The Ham Nomads

27 Dec 2014. <GB-ENG> Gloucester (Friar Tuck's), Glos —

People out and about in Southgate Street

Went into town today to do a little shopping. Took a couple of pictures around the place. It's amazing — the rest of the UK is having a bit of a cold snap, with snow on the roads making driving hazardous. But Gloucester seems to have a charmed life — it's quite cool, especially when the skies are clear, but we've had only one day with any rain, and that was minimal, and no snow at all!

Greyfriars

The Cathedral above the rooftops

Emperor Nerva Statue

When we got back to the pub, we were hoping we'd be in a position to pick up the car today — Richard has been working on it as hard as he can — but he just didn't quite make it! So we are assuming we'll get the van on Monday some time. We're not venturing too far from Gloucester for the next couple of days, just to make sure all is working properly, and we'll be bringing it back to Richard for a final tweak before setting off for the Continent.

Swans at Gloucester Docks

The Thatched Inn (close to Friar Tucks)

 
We've made a bit of a decision, too. If we were to cross by the Channel Tunnel, we would have to travel a lot further in the UK, and then be at the northernmost part of France once we cross. We think we might leave the Chunnel for the return journey to the UK, and instead cross by ferry from Portsmouth to Cherbourg — this will land us at least 200km closer to Spain (but still 880km — compare that with 1066km from John 'o Groats to Land's End — don't think we'll be doing that in too much of a hurry!

Distance driven — today, nil ; to date, 9,889 miles ( 15,915 km )