I'm now back in Bournemouth after spending several days in London, followed by a few more in the Cotswolds and Somerset.

(Apologies in advance for any spelling/grammar errors. It's 2.15am and I can't be bothered proof-reading it now!)

COTSWOLDS

I caught the train out to Stroud, Gloucestershire on Thursday (with a woman opposite me who had her gorgeous wee dog on board. Dogs seem to be much more welcome around this country than in NZ, and I don't mean guide dogs either, but people's pets) and was collected at the station by my old workmate, T (Theresa). T, her hubby, Guy, and I all worked together at my first proper job when I was a baby of just 18. I remember T taking my second interview for the reception position. They left NZ in about 1996 I think, so it's been a very long time since I last saw them. And I have to say, they haven't really changed that much. I'd have recognised them if I saw them in the street. I'd like to think I haven't changed much either (got fatter!), and if I have, hopefully it's for the better!

Anyway, T drove me, her two lovely kids and one of their friends back to their place in Nailsworth. The drive was a scenic one and we came to a common area where the cows have the right of way over the golfers, cars etc! T explained it a lot better, but I thought it was pretty cool that the cows have priority! It's some ancient rule - go the cows!

Guy was getting home late from London, and T took the kids out to their basketball game, so I spent some time on the internet looking for places to stay in Wells or Bristol. What a frustrating evening that turned out to be! It took a few hours of searching, emailing and phone calls, but eventually, with T's help, I got myself booked into a nice hotel in Bristol.

The next day T had some work to do and said if I wanted to, I could go for a walk around the village. I must have misheard, as she thought I'd only be gone for about 30 minutes, and I was actually gone a few hours! It was only after I had finished my lunch by the river that I thought to check my phone, only to see a text and missed phone calls from T! I quick-footed it back to their lovely home! I'd enjoyed my look around Nailsworth. It's a very pretty village set in a valley and was built on the wool trade (?). The buildings are made of stone (the newer ones of brick), and everything just seems a bit, well, softer if that makes sense. The trees looked light and fluffy and the air was soft and warmish and it was a bit hazy. It was just really nice. I even got to see a couple of ducks having a bit of a shag while floating down the river. The drake was on top of the duck and kept pushing her head underwater. They were going backwards down the river and didn't see the weir up ahead. So they just went straight over it! They popped back up to the surface and he still had her head underwater! She eventually got away from him and they splashed about in the water for a bit before getting out and doing duck things - shaking water off, grooming and all that. It really was a funny sight.

We headed off for the short and, again, scenic drive to Tetbury. There were fields of brilliant yellow rapeseed flowers, of which I'd seen plenty on the way to Stroud (and all over the countryside). They'd look even more amazing against a blue summer sky, but they did cheer up the rather grey day.

Tetbury is where Prince Charles' home, Highgrove, is. We didn't go there, but we did have a look in the shop in town. There's some really nice stuff in there, but it's not cheap, so I didn't buy anything. We did go to the St Marys church, which is a fine old church with very tall pews! Neither T nor I had seen pews like these before. I'm not sure if I've taken photos of them, but when T sat down on one and closed the pew door, I could only see from her eyes up!

The medieval tower was completely rebuilt in 1891 to an exact copy of the original, and the spire is one of the highest in the country. I think the rebuild was paid for by the man who used to own Highgrove, and he did it in memory of his son. The way the trees on his property were, he could see the church from his front door, so would always see his tribute to his son. Even now, there is condition of living there that no trees are allowed to obsure the view, which I think is quite nice.

We had a walk down the high street to the Highgrove shop and then T treated me to a lovely cream tea. Mmmm, clotted cream and strawberry jam on warm scones - deeee-licious!

We went back to the house to get our stuff and then, kids staying with friends, T, Guy and me headed off. T and Guy were off for a romantic weekend and were heading in the Bristol direction so drove me there. Guy's car is quite cool - the front seats are adjustable in three sections: head rest, main back part and the seat itself. You can adjust them however you please and then if you wanted, you could save the settings. Very clever!

After what seemed like no time at all, we came to Bristol. I'd never been there before but had wanted to visit for some time for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I like the movie 'Starter for 10', which was set and filmed there (check it out if you haven't seen it, it's great!). Secondly, my old flattie in Bournemouth, Rachel, studied there and liked the place.

BRISTOL

After taking me on a mini tiki tour of Bristol and pointing out places of interest, T and Guy dropped me off at my hotel in Clifton, which is just outside the city centre. And it's awesome! If I ever live in Bristol, which I reckon I could do quite easily, that's the part I would live in. There are really nice buildings there, lots of shops and restaurants, and a nice vibe to the place. It's a well-to-do area, but also has lots of students. And super close to town - easily walkable.

I went for the cheap option of having a single room, but sharing a bathroom. Given I'll be in hostels and who-knows-what sort of accommodation in South America (not long to go now - eek!), I thought I'd splash out just a little bit and not stay in a hostel this time, although if I hadn't found this place, I would have had to stay in a hostel I think.

I was on the top floor - fourth - and had to climb up a lot of stairs in a rather narrow staircase to get to my room. It had a tv, tea making facilities and a little window that opened up onto the street and the bar opposite. It was a great spot and the hotel itself was really nice. I went back downstairs and got directions to the local shops and headed for Sainsbury's to get myself some dinner.

I was sharing the bathroom with two other rooms, so up to two other people. I think it may have been just the one though, and he happened to be right next to my room. I saw him check-in. He had a beard. He left some of it in the basin that evening. Ugh.

It wasn't a late one for me, as I had an early start the morning - I was off to the weird and wonderful Glastonbury!

GLASTONBURY

I didn't really compute the instructions the receptionists gave to me about how to get to the bus station. Instead of a 10-15 minute walk, I went on one that lasted about 30 minutes! I ended up at the train station eventually but was able to catch a bus from outside it. Luckily I'd noted down the bus number they said to catch, otherwise who knows where I'd have ended up!

I was so determined to get to Wells that I hadn't even considered Glastonbury until T told me about it. I love the old myths and legends surrounding King Arthur, and this place has a lot to do with them. In fact, their history goes way back and it's even said that a young Jesus visited Glastonbury. There's way too much for me to go into a lot of detail, so probably best to check: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glastonbury

As it says in the Wikipedia entry, Glastonbury attracts people with New Age and neopagan beliefs. There are certainly a LOT of interesting characters in the town!

After talking to a lady in the tourism info office, I set off to Glastonbury Tor. She sent me on the scenic route, which included getting closer to a herd of cows than I felt entirely comfortable with. They are pretty big! I had to walk through a couple of fields with quite a few of them in them! It was a stinky way to go as well (thanks cows!), but I was away from cars and other people and it was actually pretty nice. It's a very special spot, so it was nice not to have too many distractions on the way there.

The tor is quite steep in parts and it was a bit of a mission. It wasn't a particularly warm day, and it was hazy rather than sunny, and thank goodness for that, or the walk up would have been a bit of a mission. But it really wasn't so bad that day.

The view from the top is wonderful. There weren't too many people about either, which was really nice. The ones that were there were quiet; sleeping or having a picnic. It suited the place. It somehow wouldn't have felt right if there were packs of noisy tourists charging around this ancient landmark.

I got talking to another walker about the routes we took to get there. It sounded like she got the slightly quicker, but less scenic way. So she went down the way I came up and vice versa. I was back in town in no time, so on reflection was pleased I had gone up the way I did.

Back in town I got a quick bite to eat and headed for the abbey.

As the abbey guide says, it's 'steeped in legend and history'. It's the earliest Christian sanctuary in Britian. Legend says that Joseph of Arimathea brough Jesus there and they build the old wattle and daub church. The abbey was standing way back in 600, and was destroyed by fire in 1184 and rebuilt. There are wonderful ruins there today. They are really quite something.

There's a sign in the entrance area saying that dowsing is prohibited unless permission is given. I'd always thought dowsing was done to find water, but it's also to find 'ley lines'. I can't even really explain what these are, as I'll probably get it wrong, but they are special earth currents or something, and apparently two of these lines cross paths in the abbey, twice. So it's a special place. And even though I'm not sure I believe in ley lines, the place did have an effect on me. There's certainly something about it.

There's a lot to see there, and have a look at my photos if you want to see more. The photo of marker '3' is the site of King Arthur's grave, and marker '6' is King Arthur's tomb. (Legend says that the monks foud the buried remains of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. In 1278 they were reburied.)

After having a good look around the abbey ruins, I headed for the Abbot's Kitchen. It's remarkably well preserved and full of information. It was well worth the look.

When I got out of there, I saw some birds of prey. There were six in total and for £2 I could get to hold one. Well, it would perch on my arm! There was a very cute little kestrel. The other birds looked so impressive and I asked if the kestrel had been chosen much, as I didn't want him to feel left out. The guy probably thought I was nuts, but said the birds didn't care and the little guy had been picked lots based on the cute factor. So I went for the wow factor and picked the biggest bird there, a huge owl.

I didn't realised they had fixed eyes, which is why they are able to move their heads about 200 degrees. It was hard to get photos with the owl facing the camera. Most of the time he was looking around, but a couple of times he turned his head and looked right at me. A bit freaky! He was a beautiful bird, all 2kg of him (felt quite light). Very noble looking. I felt quite privileged to get that close to him, even though it only cost me a mere £2.

I had a look at various other buildings and interesting sites in Glastonbury, but after several hours of walking, I was stuffed and headed home.

I took the bus to the bus station and saw how much closer it was. Handy for the next morning when I would be off to Wells.

WELLS

My plan for Sunday was to get up early and get to Wells just after 10am, have a look around for a couple of hours then head back to Bristol to check the place out.

I slept in, missed the bus I wanted to catch and got there in time for lunch! So already the morning was gone. I had a bunch of places I wanted to see in England's smallest city, places I had seen in one of my favourite movies: Hot Fuzz!

The NZ Hot Fuzz premiere took place in Welly a few years ago. My favourite movie of all time is Shaun of the Dead, which was made by, and has the same lead actors as, the people who did Hot Fuzz. They had a public meet and greet and I went down there with my Shaun DVD and director/writer Edgar Wright and stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost had photos with me and signed the DVD. It made my week, and maybe even my year! Edgar Wright is from Wells and that is where Hot Fuzz was filmed.

It's a very pretty city with a magnificent cathedral. I thought this cathedral was on the one in Hot Fuzz, but after spending a great deal of time inside it, then checking it out on the outside, I realised it was completely different! Still worth checking out though, it's splendid! (I did end up finding the correct one - it's called the Church of St Cuthbert!)

I also went to the Bishop's Palace, which has a moat around it. Simon Pegg's character, Nick Angel, is filmed running around it.

I took myself on my own little Hot Fuzz sights tour and saw some familiar ones from the movie. It was great to be there!

I probably should have got a sandwich from somewhere, but saw a place that did baked potatoes, so had to have one! The pubs here do great baked potatoes with various fillings, and you don't really tend to see that sort of thing around Welly, and I ended up missing my bus so I could have one (cheese and baked bean filled, with a side salad, in case you were wondering!).

BRISTOL

I caught a bus an hour later than planned and when I got back to Bristol after 5pm, I walked back to Clifton and eventually made my way to the Clifton Suspension Bridge - a masterpiece of engineering if you ask me!

I don't know much about engineering and I have no idea how the great engineer Isambard Brunel made the thing stand up, but I think its a thing of beauty.

I walked along both sides and savoured the beautiful view. The weather by now was really lovely, and still with a little haze, which seems to be common in the English countryside. Sadly, there are signs around saying for people to call Samaritans if they are troubled. I guess there have been a few suicides off the bridge. :( It's a long way down to the river.

The walk there and back took me through Clifton Village. It's a lovely place with shops, restaurants and cafes.

I headed back to the hotel and asked if they could point me in the direction of an internet cafe, as I had to book my train ticket back to Bournemouth. The receptionist did a search on her computer and though there might be one in the shopping area down the road, so I headed down to see if I could find one. No such luck sadly, and by that time Sainsbury's and Waitrose were closed, so I had to get Subway for dinner.

I ended up spending about an hour down at reception while the receptionist tried to book a train ticket for me, but the site kept freezing up - very annoying! Monday was going to be an early start so I could get to Temple Meads station to book my train home for that afternoon.

I got out of the hotel around 9am and walked to the station. Ticket bought, I could go for a little explore around the city. There's evidence of settlement here for many thousands of years, but so many of the grand buildings were built during a time of prosperity during the slave trade years.

I made my way to one of Bristol's main attractions - ss Great Britain, another Brunel engineering feat, at it's dry dock. When it was built, it was the largest vessel in the world. Very impressive, but kind of small by today's standards. After everything it's been through, the restoration job has been extraordinary, and it was fascinating looking through it. What I found most impressive though, was the engine room. Huge engines pumping away. Amazing stuff! Find out more about it here: http://www.ssgreatbritain.org/

After that, I headed to a park in the city for a rest then walked back up the hill to the hotel to get my stuff and I was on my way again.

Unfortunately the train was delayed in Bristol, which meant it got into Southampton late, so I missed my connection to Bournemouth and had to wait around for about 40 or so mins.

I eventually got back to Bournemouth, to Mels and Simon's, and it's great being back. It's like home :)