We had a cooked breakfast at the B & B and outside the window we could see the heavy Oxford traffic so we decided not to rush to leave otherwise we would be in the car for ages! We left at about 9:30 - it only took about 1 hour to get to Maidenhead. There we were warmly welcomed by Linda and John (Linda is Kate's dad's cousin). Fiona came in for a cuppa and a chat. We then had to say a very sad farewell to Fiona as she had to head back on the 4 hour car journ...

We had a delightful start to the day with Scotch eggs for breakfast (that we bought the previous day). Then it was time to say goodbye to Richard and Barnaby as Fiona, Calvin and Kate went off in the car to Oxford. It took about 3 hours to get there, just stopping once for a quick coffee. Our B & B in Oxford was very nice and we certainly got that English feeling when we stepped in. We then walked into town and wandered around for a bit, before meeting Andrew...

Richard took the day off today so everyone piled into the Range Rover and drove off to Church Stretton and Carding Mills in the Shropshire area. We were blessed with beautiful weather today and the added bonus of snow lying on the ground! We left Barnaby for a few minutes in the car (with towels all over the leather seats to keep them from getting scratched up) so we could get a hot drink and something delicious to eat at the National Trust cafe. We came back to ...

Kate and Calvin spent the morning doing some chores as it was the second last day in Heswall before heading onwards with their travels. A lovely FaceTime session with Kate's family in Perth filled the rest of the morning and Auntie Fiona enjoyed catching up with Catherine over the screen. As it was a nice sunny day outside (quite rare in this season), Fiona suggested a walk around the walls of Chester. Of course, Barnaby came along as well. And of course, by the ...

Fiona, Calvin and Kate headed into Liverpool today. Barnaby had the day off today though - he got to stay home with Val. It was fairly late by the time we got into Liverpool - around noon. It was very cold today - there was snow forecasted. We stepped out onto the streets of Liverpool to rain and hail while we walked (quickly) to the Albert Dock to the Maritime Museum and the International Slavery Museum.  We spent a couple of hours in these museums which we...