Off on another adventure

We had such a good time in Wales we thought we might do another trail further south. We headed off with a sense of adventure to Tewkesbury, about an hour south of Coventry, spring has sprung and the lanes and narrow roads are now covered by lime green canopies. We left in blazing sunshine and stopped for a coffee (or what passes for one in the UK) at a lovely town on the river with plenty of Tudor houses, stone cottages and a lovely High Street. We knew we were off to a good start when the people parked next to us returned to their car and gave us their parking ticket with an hour still on it. Yay for the good guys! Things further improved for Ross when we spotted a Gregg's for a coffee and a bacon bap. Yum! And the information lady chatted about the wars and bloody battles that took place here - made Ross' day trying to sort the War of the Roses..

Wandering back to the car we spotted the local church and wandered in - breathtakingly lovely architecturally and atmospherically. A really beautiful experience.They can sure do a church in England and these older Cathedrals are great.

After that we headed towards Cheltenham and of course stopped at the racetrack on the way - Ross had been there 30 years ago with a mate from Menindee. I was reluctant but Mr Positive led the way and we wandered through the building, into the Jockey Club and right to the grandstands before anyone asked what we were doing. Ross baffled them with his story of past forays and they let us look at the track and take some photos just to get rid of him. The lady worked for the Jockey Club and Ross would've chatted all day if I hadn't dragged him away..

Cheltenham is a bit upmarket and we searched out the Montpellier district - very trendy. Wandered down the Promenade for a quick lunch and a coffee. The lady where we had a coffee was quite chatty  about what to see and do and made some recommendations - one was to avoid Gloucester. Just our luck we were booked in there for the night. As we left we spotted a huge modern building - the new British Communications Centre - shorthand for spy central - very impressive.

Spy central - now based in Cheltenham

 So we arrived in Gloucester and went for a walk down to the Docks - lovely area, obviously a lot of work has been done to improve the area with lots of warehouse apartments, walk areas, cafes, a brewery, seating and planting. The town was really nice as well and we popped in for a half pint at the Robert Raikes
Hotel. The woman from Cheltenham was talking through her wassoooo.

The next morning we were up for another walk - down the docks, up the high streets, found another brilliant Cathedral, visited the Beatrix Potter House, through the parks and the markets and left with a very positive view of Gloucester. Don't believe all you hear.