Day 18 - Market Harborough to Manchester

Waking up to raindrops! Not again!

We packed up the boat and had our last breakfast in the small kitchen.  Paul borrows a trolley/wagon from the office and takes all our luggage to the car and then we set off from the wharf. I have enjoyed our week but am not sorry to leave our boat.  I was starting to feel a bit squashed!

We drive into Market Harborough to do some shopping.  We had seen some Frozen T-shirts in a window for Emi and Chloe, and also some cute little duck ornaments for our lounge.  We chatted to the owner of the shop, and she told us to go across the road to a shop called Bagel & Griff as the owner is South African.  We went to meet her.  She had been in the UK for 32 years but still speaks Afrikaans.  She has a Mom who lives in Klerksdorp whom she speaks to every day. What a lovely shop with things for the house from all over Africa and the world.  She does decorating and has great taste.  We have met such nice people.

We then left the town, and drove towards Leicester.  Then onto the M1 and took the Chesterfield off ramp to see The Church of St. Mary and All Saints (also known as The Crooked Spire), so amazing, this church spire which was constructed out of green (unseasoned) wood and has twisted with the weight of the lead and uneven expansion.   

Then through Sheffield, which is a University town, very old and different from anything we have seen up to now.

We then drove across the Snake Pass through Derbyshire towards Manchester.  Very mountainous, with a huge reservoir, forests on either side, farms with fields divided by ancient stone walls, with lots of sheep and cows... and plenty of fog and rain.  Really something one sees in the movies.  Truly beautiful and memorable.

We have now booked into the Premier Inn in Bury, Manchester,  it is a new hotel and the room is huge (compared to a narrow boat! Ha,ha). We are both tired. We are using this time to relax, update our blog, and Paul is doing some work doing Payrolls which are due out before the 18th.  I am also downloading some more books.  Seem to have read about 5 books already, well that was because it was bloody raining all the time!

It has rained all day today.  I never believed people when they said that the sky is low and heavy in the UK.  Now I believe them. Everything is wet. There is moss growing on every surface, everything is grey. And it is bitterly cold.  I still don't understand how this is possible... but I seem to be the ONLY woman in the UK with frizzy hair.  Don't know if they all wear hats, or hats and umbrellas, but no matter what I do, I look a sight! 
 

We are going to eat supper in the Thyme Restaurant in the hotel tonight and tomorrow morning get an early start to go into Bury and see the world famous Bury Market.

Have just spoken to the kids and gotten all the latest news updates. 

Love to you all from Bury, Greater Manchester, Northern England.