“Au revoir Paris” and “Hi England” for the second time in two months started with a very early alarm call. We had checked out the EuroStar procedures at The Gare Du Nord and witnessed some huge lines through to the trains. Ours was at 8.30 am and we needed to be there 90 minutes before and we were a good one hour from the station, loaded with a stroller, kids, bags galore, we had a 5.30 am walk to the local Metro station.
TIP – Book travel early, Eurostar bookings open three months ahead and on that day we booked our tickets, we received the best prices and selected seats with a table for the kids to play easily on the journey.
The boys were super excited, another trip on a train and this time Daddy we were going under the sea! They were disappointed that they could not actually see the water. The trains are super clean, super quiet, and very comfortable. It was great for me to bring the family back to England so quickly and this time I was able to show them other parts of the country that I loved so much, including, and in the next blog London.
This time we landed in the heart of London but we were not going to stay, we would pick up a car and head north to Stafford to see Mum and then on to stay with Mandy, Tina, and Pat for several nights. We had a debacle with Budget and after the same with them in Germany have made a decision to ditch Budget in the future. We had booked a seven-seater but they had mucked up and we only got a large SUV with five seats. The plan to pick Mum up and take her with us was not going to work. We took off from London two hours late but made up some good time on our three-hour journey After an early start it was some else’s turn to hit the Zzz”s.
We arrived at Mums mid afternoon to say hi and the boys were able to grab their belated birthday presents from Aunty Carol & Uncle Dave, sent from New Zealand to her house. The T-shirts had planes in them so they were super excited.
We were staying with Mandy and Tina again and we knew they were super excited to see us. The weather was blessing us almost every second, in the high 20 degrees C it was super hot for central-UK and when we arrived at their house, another surprise awaited the boys.
The girls had got a super big pool for the boys, we all wanted to jump in after such a lengthy and hot day. Instantly, again, we all felt at home in Stoke on Trent and we were all looking forward to the next few days. Pat was again supplying gallons of cups off tea and completely loving on the boys. The vegan home cooking was as good as ever!
Love You Miss Pat, Thanks for looking after us
More special people in our lives meant more birthday presents for the boys, again they were in their element here and we thank them all for making us so welcome and so loved. The boys had present boxes, including Lara and also someone new to play with.
We were once again more than happy to just chill and enjoy the company, the girls had spoken about wanting to take us to Manchester to a fabulous vegan cafe and this was a great opportunity to show Kristi and a little bit more of England. The next day and after a short train ride from the nearby station and we were in Manchester. The food was great, the train ride fun for the boys. We just enjoyed inner Manchester CBD, walked around, had a good old fashioned pint in a lovely pub. Charlie only wanted miss Mandy today, even Daddy was chop chop mush mush.
Next up,Lara was excited, I had promised her she could have her ears pierced while in the UK, something I had put off since she was about 7 years old.
Inner Manchester is super nice, a mixture of old meet new, modern shopping malls meets warehouse developments meets old English pubs. if you are in the area and the weather is nice, take the time to look around.
We took a late afternoon train back, enjoyed more chill-out time, a Chinese takeaway later, we had put the boys to bed and broke open a few bottles to enjoy our company.
We had planned to take a seven-seater car from London so we could pick Mum up each day but with that gone wrong, we were going to have to plan something else. The next day was another awesome day, we relaxed in the morning, took in a Starbucks, and took a stroll around the outdoor center in Hanley. I shot off to pick up Mum and bring her back for the afternoon.
She enjoyed the relaxed afternoon and catching up with the kids and getting to know the boys more. Pat, was on cue with plenty of tea and chatter, thanks Pat.
The next day was our last full day with Mandy and Tina so Mandy had a plan to take Kristi and the kids to Matlock. I loved Matlock when I lived here. It was a beautiful spot in the Derbyshire dales, about an hour and a bit drive from Stoke. Settled in a valley on the banks of the River Derwent. It was always a spot for a Sunday afternoon and many a time I had ridden my motorbike out there with a mate or two to enjoy the biker scene that Matlock always attracted on a Sunday afternoon, nothing had changed.
Beautiful Matlock
Mum drove up to Stoke and we took two cars and enjoyed walking along the river, playing in the park and you guessed it……a good old fashioned English pub with a pint or two.
On the drive back we stopped off to take in one of the most beautiful views in Derbyshire, Black Rocks
A stunning natural gritstone outcrop. You can navigate the waymarked trails on Cromford Moor, climbing to Sheep Pasture Top for a stirring panoramic view encompassing the Cromford, the Matlock Gorge to the north, and parts of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.
The Black Rocks were mined for lead, and growing in cracks are unusual plants that can tolerate the high lead content in the rocks. Lara was in heaven, literally dozens of huge rocks to climb, I was not in heaven thinking one slip and my family could be down to four! The rock wall has been a climbing destination for more than 100 years.
With plenty of visitors spending hours here the boys found lots of things to keep them occupied.
Back in Stoke it was time to enjoy more time in the back garden, soak up some sun and play a few games.
The boys were sensing it was time to move on again, something they had been used to for over a year. Sometimes though, it was hard for them to say goodbye to fun times that gave them security and so much love.
That was it for our trip to Staffordshire and Derbyshire. Thank you so much to Mandy, Tina, and Pat for their love and welcome of the Walker’s into their life and to know you are missed and welcome to come and see us anytime. Thank you for loving Kristi and the kids, she felt so welcome and misses you all. Thanks, Mandy for showing her my previous life in a video including the both of us in our parade uniform and doing our bit on the parade ground at Police HQ, not sure I can live that one down, young no grey hairs and a mustache that was not that attractive to her, she did have a laugh about it though.
Thanks to Mum for being with us a couple of the days where we know it is hard for you to move around, thanks also for the getting a load of food for the boys to have on our London trip.
Next and last stop on our European trip is the much-awaited week in London. A city I had taken Kristi to before but always wanted to spend more time there and show her a City I know so well.
For more shots of Staffordshire and Derbyshire check our the link here.