Up at 5am this morning, packed and ready to go when the taxi arrived at 5:45. It was just big enough for the 4 of us and all our luggage - a 7 seater van. He was a nice man and was happy to take us via Abbey Road so that we could get a photo of the four of us walking across the crossing. Also took as via “little Venice” where people are living in their canalboats along the canals – canalboats everywhere.
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| Four of us this time |
We arrived at Paddington station in plenty of time for coffee and something for breakfast before leaving at 7.06 (on the dot). The train travelled pretty quickly (at one stage 180 kph) mostly around 150 kph.
At Exeter (9.20am) we were met by Roger. Roger and Shirley own the house in Dunsford that Jennie and Richard have arranged the house exchange with. They are leaving for Australia later in the day and kindly volunteered to pick us up from Exeter (7 miles away). Roger had Brian with him and Brian, generously, took our luggage back to Dunsford while Roger gave us a guided tour of Exeter. There will be certainly a lot to explore in this neck of the woods. While all this was happening Shirley was at home preparing a delicious lunch which we all ate a bit later in the Conservatory. The house looks out over the fields (part of Dartmoor National Park) – a lovely spot.
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| Lunch with Shirley & Roger |
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| The Begonias are amazing |
Richard and I took Roger and Shirley to Exeter about 1:30 so that they could catch the train and plane to Australia. We called in to Sainsbury to get a few groceries before returning to Dunsford where we all had a read and a nap (some longer than others). Roger and Shirley said there was a fish and chip van at the end of the street on Friday afternoons which we thought was a good idea. Went to the corner at 6:30pm and waited with another lady. After ½ an hour our companion decided that they must be having a break this week so instead, we headed off to Bridford to the Inn. The smoked haddock was excellent.
Back to Dunsford for a lazy evening before retiring to a real bed in a real bedroom.
