We Are Back!

and what a lovely holiday we had,

so I am going to start catching up on the posts,

we left early in the morning,

and had a brief stop for coffee on the way to Bournemouth,

and here we were, in a wet and windy car park,

we had some time to kill before we could check into the hotel, but we could park the car in the hotels car park,

so a walk around the park, until the key office opened,

then down to the beach, and a look at the pier,

and the now unused end of the zipline,

and here was our hut on the beach, we have hired it for 6 months, although you are not allowed to sleep overnight in it, the hut comes complete with 3 deckchairs, a gas ring and a broom, and no electric,

we drove the car down to the promenade and unloaded a few bits and pieces,

then went for a more exploratory walk in the park,

a panorama,

which was followed by a rendition of Singing In The Rain by Diana,

evidence of the storm that hit here a few days ago,

and here it is, the river that gives the town its name, the River Bourne, it is a small river here in Dorset, it flows into the English Channel at Bournemouth, taking its name simply from Middle English bourn or burn, a small stream, and it was still raining!

this a part of a art exhibition,

looking to the left one of the many hotels and bars in the area,

another part of the art exhibition,

lots of light bulbs on the ground,

we continued walking past the flower beds,

which were nicely maintained,

and found a small grotto,

complete with a fountain,

by now we were hungry,

so lunch in The Moon In The Square it was then,

eyes down for the menu,

'Cheers!', with a mug of tea?

no not really,

a proper 'Cheers!'

for our lunch,

 Diana choose an Indian,

a streak for myself,

then back to the beach hut,

well I had to have a pose or two!

we had bought a few nibbles for the hotel room, so locking up we were on our way back to the hotel,

our view from the beach hut,

and looking towards the pier,

which we walked towards,

the latest storm had made more than a few waves for the surfboarders to take advantage of,

we made our way uphill,

following these footsteps,

that lead to a pedestrian crossing,

we passed The Hop Inn, I am sure we will be visiting there, it is just a few hundred yards from the hotel,

our bedroom nice and handy to keep an eye on the car,

our room which is in one of the Travelodge in the town,

well that's me sorted for the evening!

a quick selfie, then feet up to watch some television, hopefully the rain will have passed by tomorrow, and with that thought we were off to bed.

Our Last Day In Bouremouth,

what a glorious start to the day,

clear blue skies, we could see the pier,

from the clifftop,

we decided on a different way down today,

we were going to go down one of the zig-zag paths to the beach,

but first a pose from myself,

and Diana,

before we started on our way down,

not even halfway down,

but we stopped again,

in no time we were on the promenade,

and passing the now unused funicular railway,

continuing to the pier,

and the Eye,

no wind,

clear skies, today was going to be the day,

but first a walk along the pier,

for a coffee each,

and for Diana,

a cake,

looking towards the shore,

the beach hut we hired for 6 months is somewhere there,

another pose from Diana, this time with sunglasses,

into the restaurant,

coffee and cake,

Diana loves the cakes here, for myself I will wait for breakfast,

looking at Diana's jumper you would never know it was nearly Christmas!

out to the west side of the pier, without,

and with sunglasses,

and I had to have a pose,

or two!

one more from Diana,

and then we noticed a bit of fun on the beach,

it was shoes and socks off, trousers rolled up for a paddle in the sea,

although it looked warm in the sunshine it was in fact very cold, the sea even more so, it is making me shiver as I write this!

as we neared the huts on our walk along the sand, another hut was being used watched by an ever present seagull,

breakfast, a sausage sandwich and a cup of tea,

outside a metal detectorist was hoping for a lucky find,

as a couple of jet skiers stopped on the beach,

time for us to make a move,

to the Eye,

but first a bit of fun,

as Diana becomes a snowwomen,

and I just had to be Santa Claus,

then up, up and away!

it was all remarkably stable,

normally when we are doing something like this,

we are in a gondola, 

with the wind pushing us from side to side,

but here as steady as a moving rock,

it was a long way down,

we were soon at the top,

and on our way down again,

as it happens we went round 3 times,

the ticket price was £6.00 each,

Diana was making use of the stick,

it makes taking photographs and videos much easier,

in that it cancels out camera shake and smooths the images,

ride over and a quick pose with Santa,

we made our way to the beach hut,

and were treated to a rather nice sunset,

not as nice as some,

but still enjoyable,

watching the colours change,

for our last meal for this trip,

fish and chips,

with gherkins, Diana looking as festive as ever,

a quick selfie, then eyes down and tuck in,

we played cards for some time, then back to the hotel to start packing and loading the car for a early start back to Beckenham tomorrow, one New Tricks and we were off to bed.