Day 137, 18 November 2012, Writtle, Essex. We ventured off via a network of public footpaths and parks and walked to the teeny village of Writtle (pronunciation of the "t"s is apparently optional). There was a big glowing orb in the sky today against a blue background - quite alarming until we realised it was just sunshine! All day. So a perfect opportunity for a walk and we were rewarded by having a particularly friendly squirrel run through the trees and fol...

Day 136, 17 November 2012, Hever Castle, Kent. Road Trip!!! Today's big adventure was a drive to visit the birthplace of Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII's second wife and mother of Queen Elizabeth I (which didn't prevent her being beheaded at only 35) (www.hevercastle.co.uk) Absolutely gorgeous little castle set in manicured grounds with some adorable topiary shrubs - including snails, a pig and of course, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - it being only 6 odd wee...

Day 135, 16 November 2012, Chelmsford. Having (eventually) done everything on our to do list yesterday, today we walked to the town centre via Admirals Park at the edge of Chelmsford. Very gray, cold, misty day and even the ducks looked a bit chilled as they paddled about aimlessly. We explored the local Chelmsford Market and felt the first pings of Christmassy-ness when we saw wreaths with holly and berries. It was getting dark by 3 pm due to the low clouds s...

Day 134, 15 November 2012, Chelmsford... Enough to make you avoid information desks... We headed into town after lunch to print out our many and varied e-tickets and booking confirmations for the forthcoming trips to York, Edinburgh ad Budapest. Not knowing the town too well, we googled the Visitor Information Centre. That led us to the County Hall where there was a mildly helpful looking receptionist... but no information as such. (Note, just to get here we ...

Day 133, 14 November 2012, NEWSFLASH!!!! Actually left the house today to explore downtown Chelmsford - Walked to the railway station and then kept going and discovered Chelmsford's bustling high street, specialty shops and malls. Crossed the Chelmer River twice and even saw the Cathedral (picture from internet... who knew we'd need the camera!) Browsed the real estate agents windows, looked in the clothes shops and pressed noses against jewellers windows. All...