Return Of The Wanderer

~ beetleypete

After a busy weekend away, I am back on the blog today. I don’t have time to read and comment on all the posts that came in while we were away, so apologies for that.

We travelled to Teddington, a suburb of West London 155 miles south-west of Beetley. Julie has friends and relatives living in the area, but rarely gets a chance to meet them. We stayed in a nice hotel for two nights, and managed to meet all of them as arranged over the course of the three days we were there.

Making that trip from Beetley involves a lot of motorway driving, including a long stretch of the notorious urban motorway around London, the M25. And as Monday was a public holiday here, everyone else was on the move. As a result, the outward journey that should have taken just over three hours took four and a half, a lot of that time stuck in gridlocked traffic on the M25.

Being away from home also involved eating lots of rich food in restaurants, and drinking more alcohol than we would normally, and we felt the effects of that. The weather wasn’t that great either, with the sunniest day being Saturday, most of which was spent in the car getting there. But we managed to avoid the frequent showers, even during a long walk through Bushy Park heading for Hampton Court Palace.

When we arrived at the palace, there was a special festival of some sort being held there, and the place was packed. So as we have both seen it before, we decided not to bother struggling with the crowds.

The meetings with the friends and relatives involved an excellent meal in a Spanish restaurant, a visit to a pub owned by one of them, and a late breakfast/early lunch in a trendy cafe before driving home. Fortunately, the return journey was not plagued by the same traffic issues, and we made it back in three hours.

I took a camera, but as the light was awful during our time there, I didn’t bother to take any photos. The only place we went that was remotely scenic was Hampton Court, and it really wasn’t worth taking photos of that as there would have been thousands of people in them.

Other than catching up with the friends and family, I have to say it was quite unpleasant to be back in London after so many years since I was last there, and I am in no rush to go back.

There will be another post about that soon.

52 thoughts on “Return Of The Wanderer”

  1. Lovely that you had a nice visit with friends and family. It’s interesting, yet not surprising, that a return to London after many yers was unpleasant, not what you expected. Country life can settle in with you beautifully.

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  2. Although London is not calling you back soon, you and Julie did seem to have a fabulous adventure. London sounds so incredibly interesting and historical to me, I can’t even imagine the castles, the shops, restaurants, parks, bridges, museums, and such. What an experience to grow up there. Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Hugs, C

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    1. All those ‘good bits’ are quite easy to see and not too far away from each other, Cheryl. You could easily do those parts of London in one week, as long as you plan ahead.

      Best wishes, Pete. x

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  4. I love Bushey Park and Hampton Court, a playground for us getting away from Hayes! But we never went to the flower show as it would be too crowded! We used to park in Bushey Park then walk to Kingston, another family stamping ground, to avoid driving anywhere near it.

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    1. It was a cold and gloomy day when we walked through Bushy Park, Janet. The deer had all been scared away by large families with excitable children. But I have better memories of it from the 1980s when I lived in Wimbledon.

      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. Teddington was very pleasant, obviously affluent, and rather ‘trendy’ too. I think only sourdough bread is allowed (by local law) to be sold, and the prices in the cafe where we ate ‘brunch’ would not have been out of place in Mayfair. But I was happy to get back to Beetley.

      Best wishes, Pete.

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  7. Traveling anywhere on a holiday weekend is way too stressful for me. Aside from the traffic and crowds, there are too many drunk drivers on the road. (Yes, this weekend saw traffic fatalities.)

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    1. We rarely go anywhere on a public holiday, but when the hotel was booked it didn’t register to us that it was one, just a convenient date. Next time we will check.

      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. I’m sure it was, Pete sometimes its better not to go back given the chances but remember places as they were..I found on my trip to the UK my birth place has changed so much I wouldn’t wish to live there now some call it progression I’m not sure I do change should be for the better much of it is not x

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  10. It’s an accomplishment to catch up with several groups of people with only a limited amount of time, so you did well. I always found that sort of thing very draining for all the reasons you list. I must have been a relief to fall into your own bed!

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  11. At least part of the experience was pleasant and it’s good to catch up with all friends, but it’s true that the travelling part of things sometimes take away much of the shine, especially when you also find big crowds of people. Enjoy the rest of the week.

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            1. We didn’t have the Uber App, but the company recommended to us had luxury cars and smart drivers, with the far paid by card in advance when you booked. Each journey was £14, which is seemingly the minimum fare now. Not bad between three of us.

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  14. I am in the process of moving back into suburbia, on the Eastern fringe across the fence from a spur of Epping Forest. There is no way I would attempt to drive into London any further than my son’s home in Bethnal Green – and that only when the trains aren’t running (dodgy hip and length of walk each end notwithstanding).

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      1. I used to believe I could happily live anywhere… but hubby died last month and my kids all live around London. And I’m no longer up to walking three miles to the nearest shops when I get past driving 😦

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  15. Driving anywhere near London is stressful. Everyone drives so fast (when not in a traffic jam) and so close too. When I went to Esher at the beginning of the month I avoided the M25, diverting through Guildford and the A3. I certainly wouldn’t want to live down there again.

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    1. You want to see some of the idiots who drive the long, straight, bumpy roads of the Fens as if they were a race track. They seem incapable of waiting behind a tractor for a safe passing place and have none of the road sense required for avoiding other drivers.

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      2. It’s the same here on the narrow twisting lanes where people drive too fast not realising that a person, bike or tractor could be around that bend. But that’s a different experience to driving in the southeast.

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    2. I was very stressed out by the 20mph limit all over the suburbs. I’m sure I must have exceeded it unintentionally, and expect to get fines in the post. It is almost impossible to stay at 20mph in a manual gearbox car, and not good for the engine. I am totally out of love with London, Jude.

      Best wishes, Pete. x

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      1. They are bringing that in here too, it is difficult to stay within limit even with a no automatic. My leg starts to ache trying to keep the right amount of pressure on the pedal.

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  16. I don’t envy you one bit, Pete, having to circumnavigate the dreaded M25; I still miss driving to some extent, but experiences like that, I’m very happy to have left behind: at least you didn’t suffer any major delays, it would seem. Using public transport brings its own vicissitudes with it, of course, so I’m keeping fingers crossed that there won’t be a train strike when I travel down to Bournemouth later in the summer — I would like to think the expected election result should avoid that, but I’m going to leave my figurative chickens uncounted 😉 Good to have you back, anyway. Cheers, Jon.

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    1. Thanks, Jon. I did remark last weekend that if I still lived in London, I would no longer want to own or use a car. The authorities have literally declared war on cars, something I will mention in another post.

      Best wishes, Pete.

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  18. I guess that since the conditions and travel situations were not great, that it was all about the people and good food. bravo. and there is no question, about your choice to move from London.

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