Wednesday dawned bright and once again sunny.....darn it!! I will never be a summer person! Paul and I had talked it over and both decided we couldn't face a trip to the city and the thought of travelling on the underground in the hot weather filled us both with horror. So instead we decided to visit Chartwell, the former home of Sir Winston Churchill. Its a lovely property and we ended up spending most of the day there. We started our visit with a talk by one of the guides. He walked a group of us from the ticket office up the long winding path to the house, telling us some of the history of the property and a few anecdotes about Churchill. When we arrived at the house it was time for us to go in (entry is by timed ticket). The house is lovely, with many things to see. You need to take your time and take it all in. We so enjoyed exploring the house, and when we left we spent lots of time in the gardens. There were so many people there just enjoying the day.
After we left Chartwell, we stopped in the pretty village on Westerham for an hour or so. That was plenty of time to stroll around the village, visit the local church and have a drink in the Inn on the Green. Nothing like a small Kent pub, the beer tasted good!
Nestling in the valley of the ancient River Darent, Westerham's roots can be traced back to the Vikings and the Romans, and today has evolved into a charming market town attractive to residents, business and visitors. It is perhaps best known for its famous residents: amongst others, Sir Winston Churchill and General James Wolfe. Both had homes here, which are now open to the public.
Having walked around this pretty village Paul and I both decided, we need to move. Personally I would like nothing better than to move home to the south of England. Alas, I think we will never be able to afford too....mon dieu, the house prices!!
Finally we headed back to my parents house, and we all went to the Moon and Stars for dinner. The pub is just across the road from my parents house, but they won't go unless we are there to go with them! Dinner was good, and it was nice to get my parents out of the house!
Paul and I decided to head home on Wednesday night, while it was cooler and traffic was also lighter. We made it home in three and a half hours which is way better than the 5 hours it can sometimes take.
Its nice going away, but its also nice getting back to your own bed. And tho we weren't away long, we managed to pack a lot in as usual!
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