back garden of Sydney and Marian Rutland, friends of ours for many years. Marian chats with Lisa and Gordy during the cocktail hour. |
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| Everyone gathers in the garden in the setting sun. After the kids and Rutlands got acquainted, we adjourned to the house for a fine light supper. | The family stayed at The Glen Guest House in Bury. |
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| This side view of The Glen shows the round gray flints that are a mark of Suffolk architecture. Note on the white side wall where the old rubble fill has been whitewashed, but not plastered. | Our hosts, Sheila and Neil Vollar, had a lovely table for seven set for the family in the mornings. |
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| Craig serves himself from the cereal and juice bar. | Nearly all guest houses offer a "full English breakfast." The Glen served a very good one. Here's what we got. Yum! |
