We get up at 5.00 to get to our Channel crossing on time. We leave at 5.30 for an uneventful drive to Calais and the Shuttle. As we check in at 7.30 we are given the option to board an earlier train, so we’re feeling lucky already. We navigate the maze of queuing areas and roundabouts and drive into the train. We’re on the top level and soon after we park the compartments are sealed and to our surprise the train starts driving. This means we have boarded an even earlier train and are an hour ahead of schedule. The one thing the train and tunnel miss out on is a view, we only see lights pass us quickly. But within 30 minutes the alarm rings and we are asked to get back into our cars. Before we know it we are driving on the wrong side of the road. We have also travelled back in time as it’s 7.30 again.
As our holiday house has a check in time of 16.00, we have some time for sightseeing along the way. But since we are this early we have to do some driving first as nothing is open yet. The roads are busy as we circle London and pass Silverstone where the F1 GP is being held this weekend. We arrive at Upton house at 10.30 and surprise the volunteer who welcomes us when we tell him of our point of departure this morning. To get us into the holiday mood we start at the cafe and get some drinks and a cake for the kids.
Upton house is a typical English manor house with the exception of the art collection which is exceptional. There are various Dutch and German master from the renaissance here, such as Bosch, Rembrandt, Breughel and Holbein. Afterwards we visit the second hand bookshop but we have to disappoint the children as we don’t have any cash for the donation box yet. This becomes are next task of the day.
This leads us to a visit of Stratford upon Avon as this is the nearest town with an ATM. Sadly the town is overrun by tourists and we decide to skip the hometown of the Bard and queue our way through the village. Nearby is Coughton court a Tudor manor house which gives as another opportunity to stretch our legs and use our new cash to get some books. It’s busy here and we’re lucky to get a timeslot in a half hour time. Enough for a quick visit to the bookshop.
We wander through the house and admire the old rooms and the children dress up in Tudor clothing. It’s another 1,5 hours drive to our holiday home, so we get going do some quick grocery shopping and relax on our porch overlooking the fish pond. It was a great start to our new adventure.
