After the brush fire behind our accommodation near Catania in Sicily we had 2 days to lie back and relax, which of course we did. This was our last chance this trip to enjoy temperatures around and over 30C as from now on we're in an English summer. So on Friday we headed to the airport with expectations of again being shaken down by Alitalia with baggage charges and other hassles. However we were pleasantly surprised as not only did they not charge us and overlooked the overweight status but they raised no objection to changing our booked seats so we could sit together. Our trip down from Rome had been plagued by not being able to change our seats and exorbitant baggage charges.
Anyway we arrived at Heathrow to find the usual endless corridors ending up in a crowd waiting for non-EU immigration with an expected wait of over an hour. However Isnagged a passing official and asked whether our E-passports could be used in the Fast Track lane. She said no, but asked if we had filled in our immigration forms - No we hadn't as they were not passed out as our flight had been within the EU. "OK, come with me"she said and marched us down to collect our forms and then handed us over to the Fast Track attendant who gave us a spot to fill in the forms and then ushered us to a very short queue. Just as well as next to us a woman who had been standing in the main queue for a long time collapsed and was last seen being attended to by the airport staff. Arriving at the immigration desk we had a pleasant chat with hte official on NZ weather and reginal accents - he was from Glasgow. Arriving at the rental car office we had a short wait before being attended to by a young man who spent the time discussing property investment in Morocco. In general the attitude of all we dealt with was warm and welcoming, a change from a lot we had met in Europe. Heading out we immediately felt at home in a traffic jam 6 lanes wide on the M25 before dodging off into Shepperton to our overnight stop. The roads here are so pleasant and edged by trees and substantial houses that it is a complete contrast to the barren and dry environment we have been in around the Mediterranean.
We found our B&B in a road closed at one end by gas mains repairs requiring us to negotiate the only access by way of a road that I wouldn't consider suitable for a private driveway. Anyway we were warmly welcomed into the B&B which was very comfortable and negotiated for a light breakfast for the next day. We were reminded that we should expect big delays the next day as it is the first Saturday in August and it is standard for the Brits to head for Cornwall en masse on that day. Bearing this in mind we decided to go shopping the next morning and make a late start.
In the morning we had a late start and headed to the nearest mall at Staines to look for a replacement jersey to replace the one I left in Turkey and which I am going to need in a Cornish summer. Anyway we found something suitable and then found a small street market to wander round. When we found our way onto the M3 I was surprised to find traffic heavy but flowing readily until we hit the area where the A303 narrows to a 2 lane road past Stonehenge where we crawled for half an hour. Apart from that we had a good trip enjoying the mellow countryside on a sunny day.
Our accommodation in Cornwall is a cottage attached to an old farmhouse close to the border with Devon. As you would expect the doors are small, the stairs steep and narrow up to the bedroom and the kitchen and bathroom appear to be after thoughts. However it is comfortable and well equipped including a 4 poter bed.
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