OXFORD — As forecast, it was the perfect day for a walk around Oxford. Started by leaving my key card in the hotel room. I began by following a map the hotel had provided with a circuit for runners—except that I walked. It went past Christ Church so I took the opportunity to visit and saw the Great Hall and quadrangle and cathedral. I managed to tag on the end of a tour around the cathedral which was very interesting—especially a fascinating and very colourful Burne-Jones stained glass window that was very un-Pre-Raphaelite.
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OXFORD — No prizes for guessing that it was raining this morning. Thankfully it came in showers with some dry spells. The SatNav told me my journey to Oxford would take two hours which meant I had about another two hours to kill before the car was due back with the rental car firm. I decided that I would start the trip and see what came up along the way.
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LEICESTER — Today was a wash-out. I don’t think it stopped raining all day, and as a result I didn’t get to see as much of Leicester as I would have liked. I walked into town and stumbled across the Leicester Central Corps of the Salvation Army and, as the morning service was about to start, I took the opportunity to enjoy some warmth out of the rain. Afterwards I went for some lunch and then walked around Leicester some more. The drizzle was unrelenting, and it wasn’t very warm either, so it was back to the hotel for an afternoon nap!

LEICESTER — Checked out of the hotel this morning—destination Leicester. The plan for the day called for an initial two hour drive to a little place just outside Stamford, Lincolnshire called Burghley Park, home to the Burghley Horse Trials. I arrived shortly after noon and, first things first, had some lunch. Then it was time to take a tour around Burghley House.
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NORWICH — I decided to get out of Norwich today and explore Norfolk—not exactly sure how well it would turn out as it looked like it would rain all day. First stop was Great Yarmouth where it was hosing down and there wasn’t a lot to see. I stopped to buy some lunch before heading for Caister-on-Sea and the promise of a Roman fort. There wasn’t a lot to see while dodging the raindrops. Apparently it was small fort on what used to be an island. I decided to head north to Cromer where the weather maps had indicated the likelihood of less rain.
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NORWICH — This morning I set out to find the final resting place of my great aunt Winifred Hewitt, a school teacher who lived and died in Norwich. Using Google I discovered that Norwich had two cemeteries and the burial indexes were held at the Norfolk Record Office—so off to County Hall I went. Found it really easily thanks to the SatNav, but finding a park once I was there was a nightmare. Every parking space was taken, even in the overflow parking area, and there must have been well in excess of 1000 parks. After driving around slowly for fifteen minutes and heading toward the exit I was directed to a space in the visitor car park.
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NORWICH — Today I travelled from Halstead to Norwich. I had intended to stop off at a couple of tourist attractions along the way only to find that either they didn’t open on Wednesdays, or as in one case close to Halstead, they only opened in the afternoon. So instead I went to Ipswich to shop for an additional suitcase.
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HALSTEAD — it has been a beautiful sunny day today though the forecast for the rest of the week is for rain and a temperature drop of seven or so degrees. I began today by leaving the inn on foot and walking around the corner to the parish church to search for Sturmers and Alstons. I had no luck in finding any—it looked like the graveyard had had a makeover to clear many headstones and leave only those that would contribute to a most atmospheric cemetery. And many of those remaining had illegible inscriptions.
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HALSTEAD — Today I left Canterbury for Halstead, a village in Essex where one branch of the family came from. Leaving at 10:00 a.m. I input the destination into the SatNav which told me I was just two hours from my destination. Which left a four hour hole as check-in time started at 4:00 p.m. I would have to find somewhere to visit on the way.
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CANTERBURY — Another lazy start to the day with a lateish breakfast and an even later than normal exit from the hotel. The centrality of the Pilgrims Hotel means it’s only a couple of minutes walk to the cathedral and the city centre. My first stop of the day was The Canterbury Tales, a guided tour through the medieval world of Geoffrey Chaucer as a member of a group of pilgrims on the way to Canterbury.
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