It was time for our annual summer tour. This time we went to visit England again. The Wolseley was packed with all our camping gear and a large tent, to keep us dry in case the weather would break into the monsoon that I thought would be inevitable after such a long drought.
When we arrived in the UK we saw the weather there had been as dry as on the continent.
We stopped in Ely to see the town and Cathedral.
While the local tearoom made for a pleasant break.
We stayed in Leamington Spa for a few days and were treated to beautiful walks into town and into Warwick.
Walking along the canal to Warwick.
This longboat fits the bridge exactly. Well, they have been practicing since 1799...
Sunday lunch in historic Evesham
Typical timber framed house.
River view towards Warwick castle.
From Leamington Spa we also visited the British Motor museum in Gaydon
Imagine playing with this very special Austin Seven sidevalve racer.
We left Leamington Spa and moved our camp to the Cotswolds near Bourton on the Water.
Driving into Leamington we had a few drops of rain and the wipers had stopped working due to a broken wipermotor. We found a new wipermotor in Winchcombe and fitted it at the campsite as a precaution.
Bourton on the Water was busier than ever!
But the Morris Minors were still parked in fron of the Ironmongers
Everybody looking for lunch or a having a pick-nick.
We were happy to escape the crowds in the Cotswolds Motor museum .
This is our Opal's bigger sister: Austin Ten Tourer.
We went back to Gaydon to join the Marathon 50'th anniversary event. Though it rained there were many interesting old rallycars. Some of these cars were driven by the original drivers.
Of course we had to go to Stratford on Avon too. To see "Shakey"
The old town is very nice and also busy with tourists but the river doesn't seem to notice.
Looking for a break we found another brilliant tearoom.
This tearoom is decorated in fourties ww2 style.The friendly waitresses are dressed in style too. The menu was printed in a rationbook style. Note how the windows are crossed with tape.
Of course we had to take a ride on a steam train. Here we board the train to Cheltenham racecourse.
This is one of the steam locomotives of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway.
Everybody is enjoying themselves. Especially the train drivers and the conductors.
Back to Bourton on the water later in the afternoon it was a different place after most touristst had left.
Suddenly it was an almost serene place.
On our way to our last campsite in the little town of Wimblington in the Fenlands of Cambridgeshire.
Still enjoying the hot weather we were grateful to put our chairs in the shade under the trees.
Among all the tearooms and cafe's we found a few cafes styled as an American diner. Still they made great tea and the perfect English breakfast.
The Shuttleworth collection is another favourite. Just as we arrived there was a Spitfire performing some aerobatics .
We browsed the old aircraft in the brilliant collection.
There were cars too. Even a Wolseley M5 limousine built in 1912 and delivered to the Shuttleworth Family in July of the same year.
After only a few days of rain the hot weather had dried out the land completely and harvesting continued. We saw the dust plumes from a long way away.
In nearby March we attended this brilliant Steam and Vintage fair.
There were large steam engines
And driveable models.
One Sunday we drove to Peterborough for the annual BL-BMC car rally.
There were plenty of spares to be bought at bargain prices.
I have never seen so many Torcars Suntor campers in one place.
We parked our car with our friends of the Landcrab car club.
We had expected to see more cars at this event, but on a full field this photo might have been impossible.
Back at the campsite this pretty Morris Minor Tourer drove to our tent. It was David, the owner of the campsite who wanted to have better look at our Wolseley.
On our last day we packed our car to drive towards Harwich again.
Even though thunderstorms were predicted it was still scorchingly hot
Lunch stop at the Bressingham steam & gardens.
There were smaller trains
Some locomotives were so large that I could only take a photograph of the rear of the tender.
Inside there was a display of some steamrollers and the Dad' s army museum.
And another great tearoom.
We arrived in Harwich in time to see our ship sail in. Amazed we had a tropical holiday on that beautiful Island in the North sea!
