Once again up early and after quick healthy ( yoghurt and granola ) brekky in the room, off to The Hilton down the road to be collected for a full day "coach" trip to Stonehenge and Bath with Premium Tours. Spent a little while in the lobby with John and Kim from Seattle who God Bless, have way too much time and money; adopt me please :-)
After delivery to the coach depot we were ushered to a nice bus with Leon the driver and Alan Doyle the guide, now this is one knowledgeable, very funny guy. Right up front though was a couple who were " unique"; remember the guy from the 60' who wears the white loose cotton shirt unbuttoned almost to the waist and the Maroon leather hat with a feather in the side? Yes this was him leftoverv from Glastonbury with his wife.
Headed off down the highway / motorway to Stonehenge passing Fullers brewery on the way.
Got to Stonehenge in good time and quickly out into the transit bus to the site. Was all I imagined and definitely one tick off the bucket list. The Weather was perfect and it certainly does seem to have a strange aura / feeling to it. Did for me anyway. Got back to the coach in time for departure, but guess what? Feather hat man and the wife no where to be seen, always one in the group. They finally turned up 10 minutes later without a care and sat down. Off we went to Bath.
After delivery to the coach depot we were ushered to a nice bus with Leon the driver and Alan Doyle the guide, now this is one knowledgeable, very funny guy. Right up front though was a couple who were " unique"; remember the guy from the 60' who wears the white loose cotton shirt unbuttoned almost to the waist and the Maroon leather hat with a feather in the side? Yes this was him leftoverv from Glastonbury with his wife.
Headed off down the highway / motorway to Stonehenge passing Fullers brewery on the way.
Got to Stonehenge in good time and quickly out into the transit bus to the site. Was all I imagined and definitely one tick off the bucket list. The Weather was perfect and it certainly does seem to have a strange aura / feeling to it. Did for me anyway. Got back to the coach in time for departure, but guess what? Feather hat man and the wife no where to be seen, always one in the group. They finally turned up 10 minutes later without a care and sat down. Off we went to Bath.
All the way through the lovely countryside Alan spewed forth heaps of facts in a most humorous manner that certainly kept all entertained. A lot of this countryside that we traveled through is owned by the military and low and behold they were having some manoeuvres today as we saw four Chinook helicopters, flying barely above tree height and then three bombers / transporters.
Eventually arrived in Bath on time and had nearly 4 hours to wander around. A beautiful city that has Sooooo much history, much of it Roman, including the actual baths. We went into them and then just walked the streets of the town, enjoying an excellent Cornish pastie for lunch. Eventually met at the designated meeting point for the coach and the trip back to London. surprisingly even hat man and his wife made it back in time!
The trip back was certainly entertaining as the 2 hour trip turned into a five hour marathon, thanks to multiple accidents on the motorway and tributaries. Leon kept popping off and skirting certain blockages but eventually it all just stopped. Alan kept us amused telling us how we should speak, " we are on a coach NOT a bus, buses are red and never get out of London". This and numerous references to the incorrect use of words by Aussies and yanks. The funniest moment however was when feather hat's wife exclaimed " why don't you speak Spanish, we don't speak much English" to which Alan replied " 12 hours together and now you tell me. NO I don't and I'm late for the pub". She spoke perfect English and he said it so that it wasn't rude, but it just summed up the Glastonbury couple and the bus erupted in laughter. We did pass the Brentford Rovers FC home ground and eventually we were dropped off close to South Kensington station so we could catch the tube back. A great day that was long but totally entertaining.
After such a long day, obviously an ale or two were required so we headed to the pub for a quick pint or two and a bite to eat before heading back to the "Deluxe" for a most deserved sleep.
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