One of my hobbies is playing bassoon with a local orchestra -the Coventry City of Culture Orchestra. This month started off with the privilege of playing in a concert at the Warwick Arts Centre.
Then it was largely work away from home – 2 extended tours to be precise. Between the 2 tours we visited quite a lot of England and Wales.
The first one was working as a tour leader/hiking guide for a group from the United states on a hiking holiday in the Cotswolds and then in Cornwall. This is a great holiday as we have the chance to visit in reasonable depth 2 very different regions in England and on our transfer days, we visited the cities of Wells and Salisbury.
After saying goodbye to the group at Heathrow, I was on the National Express coach back home for a really quick turnaround, as the next evening I had to be at Gatwick ready to meet a group travelling from Canada for a Best of England and Wales tour. How on earth do you decide what is the very best of England and Wales in a tour which is 11 days long. It was quite amazing the different types of scenery, countryside, architecture etc that we saw on the trip.
During our trip we had a great variety of experiences, starting with punting on the River Cam. Fortunately, I wasn’t expected to have to be the person wielding the punting pole. I’ve tried and believe you me it is NOT easy. That great long pole is very unwieldly.
From Cambridge we then headed up north to York, with its Minster followed by a scenic day across the North Yorkshire Moors to the seaside town of Whitby (possibly most famous for its association with Dracula). Fortunately, there was no sign of vampires on our visit, but we did enjoy the great British seaside tradition of Fish and Chips, and, as the weather was really sunny, a boat trip around the harbour and coastline before some of the group tackled the 199 steps up to the Abbey.
Next day we go to Liverpool, European Capital of Culture in 2008 and being given UNESCO status as city of music. No visit there would be complete without some reference to the FAB 4. I remember that the very first record that my brother bought was “She Loves You” and he’s been a lifelong Beatles fan ever since. A much over-used expression, but they really were groundbreaking in the music that they produced over the relatively few years that they were a group together.
From Liverpool, we spent some time exploring North Wales. Including a narrowboat trip along the canal and over the somewhat scary Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Then a rather less scary ride on the heritage Railway, both from Llangollen.
Our next stop was a bit closer to home for me as we stay in Stratford upon Avon. As it’s so close to home I don’t often get the opportunity to stay in a hotel overnight there, so this was a real treat for me. A day exploring the Cotswolds which almost feels like exploring my backyard and then it’s back to London via Oxford. A free day in London where I helped some of the guests navigate the different Hop on Hop off routes. A final farewell meal and then “Goodbye’s” the following morning as I make sure everyone is safely on their way either home or to their next adventure.
An extremely quick turnaround, as the end of the month saw me visiting family in Cleethorpes and Nottingham, before bringing one of my grandsons home with me as he was coming to stay for the week whilst his mum was at work. His school has a 2 week break rather than the more usual 1 week at this time of year.
One of the first things I do each year is plan in the times that I’m going to spend with my family as if I’m not careful it’s all too easy for it to get squeezed out.
June should be slightly less hectic – although I’ve been known to say that before and it hasn’t quite worked out like that.
Thanks Melissa for taking this photo of us – I was struggling to get myself in the image with my eyes open!