West Sussex: After a fantastic time in London it was time to move on. Our next stop was West Marden in West Sussex to stay with Emily’s godparents, Phil and Tony Hughes and their lovely Springer Spaniel, Redd.
With Phil and Tony
We arrived early afternoon, had a lovely lunch and then went for a walk down by the sea to build up our appetite for Phil’s supersized afternoon tea which consisted of lots of delicious cakes. Shortly afterwards we were straight onto the early evening drinks and nibbles around the fire.
The next day we were determined to beat the weather and headed out to the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum.
Weald and Downland Museum.
We were extremely lucky to stay dry as we wandered around the fantastic historical buildings.
Emily tries on a costume
Nice hat!
Emily and Oliver tried on clothing from Tudor and Victorian times.
Ollie was not to be outdone by his sister!
Dad, can I have a pair of these?
This place is definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.
Back at the house it was afternoon tea along with a competition to see who could build the tallest structure using dried spaghetti and marshmallows. Tony was the judge and awarded Richard and Oliver the prize for the tallest, Emily for the most levels and Charlotte for the most creative.
All that creative effort had given us healthy appetites which Phil satiated with her excellent cooking (four Michelin stars!).
It was a very blustery night with torrential rain but this did not deter Oliver from going with Tony in the morning to walk Redd.
After breakfast we drove to Stansted Park. Phil was lucky not to hit a magnificent stag which jumped across the road right in front of her.
With Phil and Tony.
With all the excitement we had to stop at the Pavilion cafe for coffee and snacks before our and ride on the miniature railway – woohoo!
All aboard!
In the Engines Shed
The children loved it… OK we all loved it.
“What does this lever do?”
We thoroughly enjoyed seeing Phil and Tony again and it was great to catch up on all their news, they seem busier than ever now that they’re retired.
Dorset: We said our goodbyes mid afternoon and drove to Lyme Regis, Dorset where we were planning to spend the night. In our usual manner we had not booked any accommodation thinking that we should not have a problem as it was mid-week. All the bed and breakfast places we contacted were full so we popped into a couple of the hotels and managed to get a lovely family room in the Royal Lion hotel.
After dropping off our luggage we quickly went for a walk along the Cobb, made famous by the film, “The French Lieutenants Woman” starring Meryl Streep.
Me and my Auntie Kay
The next morning we had a quick swim in the hotel pool followed by a huge breakfast. Then we visited Richard’s Auntie Kay and Uncle Bill. They were in good form and had looked out some photographs from the 1940’s showing Richards’ mum Eileen and other members of his family. Kay had baked a delicious chocolate cake which we quickly demolished along with coffee.
Mawles and Smiffs
Richard’s cousin, Julian and his wife Allison soon arrived with their two Jack Russell dogs and we all set off in the rain for a walk. It was lovely to see all the Smiths again after so long.
After a quick lunch we left Lyme Regis and drove to Devon to stay with Charlotte’s sister, Philippa.