We are in the UK taking a break from the boat (and the heat) in Grenada.  We will be here for about 3 months and to make it affordable we are house/pet sitting for people who are away on vacation.  It is a wonderful way to experience a country, allowing the spirit of the place to seep in and avoiding the pressure to be on the tourist superhighway – which, in our experience leads to museum fatigue, information overload and the occasional argument with Google maps and each other.  

High in the sky

Tate Modern

London Eye

London Bridge is falling down

London Calling

Clock Tower (only the bell is “Big Ben”)

Borough Market

I just had to…

Windsor Castle

A little light reading

Chartwell, Churchill’s Home

Oxford’s Christ Church Cathedral

Hogwarts? (Oxford dining Hall)

National Portrait Gallery

Stonehenge

Avebury, a better and more accessible Neolithic henge monument

thatch roofs abound

Victory, Lord Nelson’s flagship, still a commissioned Navy ship

After a few days in London, our first gig was for a charming couple in rural Hampshire.  Living in a lovely old country home and taking care of two sweet old cocker spaniels was a glorious way to start. Funny thing was they went Greece to have a sailing vacation, so we felt as though we had switched lives for a week.  

We especially like England’s tradition of public footpaths, byways and bridleways, which preserve the public’s right of access across private lands, complete with stiles to allow human and dog to get over fences without letting livestock escape.  Wish we had such paths in the US. 

Not an UBER. Our hosts take us to the train in style.

The backyard.

And how the dogs get through the fence.

They seem to grow a lot of hay in the UK.

How humans go over the fence that crosses a footpath

Pip and Delphi take Mary for a walk.

After Hampshire, we were off to a charming village in Buckinghamshire and then back for more city life in London.

Hunters Tom and Jerry

Peddling through the Chilterns

Bikes and Breweries

Darling Maddie showing us the way.

Sweet City Kitty Tye

Lovely Looby

This country loves their ales.

And their pubs

Anyway, just a short note to let y’all know what we are up to. Cheerio for now.