Roemin abit

We packed and departed on Schedule (no replacement bus service needed!) after breakfast. The red kite finally made a brief appearance and we said goodbye to our host Natasha who ironically was going away for the weekend in their motorhome. We took a different way north by going via Much Wenlock, an attractive market town with an award winning butcher. Rosemary joined the queue and bought a selection of picnic food to have for lunch at NT house en route. We had a coffee in the square in the shade as it was hot again.  Found Moseley Old Hall just of J1 of the M54 for a lunch break. It was very busy with families enjoying the sun and children friendly facilities. This was the place Charles II fled to after the royalists were defeated in the battle of Worcester. We joined an entertaining house tour and had an ice cream before heading back on the M6 toll to avoid the Friday afternoon M6 queues. Would certainly use this route again despite the £10.70 toll.  We were back ...

  After a very peaceful night (with no acorns raining down) we awoke to a cooler day for touring around Ludlow area. Everything in the van works perfectly from wifi to hot showers while we keep finding more quirky liitle GWR things in the van. We have not seen the red kites yet but have visits from robins and there are swifts and swallows swooping overhead. Less said about the pidgeons the better. We went into Ludlow for a couple of hours shopping then on up the A49 to Carding Mill valley which is near Church Stretton in the Shropshire Hills. There have been a few heavy showers today which have been really refreshing with people just wandering around enjoying getting wet. We had a coffee and scone in the NT cafe and I went for a short stroll up the valley while Rosemary read about the hill sheep farming and the history of wool carding.  Back at the waggon we cooked lamb and beef steaks from the Ludlow farm shop accompanied by a Staffordshire wine from Halfpenny Green vineyard....

  Kings Cross is an extended GWR wagon which was purchased on ebay in 2017 and lovingly restored during Covid by a family living on a old battery chicken farm at Verdons Common a few miles north of Ludlow. Natasha is the Airbnb host, her husband Sam is a carpenter and did most of the interior fittings, but the real genius behind everything on the site is her father Roland a retired mechanical/automotive engineer. A second wagon, Victoria Station was imported from Poland in 2020 and turned into another Airbnb. Roland converted a Bedford bus into a totally unique motorhome, has restored numerous vintage farm machines and you tell from the twinkle in his eye, he has not finished yet! We drove here from Croft via the M6 Toll, which bypassed the awful spagetti junction section, to arrive at Ludlow around 4:00pm  for a bit of food shopping. We were subsequently greeted by Natasha for our two night stay with an invitation to join a soiree for friends and neighbours in her parents gar...

 Next week are going to stay in our first Airbnb in the UK. I booked an Airbnb in New York many years ago when we met Mark and Katie and Christina after the Canadian cruise but never booked one since. Rosemary found a converted GWR goods van near Ludlow so we going there for just 2 nights.