We had breakfast and checked out of the hotel, then lugged our luggage down the steps of the Underground and then back up the steps to King’s Cross station. While we rested I was able to peer through the train station and see platforms 9 and 10 – made famous by the Harry Potter books. A lot of semi-belligerent drunks were strolling about – one got sick within a few feet of us.
We took our luggage and walked 5 blocks or so to the car rental place and spent 90 minutes getting a car rented. Dad took the wheel and we headed to the M4 out of London. Unfortunately the signs were less that adequate – and we got lost. Spent about two hours driving around some strange streets before we found our way again. It was very frustrating. We almost crashed several times because of oncoming careless drivers.
About an hour and a half or so out of London we started south towards Avebury to see Stonehenge. It was an amazing sight. The most striking thing about it was it’s location – no trees – just in the middle of a wide open field and a huge sky overhead. They charged 4 pounds to get in, but all the concessions/admissions were very well hidden. Lots of people, but you didn’t notice. Stonehenge was roped off, but you could get quite close.
From there we headed to Bristol and looked for our bed & breakfast. Very picturesque English countryside. Nice lady running it (Mrs. Keele). The place was called Valley Farm. We walked to a pub for dinner, but they didn’t serve food on Mondays (par for the course today). We drove into the next village, Chew Magna, and ate at the Pelican Inn. It was a nice little pub – great food. There was a little baby on the bar and teenagers doing homework at the tables. Had a few beers and headed back for sleep.
