After a nice breakfast with Sue and Brian at our hotel we had a leisurely stroll around the old Abbey as their was some sort of festival on with lots of displays.
The dining room
Brian's breakfast included Black pudding
Really old gatehouse to the Abbey. Beautiful old, old houses in the village.
Then it was time to weigh anchor and return to Wallingford. Easier said than done as the wind now was pushing the boat onto shore. Geoff tried to push the front out but overstretched and fell in!
Next try both Geoff and I pushed and didn't try to get back on, instead walking down to the nearby lock to re board.
Geoff emptying the Thames out of his shoe. At least he can now say he has swum in the Thames!
Back through the locks.
Back in Wallingford we had a look around the old town. The town's royal but mostly ruined Wallingford Castle held high status in the early medieval period as a regular royal residence until the Black Death hit the town badly in 1349. Empress Matilda retreated here for the final time from Oxford Castle in 1141. Over the next two centuries it became a luxurious castle, used by royalty and their immediate family. After being abandoned as a royal residence by Henry VIII, the castle fell into decline. Refortified during the English Civil War, it was eventually slighted, i.e. deliberately destroyed, after being captured by Parliamentary forces after a long siege. The site was subsequently left relatively undeveloped, and the limited remains of the castle walls and the considerable earthworks
Sue had made Spaghetti Bolognaise for lunch which was very nice. A bit more of a chat and it was time to say goodbye. It has been the most enjoyable couple of days with some really delightful people. Hopefully they will brave the long distance and visit us soon.
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