A long day’s drive in pouring rain from Cornwall to Malvern via the British Motor Museum at Gaydon. There was a lot of spray on the motorways but we finally made it to Gaydon after 4 hours. A fantastic collection of vehicles, 300 in this hall, 250 in that. Highlights included an Aston Martin Vanquish, some of the streamlined MG record holders, and cars belonging to the Jaguar Daimler Trust. After a quick 2 hour tour it was out into the rain again and off to our friends Anne and Peter who run a just closing now B and B. We are literally some of their last guests, and as usual made us feel most welcome. It has finally stopped raining and there is a beautiful sunset, hopefully things are looking up weather wise. Tomorrow Leon and I are morganning……

An MG J2, is this “Liz” dad ? ………

Our second day in Cornwall, and the same weather, wet ! Our first port of call, St Isaac, otherwise known as the place where the TV series Doc Martin is filmed. Parking up on the cliff top we walked down, and despite the weather there was a constant stream of visitors looking for locations.

Heather in front of the docs cottage.

We then drove on to Lanhydrock House, a stunning NT property. Leon thought it a nice little shack……The gardens were in full bloom, with some of the largest Pieris I have ever seen. Despite the weather a good day. We’ve got a bit of driving tomorrow, but a car museum and the Morgan factory at the end. Proper tourism ! 

An easy start this morning, with the best bathroom shower of the holiday yet ! We decided to go to the Lost Gardens as the weather wasn’t too bad, drizzle rather than showers. Driving down the narrow Cornish roads / lanes was interesting, especially as we were in fog part time. With it being a poor day there were only 4 coaches waiting for entry with us, but 5 minutes later the gardens felt deserted. Most of the Rhodos had gone over, but a few spectacular specimens remained. We had a good hike all around and finished up with a late lunch. I found the old potting shed very nostalgic as it reminded me of my early days at RHS Wisley working under Mr T the glasshouse supervisor. We drove on to a National Trust house and garden but the weather really closed in, so we headed home via the shops for more tissues.

With nobody feeling brilliant it was a good thing nobody inspected our luggage, which was just thrown in to get on the way.we have also added a load of gear from our boat for the cruise on the Caledonian canal. The roads were clear, and we made good time to RHS Rosemoor.  We all had a laugh though when Leon was blowing his nose, Hazel coughing, Heather sneezing and Mark wheezing all at the same time. 

A contrast of formal and informal plants with spring flowers just starting. There was evidence of a hard frost with damaged flowers or new growth. But the Rhododendrons where in full bloom, promising for our visit to the Lost Gardens of Heligon. The accomodation was hard to find, being isolated on Bodmin Moor, but it’s lovely just relaxing  in the early evening sunshine.

We are back on the River Wey in T42 after a long days travel from MV Rotterdam. An easy disembarkation and coach transfer to Schipol Airport was followed by a short flight to Heathrow, just 45 minutes ! However it took another 1.5 hours to get thru immigration. All the electronic scanners were set up for fast track e passports but we were forced to go thru individual checks……? Heather and Leon are fine, but Hazel has come down hard and is feeling unwell. We will pack for Cornwall tomorrow rather than tonight, it is supposed to be a holiday for all. My ribs ache from coughing all day but at least I’m still on my feet.

It’s a balmy 19 at 8pm tonight, we are unused to this warmth ! Since our first arrival the local pair of swans have hatched 6 cygnets…..cuteness personified. Dave from Kendall Car Hire has rewarded us for our loyalty, we are driving a brand new VW Caddy, with just 65 miles on the  clock. I assured him I’d run it in carefully….down to Scotland, across to Wales, up to Scotland and back.

Well thankfully we are both feeling better today, but unfortunately Heather is not too good. A day at sea,  and of rest, should hopefully fix things for her. I’ve been fortunate to have my birthday in various places around the world, but never at Sea, specifically the North Sea.

So far the North Sea has been kind, bright and blustery, and warm ie above 10 degrees ! I’ve had birthday wishes from the Captain, our Cabin Steward Eko, Leon and Heather, Peter and Roz and Hazel has spoilt me with a Scandanavian watch. We are booked into a speciality restaurant tonight, along with a couple from Sydney we’ve got to know. It will be a good finale to what has been a most enjoyable cruise. Tomorrow we make our way back to T42 at Pyford Marina, before heading to Cornwall for a few days. 

I guess it had to happen, crowded tour buses and air con in the ship……Hazel and I have come down. Heather and Leon have been off colour as well, and most of the ship seems to be spluttering away. It didn’t matter yesterday, being a day at Sea. Today we are at Arhus in Denmark. We staggered off the ship to find a chemist but we are back onboard now in bed with hot drinks. Another day at sea tomorrow so hopefully we can get over the worst before resuming our travels as we fly back to the UK 

An easier start this morning, with a balmy 3 degrees. After spending a short time on the hop on, hop off bus we could see our driver was following a different route and didn’t like stopping. Going thru the city centre the traffic snarled up and the snow started to fall heavily. We had eventually worked out which stop the Sweedish Historic museum was on,  but our driver ducked down a side street to find another cruise ship with 4000 Italians trying to get on our bus without tickets. Chaos ! We decided to stay on the bus till we got back to our ship. The 1 hour trip had taken 3, time to retire to the bar……

Our last organised tour saw a more relaxed start, with the clocks put back and an extra hour in bed. First stop a walk through the old town which soon turned into finding a sheltered spot for the guide to talk to us. The wind seemed to be coming straight off the artic, confirmed with a few snow flurries ! Then onto the Vasa museum. This had made a big impression when last visited as schoolchild, even covered in plastic undergoing preservation. It’s a tremendous asset to Stockholm now, the sheer size is hard to convey with pictures. The carving and construction all done in 3 years is amazing. Lunch of Swedish meatballs, better than at IKEA, was followed by a drive to the old town of Sigtuna. By now it was only a few degrees, all the the gutters were filled with snow.After a quick look round we stopped at Aunty Browns for a cinnamon roll. Abba in the bus back was muffled by snoring from some guests until the driver sung a few folk songs to wake us up. All in all a good day with purchases limited to a book on the Vasa. We have another day in Stockholm tomorrow, so will do our own thing on the hop on hop off bus. Mamma Mia what are we going to do – Dance with a queen or send an SOS ? 

Another cool morning, instead of the highly organised Russian tours we had decided to do our own thing here. The hop on / hop off bus took us around the city and its sights. The early morning walk down the Main Street saw most shops closed, whew, then onto the Sibelius monument. As stunning as ever. We then set off for the botanic gardens, and ended up at the Rock Church, which is in the opposite direction. My tour group gave me the sack and docked my pay… Partly carved out of rock the balcony was shaped like the bow of a ship and had a coiled copper ? roof. Lots of light thru the sidelights gave it a tranquil feel until the tourist buses arrived. I think taking selfies in a church should be banned…but the authorities are obviously very tolerant.  Another loop round in he bus saw us catch up with news and emails via the free wifi. To Sweeden tomorrow for 2 days.