Max and Paul's Excellent Adventure

 The local village of Farnham was very easy on the eye. Lots of cafes and artisan outlets. There is also a castle which has been built and added to over a period of about 500 years. It is now privately owned and used for functions.  The only part we could access was the 'Keep' which was an area castle residents would go in for protection when the castle was threatened by enemies. One of the outbuildings on the castle grounds. One of the alleys running off the main street Another stunning church The architecture of the Middle Ages amazes me. The oak timbers form load-bearing structures where, in this case, a herringbone brick pattern makes up the walls. Another building shows a similar structure Some alleys reminded us of Diagon Alley. (Harry Potter films) Well, that is it for Farnham. It was a wonderful stay with some great memories. Our next sit is at Southend-On-Sea which is on the south-east coast of England. Here we have 2 dogs and 2 cats to look after for about a week.

 Well, what a wonderful sit this is! We had an idea the place was going to be nice, but wow! The property is home to a family of 5, a dog, a cat and seventeen sheep. We only had to look after the dog, cat and sheep as the family were going to Canada for a holiday.                               Sandy                                                                 Arthur     Part of the flock We managed to secure this sit through Adrian, a friend of a friend who the sit was actually given to but didn't want to do on his own. Being a 7-bedroom house on acreage with a heated indoor pool, sauna and tennis court, who wouldn't want to share it? He's a lovely guy with a wicked sense of humour. Adrian met us at the bus stop and drove Max and the...

Relying on public transport from Splott can be like entering a lottery except with less of a chance of a win. You'd think with school holidays, they'd have a reliable timetable in place.  Having said that, we have found the rail staff in Cardiff to be the best we have encountered in our travels in the last 12 months. They always have a smile, are ready to assist, and are very courteous. Today, we venture out to Castell Coch (Red Castle). We walked into Cardiff Central and asked which bus we could jump on to take us there. We had a feeling bus 132 would get us close, but the bus driver couldn't be sure. I asked if he was heading in a northwest direction to at least get us in the vicinity but again he couldn't be sure. 😧 We got on anyway and a very kind passenger assured us we were on the right bus and would let us know where to get off. Another passenger who got off at our stop helped us with directions to the castle. "Left at the pub and keep going" A 2km tri...