Sidmouth

Ellie was dropped off soon after 07:00. She had forgotten her school bag and trainers! Darren had to drop them off to us when he was ready to head off to work. Ellie pottered around helping Nana get ready for our little break. While they both pottered, I checked the screen washer on the car and then started to load the boot. By the time we dropped Ellie at school, everything was packed. We did the school run and then headed home for a final comfort break before the journey.

The weather was foul as we headed west. The rain, spray, and surface water spiced the journey with a good shot of adrenalin. The first part of the journey was not helped by the failure of the automatic cruise control to engage. We eventually got to Bridport for our customary comfort break. We had tea and a blueberry muffin before I filled the petrol tank, and we set off on the final stretch. This last 30 miles was plagued by flooded sections of road. None of these floods was deep enough to prevent cars from getting through, but they were deep enough to cause slow single-file traffic. At one point I thought I saw a pilot boat preparing to help, but it may have been my imagination.

We arrived at The Victoria just before 12:30, checked in, and settled down in the lounge for a drink and a sandwich. Jane and Trevor arrived about 45 minutes later. 

After an initial chat, we decided to take a walk into town. This meant that the girls (and I use that term loosely) disappeared into the knitwear triangle. The rain had stopped and it was drying up nicely. Trevor and I continued our walk and watched the angry waves crashing against the cliffs and the breakwaters. After a while, we headed back to join the girls but were caught by the Crew Clothing black hole. This sucked us in and we found the only way to escape the gravitational pull was to purchase a sweater each. Eventually, all of the shopping gods were sated and we could safely leave the knitwear triangle and head back to the hotel.

We met up in the bar for canapes and a drink before dinner and then moved on to the restaurant where we had several more courses with a bottle of wine. Eventually, we wandered into the lounge for some tea and coffee. We chatted on until about 22:00 then headed back to our rooms.