Our accommodation in London is at the Thistle Inn and is really great. Ten minutes down the road is the White Horse Inn, a beautiful tiny pub that turns out to be one of our very favourites built in the early 1700’s. We can only assume that people must have been shorter back then as the ceiling is so low Mark and Justin must duck under the beams or risk concussion!

The pubs are so different in England. They are quiet little restaurants really where families eat, with great food and loads of atmosphere because of the history.

This photo was taken while i was out witnessing with Gavin and Gemma.

We stopped by a little park and walked up the gorge, it was so tropical that i thought for a moment i was in North Queensland.

Taken as a long exposure on a tripod, i was quite happy with the result.

After lunch we head into Waterford to an internet café so Justin can update his website. It is really the only opportunity we have had since leaving London.

We thoroughly enjoy the group study and cup of tea afterwards. We loved hearing the Bible read with the lovely Irish accent!

Then on to tour the coastal villages of Dungarvon, Bunmahon, Tramore, Dunmore and back home through Waterford the home of the famous Waterford crystal. These seaside towns are popular in summer and some of the beaches are beautiful although apparently treacherous currents can be dangerous for swimmers and many have lost their lives. 

Malcolm and June tell us of the last time they visited one spot, a friend from Germany nearly drowned.  He was taken out to sea and although a rescue boat was called, as it rounded the headland it ran out of petrol! Only in Ireland do I hear you say? Another man on the beach went to his rescue and a change of current brought them both in on dangerous rocks.  He was badly cut and taken to intensive care with water in his lungs but he lived to tell the tale. Malcolm and June have not come back to this place until today, the memory still raw!

We have had a ‘grand day’!

They are themselves, in the middle of extensive house renovations so we have bunked in at Joel’s parents place, but despite this have gone out of their way to make us welcome. Joel’s parents are in Australia at the moment and have stayed at our empty house in the last week or so. Even although we have never met we can stay at each others house and know that the cutlery will still be there when we get back, such is our brotherhood!

Our flight to Dublin is uneventful and our car is waiting for us so we can drive to Carrick-on-Suir to the home of Malcolm and June. How hospitable & welcoming!

Three things cement the fact that we’re in Ireland today. Firstly when we stopped for lunch, an ambulance goes by and a young mother urgently crosses herself.

Secondly, in our hire car a sign on the dash says “Accident report form in the glove box. Don’t fill in until you’ve had an accident?”

Thirdly, everyone knows not to ask an Irishman for directions but we were getting a bit desperate when we couldn’t find Malcolm and June’s house. So against our better judgement we stop to enquire of an elderly farmer. ‘Shure, I know em. Yur go down tere & take tree rights. Trite, trite, trite” Sounds simple enough. However, turn around and take a left would have saved a quarter of a tank of fuel!

Ireland, you’ve got to love it!

Joel and Lindsay have kindly organised a group of 17 of their friends to go to dinner tonight. It was lovely to meet brothers and sisters from their congregation and some surrounding them and the food was delicious!

There is a lot of traffic on the motorway back to Sheffield but Joel and Lindsay have planned an early dinner so we can drive to Derbyshire, 45 minutes away to an old pub called Monsal Head. The view is spectacular from this ancient pub which looks down on the Monsal Dale, however we miss the best of it as the sun has gone down. We really enjoy the sticky toffee pudding for dessert and the boys have a pint.

On the way we make a determined stop at Buckden, a quaint little village in the Dales. Marks mother, Anne, had a great aunt who lived in this village and Anne used to visit when a youngster. The great aunt left the house to her house keeper.  The house was a little run down from when we had seen it before so we enquired of the local shop keeper what had become of it.  Apparently, the last owners had been descendants of Jane Austin and the husband, Colonel Austin had just passed away and being childless has left the property to his niece who lives overseas. On his death the property was valued at $1.5 mill AUD!

Another very important thing on our list was to visit the village that Mark grew up in, Kippax. Here we drive down the street where he lived and stroll through the graveyard where Arthur and Georgeanna Atack are buried, Mark’s great, grandparents. A visit to the library for some directions leads Mark to a lady who was in his class at school!

Joel and Lindsay make us very welcome!

We walk 4ks round trip to the lovely Aysgarth falls and the weather is still lovely and warm.  We haven’t seen a drop of rain since we left Australia!

It just wouldn’t be England if we didn’t visit at least one castle.  The Bolton castle is only a small specimen by comparison to some but a grand structure just the same.  It was nice to have a picnic in the grounds in the warm sun.

The Black Sheep brewery is in the village of Masham and Mark and Justin enjoy a sample and a tour, tough but someone has to do it!

For those who have seen the movie “Miss Potter”, Hilltop features prominently and walking through her garden reminds you of her extraordinary talent and achievement.

This afternoon we are off to Hawes, central point for touring the magnificent Yorkshire Dales.  After we leave the motorway we travel through green rolling hills covered with stone walls, sheep and little villages.

These last few days have been a time for relaxing with dear friends who go back a long way and feel more like family.

Our drive today is to the Lake District, about 4 hours to Kendal.

We spend the afternoon and evening visiting Janet’s family. Paul and Janet’s son and daughter and wife/husband provide a wonderful dinner for us and we get to meet the next generation of the Robinson family, Alisha and Levi, Mataya and Emjay. So cute! Loads of noise and laughter, happy families!

We park around an hour out of town and wander in along the coast. It is 24C today and sunny so everything sparkles.  On the way home we stop for a cup of tea with Janet’s faithful parents who have known Mark since he was a child.  There is much reminiscing and laughing, it is so nice for Mark to be in company with people he has known for so long.

We attend a lovely meeting at the very friendly congregation of Tywyn. Paul and Janet live around 30 minutes from their Kingdom Hall and we are sure that there would hardly be another brother and sister anywhere that would have a more beautiful drive!It is gorgeous!

There are green hills and valleys along the way with the road breaking onto the coast and winding though the quaint Welsh coastal village of Aberdovey.

After the meeting we go to a beautiful old hotel for a nightcap. This hotel reminds us of the Carrington Hotel in Katoomba, majestic but classy.

The trip through Wales is picturesque, over high, rugged, breathtakingly beautiful, green, (too many adjectives?) hills, mountains and ravines.

Justin stays with Gavin and Gemma, Paul and Janet’s delightful son and daughter in law, regular pioneers in the Tywyn congregation.

After coffee, some return visits with Charlie and Anne, lunch and a fossick through the ancient nooks & crannies of Frome.

It was a very enjoyable group study tonight with very friendly brothers and sisters who make us very welcome.  How precious our brothers and sisters are wherever they live!

Then on to Bath, the beautiful old stone buildings immediately catch your eye and the Roman baths are amazing. They existed when Christ walked the earth. The hot mineral water bubbles up from deep underground. We had a great day wandering around this ancient city with its famous ‘crescent’ rows of houses built, you guessed it, in the shape of a crescent!

We drive home and with the help of Charlie and Anne’s local knowledge we detour through Bathhampton over a little stone toll bridge, 50p to cross. There is a cemetery in this town and Sir Arthur Phillip is buried in the floor of the chapel there. He died in Bath when he fell from the 3rd floor of his house in Bath, suicide was not ruled out.

Tonight we watch “the Queen” in Charlie and Anne’s basement theatre. It seems appropriate to watch an historical film surrounding the death of Dianna after such a day taking in the history of old England.

In one stretch of narrow lane we get quite nervous as there is a long line of traffic coming towards us and nothing ahead or behind us on our side. When we pull off (only way to pass traffic) and come side by side with another car we ask him through our mutually open windows if the road ahead is clear – he grins and says he doesn’t know he just came off a lane up ahead – but referring to the narrowness of the lane and closeness of passing, in his hilarious west country accent he says “this is the road to Bath, if you stay on this road you’ll get to Bath, you won’t have much paint left on your car mind but you’ll get to Bath” We laugh hysterically and continue on.

Then standing up in some farmers field is Stone Henge! Bus loads of people are walking around it, we stop to take some photos. Needless to say we were late meeting Charlie and Anne but after a nice pub lunch – roast beef and Yorkshire pudding – we are settled in and enjoying the company of this very hospitable brother and sister.