After breakfast we loaded the car and made our way to reception to settle the bill. As we suspected they had added the Champagne to the bill twice although it was shown in two different ways so we nearly missed it. It took the staff some time to figure out what was amiss but they got there eventually. We headed into Cambridge arriving at G. David’s antiquarian bookshop just as it opened. We browsed around for a while but on this occasion I wasn’t tempted to buy a book but Mr C was.
Once we had finished browsing we made our way to St Bene’t’s church. In the church’s entrance porch a homeless guy had made his bed and was trying his best to keep out of sight and not be a ‘nuisance’.
On our way back to the hotel car park we stopped off at Patisserie Valerie for a quick drink, which turned out to be not very quick at all. Although the place was almost empty, the service was painfully slow.
When we got into the car it was like stepping into a freezer. There had been a respectable frost overnight and the car park was in shadow so it had not warmed up in the sunshine. We set off towards home with the intention of taking a diversion when we saw a brown sign. We didn’t see one for some time and began to think we might be out of luck when we saw a signpost for The Battle of Naseby. We visited two monuments to the Parliamentarian generals Fairfax and Cromwell and then headed towards Market Harborough for lunch where along the way we spotted a third related site for the Royalist general Prince Rupert and stopped to have a look at that too.
In Market Harborough we stopped off in a delightful tea shop for lunch. The food was delicious when it arrived but the service (in keeping with the weekend) was again rather slow. Afterwards we visited the town square, St Dionysius church and the war memorial before continuing on our homeward journey.
Recently I have been thinking about the first English Civil War, especially since the Royalist army of King Charles I had to face up against Parliamentarians’ “New Model Army”. Would Oliver Cromwell establish his name? Would Charles ever recklessly sacrifice all those men again for some ideal that could probably never be achieved?
Were the three monuments the only Civil War sites available to history-minded tourists?
The monuments weren’t really touristy they were rather discrete. Most people wouldn’t have taken a detour to see them unless they were interested in the history.
The adventure continues. You seem to be dogged by bad service this trip, Cherie
Yes but we had fun and it gave us a lot to laugh about
There’s a theme coming here that customer service really needs a kick yup the backside. Voting with your feet may help as would leaving a constructive review on Tripadvisor, etc.
I think the staff need to be sent on training courses. That would resolve all the issues.
Wonderful pictures and you seemed to have good weather (cold in the morning though)… Amazing that the service lacked this trip. How difficult it is for some people to just to their job. I am glad you saw the 2x ‘bubbles’ they charged… Once Ginnie and I got rewarded with a nice bottle of the local brewery for Ginnie noticed they forgot to charge us for a full night… because of the outstanding service and being friendly to no end, we went back to the desk and told them, even without blinking an eye the lady opened a cabinet and gave us the bottle and we paid and shook hands. Both feeling good…
What a little being friendly can do…….
That is really lovely. In the past we have pointed out missing items on the bill, but we didn’t get rewarded with bubbly
Wonder if the double champagne bill was deliberate or an error.
It was an error due to lack of a system and lack of training.
Good to see your photos of Cambridge – I haven’t visited for years and years. So sorry to read about the bad service you experienced during your holiday.
We enjoyed our holiday and the disorganised service gave us something to smile about.
you capture a tot in one day Cherie… all wonderful images….peter:)
Our visit to Cambridge was a bit like that, there were lots of things to see but many only required a short time to enjoy.
It’s funny because over here when service is slow people always like to compare it to Europe – as in, it would never be this slow in Europe. I think service can be good and poor anywhere.
I quite like slow laid back service, it can be relaxing Poor and disorganised service is a different thing altogether.
i think we can all conclude that you did not enjoy particularly the stepping into the freezing car, CherryPie. i am guessing th St Dionysius Church can be seen from a long way around, owing to the absence of tall buildings near by.
St Dionysius church is quite hidden in amongst the other buildings in Cambridge.
For some reason, “slow” was the operative word this time around, Cherry, but you still got in some fabulous sights…and, I see, a weathervane in your first image!
The weathervane is a dragon or a wyvern.
Cromwell? That’s right!
Did you also make a detour to Ely?
No we didn’t get chance to go to Ely.
i am sorry for constant bad service you been facing there.
yet i am sure that magnificent place would have taken away all the frustration when you wandered around
elegant church! and loved the royal place ,looks amazing.
thank you for wonderful places from your journey Cheri
We enjoyed ourselves despite the substandard service in the hotel.
I am glad you are enjoying the virtual journey.