A trip of many parts

It started off at 4am on Sunday 12th May, getting out of bed and putting everything we needed into the van and setting off to where the caravan is stored, about 10 miles away.  Hooking up and catching the ferry from East Cowes to Southampton at 6.45am.

Once on the mainland we headed for Redhill, still with caravan in tow, to take a helicopter flight over London.  This was a present to my hubby for our anniversary. The sun was shining, but the weather was going to close in later in the day.  We just scraped in with our flight before the pilot stopped for the day to get his helicopter home before the weather really set in.

The flight over London was just spectacular with views, as you would expect, for miles around.  We flew over the gherkin and the shard, saw HMS Illustrious, and so much more.  It was interesting to see just how populated the area is and also how much green space there is.  I have never seen so many golf courses!!

The flight being over, we headed for our certified site in Winchester.  Waterwells Farm. Such lovely people and a very clean and tidy site.  There were a couple of horses in the field who entertained us, otherwise it was very quiet and peaceful. A site I would highly recommend. Cooked a roast chicken dinner and enjoyed a quiet evening with our feet up, something that doesn't happen very often since we are both self-employed.

The next day we had tickets for the evening performance of Rocky Horror Show at the Mayflower in Southampton and so we thought we would head off on the train and visit West Quay and have some lunch and a look around the shops.  Lunch was very nice in the John Lewis restaurant, washed down with a bottle of red wine, since we weren't driving.  The shops were very disappointing, but we did have a few good cups of coffee.

Off to the theatre on the free bus from West Quay to Southampton Station, over the footbridge and to the Mayflower.  We dined in the Ovation Restaraunt in the theatre and the food was, as usual, delicious.  The staff are wonderful, they are always attentive without being overbearing and the restaurant itself is excellent without being pretentious.  

Rocky Horror Show was brilliant.  Loads of audience members dressed as their favourite characters, bantering with the cast.  The cast was bantering back, and a great evening was had.  

Back to Waterwells Farm for the night.  Tuesday saw us going by train to Wimbledon to the tennis museum and a tour round the famous site.  This was my Christmas present from my hubby. Very interesting indeed. The site is so large and the grass is guarded by security guards so we weren't allowed to touch it.  We did go onto Number One Court, Court 19 and of course Centre Court.  We went into the players' interview suite and the players' reception area.  Past the players' restaurant (yes they have their own) and saw so much, it was fascinating.  

Of course we had to have strawberries and cream (it would have been rude not to) and visited the museum and shop.  A good day all round.  Back to Waterwells Farm for the evening, cooking a spaghetti Bolognese for our evening meal.

Wednesday was the day we went to Chiltern Valley Winery and Brewery for a tour and tasting.  I was driving back as the tour was a Christmas present for my hubby.  The tour was very interesting with the hows and whys of brewing and wine making were described in great detail, and the equipment was spotless.  Thoroughly enjoyed it.  

I enjoyed tasting a soft drink whilst hubby tasted the wines, beers and liqueurs.  I drove us back afterwards to Waterwells Farm, and we enjoyed pizza and another peaceful evening watching the horses.

Thursday saw us head home via Southampton to East Cowes, drop the caravan off and go home, back to the hundreds of emails and normality.