H&A’s from Thursday July 3 to Saturday July 13, 2024.

We are back in Granada to help the family celebrate Brianna’s fifth birthday. 

The party will take place at H&A’s on Saturday. 

But before that we both needed to get haircuts. 

Hayden and Andrea had arranged for this to happen at their ‘go to’ places.    

‘I’d rather be poor than dead.’

This became our strategy, once the temperature in Granada reached 40°C. 

We would walk down into town in the morning and then catch a taxi back up. 

This was much better than struggling up the hill, in the middle of the midday heat. 

On Friday night Spain was playing Germany in the quarter finals of the European Championship. 

This almost caused a family feud as Brianna decided she wanted to support the country of her birth – Germany. 

It was a very close game but Spain won in the end. 

Most of the family were happy with the result, but not all of them. 

One of the important tasks we have to do now is plan the next stage of our trip. 

The original intention for this part was to hire a car and drive around south Western Europe and then go to the Channel Islands from France. 

This was blown out of the water when we found we couldn’t take a rental car there. 

Bloody Brexit. 

Now we have to develop a Plan B. 

We can only stay within the EU for 90 days and as we are booked to be away for over 100 days, we have a problem. 

Another issue was that we had booked tickets, on the ferry, to the Channel Islands but these were from Europe. 

Cancelling them meant we would lose a fair bit of money 

A good three days were spent reorganising and booking flights, accommodation, car rental and ferries. 

This was exacerbated by getting conflicting information, about  entering the Channel Isles, from Enterprise the car rental company. 

On the Wednesday night we decided to go and have a drink at Capitán Amargo Craft Beer Bar. 

Yes, another Captain, after Captain Bitter in Annecy. 

We were there in 2022 and it was great. 

I had a Spanish Garage Soup NEIPA (6%) and it was a wonderful unfiltered brew. 

This was the first draught beer for some time. 

We then walked into the centre of town and found Los Manueles on Plaza de la Romanilla for dinner. 

Friday was our last full day in Granada, however it was cleaning day at H&A’s, so we had to disappear into the city and get out of the way of the cleaner. 

The weather had remained hot for our entire time back there, with most days hovering around 35°C and the nights rarely dropping below 22°C. 

That night we all went to Restaurante La Cantina de Diego, in Monachil, for dinner. 

It was about 29 minutes away towards the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 

There it was much cooler than down in the city. 

Which was the intention. 

 

Saturday July 13, 2024.

Granada, Spain to Gatwick, UK. 

In the morning we needed to do a final bit of washing, so we left with a clean wardrobe. 

It was a cooler day in Granada, one of the coolest so far. 

Is this a sign of things to come for our next adventure to the UK and the Channel Isles?

Once we reached the airport, late on the day, we were greeted with a chorus of Pommy accents. 

Well we are flying to Gatwick. 

Another good flight with Vueling.

It certainly is becoming one of the best airlines in Europe. The staff are organised as are the flights, especially disembarkation.

We complained about the noise in our hotel room at the Holiday Inn London Gatwick. This came from the broken air conditioning.

Our whingeing got us a free breakfast.

 

Sunday July 14, 2024.

Gatwick to Portsmouth, UK. 

The primary task today was to pick up the rental car from Enterprise and then drive to Portsmouth. 

As per all car rental companies, we were subjected to a lot of ‘Up-sell’ from the girl at reception, when we picked up the vehicle. 

Surprisingly we got another Vauxhall Crossland, NU22 LTO, almost identical to the one we had in 2022. 

And it was also blue but slightly darker. 

This one also had a GPS, which will make things much easier that using the iPhone, which we had to do in Rhodes. 

We made a few detours on the road to Portsmouth.

One to Worthing, a holiday resort town on the coast and another to Bognor Regis. 

This is the home of the infamous Butlin’s Holiday Camp. 

Opened in 1932, as an amusement park and then a holiday camp in 1960.

Butlin’s is now known as Butlin’s Bognor Regis. 

Late in the day we finally reached our hotel, The Holiday Inn Express – North. 

It was in a rather remote part of Portsmouth, so the big question became: where we have dinner?

We had thought of finding a local pub and having dinner there but there was a downside to that idea. 

The European Football Cup final was on tonight and we feared that everywhere, with a TV and a pint, would be full. 

So we opted to stay at the hotel. 

As we are staying here for three nights there will be more opportunities to explore the area. 

Also, we have to go into town centre tomorrow, to top up my travel SIM. 

Dinner at the hotel started off badly. 

There were four beers on tap plus a draught cider and all except the cider weren’t available.

The only beer that appeared to be a draught was a Guinness. However that turned out not to be an actual draught beer at all but a pump, that looked like a tap, however it used a bottle and pretended to be one.

It’s still the Britain of 2022, where everything is in short supply. 

I decided on the, very British, meal of Fish and Chips for dinner and when we went to order, we were told they had run out of fish.

WTF!

The game was between Spain and Great Britain, starting at 8pm. By 7:30pm the place was filling up. 

We stuck it out to the end of the game and Spain won, two goals to one. 

It was then very quiet and the bar was rather empty. 

As the last patrons left in the pub, they gave us a look of disappointment. Little did they know that we had secretly been supporting Spain. 

 

Monday July 15, 2024.

Portsmouth, UK. 

As mentioned, getting a new SIM Card was today’s main task. Then some wool for Thea’s new knitting project, was a very close second. 

Both of these involved taking the car into Portsmouth, as we were too far out of town to walk. 

We went to Vodafone to top up the phone and were told that it wouldn’t work in the Channel Isles. 

Bugger, Brexit again. 

We then went, two doors up, to 02 and got a new card there. 

Hopefully it will work. 

In Granada we were dodging the hot sun wherever we walked. Here in Portsmouth we are dodging the rain. 

We then found a half reasonable coffee at Jenny’s. 

There was a bit of a drive to Seeded, the local wool shop Thea had found. After a lot of consideration Thea made her purchases. 

Then down to Clarence Pier, where we had a snack lunch at the Coffee Cup. 

There we, and everyone else, were interrupted by a Pom, with a very loud voice, yelling at someone in French and then English. 

He was whinging about the issue, that due to Brexit, he couldn’t stay in France for long periods of time. This was exacerbated by the fact that he had many relatives in France.

His partner then asked him how he voted in the Brexit referendum.

His answer was “I didn’t bother voting”.

Enough said.

Thea now had knitting to sort out, so we returned to the hotel. 

The dinner offering, at our hotel, on the previous night was so poor and expensive that we decided to look further afield. 

The Farmhouse Hotel looked ok, so we went there. 

The food was good, as was the service and it cost us about half of what the hotel had cost us the night before. 

Even including the taxi rides there and back. 

They had what was promised on the menu and even had the draught beers that were displayed on the pumps. 

We might well return there tomorrow night, as it seems to be the best in the area. 

 

Tuesday July 16, 2024.

Portsmouth, UK. 

Breakfast was at the hotel and a bit better than the previous day. 

Well, there was still some food left. 

Thea had done a test knit, for her new project, and decided she needed more needles. 

So it was back to Seeded, the wool shop. 

When we first got up, the sun was shining, but not for long. So it was out with the coats, again. 

Another task for the day, was to do some shopping for our ferry ride to Jersey tomorrow. 

As we weren’t arriving until late afternoon, we needed a few things to take to our Airbnb for breakfast. 

Thea also wanted another USB adapter for her phone. 

This one to suit a British plug. 

This wasn’t easy, as we couldn’t find any electrical shops near us. 

We decided to fill up the car, as the price of fuel in Jersey was meant to be higher than in Britain. 

Once we filled up, Thea went into the servo to pay and came out with an adaptor. 

How simple. 

We did return to the Farmhouse pub for dinner. It was the best place we had found that was ‘close-ish’

They did have an IPA on tap but it was only 3.5%, so I opted for a bottled Brewdog Punk IPA. 

An IPA shouldn’t have an alcohol content below 5%. This isn’t natural and certainly not how it was originally brewed, back in the colonial days of the British East India Company. 

I know it’s wrong to ‘body shame’ but I have never seen so many grossly overweight people as there seems to be in Britain. 

Most menus show the kilojoules of every portion, so it’s not as though it’s hidden. 

I think it’s just another part of Britain’s problems. 

I feel really sorry for the Poms as they have so many issues. 

Both my parents emigrated from here but that was due to the world wide economic collapse, that caused the Depression.

This is different as it’s self inflicted. 

Bugger Brexit. 

 

Wednesday July 17, 2024.

Portsmouth, UK to St Helier, Jersey.  

We were up early this morning, then after a quick breakfast, it was down to the ferry terminal the catch our boat to St Helier our first stop in The Chanel Isles. 

It’s going to a long day, as the crossing is expected to take 8 hours. 

Security was vigorous entering the port area. They searched the car and even under the bonnet. 

I have no idea what they were looking for. 

Even though the ship was full of vehicles, mainly trucks and trailers, there were very few passengers. 

The seats weren’t comfortable. 

You had to pay extra to get into the Club or Horizon Lounges.

The other option was to get a cabin. 

I did have a project to work on but was limited by how long my computer battery would last. 

There was no power anywhere to be seen on the boat. 

I’m sure the paid-for areas had it. 

There weren’t even phone charging stations in the public area. 

At least airports have that. 

We did feel like third class passengers. 

Disembarkation was much easier than embarkation, with little fuss at the Jersey end. 

They didn’t even look at our passports and just waved us through. 

Parking wasn’t that easy and it took us a while to work out the the public parking block was much cheaper than street parking. 

We then went looking for dinner. 

After a bit of wandering we found Seafood Café. It was very busy, which is also a good sign. 

Their Seafood Pasta and Risotto were excellent. 

We had a Portuguese white wine which was great.

However it came with a screw top, which is very strange as most Portuguese wine has a cork, due to their huge cork industry.

Come 9:30, we were the last ones left. 

It was just a short walk back to our rooms, which was good, as it had been a very long day. 

 

Thursday July 18, 2024.

St Helier, Jersey.  

After a late breakfast in the apartment, we took the lift and escalators to the Fort Regis view point. 

We thought that you could visit the fort but all that was there was a gym. 

The King and Queen had visited Jersey just a few days ago and there are still reminders of their trip. 

St Helier seems a lot more affluent than other places we have visited on the British mainland. 

In the afternoon we had a walk around Howard Davis Park. 

As we were passing St Luke’s Church, the bells rang out, very loudly. 

They frightened the Christ out of me. 

Nearby, in Liberation Square, was the Military Memorial for victims of WWII. It commemorates both British and US troops. 

History goes that on May 9th, 1945 soldiers from the Royal Navy and the British Army liberated Jersey from nearly five years of German occupation.

The statue, designed by Philip Jackson was unveiled by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales on May 9th 1995 and celebrates 50 years since the liberation.

After the Allied defeat in the Battle of France, on June 15, 1940, the British army decided that the Channel Islands were of no strategic importance and demilitarised them.

However they didn’t tell the Germans, who regarded them as a stepping stone to Great Britain and  invaded them.

The Germans occupied the Channel Islands from June 30th, 1940 till May 9th, 1945. This was the only part of the British Empire to be occupied by the Nazis during the war.

The temperature was now warming up, which was great. It was now in the mid 20°Cs. 

Can’t complain about that. 

We were cooking at home tonight but went to the Cock and Bottle for a pre dinner beverage. 

I had a Liberation Brewing IPA. 

This seems to be the only IPA available in Jersey. It’s not bad, but at 4.2% a bit light for me. 

Thea had a Pinot Grigio, which was fine. 

I did a search of the draught beers and found that nothing was above 5%. 

They obviously like Session Ales here. 

Or is it like Australia where the tax on higher alcohol content results in a higher price? 

This is what’s killing the craft beer industry at home, it might be doing the same here. 

We were told my Spanish SIM wouldn’t work in the Channel Isles so we got one from O2 in Portsmouth. 

It was crap. 

Their network was so slow that it was running my battery down just searching maps. 

We need to get another card. 

This could be on the list for tomorrow’s tasks, before we head out to explore the island. 

It had been a big day of walking around St Helier. 

We had clocked up 9km. 

 

Friday July 19, 2024.

St Helier, Jersey.  

The car had been in the parking lot for a day now, so it was time to take it out. 

But first we needed a bit of shopping and of course, a coffee. 

Matilda’s Coffee Shop was just down the street and served up a reasonable brew. And the supermarket was just around the corner. 

Then it was off to circumnavigate Jersey. 

The Corbière Lighthouse was our first stop. 

Just near the lighthouse viewing point were German WWII bunkers and lookouts. 

As mentioned previously, during WWII the Nazis occupied all four of the Channel Islands from 1940 until the end of the war in 1945.

Hitler believed that the islands could become a ‘stepping stone’ to an invasion of Britain.

The Nazi invasion of the islands had a profound influence on the local population. This is physically evident by the infrastructure that they left behind.

They built lookouts, fortifications, gun placements and storage depots. Much of this work was carried out by by workers from a forced labour camp that was situated on Alderney.

There was even a concentration camp there.

As you drive around you are constantly reminded by just how much the Germans built and how well they built it.

Today most of what was constructed in those five years remains intact.

I published a blog about this in July, last year and you can see it here.

Then a late coffee/lunch at Colleens Cafe, next to the beach at Grève de Lecq. 

A short stop at Bonne Nuit Bay and then a photo opportunity at Mount Orgueil Castle. 

The German watchtowers are everywhere. The Nazis were obviously very aware that they might be invaded at any time.

Our pre dinner drink was at The Mary Rose, a cute little pub not far from our rooms. 

Trouble was – it was empty. 

Friday night and there was only one other couple in the place. 

We returned to the Cock and Bottle, where we had a drink the other night. 

Managed to get a table in the beer garden but no sooner had we sat down we were told that the kitchen was closing. 

It was only 7:50. 

However it took 40 minutes for our meals to arrive. 

Short staffed in the kitchen I’m guessing. 

Bloody Brexit. 

 

Saturday July 20, 2024.

St Helier, Jersey.  

A visit to Coffee Republic started the day and then some more shopping. 

We were eating in again tonight. 

Crossing the low tide shoreline to Elizabeth Castle was on the agenda. 

Easier said than done. 

It took us four attempts to find a car park that was near the low tide path. 

Once we reached the castle we didn’t go in.

It was ridiculously expensive and covered in scaffolding, as it was under renovation. 

Then we headed off to the centre of the island in search of the famous Jersey Cow. 

We did track a herd down and as soon as they saw me near their fence, they came running. 

It turned out they were more calves than cows as they were rather young. 

It was there that we discovered that Carlo, the Koala, was missing. 

He had done a runner somewhere between the Elizabeth Castle and the Windmill. 

He must have fallen out of Thea’s bag. 

We are rather sad, as it has been great fun getting shots of him, on his travels, to show the granddaughters. 

We originally found him in Sicily. 

There was a quick retracing of our steps to see if we could locate him, but to no avail. 

He was gone. 

Then it started to drizzle and by the time we had settled back into our room, it was pouring. 

We were eating in house again tonight but were hoping to have a pre dinner drink at one of the local pubs. 

This might not happen. 

The rain stopped and we walked to the Lamplighter, a very small pub that was about 5 minutes away. 

It was packed. 

This was a true British/Jersey local where everyone seemed to know each other. 

We managed to nab a free table, right near the front door, so we could see what was going on. 

It was alive and very loud. 

People were coming and going, mainly for a smoke outside. 

 

Sunday July 21, 2024.

St Helier, Jersey to Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. 

We had a late check out at midday but it was still a while to wait before the ferry. 

It was due to sail at 17:30hrs. 

Coffee was at The Yard. This was just down the hill from our rooms and, as it turned out, part of the Jersey Historical Museum. 

As we had seen most of the town, we decided to get a bit of education and visited the museum. 

We also stayed for a snack lunch, back at The Yard. 

After the one hour ferry ride from Jersey to Guernsey we headed off to find our rooms. 

Again we were staying in serviced apartments. 

We found them easily enough but couldn’t make contact with anyone. 

Our phones didn’t work and the text messages went unanswered. 

Then a Dutch couple came in and told us the the manager lived downstairs. 

Once she came in all was ok. 

She suggested where we could eat and we headed off to the Grange Lodge Hotel. 

The meal was ok but huge. 

We were later told we could have ordered half potions. 

A bit late but maybe next time. 

After all we were here for six nights. 

One task for tomorrow is to get a workable SIM card for my phone. 

O2 have been rubbish. 

 

Monday July 22, 2024.

Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. 

It was a wet start to the day so, after breakfast in the rooms, we headed out to shop. 

As we are able to self cater we were eating in tonight. 

Most supermarkets have booze included, that you buy within the store. 

This has its issues. 

Once you start to check out your purchases, if there is alcohol, you need to have a staff member ratify that you are of a legal drinking age. 

Having said that there is a great selection of both wines and beers available. 

I have had some fun with choosing some rather off-the-wall brews. 

I could get a range of beer strengths, some going up to 8%. 

You get nothing above 5.5% in the pubs 

Parking fees seem to be a big source of income for local councils. 

We noticed this on our last trip to the UK in 2022 and it’s the same here in the Channel Isles. 

In Jersey you buy a book of ‘Scratch Cards’ and leave that on you dash to show you’ve paid. 

However in Guernsey there is a much simpler system.  

You buy a permanent disk, on which you show the time you arrived and just leave that on your dashboard. 

Apart from paying for the disk, the parking is free.

However two hours is about as long as you can stay in most places. 

Guernsey also seems to have a lot more off-street private parking. 

Our accommodation, the Albany Apartments, have a decent amount of parking spaces out the front. 

And it’s free. 

We drove around the island, which didn’t take that long, as it’s rather small. 

Only 62 km² in fact. 

There is meant to be a ‘Surf Coast’ in Guernsey but we couldn’t find it. The closest we came was seeing surfboard wax for sale. 

We did stop at the German bunkers at Rte de Rocquaine. 

Bunkers and fortifications are right along the northwestern coastline. However in the southeast there are fewer, as this coastline is much more rugged and therefore would have been easier to defend. 

We then drove back into Saint Peter Port and walked around the town. 

Again, this didn’t take that long. 

The rain had stopped but it was still very grey and overcast. 

The roads in Guernsey seem wider and a little easier to negotiate, especially compared to Jersey. 

There was only one part where I was really challenged and that was getting to the lookout at Pleinmont Point. 

This was so narrow that all the warning lights and sounds were going off in the car. 

The rain started again late in the day, so going out for a pre dinner beverage was put on hold. 

Looks like it’s a night in. 

It was very comfortable in our rooms. 

We had a second bedroom, with room to put our cases and ‘junk’. 

The kitchen, dining area was tight but we could relax. 

We had been eating out constantly since we left Granada, apart from a couple of nights in Jersey. 

This was a good time to chill out and utilise the facilities. 

 

Tuesday July 23, 2024.

Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. 

Coffee isn’t easy to get in Guernsey. 

After breakfast we went in search of a cafe. I had marked a number of options on the map but just couldn’t find them. 

Well, one we couldn’t find and the other was in a park with no parking anywhere. 

We ended up going to Waitrose to shop and had a coffee there. 

As you would expect, it wasn’t great.

The next excursion was an attempt to get an idea of the German occupation of the Channel Isles, especially Guernsey. 

To this end, we visited La Vallette Underground Military Museum, which is built in what was a tunnel fortification to hold fuel for the German U-Boats. 

As the website explains:

‘Guernsey was officially occupied from 30th June 1940 when it was left undefended after the British Government decided to de-militarise it. Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister at the time, was hesitant to make this decision but the Islands offered no strategic benefit.’

The museum isn’t large but gives a good understanding of how both the local, Guernsey population and the German invaders lived between 1940 and 1945. 

It also covers Guernsey’s involvement in WWI. 

At the entrance there was a German Citroën Light Truck type 23R. 

Apparently this was used in the film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. 

After moving parking spots, we then had a bit more of a walk around Saint Peter Port. 

It was then back to the rooms to do a bit of forward planning. 

Dinner was going to be at home again but we decided to go and try out a local pub for a pre dinner drink. 

The Victoria Arms is just around the corner and within an easy walk. 

It wasn’t worth the effort. 

It was small and full of blokes watching sport on TV and playing pool. 

We returned to the Grange Lodge Hotel and were made very welcome. 

They remembered us from Sunday night. 

 

Wednesday July 24, 2024.

Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. 

Late start to the day and then, after breakfast, we walked into the centre of Saint Peter Port. 

The intention was to go to Cafe Sorrento, which claimed to be open for morning coffee.

We figured an Italian cafe might be able to offer a good brew. 

When we arrived, it was well and truly shut. 

Well it was 11:45am. 

We are certainly not having much luck with coffee in Saint Peter Port. 

We ended up at Poids de la Reine. 

It was just ok. 

We wanted to buy some binoculars for Hayden and Andrea. This was as a thank you for putting up with us. 

They have such a great view from their house that we felt they would good use of them. 

The previous day we had found a camera store in the centre of town.

Thea had considered buying a new, small street camera, much like my Sony RX100. 

After a bit of research she found that the latest version, the RX-M7 was a good choice. 

When we returned to the shop, for the binoculars, we found that they had that particular Sony camera in stock. 

We ended up buying both the camera and the binoculars. 

Having just spent a lot of money, we decided to go off and spend some more. 

So it was lunch at the Thomas de la Rue Hotel, right on the waterfront. 

I did have one of the best draught beers I had had for some time, a Butcome Tall Tales Pale Ale. 

Delicious. 

After lunch we walked down to the port and booked our tickets to Sark Island. 

This was planned to be our Friday adventure. 

By accident we discovered that the rental didn’t have a spare wheel. 

This could be an issue. 

Although we have paid for roadside assist, I believe you still need a spare. 

I’ll be having a strong word with Enterprise when we get back to England. 

Huge tides have been a feature of both Jersey and Guernsey and they were very evident in the Saint Peter Port Harbour. 

All the boats were high and dry, lying on the sand, including a ferry to Sark. 

We didn’t feel like much for dinner, so went to Marks and Spencer’s and got something ‘snacky’. 

 

Thursday July 25, 2024.

Saint Peter Port, Guernsey. 

The weather had turned nasty again and it was wet and overcast. 

There was a full size ‘Laundromat’ down in the basement of the apartment block, so we used that. 

The next issue was where to get coffee. 

We had drawn a blank with the local options, so we might have to travel a bit further. 

The rain kept falling and we didn’t venture out for our morning coffee until just after 2:00pm. 

Coffee turned into lunch and that was despite the rain. 

That was at the Good Rebel, where we had coffee a couple of days ago. 

It was much better this time. 

Despite the weather we felt we needed to see a few more of the sights. 

The first was The Little Chapel.

This was created in 1914 by Brother Déodat and measured 9 feet long by 4.5 feet wide. However when the Bishop of Portsmouth visited in 1923 and couldn’t fit through the door, Déodat demolished it.

The current version measures 16 feet long by 9 feet wide – the Bishop must have been a big lad.

The chapel was restored again in 1977 and then after being vandalised in 2003, refurbished again in 2010 and then again in 2015.

It was finally opened to the public in 2017.

Like coffee, finding tourist sites hasn’t been easy on Guernsey. 

This partly due to the fact that many of the addresses haven’t been that accurate and the GPS can’t fathom them out. 

Another reason is that there is so much road construction going on, that we are constantly being diverted to alternative routes. 

To a degree this was the case in Jersey, however it was mainly in the country areas. Whereas in Guernsey it’s everywhere. 

Our last exercise in getting lost, was trying to find Hauteville House, Victor Hugo’s home from 1856 to 1870.

This was his residence, while in exile in Guernsey, following his banishment from France after the coup d’état by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte in 1851.

Victor didn’t see eye-to-eye with Napoleon.

He wrote many famous books while in Guernsey, including Les Misérables.

The house is regarded as an ‘autograph to Hugo’ who had a great deal to do with the layout and decor.

It had taken us so much time finding the house that it was closed when we eventually did locate it.

It’s a pity as I would have loved to see inside.

Tonight we were dining in again, with another ‘Take home meal’ from Waitrose. 

We wouldn’t normally eat this type of food.

However there is so little in the way of condiments and cooking ingredients in the apartment, so heating food up is our only option. 

The rain didn’t relent, so we were glad to be staying in. 

 

Friday July 26, 2024.

Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, to Sark and return. 

The rain had cleared, which was great as we were sailing to Sark Island today. 

It was a 40 minute ferry ride away. 

We arrived very early for our noon departure, as we needed to secure a long term parking spot. 

After a bit driving around we got one. 

Then it was off to get a coffee and to mail some postcards to the grandkids. 

The coffee was at the cafe/restaurant/bar, Christies. 

The coffee was the best we had had on Guernsey and the most expensive. 

I guess you pay for what you get. 

Once the cards were posted it was down to the harbour to wait for the ferry. 

Once we arrived in Sark we got a tractor ride up a very steep hill to the township. 

Transport in Sark is limited to tractors, bikes and horse and cart. 

No cars here. 

We walked from Big Sark and almost got to Little Sark but gave up. We did reach Le Coupée, the narrow isthmus between Big Sark and Little Sark.

It was a fair distance and we realised we would have to get back. 

We may have been able to get a horse and cart for the return journey but that wasn’t guaranteed. 

Lunch comprised of a coffee for me and an ice cream for Thea. 

My coffee came from Hatters, a cafe on the The Avenue, the main street of Big Sark. 

We had it in the park that was next to the caffe. 

The coffee was excellent, which means today’s caffeine experience has been a good one. 

Our return ferry wasn’t until 6:00pm so we had some time to just wander around. 

Witches Seats are an architectural feature in Jersey and Guernsey. These are stones jutting from the chimneys on many old houses. 

According to folklore, these were seats for the witches to rest on before they flew to their gathering place.

At the end of the day we walked down the hill to the harbour, rather than taking the tractor. 

The ferry was much fuller on the return journey than it was coming. 

Then we had a 40 minute ride back to Saint Peter Port. 

It was our final night in Guernsey, so we had booked dinner at the Grange Lodge Hotel. 

So it was straight back to our rooms and then out again. 

It was a seafood special night at the hotel so we both went for it. 

Thea had Mackerel and I had Mussels. 

Both meals were great. 

The evening was topped off by the fact that we got so engrossed chatting to the owner and staff, that we forgot to pay. 

We were almost home, when the manager chased us down. 

How embarrassing. 

We have a big day tomorrow, travelling back, via the ferry, to Portsmouth. 

Another 8 hours on the water. 

 

Saturday July 27, 2024.

Saint Peter Port, Guernsey, to Portsmouth, UK. 

We checked out of our rooms relatively early as we had to be at the ferry terminal at 11:30am, to catch our boat back to the UK. 

We also needed to do some final shopping first. 

Thea decided that the Mini Mouse, she had bought for Andrea’s birthday would be lonely without her long time partner, Micky. 

We also decided that only having one battery for Thea’s new camera was a risk. So we returned to the camera shop and got another. 

There was still a bit of time before we needed to be at the ferry terminal. 

We therefore went back to Christies for another good but expensive brew. 

It was going to be a long day, so we needed all the fortification we could get. 

The Guernsey Street Festival was on while we were here and there were brightly coloured stage annexes all over town. 

Then we found out that our ferry back to Saint Peter Port was running 30 minutes late. 

Still more time to kill. 

Fortunately I had a project to work on for BTB, so that should occupy a few hours. 

The ferry made up a fair bit of time and in the end we were only 15 minutes late. 

It was getting late so we had dinner on the ferry.

Once we arrived we then drove to our hotel, The Farmhouse Inn. 

We had been here before, when we last stayed in Portsmouth but that was just for dinner. 

After checking in we had a quick drink in the bar before retiring to our room. 

It had been another very long day. 

 

Sunday July 28, 2024.

Portsmouth to Teignmouth, UK. 

After breakfast at the hotel, we headed off to try and sort out the rental’s missing spare wheel. 

Plus, getting a phone SIM that worked. 

The spare wheel issue turned out to be nothing. Apparently this model of Crossland doesn’t have a spare wheel, just an emergency inflation kit. 

Something that was news to me. 

Having given up on O2 as a wast of space, we returned to Vodafone and got a SIM from them. 

This one seemed to work ok. 

We then went for coffee back at Jenny’s Café. We had visited here on a previous trip into Portsmouth. 

The drive to Teignmonth was slow – very slow. It took five hours, for what should have been three. 

Once we arrived we headed out to shop. 

Again we were staying in self catering accommodation and needed to stock up. 

Well at least for breakfast. 

We walked into town, as we needed the exercise and it was down hill all the way. 

Dinner was at Ye Olde Jolly Sailor. 

We had intended to go to the Old Ship Inn but they don’t serve food on a Sunday night. 

The food was fine, however I did start off by ordering a Morrisons.

I thought it was a beer but it turned out to be a cider. 

After such a long drive, anything would have tasted ok. 

However it wasn’t the refreshing ale I was looking forward to, after hours on the road. 

After dinner we felt we needed more exercise so walked back up the hill home. 

It had been another long day, not in hours but in time waiting in traffic. 

 

Monday July 29, 2024.

Teignmouth, UK. 

We both had a bit of work to do so got stuck in. 

Then we went looking for a coffee which turned out to be at The Mix in Dawlish. 

It was rather good and made with beans from Namibia. 

Parking is a real problem in the UK. Firstly finding a spot and then paying for it. 

The machines only take cash, which no one has anymore, or uses their App. 

The trouble is finding the App on the AppStore. 

I don’t know if it’s our phones but it doesn’t want to give us the local, UK, version. 

Dawlish claims to be the home of the Black Swan in the United Kingdom. 

It turns out that they were brought from Australia, as a gift, in 1906. 

We then did a tour around the countryside, up and down some very narrow lanes. 

There was plenty of horse poo in them. No wonder, they are only wide enough for a horse and cart. 

Which is what they were originally built for. 

We then returned to Dawlish for a coffee and ice cream at the Beach Bar. 

Which wasn’t on the beach but near it. 

The beach, like most in Britain, wasn’t anything great but it did have some sand among the rocks. 

Shopping at Morrisons was next. 

As we were self catering again, we decided to get most of our food in and be prepared for the next few days. 

We are staying in Teignmonth for five days and, luckily, our AirBnB was very comfortable and had everything, so it was easy to cater for ourselves.

As happened in the Channel Isles, we had to be verified as over 18 to buy the booze in the supermarket. 

The weather had improved and we had a top of 24°C today. 

The evening was rather balmy, so we had our pre dinner drink in the garden. 

 

Tuesday July 30, 2024.

Teignmouth, UK. 

Part of the morning was spent trying to get a parking App. 

It wasn’t easy. 

It kept on telling us that the App wasn’t available in ‘our region’. 

Even though my phone had a local SIM, it still thought that the request was coming from Australia. 

We then had a very long drive to the Dartmoor Prison Museum. 

On the way we stopped off to buy some needles for Thea’s knitting. 

The shop was right next to a Costa Coffee, so our morning brew was there. 

Just Ok. 

Our trip to the museum was via the Dartmoor National Park. There we encountered and had to avoid, cattle, sheep, horses and more horse shit. 

It was a long journey because our SatNav kept on taking us down single lane back tracks – again. 

Thea was kept very busy trying find more major roads. 

The weather had improved and it was rather warm, nearly reaching 30° in the afternoon. 

The Dartmoor Prison Museum is housed in an old dairy building, next to the prison, and contains lots of weapons, memorabilia, clothing and uniforms

However the layout was a bit of a mess, with no real flow. Probably all done by museum volunteers with many of the exhibits donated. 

However the prison does have an amazing history. 

In 1805 the United Kingdom was at war with Napoleonic France. This resulted in thousands of French soldiers being incarcerated. They were originally put in ‘Prison Hulks’ or derelict ships but this was considered to be unsafe, due to the closeness of the the Royal Naval Dockyards.

This resulted in the building of a remote prison in Dartmoor.

The prison was designed, in the round, by Daniel Asher Alexander and constructed by local labour in 1806.

As a result of the War of 1812, between the United States and the United Kingdom, about 6,500 American sailors were imprisoned in Dartmoor.

After all the French and American prisoners had been released, paroled or repatriated the jail was left unused for 35 years.

It was then recommissioned again in 1851and used for civilian prisoners.

In 1917, during the First World War, it was converted to a Home Office Work Centre for conscientious objectors.

The  prison is currently inactive, due to safety concerns about high levels of radon in the soil.

After our museum adventure we had coffee and cake at the Fox Tor Café in Princetown. 

My coffee even came with a Biscotti, how Italian. 

The Brits love their dogs and there were a number of them enjoying the museum and the coffee shop afterwards. 

On the trip back Thea weaved her navigational magic and we managed to avoid all the backroads.

The GPS now had us travelling most of the way on A roads and even a bit of motorway. 

 

Wednesday July 31, 2024.

Teignmouth, UK. 

After all the driving yesterday we decided to stay a bit closer to home today. 

One of the benefits of self catering is that most places have a washing machine. So first thing this morning, after breakfast, we did a clothes wash. 

I had a bit of work to do and Thea also had some Waltham Street committee arrangements to be made. 

We found Lollie Bean for coffee in Shaldon, which was over the estuary of the River Teign. 

The coffee was very good. 

We had a walk around Shaldon and then went off driving – with no particular place to go. 

This ended at Watcombe Beach. 

After finding a parking area at the top of the hill it was a very steep walk down to the beach and a tough one back up. 

The drive continued on to Torquay where we had lunch at Angels Tea Rooms. 

I didn’t have tea but a Devon Ginger Beer. 

The temperature was now around 26°C and rather pleasant.

Further on down the coast we found a statue to the famed author, Agatha Christie.

She was born in the area. 

Then it was a bit more of a drive around the coast and back to Teignmouth. 

We had achieved what we set out to and seen some of the local coastline, which in many parts is rather amazing.

 

Thursday August 01, 2024.

Teignmouth, UK. 

Today we are staying very close to home and not even taking the car out. 

We have driven though Teignmouth a few times but not really explored it on foot. 

Just after breakfast we got a call from Pat and Graham, old friends from years ago. 

Thea worked with Pat when she lived in England. That was even before she met up with Denis and me back in 1972. 

They knew we were in the area and suggested we catch up for lunch, as they only lived about an hour away. 

This was perfect, as it fitted in with our plans well. 

But first we needed a coffee and we had that at Coasters Cafe. 

It was recommended on Google but not that great. 

The four of us had a great lunch at the Ship Inn. 

Beer, wine and chatter. 

Then we all went for a walk around town. 

After that it was back to another pub for yet another beverage. This time Ye Old Jolly Sailor, where we were on our first night. 

There was 50 years to catch up on, so a lot of chatter that needed lubricating. 

It was a long day but, yet again, we had achieved our goals. 

 

Friday August 02, 2024.

Teignmouth to Trowbridge, UK. 

We checked out of our accommodation at 10:00am and then started to drive.

It was meant to be 2 hours to Trowbridge but we knew it would take a lot longer. 

There was still a lot of stop-start traffic, especially on the Motorways. 

We stopped at Glastonbury for a coffee break and a walk. 

Coffee was at The Blue Note and it wasn’t that bad, despite the fact that it was a Vegetarian cafe!

Glastonbury, or Hippyville, is a very strange place. 

There are so many people here, still living in the seventies. 

I’ve haven’t seen so much long hair, freaky clothing, bare feet and tie dye since 1975. 

Also the whole area seems to have become a ‘spiritual haven’ for the lost or forgotten. 

Glastonbury is known for the five day music festival, that is now held yearly.

The festival started of in 1970 and attracted about 1,500 people. Today it attracts around 200,000 people annually.

The Glastonbury Festival was originally inspired by the ethos of the hippie counter culture back in the 1960s.

That mind set still lives on today. 

We then drove to Trowbridge and, with a little difficulty, found our accommodation. 

It was well presented and very comfy but a bit out of town. 

After looking around we decided that eating in was the best option so went and did some shopping. 

We would explore the area tomorrow.  

 

Saturday August 03, 2024.

Trowbridge, UK. 

After breakfast we walked into Trowbridge to look for a coffee. 

It had drizzled the previous evening but the sun was now shining. 

Well it was in and out. 

We found La Bella Vita for coffee. 

Well it sounded Italian and they do have a good reputation for a brew. 

The average age came down when we entered. 

They were certainly not a young clientele and the majority of them were women. 

The coffee was good but I am certainly looking forward to a Long Black at Sunshine on our return. 

We then walked around town for a while. 

It didn’t take long, as Trowbridge isn’t that big and it’s not the most exciting town. 

There are at least three Malls but all are rather similar and who wants to shop anyway. 

As we were on foot we chose to stop off at the Lamb Hotel and have lunch. 

It really was a pub, not a hotel, however it was rather quiet. 

They had a good selection of draught beers, so I had a Henry’s IPA. 

It was ok. 

Thea found a rather pleasant Pinot Grigio. 

At the end of the meal I had another beer. This one a Folly Road Session IPA. 

I then went and looked at the taps. The Henry’s was 3.4% while the Folly Road was 4.5%. 

Go figure. 

The Folly Road was much better than the Henry’s. 

More fruity in flavour, colder and naturally stronger. 

It wasn’t a long lunch but very pleasant. 

When we were finished and about to leave, the locals started arriving. The TV was put on and the Olympics became the centre of attention. 

We chatted for a bit then returned to our apartment. 

It had been a very relaxing day. 

Tomorrow we will explore more but this time, use the car. 

 

Sunday August 04, 2024.

Trowbridge, UK. 

It was a bit of a late start as ‘things’ had to be done. 

We then drove to Bath, a place that Thea, Denis and I visited in 1972. 

I must admit I couldn’t remember much, as it was only a few days after we all met. 

First stop in Bath, was at the Soho Cafe for coffee. 

The coffee was ok but after walking around a bit we realised that there we so many other places that looked so much better.. 

The main attraction in Bath are the Roman Baths, however we had visited them previously, so didn’t bother this time. 

Bath was made a UNESCO World Heritage  City in 1989. 

The city became a spa, with the Latin name Aqua Sulis or the waters of Sulis in 60 AD.

Bath Abbey was founded in the 7th century and became a religious centre in Britain, then rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries.

In the 17th century, due to the curative properties of its water, it again became known as a spa town.

It’s a great city and we spent quite a few hours exploring the streets and the Avon River. 

But it was crowded with tourists and all the main attractions had long queues to get in. 

That certainly wasn’t the case back in 1972. 

We were back to Trowbridge by 5pm and had the evening ahead of us, as we were eating in again tonight. 

Today was spent exploring Bath, while tomorrow we will head into the country to walk in the grounds and visit the museum at Lacock Abbey. 

 

Monday August 05, 2024.

Trowbridge, UK. 

Coffee was at Boswel’s, a cafe in one of the three malls. 

We went to the mall, as we thought we might get free parking at the Asda next door. 

When we returned top the parking lot and punched in the car’s registration number, we were told that there was no charge. 

You can get lucky.

It wasn’t a long drive to Lacock Abbey. 

Once there we went to the ticket office and got passes for both the Abbey and the Fox Talbot Museum. 

This is a National Heritage site and full of very knowledgeable and helpful volunteers. 

Lacock Abbey was founded in 1232 by one of the most powerful women in the Middle Ages, Ela, Countess of Salisbury.

Her original cloister was demolished in the 1400s and replaced by the current buildings.

After the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1500s it was turned into a country house by Sir William Sharington. He incorporated cloisters into the design and added Italian-inspired Renaissance architectural features.

In the 1700s John Ivory Talbot transformed both the Abbey and its gardens.

He was influenced by the Gothic style.

In the 1800s William Henry Talbot (1800-1877) took control of the Abbey and left it much as it looks today.

He was a scientist, inventor and a photography pioneer. The Fox Talbot Museum, which we visited after some lunch, is a testament to his discoveries.

The museum not only contained an exhibition, about Fox Talbot’s role in photography, but also included an exhibition of contemporary photography. 

After the museum we then walked around Alcock Village, which was the village closely associated with the Abbey.

On the way back to our apartment we called into Sainsbury’s to buy tonight’s dinner and some booze. 

I must admit, the supermarkets really have catered to our transient lifestyle. 

There is plenty of pre-prepared dishes as well as salads and fruit. 

The wine and beer selection is also very good. 

Wherever we went there was a variety of products on offer. International beers and wines as well as a good selection of local craft beers. 

Tonight we watched the news, it was on the commercial channel, ITV, which isn’t the best. 

The main topic was the right wing protests that are currently occurring throughout Britain. 

This is a very disturbing trend. 

Racism was the main cause of the rise of Nazi German in the 1930’s but people seem to have forgotten this.

 

Tuesday August 06, 2024.

Trowbridge to Bramley, UK. 

Yesterday we had an issue with a tyre loosing pressure. 

We went to a servo and pumped them all up and reset the warning. 

It was ok for the rest of the day, however when I went out to the car this morning the tyre was rather flat. 

Not completely but still not really drivable. 

And remembering that I didn’t have a spare, we called the Enterprise Roadside Assist and they sent out an AA van. 

The guy was great but he couldn’t find a reason, so took the car and me down to Kwik Fit, a tyre and wheel outlet not far down the road. 

He felt that the tyre probably needed replacing. 

I was told by Kwik Fit that I would have to wait until it could be repaired and that they would call me when it was done, so I returned back to the apartment.

We were due to checkout of our apartment this morning, so we packed up everything and just waited for the call. 

It never came. 

I phoned them and finally got through, on the third attempt. 

They said they had issues with their phone line and that the car was ready. 

I couldn’t find either a taxi or an Uber to go and pick it up, as it was deemed to be too close.

So in then end I walked down to Kwit Fit and sure enough the car was waiting. 

It didn’t cost me a penny but I’m sure that the AA and Enterprise would have been charged. 

Once I returned and we had checked out we then started off on the road to Bramley. We hadn’t gone that far when the tyre warning light came on again.

We returned to Kwik Fit and they said all was ok, it was a system fault with the car. 

They reset it and off we went again. 

It did come on one more time and this time I reset it. 

Who knows what will happen tomorrow on our drive to Gatwick. 

We didn’t arrive in Bromley until after 4pm and checked into the Jolly Farmer. They had free parking at the back and very comfortable rooms. 

Ours even had an en-suite, with a shower, which is something you don’t usually get in pub accommodation. 

We had a bit of a walk around the village, which didn’t take long. 

Then into the bar. 

We had intended to eat in but they don’t do dinners on Monday and Tuesdays. 

At least there was another pub next door that did, the Wheat Sheaf. 

In the bar of the Jolly Farmer, Thea had a Pinot Grigio and I had a Crafty Brewing Hop Triple IPA. 

The pub had a great collection of beer mats on the ceiling and around the bar. 

It was a real eclectic collection of all forms of memorabilia. 

Apart from the beer mats there were beer mugs, posters, plates, bank notes and art. 

Just before we went to have dinner, at the pub next door, I went to check the tyres. 

Bugger, the same tyre was now almost flat. 

We decided to wait until the morning to get it sorted. 

We will now have to be up early. 

The meal at the Wheat Sheaf was rather ordinary and once we’d finished we returned to the Jolly Farmer. 

The Olympic Games was still dominating everyone’s thoughts and actions. 

So when a particular event was on, that involved the Brits, the bar emptied and they all rushed off to watch it on TV in another part of the pub. 

 

Wednesday August 07, 2024.

Gatwick, UK to Granada, Spain. 

We were up early, trying to get the tyre fixed on the car. 

It looked like it could be another visit to a tyre shop. 

We were in panic mode, as we had to get the Gatwick to drop off the car and get our 1:20pm flight. 

I called the AA again and they were great. 

The guy came with a spare wheel, because we didn’t have one, and once that was fitted we followed him to Gatwick. 

It was a very nervous 32 miles. 

The AA guy was a character and he loved to chat. He was also very critical of the ‘No spare tyre’ approach. 

Once we arrived he removed his tyre and was on his way. 

We returned the car to Enterprise and then we were also on our way to check in with Vueling. 

Despite our concerns we arrived at the airport nearly three hours before our departure time. 

The Roadside Assist that we purchased was worth every penny, despite the screw up the previous day. 

In the end we had a real feeling that both we, the AA and Enterprise had been conned by Kwik Fix.

In Granada we were staying in an apartment as Hayden and Andrea were having some renovations done on their house. 

The accommodation came with a free ride from the airport, so hopefully the driver would be waiting when we arrived. 

He was but the problem arose when we arrived and the apartment. 

We had no contact details or even phones that worked without WiFi so couldn’t get in. 

Thea had a brainwave and popped into the pharmacy, that was next door. 

There she found a girl that not only spoke English but knew who our contact was in the apartment block. 

As soon as we settled, in we headed off to the Vodafone shop to top up my Spanish SIM. 

Here the guy had issues with the internet and could not top up my phone. 

He sent us off to a Tabac, a shop that sell fags. There we were told that she also couldn’t do the top up. 

We then returned to Vodafone, intent on getting them to sort it out. 

Eventually things started to work and now, so did my phone. 

When we had arrived at Granada Airport the temperature was a stifling 40°C and by now it hadn’t got any cooler. 

We went off and found a bar and had a cool drink. 

It came with plenty of Tapas, so we also had a substantial snack as well. 

It was only 20:00hrs and the restaurants weren’t open yet. 

So we walked around the city a bit more and things started to come to life. 

We had a lightish dinner and then, very slowly, walked back to the apartment. 

It was still very hot. 

Well, we are back in Granada and it’s August. 

 

 

“Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterised by a dictatorial leader, centralised autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition.”*

*Wikipedia and Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

Everywhere I look these days, I see young men with a moustache. 

Many of these ‘taches’ are, as my father once described: “Barely a football game”.

Now if you don’t get that analogy, it’s a soccer game, with only eleven players per side. 

Well my dad was a Pom and did sport a very nice Mo.