On Sunday we had to check out of the room and then head out to Heathrow Airport, where I had a rental car waiting.
I drove out to Highclere Castle, where the popular show Downton Abbey is partly filmed.
I really had reservations about driving on the wrong side of the car. I frequently drive in the left lane, so that wasn’t too fearful, but sitting on the right side of the car is unusual, much less driving on that side.
I didn’t have too much trouble, other than a drifting to the left on occasion. As we were leaving the castle, we were following a single lane road for quite a while, so when I turned onto a real road, I was on the wrong side for a few moments before I recovered. Luckily no one was coming.
There was some sort of “game festival” also going on elsewhere on the property, but didn’t affect us getting there. It must be nice to have property big enough that you can have two events, without conflict.
As we were awaiting entry into the castle, we saw the Countess Carnarvon escorting Newt Ginrich and wife.
Inside is mostly still original, with the only new items being the family photos displayed all over, much like any home. With the exception that most homes don’t have candid photos of the Queen or young Princess Diana.
With the house being so old (1830’s), there is obvious wear and destruction, which is one of the reasons for allowing visitations to the estate, to help pay for the expensive restorations needed.
The 5th Earl Carnarvon was co-discoverer, with Howard Carter, of the tomb of Tutankhamun in the 1922, there is a permanent exhibit on site of the mummy and casket and many various other artifacts found throughout his explorations.
We had lunch at the manor house amongst the many children playing on the back lawn. Afterward we strolled the gardens, including the “secret” garden, which isn’t very secret with a sign pointing the way.
With the rain threatening, and a night train to catch, we headed back to Heathrow.
Despite the navigator having all the Enterprise locations pre-installed, it did not have Heathrow, so I programmed it to go to the zip code of the agency. We spent at least half an hour trying to follow the directions, the signs didn’t list any rental locations and the navigator was too slow with the directions to easily get into the correct lane or make the correct turn.
I did finally get there, but I was unable to find and gas stations on the way back, so I was hit with a£40 refueling charge, about what I pay to fill my entire tank.
We then took the underground back into town to the train station.
There was little chance to get food on the train, at least not until morning, so we grabbed a bit at the station. Then I went to check the board to see if there was a platform listed yet, we still had over an hour.
There was only one train listed at our departure time, and that was going elsewhere.
I went to the info booth, but was closed, so I headed to the ticket area. It is all ticket machines, but I did spot an employee, so I asked him about it. He walked out to the board and looked also, and did not see the train listed, either. So he went back into his office area and came back with the news that the train schedule had been push up 30 minutes and was currently boarding.
I grabbed Mom and we headed to the platform, where the employees there also knew nothing about the change, but the porter did.
I have never hear of anyone pushing a schedule ahead before. We were well under way before the original departure came about. If we had been 20 minutes later getting to the station, we would have been stuck. I really expect better from Richard Branson’s Virgin brand.
This cabin was even smaller that the previous had been, but at least we were in it, instead of sitting at the station.