Surrey

Singapore Airlines delivered us comfortably to Heathrow Airport, arriving ahead of schedule. It was pretty quiet at 5.30 am. We had booked a pickup through minicabit and the driver also turned up early so we were soon on our way to Michael and Claire's home in Wormley, Surrey. We were happy to be driving against the main traffic flow as there was a lot of congestion on the motorways heading in the direction of London. The drive took less than hour, and was a much better idea than using the combination of bus and train which was the alternative. Minicabit offer very reasonable rates, you just book and pay ahead online. We had a friendly driver and a roomy Ford Galaxy.

Michael was working from home that day so he was there to welcome us. It was very exciting to see his new home for the first time. It is in a very peaceful area with attractive homes and gardens, fields and ancient forests. The great asset they have is being only a 5 minute walk from Witley train station.

We have enjoyed watching the local bird life visiting the garden, including a woodpecker.

Today we did a14 km circular walk through some of the local villages and woodlands. It is very picturesque countryside with some spectacular homes also. In Hambledon we had tea at the village shop looking over the cricket green on which they were preparing for the bi annual fete. The friendly locals invited us to attend. Everyone is very friendly around here and will always greet you as you walk past. By lunchtime we were in Chiddingfold, where the Crown Inn dates from 1365, making it the oldest licensed inn in England. A nice place to stop for lunch and an ale. The rain came down as we approached the end of our walk but fortunately we were prepared with coats and umbrellas which you always seem to need handy here.