After breakfast we caught the Hoppa bus back to Heathrow to pick up our rental car, a manual, diesel Peugeot 208 which is very new and goes well especially now that Len is used to the more sensitive steering than he has had in Debussy. There was no detail on the map provided but somehow we just followed our noses and found our way through the Surrey countryside to the DeVere Hotel at Horsley Park where we were meeting up with Wils & Esme, Joan, Norman and Nicola. It was a lovely drive along the narrow, windy, tree-lined roads and the sun was shining.
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| Horsley Park |
The original large country manor at Horsley Park dates back to the mid 16th century and parts of it remain today. The grounds are large with lots of paths to wander along amongst the trees and around a small lake. It was great to meet up with the family and the 4 nights we spent there seemed to pass by quickly with some sightseeing around the area on Friday and a gathering at The Drummond Pub in Albury that evening with Matt and Anna and other family and friends. This had been preceded by a pizza dinner at The Duke of Wellington Pub which was just up the road from our Hotel.
Matt and Anna's happy wedding was held on Saturday in a lovely old Church in the tiny village of Shere and this was followed by an excellent reception in an old converted barn way out in the countryside. Joan and Norman had kindly organised a bus for all our travels so we could sit back and relax and not worry about getting lost! Lots of champagne had by all, a nice wedding 'breakfast', a disco and dancing saw us pretty tired by the time the bus was ready to leave just before midnight. We aren't sure if we can blame the socialising or the jetlag for our general sleepiness!
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| The Bridal Party post wedding |
The weather has been great - apart from a heavy shower that decided to descend while we were all in the Church the days have been a mixture of sun and cloud with the day temperatures ranging between 22 - 26 and rather too warm for us at night without any air conditioning in our hotels. It has certainly been a very good English summer this year and for once I'm fine in a T shirt and shorts!
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| Celebrating Wils & Esmes Ruby Wedding on Sunday morning |
Sunday afternoon we, together with Len's family, went out to Deborah and Bill's (Anna's parents) house. in Farley Green, near Albury for a lovely early dinner. Matt and Anna joined us there as they still had some time up their sleeves before flying to Sicily for their honeymoon today (Tuesday).
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