We set off for Woodstock in glorious sunshine, stopping in Leamington Spa. We found a suitable place to park the car and stepped out in search of a suitable place for lunch. Café Royal with its Mexican twist tempted us inside. It was popular so we had to wait outside for a few minutes until a table became available. Mr C chose a panini which when it arrived was quite different to what is usually served. I chose cherry pancakes which turned out to be sweeter than I was expecting.

Before leaving Leamington Spa, we enjoyed browsing around the books in Waterstones, which had a refreshingly different selection of books than usual. I also dealt with a missed call about a problem with a hospital appointment that mum was supposed to have attended that morning. It hadn’t happened, hospital transport had left without her! I missed the person I needed to speak to and needed to call back later in the week to speak to him.

We continued on our journey to Woodstock and booked into the King’s Head, a Fullers Inn. I unpacked my bag whilst Mr C went on a recce of the town. He wasn’t gone long even though he went round the town twice.

Our room was up in the eves with a small window light and a fan that wasn’t working properly. It didn’t rotate so the air in the room was static and warm reflecting the humidity and heat of the air outside. There was nothing for it, we had to ’slum it’ in the bar downstairs with a cool refreshing drink, although much to Mr C’s disgust London Pride (in a Fullers pub) was off the menu. Whilst chilling in the bar I enjoyed colouring in one of my colouring books.

We went back to our room to freshen up, which was difficult in the heat, before dining in the Inn’s restaurant. I chose salmon with orzo, samphire and tomatoes and Mr C elected for pie and chips. Both dishes were delicious. After chatting at the table for a while, we took the remaining wine and sat outside in the warm, refreshing air.

We chatted and laughed with Higgy and Mrs H over breakfast, then it was time for them to head home. We went into Norwich to see some of the architectural features. When we saw a sign for St Peter’s Church we decided to head in that direction. For some reason Mr C got it into his head that we were headed for St Stephen’s Church. He followed the SatNav on his phone which took us on a rather circuitous route that gave us chance to see some of the dinosaurs on the Dinosaur Trail that was exhibited in the city.

Eventually we found ourselves outside a church, the Church of St Peter Mansfield rather than St Stephen’s. We had a look round the delightful church before heading to St Stephen’s which we knew had a café. The service there was quirky and slow but we got our food order in the end. Mr ordered a cheese scone, which both Mr C and I thought looked suspiciously like a fruit scone. He queried this and the lady that served him was adamant that it was a cheese scone. When Mr C cut the scone in half several currents were exposed so he took it back and the Minister of the church sorted out the mix up for him.

We decided to leave the city in order to visit another church that was on our list; St Peter and St Paul, Knapton with its double hammer-beam roof with over 100 carved angels. Inside the church we found it also has a spectacular Palladian font cover. I walked around the church and through the graveyard whilst Mr C waited outside the front entrance.

As I left through the gate two dogs started barking manically at me, wagging their tails at the same time. I wasn’t sure if they were pleased to see me or otherwise, but they were on chains so they couldn’t come near. The owner came running and told them off before apologising to me, saying that they don’t normally behave like that.

We took the scenic route via the North Norfolk coast back to the hotel. Later, we dined in The King’s Head at Coltishall. We shared a crab cake starter and for mains Mr C chose lobster thermidor whilst I opted for  sea bass. The food and service were excellent.

We went back to the hotel for a nightcap on the terrace and found the staff setting up the main dining area for a wedding. The bride and some of her guests were seated nearby talking about what was planned for the following day. After a while they got up to leave so we bid them good night and wished them well for their wedding celebrations.