I slept reasonably well… apart from a nightmare in
which I was having a rather bitter argument about fish tank husbandry with some
of the people with whom I went to Boys Brigade fifty years ago.
I woke shortly after seven o’clock and made toast as
quietly as I could. Effectively only having one room made it difficult for the
early riser (me) not to wake those who like a lie-in (“er
indoors TM” and the dogs)
Whilst “er indoors TM” had
a shower I took the dogs over the road to the park to do what dogs do. Our
accommodation had been billed as having a garden in which presumably dogs could
do things, but there was no garden… just a manky courtyard. But the park was
close and pretty. The dogs did what was expected of them. It was a shame that
Morgan did his over Treacle, but that’s dogs for you.
As I waited for them to rake out so a rather foxy
young lady asked if she could take photos of the dogs. She seemed enthralled
with them. They seemed utterly disinterested in her.
We went back to base, and it wasn’t then long before
we were all packed. Now we were leaving I’d rather taken to where we were
staying. Once we’d turned the heating down and realised that one of the kitchen
worktops was on wheels (and so could be used as a table) the place was
perfectly serviceable… but for two main drawbacks. The doors were heavy and
would slam closed, and if a dog got caught it would have done serious damage.
And the pub next door did attract the element that likes shouting profanities
as loud as it can as late as it can.
But on reflection I’d probably stay there again when
we next visit Cheltenham. Which we will.
We set the sat-nav for Cobham, and off we went. But
not the motorway services at Cobham; the village. We’d seen there were a couple
of adventure lab series there, and they made for a good half-hour’s walk. And (just
like the ones in Cheltenham) they took us to the sort of places that aren’t
mentioned in the tourist’s guide books. We saw dragons and tigers on shop
roofs, a skate park that only the locals would know, a seven hundred year old
cottage…
And we found The Bear
where we had a very good bit of dinner. The idea was to have a light snack.
Just a sandwich… the steak sandwich was huge. The beer was good. The chap
behind the bar was very helpful and friendly. If every anyone wants to break up
a long journey, rather than Cobham motorway services, why not try this pub
instead?
We came home. It wasn’t long before we were unpacked.
I then did all the geo-admin for the weekend’s adventure. Geocaching-wise we
had quite a productive time logging finds on:
40 Ad-lab
4 Traditional
3 Puzzle
3 Multi
3 Earthcache
1 Wherigo
1 Virtual
but none were “yet another film pot under a rock”.
Each one took us to somewhere unusual and interesting and quirky. A huge
redwood tree, a dragon on a roof, an Italian fountain in the most obscure
location, two war memorials… and we got three pirate Treasures too.
“er indoors TM” boiled
up pizza and chips, and went bowling. I hung out the first load of washing and
put the undercrackers in to scrub, then watched another episode of “Lost in
Space”.
I’m feeling exhausted… it’s been a busy few days.
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