Still Wandering,Not Lost Yet

More churches. This time Winchester Cathedral. You don’t have to have a religious bone in your body to appreciate these buildings. As soon as you walk into them you are overcome as to how quiet they are and how big they are. Again we were in early to miss the school excursions so no kids.

Then to a working flour mill in the main street.

Then to see King Arthurs round table.

After leaving Winchester we headed south to Lyndhurst. We stayed here in 2007 in what we think is the best B & B in the UK. We were happily riding along when I swore at Olga to get around the bloody corner. Flat front tyre. At least we weren't speeding. We had to ride a mile or so to find a spot to get off the road. Glad we were on 3 wheels.

The AA, UK’s  NRMA came to the rescue. The recovery man got us very frustrated trying to find a tyre repair place. In the end I took his phone off him and talked to a tyre place in Southhampton. Told them what we needed and job done.

About $50.00 and a tip for a few pints and we were on our way again.

We got to our B & B and decided to stay 2 nights as there is a swap meet (autojumble) at Beaulieu Motor Museum. We just had to go. It was a bit overwhelming as to the amount of stuff for sale. Not too many bargains in my eyes.

Then onto Sammy Millers Motorcycle Museum. A MUST VISIT.

We then went on a scenic ride through the New Forest which has lots of wild ponies.

Back to Lyndhurst for a pub tea and to bed early.

Heading further west tomorrow.

All is going well. 

Wandering Aimlessly

Our day on foot in Canterbury was a great way see just how old everything is. We were in the cathedral very early to miss all the school excursion kids. For a while we had the whole place to ourselves.

We then went on a canal cruise. This canal was hand dug to get water to some mills. It’s only a few feet deep in a lot of places and our punt did scrape the bottom once. It was dug in the Saxon times, ?? hundred years ago. Very relaxing.

The next day was on the bike again. Off to see the White Cliffs of Dover. We even had the white fog.

Dover has a ferry terminal a little bit bigger than Circular Quay. Hundreds of semi trailers coming and going. In the hour we were on the cliff, 2 boats left and 2 arrived.

England does have a sandy beach.

Next was a house and garden – Scotney Castle. This is where you see the difference between the rich and poor in society. Its hard to imagine living in such surroundings.

The buildings on the lake are just the garden folly.  The castle is in the background.

We were now getting into the country side and lots of little villages. Great riding. It takes a bit of getting use to the mile per hour speeds. 30 then 40 then 50. 50mph on roads that would be 50kph at home. Olga is handling the speeds easily however we haven't overtaken anyone yet. Navigator Janice seems to have worked out the GPS. Now she doesn't put in as many destinations at once as it only confused us and the GPS (Sabrina). Sabrina still gets sworn at but not as often.

 

We called in and had a look at another grand house - “Uppark”. 

We enjoyed a picnic in the grounds of food we bought at a little village markets earlier in the day – slumming it.

We are now in Winchester for a look. Had a beer in a pub dating back to 1002. Old.

 

Alls Good.

Finally Here

After a lot of hard work , we have finally made it to the UK. The flight over was long and tiring but we both managed a bit of sleep so we weren't too shattered when we landed.

The first thing when landing was to get a cup of coffee and pick up the hire car. The internet booking made it all too easy. We picked up a nice little Peugeot and went and found our passengers, friends from Bathurst, and headed north to Felixstowe.  We christened our GPS Sabrina and for the first hour she got us fairly confused getting out of the airport area. So much traffic. Once on our way up the motorway it doesn’t take long to get into the GREEN countryside. I was getting a bit weary so we turned into a town called Chelmsford to have a walk and a coffee.

What a surprise this was. A busy little town with plenty of  to eat, an old church to take a photo of, (ABC TOURS) and our first Guiness in the Nags Head.

Finally made it to Felixstowe and got settled into our B & B.

We then had to take the hire car back to Ipswich and catch the train back. By now I was getting very tired.

Back in town we had a walk, went to the sea side amusement arcade, very British, and met up with a few fellow travellers.

Tea at the local Indian and home to bed. I was asleep before I hit the pillow.

Monday had us at the yard to pick up Olga and be on our way south to Canterbury .It took a few hours to get loaded and say our goodbyes and we were finally on our way.

We knew today was going to be hard as to go south we had to battle the motorways and a lot of traffic, at speed. Them not us.

Sabrina got us a bit confused a few times but all in all we had a good ride. We lost the plot for a while so when that happens the trick is to turn left.

You find all sorts of places turning left. A pub.

Lunch and gather the thoughts and we were off to Canterbury. Janice had found a B & B on the internet and I found it on the corner.We don’t like to book ahead as we are never sure how the day will turn out and where we will end up so with fingers crossed Janice went in and asked for 2 nights. No worries .Unpack Olga, trash the room and start exploring, looking for a Laundromat. We found the odd old building and finally a place to do the washing.

Down to the Cricketer for a beer before tea then home early to bed. Tomorrow will be a big day on foot. Canterbury Cathedral is the oldest in England, older than the 1500 Weaver House.

A good but hard first day. I will take a few to get into a routine and away from the motorway traffic.

A Day Out For Sophia

Easter  Friday and not having to work, yippee.

Every year at Easter there is a vintage bike rally based in Bathurst for a week. The lucky ones get to go on a ride every day to a different location. All day rides are about 100 k’s as this rally caters for the oldies. Us who have to work look forward to the chance to ride with all the oldies on the Friday and Saturday.

As our Olga is on her way to the UK it was Sophia’s turn for a day out. Sophia is a 1992 Moto Guzzi Mille GT. Very Italian red and sometimes a bit Italian cantankerous. Have not ridden her for a while, let alone riding with a pillion, the first few K’s were a bit wobbly. Getting to town and pumping the tyres up made a huge difference.

The meeting place before the ride is at the caravan park where about 200 bikes ranging from very early veterans,1915, up to the most modern, 2011. It doesn't matter what you ride, every one is there for the same reason, enjoyment.

While waiting to start I interrupted to see Janice sitting on a very rare Suzuki rotary. She got talking to the owner who said hop on and get your photo taken. This bloke tells us the history of the bike, how he manages to import them from the USA and how he has about 60 very rare and collectable bikes at his home. Nice and very informative bloke.

The first part of the ride took us to Oberon for a coffee then to Tarana for a very relaxed lunch.

 

Here we sat with a long time mate and had a long talk about lots of things while eating the best stuffed potato. I forgot to take a photo but a spud with roast vegies, yogurt and salad. Weird combination but YUMMY.

From there to home.

We rode about 100 k’s, wobbled a few but had a great day. Cool weather, autumn colours and a glorious sounding and very attractive Italian in a red dress. What more could a bloke ask for?