Things had recently been hectic so we were not as organised as usual and set off later than we had planned. We made good time thanks to my TomTom SatNav rather than the inbuilt SatNav in Mr C’s car. We are rarely confident that the inbuilt one chooses the best routes because it tends to take us off on strange detours that add time to the journey.

We stopped off in Tewkesbury where we had lunch in the Touching Souls tea room next door to the Abbey. It was just as hectic and we were being organised in the same way as we were on our previous visit at Easter.

We arrived in Sherborne and checked into our hotel, The Eastbury, at around 3.30pm. We had a cup of tea in our room before stepping out into light rain for a walk around Sherborne. As we neared the end of our walk the rain eased off and we were treated to the Abbey’s peal of bells.

Back in the hotel room I had an enjoyable soak in the bath, the first time I chanced a bath rather than a shower after hurting my back the week before. This was accompanied by a small glass of the complementary Sloe Gin that had been left in our room for us to enjoy.

We dined in the hotel restaurant, following dinner with a nightcap in the hotel lounge. The receptionist, Gemma, brought us some large folders full of leaflets about things to do and see in the local area. This kept us entertained for the rest of the evening.