The day started with Mr C encountering another ’shower incident’. This time there was water but it was cold. During breakfast another couple mentioned to the waiter that they had had no hot water that morning so Mr C added that we hadn’t either. This prompted another couple to speak up and say that only one of them had had a lovely warm shower earlier in the morning.

The waiter noted the problem so that it could be investigated. As it was our last morning in the hotel we will never know the outcome!

After breakfast, our final one before travelling home, we set off towards Peterborough for our first stop of the day. Once again the SatNav had other ideas and took us past the waypoint (Peterborough) causing us to have to retrace our steps.

When we arrived in Peterborough, we walked to the Cathedral to find that there was a T. Rex exhibition in part of the Cathedral with animatronic dinosaurs from the National History Museum. It was entitled ‘T. Rex: The Killer Question’. It explored the question of whether T. Rex was a ferocious hunter or just a scavenger.

We purchased tickets which also allowed us to see all of the Cathedral as part of the building could only be seen if you purchased a ticket for the exhibition. It was quite strange to hear dinosaurs roaring within the Cathedral.

Our next stop was Bosworth Battle field. We re-programmed the SatNav so it didn’t have the opportunity to bypass another waypoint. Before we arrived there, we stopped of at Welland Vale Garden Centre and had lunch in Orchard Café. I chose a basil and tomato open toasted sandwich with dressed leaves.

Mr C thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition at Bosworth, and if time had permitted, I would have enjoyed a walk around the battlefield site.

To make dining easier we picked up a ready made Indian takeaway from Sainsbury’s, sadly, the weather was not quite warm enough for us to enjoy dining on the patio.

We set off on our journey in glorious sunshine; planning to have lunch on the way. The SatNav was advising  an hour’s delay on the motorway so we decided to take a detour which led us to a lovely café that we have previously visited, The Café Craycombe at Fladbury in the Vale of Evesham.

We enjoyed our lunch sitting outside soaking up the rays.  I chose a tuna and sweetcorn baguette which was delicious.

After lunch the motorway delay seemed to have subsided so we rejoined it, stopping off at Gloucester services for a drink. Inside the services was hectic so I found the perfect seat overlooking the outside pool and the wildlife area. Back on the road the SatNav detoured us off the motorway onto delightful country roads although towards the end of our journey we got stuck behind a tractor on a narrow lane with no chance of overtaking.

We eventually arrived in Sherborne and, after a slight confusion with parking, we checked in to the Eastbury Hotel. We were taken to our lovely room overlooking the garden. After unpacking our bags we took advantage of the complimentary Sloe Gin that was conveniently waiting for us.

We freshened up before walking to The Green restaurant for dinner. The food and service was as good as we remembered it from our previous visits in 2019. I chose skate wing followed by meadow fresh nougat. We returned to the hotel for a nightcap where I sampled the local Sherborne Castle rose wine. I wasn’t disappointed.

Before we set off on our travels to Northumberland I decided to update the SatNav to the latest map version. I was soon reminded why I gave up trying to upgrade the map on my previous attempt.

I logged on and was informed by the website that the device was full so I removed the old map and tried to install the new map. I was then informed that there was still not enough room on the device for the new map. Unfortunately I did not have a suitable memory card to allow me to expand the data. I elected to install only the GB part of the map and sort out the rest of the map in slow time when I had acquired a memory card. Recently Mr C had made some tweaks to our internet settings to fix a problem which meant that unfortunately the file took hours to download and then stalled part way through.

I stopped the download and checked the device; it looked like the old map was still there but the voice instructions seemed not to be working. I gave up, logged out of the update programme and plugged the SatNav into a USB port so that it would be fully charged for the coming holiday; even though I wasn’t sure that the map was working properly anymore. A little while later I checked the progress and found that the charge was almost complete. The SatNav was also displaying a message that stated that there were no maps available and that it was updating. A short while later the update was complete and a new complete European map was installed!! I know it is a new update because the SatNav gives an announcement of the destination and journey arrival time after it is programmed which it had not done before…

Yesterday we undertook a day trip to visit my Aunt who lives in Manchester. There was a time when we always used the same tried and tested route to her house. That was until I purchased a new SatNav last year and tested it out on a visit to my Aunt. The SatNav took us on a completely different, but very enjoyable route past Jodrell Bank and the Manchester City Stadium and as we neared her house it bypassed all the narrow Coronation Street type roads that we were used to travelling along.

At the point of choosing a destination the new SatNav always picks the best route to fit your selected criteria. This means that the routes are subject to change. Yesterday was no different… As we were driving along the Live Traffic feature identified a route that was three minutes quicker and asked if we wanted to choose it. We chose the new route, which took us down a tree lined lane which was especially  beautiful with the sun shining through the leaves and branches. As we turned a corner in the lane we came across a flock of sheep being herded down the lane. The SatNav works well with Live Traffic information but not so well with predicting a mobile sheep block

On the way home we were expecting the SatNav to take us through the Cheshire countryside past Jodrell bank which would have been delightful in the evening sunshine. But no the SatNav had other ideas and took us back by our own tried and tested route…