After breakfast we drove to Beaulieu so that Mr C could enjoy the motor museum. Beaulieu is not just home to the National Motor Museum there is also the Palace House, Gardens, Abbey and other attractions.  A full days worth if you wish to see them all. The lady who sold us our tickets suggested we took the monorail trip first to see where everything was. It wasn’t working when we first arrived so we went in the motor museum before doing a circuit on the monorail. We then visited the gardens and went in the Palace House which is one of the best stately homes I have been in. Then we did a quick tour of the Abbey ruins before lunch.

After lunch we returned to Winchester to see the Cathedral.  From the outside the Cathedral looks quite plain but it contains many wonders within and I would recommend a visit. I bought the Cathedral guidebook, another book and a Christmas  Advent candle from the Cathedral shop. As I left I noticed a credit card on the steps between the Cathedral and the shop. I scanned the steps some more and spotted that there was a driving licence there too. We took them into the Cathedral shop, hopefully the person who lost them went back for them.

In the evening we ate in The Chesil Rectory which has an interesting history (more on that later) and delicious food. We called in at The Bishop on the Bridge before returning to the hotel for the evening.

A few minutes after I had settled down into the warmth I spotted JD arriving and being intercepted by the Concierge who, from conversations the previous night, I had realised had a wonderfully dry sense of humour

JD and I sat and chatted for a while and he gave me his painting of the ‘Cherry Pie Tree‘, which was inspired by a photo I had taken near to Flodden Field in 2009 ( I love the painting ).  We then ventured out into the sunshine, which had overcome the sudden drop in temperature that had hastened me back to the hotel.  We took a leisurely stroll through the town to the frame shop to take his  latest painting in to be framed.  After careful consideration and with assistance from the  lovely Becky a suitable frame was chosen.

We then strolled back through town to the Cathedral for a cup of tea and more conversation.  The Cathedral tea shop closed so JD and I made our way back to the hotel and its temporary reception area to wait for Mr C to return from his day at work.  I enjoyed our pleasant afternoon together.

Eventually I had to start my long trip back to the Midlands.  Mr C and I decided to have a slight detour for a cup of tea rather than chance Leeming Bar again.  We headed for Mainsgill Farm which also gave us the opportunity to say hello to Kevin the camel!  He wasn’t immediately visible but then he was spotted inside and cosy with his back to us.  Then suddenly when he sensed our presence, he started parading around his accommodation, what a poseur he is

After the welcome cup of tea we continued on the long journey south accompanied by the alarming alert “Severe weather forecast tomorrow” on the neon signs displayed at regular intervals on all the motorways as we traveled home.

After the long journey back, take away fish and chips and a glass of wine were quite welcome and refreshing.

And then it started to snow…

PS: Thank you JD I had a wonderful afternoon