Lanes, wells and strikes

Our first few days in England have been pretty busy – catching up with friends and family, searching for a car and home and picking up essentials (dressing gowns!) that just weren’t practical to pack.

Earlier this week we decided to pop over to the town of Ledbury in the neighbouring county of Herefordshire as there were a few properties nearby we were keen on viewing. Adam drove the back way and there was a heavy fog – the narrow, winding lanes looked an absolute treat and we spotted at least a dozen pheasants scurrying across the road.

Ledbury was like a dream – bathed in fog, full of beautiful old building and lovely independent shops. To me it was almost like walking through the set of a movie – everything was just so picturesque.

We drove back via West Malvern, which is on the side of Malvern Hills. The whole area rapidly grew in the 19th century due to popularity of the spring water, that flows abundantly out of the hills. Many people know of Bath’s history as a ‘spa town’, but Malvern was equally famous for its water.

There are still springs all over Malvern, where people can come and collect water. I’m not sure if you can describe water as ‘delicious’, but this stuff is amazing! It’s clear, cool and fresh and we’ve been making daily stops at one of the wells so I can keep refilling my water bottle. I can understand why people say the water has therapeutic benefits.

We then made our way south to Gloucester, as I had to pick up some paperwork at the post office in the city centre relating to my visa. As we approached the front door, I could see a sign had been put up, which informed us the post office was closed due to industrial action. There wasn’t anything we could do and the fog had cleared, so we took advantage of being in the city to take a walk around the Gloucester Cathedral , which opened in 1499.

It was then onto a small village called Clifford Chambers outside of Stratford-upon-Avon to inspect a car. It was love at first sight and we purchased the Volvo then and there. We’ve got big plans for ‘Bjorn’ over the next few months, and can’t wait to drive him all over England and Europe!