Sun, 15 Jun 2003

author Tim	location Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales
posted 22:23 BST 18/06/2003	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/England/London/Working in London 2 ( all photos )

Back on the Road ( 2 photos )
Tracing back to our departure from London:
Many people had commended on the stupidity of getting up early on Sunday after the big night before to drive half-way across the country. As it happens, we weathered it suprisingly well.
First we needed to pack Rosie, who we parked right outside the front door to throw things in. Mark helped, as he was getting a free ride half-way home, so he didn't have much choice!
That was less painful than expected, as we opted to simply throw things where they fit, rather than attempting to organising anything. There was plenty of time for that later.
Next task was far harder - waking up our housemates to say goodbye. In the end, Carlo and Nicole were roused, followed by the sleepy Maddie, Panella and Liz. We will miss them of course, but that's what this travelling stuff is all about.
Bus loaded, we proceeded to enter McDonalds across the road for only the second or maybe third time since we have lived there, and grab some breakfast. As an excuse, we had packed up all our kitchen stuff so had to eat something!
We jumped in and drove around the North Circular, first stop was Romford station to pour Mark on to the train (he lives further out in Essex but on the same line), then on to Les and Pearl's.
Big thanks to them for helping us out at late notice with a place to store our suitcases, a big help as other friends are unsure as to what their futures hold. We had a cup of tea, then Les helped me out with a bit of DIY on the van (we are going to have to get good at that), before he jumped in the pilot seat. Liz later commented that it looked like he could happily have driven around Europe sitting there!
We said our goodbyes, then found our way back to the motorway, heading away from London to commence the second South England leg of our trip.

author Tim	location Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales
posted 22:23 BST 18/06/2003	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/England/South England/South England 2 ( all photos )

Hillside ( 9 photos )
(Continued from Working in London 2)
We said our goodbyes, then found our way back to the motorway. General aim for that day was pretty basic - get to Hillside Caravan Club site in one piece, relax, and organise the van a bit.
This all worked just fine, as we enjoyed our first relax in the sun with our outdoor chairs, a walk around the beautiful site, and a dinner at a great little nearby country pub with a fantastic and large outdoor section. Weather has been great!

(customised)