For our final morning in St Albans, sampled the hotel breakfast. I was tempted by the idea of a continental breakfast. Apart from meat and cheese, everything was there but the bread, pastries and fruits were more English in style. Turning back to the main menu I chose a pancake stack which was beautifully presented. And delicious.

There were limited options for places to visit on our journey home. Some we decided not to do because we had been there recently and others were fully booked. We settled on a National Trust property, Canons Ashby House. We arrived at the property to light drizzle which was supposed to clear up by noon.

As we arrived in Canons Ashby the place looked very familiar even though I knew we had never visited the property…

As soon as we arrived at the National Trust property, we had a lovely cup of tea in the café where, upon presentation of my Volunteer Discount card, we were asked where we came from. The lady serving us had not heard of Shropshire.

Next, we visited the house which Mr C found especially interesting due to the heraldry that was displayed, he was able to share some of his knowledge with a couple of the room guides. Somehow, we managed to miss some rooms on our circuit of the house and had to detour back to see them before crossing the short distance to Canons Ashby church of St Mary which is all that remains of the Augustinian Priory founded in 1150.

The weather had not been listening to the weather forecast and was raining heavier rather than lighter. We visited the garden but didn’t explore it to its full as we would have done without the downpour.

We were hoping to have lunch in the café but it was full. We returned to the shop which we had browsed before entering the house where I purchased the guidebook and the National Trust Book of Pies. The man who served me knew of Attingham Park and had visited many times when he lived on the Cheshire border. It was refreshing to talk to someone who knew where Shropshire is.

As we drove through the village after leaving the property we realised why the place looked familiar. We had been to a family wedding in the church, Morton Pinkney just around corner and the groom’s family home was almost opposite that church.

As we drove out of the village I consulted ‘The Extra Mile’ book for lunch options. We arrived at our chosen place, Revills Farm Shop, for a late lunch. I had a small tuna maya sandwich followed by a picnic slice. The picnic slice consisted of cherries and coconut with a chocolate base. It reminded me of one of my childhood treats although the ingredient ratio was different.

Whilst there we purchased a chicken for fine dining at home, along with some other essential items. As we made our grocery purchase the proprietor asked Mr C how Battlefield Farm Shop was fairing. Mr C had randomly picked up a bag, a Battlefield Farm Shop bag, from the boot of his car. The proprietor had visited the Battlefield shop for ideas before he extended his own Revills Farm Shop.

Then we headed homeward for a delicious chicken dinner and later indulged ourselves by watching the latest Dr Who episode.

When Mr C got out of bed, he noticed a missed phone call (on our land line) from mum’s mobile timed at 5am. I decided not to worry about it, if there was a problem the care home would have called us.

Although the traffic was running smoothly, the motorway journey was tedious. We stopped for lunch in The Tuning Fork near Rugby. I found it in the Extra Mile book as we were travelling. The service was excellent and the food was delicious.

Suitably refreshed, we continued our journey stopping at Knebworth House which both of us found interesting. The estate has a rich history including Indian connections and it is often used as a film location but it is most famous of all for the Knebworth Music Festival. Inside the house Mr C educated a couple of room guides regarding some of the heraldry that was displayed.

We had just enough time to have a quick tour of the gardens but sadly the Dino Trail will have to wait for another day as will the church.

We drove the short distance to St Alban’s and booked into our hotel, Samuel Ryder, a Tapestry at the Hilton Hotel. We unpacked and chilled out in the hotel before stepping next door for a pre-dinner drink in The White Hart Hotel. The service in the bar wasn’t quite up to scratch, it took three attempts before the correct wine was selected, and when Mr C’s beer arrived, it was cloudy and sour to taste, needing to be replaced.

We dined in Dylan’s at the Kings Head Hotel. I had hoped to dine here on my birthday last year but the restaurant was fully booked. It was well worth the wait; the food quality was superb.

I enjoyed the atmosphere but it was a bit too loud for Mr C’s mood so we returned to the hotel for a nightcap which we took to our room to chill out before retiring for a good nights sleep.