Flyin'

I think this trip will be full of fleeting glimpses of new places. I drove into Shrewsbury to meet Ben on Friday night and it immediately seemed like a nice town. I loved the red-brick buildings and the river running through the middle. It appeared to have one foot in an industrial (but not ugly) past and the other back even further in history. The castle, tudor facades and winding streets reminded me a little of York. By the time the cyclists turned up though there was hardly time for exploring, just getting to the nearest restaurant (although reluctant to complain, the support driver was starving by this point). I had hoped to return to Shrewsbury on Saturday morning, but after an hour working from a roadside Starbucks I needed to head into Cheshire to make sure I was ready to meet Ben for lunch. Thanks to the lack of big shops in the area I stopped at a lovely Farm Shop for a punnet of strawberries and a loaf of freshly made bread. The strawberries tasted like Cheddar.

The idea of travelling through the centre of Warrington/Wigan/Preston did not fill me with joy so I hopped on the motorway instead. Perhaps I missed out, but I was keen to get to the B&B- ostensibly to work, but instead I fell asleep (by accident, just testing the pillow out...) and then watched Over the Rainbow. Work is spiralling away from me at the moment, I thought I’d have much more time in between meeting Ben, but it just doesn’t seem to work out like that. I do have something important to finish by Monday though so must be strict with myself tomorrow in Gretna. We are camping so I won’t be tempted by Dorothy…

Our B&B, just north of Preston

On the canal in Bilsborrow

Biggest anachronism: Italian bistro, located in an ancient English cellar, playing Demis Roussos…

Most heard song since Tuesday: OMG, Usher (wow oh wow).
I must sort out using the iTrip when I’m driving rather than defaulting to Radio 1 and continuing to rot my brain.