Day Trip to Alresford

Alresford is only 5 miles along a small country road from where we are staying. It's home to the Watercress Railway Line, running from Arlesford to Alton, run by railway enthusiasts, with a steam train running every hour in the summer months. It also is the watercress growing captial of the UK, mainly due to the crystal clear water that the cress grows in. Such a beautiful place, we followed a walk alongside the River Itchen, and came across loads of beautiful thatched houses, like this one.

We had morning coffee in a great little place, although we had to wait a while for an outside seat, in the sunshine, as no dogs allowed indoors! I was just about to sit down on a spare seat when this elderly ladypushes in front of me and plonks herself down in the seat. "I was just going to sit here and have been standing here waiting on a seat becoming vacant as we can't sit indoors with the dog" I said to her. "Well I'm disabled, and sometimes people knock into me on the seats indoors and I need to look at the car and see the dogs are ok" was her excuse for her rudeness. Her daughter arrived so I told her that we had been waiting on the seat when her mother pushed in front of me. She just shrugged her shoulders. Anyway, the three of them sat down and ordered their coffees so we just stood and waited, giving the old dear the occasional hard stare! We eventually got a seat and it was worth waiting on, especially the plum cake - Mmmm.

A wander round the shops, which included a brilliant bookshop, old and new books and also maps and pictures. There was only 2 of the "normal" High Street shops, a little Tesco and Co-Op, the rest all individual little shops.

Lunch was in one of these Country Pubs that England seems to do so well. We sat outdoors in the grass overlooking a lake with swans and ducks with trees at one side. We then had another walk on a bridle path along the River Itchen which then took us on to a disused railway walk.

Shattered again tonight, all this fresh air and walking. Breagha is just loving the farm and the pheasants in the field at the back.

Sorry, not able to comment as the internet is just awful here. I now appreciate our Virgin Broadband cableand won't curse it again, after experiencing BT Broadband.