Before the drive home from Folkestone we returned to the rocky area below the cliffs to have a quick look for some fossils. With the strong winds and rough seas yesterday we were hopeful that we may find a few bits and Forrest and Amber were successful in finding some Hamites, Belemnites, Bivalves and other fragments of fossil. Paloma was more interested in finding pretty stones and shells whilst I was just happy sitting on the rocks taking a few photos!
|
|
East Wear Bay, Folkestone. Apparently the best place to look for
fossils in the area. |
|
|
Forrest, Paloma and Amber hunting away. |
|
|
Forrest proudly holding up his ammonite cast. |
|
|
Making good use of the empty lunchbox. Paloma's random selection
of stones are in the biggest section! |
|
|
Time to drive home, Paloma and Amber making their way back towards the
promenade. |
The 110 miles from Folkestone to High Wycombe had more traffic delays than the rest of the holiday combined! The M20 was clear, but once on the M25 there were hold-ups near Clacket Lane, the A3, M3 and the usual stop-start slog past Heathrow and the M4. We finally made it to the M40 for a smooth final 20 miles to home.
|
|
Stationary on the M25 near Heathrow and the M4. |
So in total we drove 2,720km (1,690 miles), plus the motorail train also covered 552km (342 miles) whilst we slept. The S-Max again performed impeccably, other than panicking me with a low battery warning whilst waiting for the ferry at Dover on Day 1, but fortunately we never saw that again.
Over dinner tonight (pie with lots of vegetables, the latter that we always miss whilst away) we spoke about our highlights of the holiday.
Forrest's favourite days were visiting the two dinosaur museums and going to the Playmobil FunPark. He also enjoyed the giant marble run in the forest by the Arbersee lake and the toboggan runs, especially the second one we visited on the drive from Speyer to Koblenz.
For Paloma she also enjoyed the day at Playmobil, the marble run and "going down the hill quickly" (toboggan runs). Another favourite was the swing that was in the garden of our apartment in Bayerisch Eisenstein, that in her words "I didn't fit as my feet touched the floor" although to be honest all swings are great fun for Paloma!
Amber liked the day we went up the Arber mountain and visited the Arbersee lake, and also the arts and crafts at the crazy Erlebniswelt Flederwisch garden. Like for all of us the toboggan runs were also a highlight.
For me the day driving along the Rhine to Koblenz was good fun, lots of ferries and pretty scenery to take in (plus a cable car and the second of our toboggan runs). I also enjoyed our day at the Technik Museum in Speyer and despite being a tough day the Hunsrückbahn-Wanderweg walk was worth the hassle from the kids!
So that concludes the blog for this trip. We had some initial reservations about going, especially due to the uncertainty around whether we could actually travel until quite late linked to the entry and quarantine restrictions imposed by both the UK and Austria governments in particular, but despite the general precautions we had to take due to Covid-19, we had an enjoyable time. Many attractions were quieter than you would normally expect during August so any hassle caused by having to wear a face covering whilst indoors was countered by the positive benefits of social distancing.
So with accommodation already booked in Austria for 2021, it won't be too long until we start planning for the next adventure!
Blogged by Matt.
No comments:
Post a Comment