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2015 - UK Summer Trips & USA Wedding
September 2015 A few day in Devizes with our friends, Keith and Frances Ganderwas arranged for mid September. The trip did not get off to a good start. First of all, it was a rainy day and George and Desnée’s windscreen wiper blade disintegrated. Easy, pop into Halfords and get a replacement - wrong! They had no blades that fitted. So, on the way we call into Iveco in Southampton. They could not find a matching blade! We were sent to Commercial Components just down the road and they managed to track the blade to an Iveco Euorcargo vehicle and hey presto! The blade fitted. All this had delayed us for a couple of hours but we were on our way. The sceond disaster struck. Keith and Frances had a blow out in one of their rear tyres on the M3. The exploding tyre ripped off some of the skirt from their motorhome. They were then delayed several hours getting a breakdown service out and then finding a replacement tyre. We all arrived at Devizes Camping and Caravanning Club site in Devizes by the evening and treated ourselves to some, very good, pub grub in the Three Magpies, just a very short walk from the campsite. They also serve a fine selection of Wadworth ales, the local brewery in Devizes. The campsite was busy and is an excellent site. A few yards from the campsite entrance is an access point to the Kennet and Avon canal. The following morning we cycled along the canal towpath into Devizes (approx 5 miles). The route takes you past about 29 locks known as the Caen Hill Flight. The locks lift the canal 237 feet in 2 miles up to Devizes. Hard work cycling up but easy coming back! There were many narrow boats on the canal making their way up and down and so plenty to see and an excuse to pause and watch their progress. The first photo of Caen Hill flight of locks is copied from the Internet.
Devizes is a pleasant market town with some lovely old buildings in the town centre. We stopped for lunch at the Devizes Wharf tearoom (previously a warehouse) before exploring the town. The town wharf , once a bustling cargo centre, is now a pleasant leisure area and has a very small theatre alongside the canal. Next day we took the bus into Bath. The bus stop was just a short walk from the campsite and the journey took about an hour, right into the centre of Bath. There is always plenty to see in the city, with a combination of the big stores and quaint little shops in side streets. As with any city it makes for good people watching.
(left) Wilma, a Morris Minor van, was doing a bit of advertising for the ‘White Stuff’ shop. They were offering free sweets. The guy at the left is a dummy - the wrist is a give away!! (below) This photo need a bit of studying. It is taken into a shop window , hence the reflections. Look carefully and you will see a winged armchair. It was upholstered in the most amazing, multi-coloured, hand dyed, silk velvet fabric. There were other pieces of furniture and soft furnishings in the shop (near the top of Milsom Street) which were equally mindblowing - very expensive though.
As we prepared to leave Bath the heavens opened and it was a very wet and steamy bus journey back to the campsite. A very enjoyable couple of days and a very well located campsite for cycling, bus stops, canals and nearby pub. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ October 2015 This time is was not a motorhome outing but a transatlantic flight to New York. Our son, Brian, was getting married to Alexa, an american girl, from New Jersey.
Our flight from Heathrow was on a new Boeing 787 of Virgin Atlantic. to Newark NJ. It was a very comfortable and enjoyable flight. The cabin crew were very attentive and the inflight entertainment excellent. This was the twins and Henry’s first flight and they behaved impeccably - both directions. From Newark we rented a minivan (7 seater people mover) and drove 2 hours to our hotel in Doylestown PA.
The hotel was Homewood Suites a subsidiary of the Hilton group. We were very impressed with everything about this hotel and would happily recommend it to others. Complimentary evening meals are served on weekdays and a warm breakfast buffet is free and available every morning. The hotel staff were friendly and very helpful - nothing was too much trouble for them. See next page for wedding details.