Oxfordshire continued - 1 November 2008

Having had our autumnal cruise through Oxfordshire cut short last weekend, we decided to finish the jaunt on Saturday. Unfortunately the weather was not as inviting this time around so the autumn colours were not displayed to their best.

Nevertheless, we discovered a few new villages and re-visited other villages on our meander through the byways.

Leaving Oxford we stopped at Stanton Harcourt for a look at the colourful tombs of the Harcourt family and then paused briefly for a photo-op at Kimber House, the MG Car Club headquarters at Abingdon, the spiritual home of the MG marque.

Sutton Courtney was another new discovery, with its half-timbered houses, before we went back to some old favourites such as Ewelme, Dorchester and Watlington.

At Ewelme we encountered some very odd behaviour from a local.
We needed to execute a u-turn and the narrow streets do not accommodate such manoeuvres so when an appropriately broad driveway appeared I attempted to reverse a little way into it in order to turn around.

Just as I began an old chap came running down the driveway; I stopped, he stopped. Having established that we had both seen one another, I waited for him to move; he didn’t. Since he was not apparently moving I pulled forward a little and began reversing into another part of the driveway at which point he jumped across behind me again. All very odd – if his driveway is that precious why does he not put a gate across it? So, if you are ever tempted to change direction while travelling along the High St in Ewelme, under no circumstances attempt it here.

Autumn in Oxfordshire - 25 October 2008

Autumn colours have returned to the Chilterns so we spent a few hours exploring.

We had intended to devote the day to the Oxfordshire area but unfortunately our trip was brought to an abrupt halt much earlier than expected and we reluctantly had to leave the colours behind and return home.

In and around Regent's Park - 19 October 2008

A Cock and Bull Story - 18 October 2008

About a day's journey north of London (in a coach and horses) is the small settlement of Stony Stratford, so named because of some stony ground that afforded a crossing over the River Great Ouse valley. The old Roman road, Watling Street, used this crossing but now the A5 which follows the line of Watling Street has been diverted around the town, returning the High St to the locals.

Almost adjacent on the High St are two Inns; The Cock and The Bull, and it was at these inns that the travellers would stay at the end of their day's journey from London and regale one another with tales of their journeys, no doubt enhanced after a few jugs of the publicans' finest ale, These fanciful tales were given a name of their own; "a cock and bull story."

After completing the town trail we walked along the bank of the River Great Ouse until it flowed under the iron viaduct on the Grand Union Canal. Leaving the River Great Ouse we took the tow path as far as Cosgrove Lock and then we followed the line of the old Birmingham Canal before branching off back to Stony Stratford.



Earlier in the day we followed another town trail, this one around Wolveton, or New Wolverton - to be precise. Wolverton was created as a railway town in the 1830s to service the trains on the London-Birmingham line.

A Tale of Two Cities - 12 October 2008

The morning dawned as dismal and foggy as Saturday so we sauntered down for a late breakfast before packing our bags. However, there was something slightly different about the sky, the promise that things might improve, so we set off to see a different part of the old city with views over another section of the river valley that almost encircles Luxembourg.

By midday the sun was peeking through the fog and it was not too long after that we were enjoying full sun, a blue sky and Luxembourg looking spectacular in a cloak of autumn colours.

We retraced many of the paths of yesterday but following a different walk, the Wenzel trail. There is no brochure available from the tourist office for this walk but, apart from the point where it crosses the bridge into Grund, it is well signposted and well worth following if you are in Luxembourg.

After completing the Wenzel route we retraced our steps through the valley under the bridges and then climbed back up to the city level to admire the non-foggy views from above. "What a difference a day makes."

As the mist began to form once more we made our way back to the Hotel Francois to collect our bags and head off to the station to begin our train trip home.

Fog bound - 11 October 2008

Luxembourg was shrouded in fog when we awoke. The locals posited that it would lift by noon but they were wrong, as it was still foggy as we retired to our hotel for the night.

Nevertheless we enjoyed wandering around what is a very attractive city.

We decided that a foggy day was an excellent time to visit the Casemates du Bock, the remnants of a 23km long network of underground rooms and passages that were developed over the centuries as shelters for thousands of soldiers and their horses, workshops, kitchens, bakeries and so forth. When the city was de-fortified after the 1867 declaration of neutrality many of these tunnels were demolished but there is still a sizeable section of this rabbit warren to explore. There is not a lot to see but it has been granted UNESCO World Heritage status and was a great place to be on an indifferent day.

However, it was not all 'indoors' and underground as the passages frequently opened up to wonderful vistas (if ever so slightly foggy) over the city and the valleys around it.

Although the fog persisted we followed the town trail through the city and along the valleys.

Luxembourg by train - 10 October 2008

Well before the Channel Tunnel fire occurred, we had booked a Eurostar trip to Luxembourg so we were quite apprehensive when the tunnel was closed. Fortunately, they cleared the tunnel for a restricted train service in time and the only noticeable problem was a much longer queue to check in as they were having to accommodate passengers from withdrawn services.

The plan was to follow the guidance of The Man in Seat 61 in making our way to Luxembourg. A Eurostar ticket to Brussels will get you to any station in Belgium for no extra charge so the scheme is to train to Arlon (a further 2½ hours) for free and then pay for the last 17 minutes to Luxembourg.

His web site suggested this would cost 9.60 Euro one-way or 38.4 for the two of us return. If you are organized you can buy online, or you can buy over the counter in Regent St or, if you have time between trains, at Brussels station.

Christine went to Regent St and they quoted £46.00, a rather large mark up, so we decided to take our chances at Brussels. Imagine our horror when the very pleasant young lady behind the desk typed our request into her system and asked for 82 Euro.

We protested that this could not possibly be correct, she simply shrugged and rotated her screen so that we could see for ourselves.

Finally I asked what the fare was from Brussels to Luxembourg? A bit more typing and she said, "That can't be right" and decided that we needed to pay 38.40 Euro. We left happy, she remained - confused.

We had 10 minutes to locate the platform for our free ride across Belgium.

It was dark when we crossed the border from Luxembourg into Luxembourg heading for Luxembourg. (Belgian province, the country and the city)