While Daniel was still in the UK, we returned to Tudhoe – slightly earlier than anticipated. For three of us it was cheaper to hire a car than to take the train. We made the 7 hour trip from Wareham to Tudhoe without incident and Daniel was able to spend a few days with his grandparents and catch up with two of his cousins.

Time for a Durham visit

Daniel only had a few days but did manage the almost obligatory visit to Durham Cathedral. On this occasion Christine dropped Nigel and Daniel near the city centre so that they could walk the river banks, explore the old streets, visit the cathedral and then walk back to Tudhoe along the backs of the River Wear – all while Sue nursed a nasty cold that Dan had generously shared earlier.

A trip to the Lake District

We had booked a three bedroom cottage in the Lake District so that Daniel could come with us. Unfortunately his rearranged schedule meant that was not possible. Instead Nigel’s nephew, Jamie, who works in Barrow-in-Furness was able to steal his place for one night – a great catch-up.

The cottage had fabulous views across to Skiddaw and was a perfect base for scenic drives around the back lanes of The Lakes that Eric and Christine know so well.

Lots more walks

We managed another great walk in Yorkshire with Sue and John and several local walks from Tudhoe. The longest was another section of the Weardale Way.
This time, Eric and Christine dropped us at the little village of Witton le Wear and we followed the footpath along the banks of the Wear and through woodland into Bishop Auckland. As we approached Bishop we ended up slightly ‘off piste’ which resulted in some scrambling down steep banks and negotiating narrow ledges under bridges.

The route took us through the village of Escomb which boasts the oldest and most complete Saxon church in England.

The church is built almost entirely from stone taken from the ruins of a Roman fort at Binchester which we had visited in 2021.

We couldn’t make any more excuses

Nigel’s brother, David, is the lead singer in a sexy boy band, at least that is how he describes it. The Gastric Band has an average age of about 103 and has been playing together for many years. We have somehow managed to avoid seeing them – although one incarnation of the band did play at Eric and Christine’s Golden Wedding party and at Nigel and Graeme’s combined 50th and 21st party.

This time the band had a Sunday night slot at the delightfully named ‘Frog and Ferret’ pub which was walking distance from Tudhoe. We really had no excuse not to go.

Time to go home

We had been in the UK almost exactly 3 months so it was most definitely time to return to NZ. The goodbyes never get any easier but we plan to be back next year.

We had arrived with two lightly packed suitcases and were heading back with two very heavy suitcases and two newly-purchased backpacks that were similarly well packed. If you read reports of a successful summer season for the British retail sector then you know why.