July 2017 - United Kingdom

After Highclere Castle we drove to Stonehenge, technically only Stonehenge carpark as we appear to be tight wads and did not appreciate how much they wanted to charge for entry. On careful consideration we felt that it was more expensive than a number of other tourists attractions we had visited and was way too much for the amount of time we expected to spend looking at a few rocks.
I did tell Phil that the last time I was at Stonehenge (35 years ago) I pulled up on the side of the road with Deb and many other vehicles and took photos at the fenceline then kept on driving.
We drove back out of the carpark and headed for Weymouth and the further south we went the warmer the weather became. Where has this been for the last two weeks! By the time we arrived it was about 25C.
We dropped our luggage off at our B&B, overlooking the seaside, up lots of narrow staIrs to the second floor and walked one way along the beach promenade and returned past our place to get changed into something far more summery and then continued in the other direction along the promenade to the harbour end of town. Some of the boats/yachts resting in the harbour where very impressive. On one even the dog had been brought along. We relaxed with a cool drink in a pub overlooking the harbour then continued our walk further around town.
Most of the beach is stones like Europe but one section is sand so I assume they truck it in.
This town is certainly geared to the summer tourist, you can rent a version of bathing boxes (some more swish than others) by the day, week or season, there are carnival rides everywhere along the beach and several amusement stores along the Esplanade.
The view from our bedroom window over the promenade and water is great. It was a very pleasant place to relax enjoying the view with a pre dinner drink before dining italian tonight.
While taking in our view we even got to watch a guy paddleboarding with his dog. A very happy pair indeed!

Phil - I made the mistake of packing the cat. This was bad, as a few of our accomodation places did not let me get it out and swing it around. But to her credit Wendy has picked some great places to stay. I can say I am now converted to B & B's. We did them in Europe, and now here, and they are more homely than a cold hotel room. Also, you just do not know what you are going to get. (Or how many steps up a spiral staircase you will need to manouvere with a loaded suitcase).
Stonehenge was a rip off. They know it , so they charge you £5 to park your car, and this comes off the entrance fee. This is because so many people would have parked and gotten to entrance and then decided it was too expensive, and went away.
On the way to Heathrow tomorrow. I am ready to come home fully satisfied I have done the UK.
And a big Happy Birthday to my mum, Norma. This will save me the cost of an overseas phone call, as our money is running out.Les mer