Farewell to the United Kingdom (for now)

We had a lovely day today ambling through the countryside, until we got in to the London traffic. Our B&B last night was in a house that was only 10 years old - from a house built in 1624 on our first night, it was quite a contrast! It was a lovely rural setting and the weather today was gorgeous so we have ended on a high note.

We had a look around Eastbourne this morning - it appealed much more than Brighton. It was very pretty and much easier to navigate.

From there, we drove through a town called Battle, which was the location of the battle when William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066. Then on to our final castle (a semi-ruin) built by another bloke who wanted to show the world how wealthy he was. It was set in beautiful grounds where people could picnic and many families were there enjoying the sunshine.

From what I have seen, family life in the UK is strong - we have seen many families out and about and without exception, parents have dealt wonderfully with their kids. Lots of grandparent involvement also. Lovely to see.

On our way up to London, there were huge delays for traffic going the opposite way to us, including several hundred motorbikes travelling in convoy - it was quite a sight. Had a good run until we hit the outskirts of town, which wasn’t surprising. We dropped the rental car back having driven around 2,500 miles - it was a good wee motor and the travelling was pretty smooth all in all.