Day 25: On the road

 As we had anticipated,  this morning was bright and sunny in Keswick.

It was chilly, but not cold, and really clear from our window.

We had promised ourselves breakfast at the Tea House. We had at least 4 hours of driving ahead, even if the roads were clear and a hearty breakfast seemed like a good start.


I had a Cumbrian Breakfast without the baked beans - bacon, fried egg, mushrooms, potato cake and toast, with a strong coffee.





We pulled out of our carpark at Keswick View around 10am. It was a great location and we will all miss the view.











The drive from Keswick to Penrith was lovely.







There was lots of snow on the fells and a bright blue sky.

Around Kendal the wind farms were doing their job.

Just South of Manchester we began to get warning messages that several sections of the M6 were closed and diverted, so we headed  off the M6 on to smaller roads to the West.




At first it seemed as if a significant proportion of the population of England had the same idea and we moved slowly through connector roads and roundabouts, but we finally found ourselves enjoying the countryside in towns like Nantwich







Stapely,

Hatherton,








 Adderley

 Market Drayton












Hinstock
















and Chetwynd, Newport.












While pleasant for me as passenger gazing on the green and pleasant land, it was far from easy driving and we found ourselves in a fair bit of traffic from time to time.













Around 3.30 we stopped for a late lunch near Stafford before entering the tollway, then the motorway, for a final push South.

I had a very delicious blue cheese and mushroom salad.



After a clear trip on the tollway, and a slow stint on the Motorway, we reached our over-night destination, the Stratford Limes Hotel at Tiddington around 6pm. It was a great find by Sue. After a long and, at times challenging, drive this is a pleasant refuge. The rooms are comfortable and quiet. The only door into the hotel closes at 6.30 pm but is accessible using your room key.



The bar, which we had to ourselves,  is tended by our genial host who is playing the 100 best hits of all time in the background.  We  h ave opinions about most of them.

The (free) wifi downloaded these photos in less than 5 minutes.  For the last three weeks it has taken me 2-3 hours.

Tomorrow Sue and Alf head home, dropping me at Hampton Court.