For various reasons I wasn’t able to lay my potential holiday clothes options out on the bed then reject some, keeping my packing to a sensible level before packing my bag the day before travelling as I usually do.

This left me feeling stressed out packing at the last minute whilst Mr C sorted out some last-minute things and fuelled up the car for the journey to Manchester. Whilst he was out, he picked up a mini fish for lunch before packing his bag.

We set off mid-afternoon for Manchester and our overnight stay in the Premier Inn. The Satnav picked a scenic route to Manchester along roads that we don’t usually travel along. We enjoyed the delightful route enhanced by the glorious sunshine.

When we checked in at the Premier Inn, we found our room perfectly located for a bit of plane spotting as they made their final approach to the airport runway. The experience was enhanced by a live plane tracking app on Mr C’s phone.

We dined in the Griffin rather than our usual Tatton Arms. We were welcomed, shown to our seat and told to order at the bar when we were ready. When Mr C went to the bar to place the order there was momentary confusion when the lady who served him said that that they weren’t accepting any more food orders. The man who had greeted us informed her that we had pre booked so we were not walk ins and she promptly took the order.

A few minutes later someone rushed up to our table and apologetically informed us that our choice of meal (chicken schnitzel) had run out! We took a few minutes to choose other options, in my case scampi. When the food arrived it was delicious. Before we left, I couldn’t resist the urge to have my photograph taken with my VE 80 virtual challenge medal next to Churchill who was part of the Griffin’s VE day decorations.

We returned to the hotel for a nightcap. We found the bar to be scruffy with few people, no atmosphere and no beer (they were waiting for the order to arrive). It was a Friday night!!  The atmosphere was a stark contrast to our experiences there before they rebranded it in 2024. Before the, the bar was fully stocked and the room was full and buzzing.

After this less than satisfying experience, we retired to our room for an early night in preparation for our 7:10 am flight to Rome.

Remarkably for us we were packed and ready to go before lunch. We phoned my mum before we set off because she was feeling down in spirits due to a recent diagnosis that added to her ongoing health issues.

After the phone call we set off on our journey to the Premier Inn Heald Green for our overnight stay ahead of catching our flight to Rome. Along the way we stopped for lunch at Hungersheath Tea Rooms, eventually arriving at the hotel a few minutes before the earliest check in time.

We sat in the car for a few minutes and as we were checking in, we were informed that the restaurant and bar area was currently closed. Dining wasn’t a problem as we were already booked into the nearby Tatton Arms.

We decided to visit Quarry Bank Mill (which was a lot closer than we realised) for an afternoon cup of tea. Comfortably refreshed, we walked through the greenhouses and gardens. By this time the sprinkles of rain that greeted us on arrival became a steady gentle downpour that set in for the day.

We returned to the Premier Inn and chilled out for a while before dining in the Tatton Arms. I wanted to order a small fish and chips but I was informed it was ‘Chippy Tuesday’, small portions were unavailable but the large portions were heavily discounted. The discount on a large meal meant I left half my portion because I only have a small appetite.

For some unknown reason neither of us felt at ease in what is normally a comfortable place so we retired to the nearby Flying Horse which was no better.
Third time lucky, The Griffin, nice drinks and a fun, quirky quiz night going on in the background. We couldn’t help but answer the questions between ourselves.

Then it was back to our room for our 3:45 wake up call to allow us to get to the airport in time to drop off the car at the ‘meet and greet’ parking and check in in plenty of time for our flight to Rome.