All quiet at Broadway station

I awoke in Rutlandshire, and indeed breakfasted there. At 9.30 we were back on the coach. I'd hoped we'd be visiting Rutland water, but we started off back on the road towards Lutterworth, from whence we had come yesterday, and eventually it became evident that we would be visiting Warwick. We drove around the streets and city walls with the driver pointing out interesting features, then we were set down, alas, only for an hour.

We found that this wasn't really long enough. D and I spent some time in a large stationery shop, then when we found a discounted 'labels' shop, D started muttering about toilets, so he went off to Costa, and I bought a discounted Mistral top, and still had time to go to a charity shop! See Labels shop building in Extras.

Next we drove to the gateway to the Cotswolds,  Moreton-in-Marsh. We didn't stop there, which was a pity, because the next place, Stow on the Wold, was horrendous. Very busy, traffic everywhere, no room at any of the inns (it was lunchtime), D saying that he wasn't hungry, and two minutes later saying he could manage a Sunday roast because it's a 'light meal' and then not being able to sit at a picnic table...I get the picnic bench bit, but  I am out of practice. In the end I found a table at a bakery and D had a pasty which he didn't like, and I had a packet of crisps, and a gf muffin from another place. We went back to the Loos near the coach (40p) and then I left D because it was still way too early to board the coach. When I came back from a kitchen shop stop, I heard that one of our members had had an accident and been taken to hospital. We then had to drive to a meeting point to be reunited with her later.

This turned out to be Broadway, a North Cotswold town in Worcestershire, with some very fine buildings. Heavy rain was falling, and D seemed inclined to stay on the coach, along with many others, so I left and went to a small shopping arcade which was full of the usual Expensive Knick Knacks found in the Cotswolds. Realising I had some time to spare, I decided to walk to Broadway station,  the furthest reach of the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire railway, a heritage railway line.

We had visited this station once before on a steam gala day, the day the restored station was first opened to the public. This was....um ..before the pandemic. On that day, we  had not been able to get on to the station concourse without tickets, so I wanted to see it under more usual circumstances. It was about ten minutes' walk, and I found the station quiet, but not deserted. Had a cup of tea in the splendid retrofitted refreshments room, and then heard a train approaching. Quickly stood up and approached the platform, only to find that the train was diesel - hauled, by one of those BR engines that hauled the trains I used to go to school on! The carriage livery was lovely, though.

Walked  back to the coach in Broadway village. D was nowhere to be seen. Eventually he turned up and said he'd been in the pub opposite. Each to his/her own! We then proceeded back to Gloucester via Cleeve common, Cheltenham and ather scenic spots. De-coached again and a taxi took me back to Stroud, and another couple to Cam. I never found out if the lady who'd had an accident was ok.

Favourite moments? Witney, Warwick, Broadway station, 'Nazi Goering' and 'the Queen Mother's Legs'( see yesterday's blip). Low points? The Rockingham Forest Bedroom Experience, and Stow on the Wold ( warning: not suitable for the elderly, or those without a lunch booking).
Will I go on a mystery tour again with D? Probably not.

Until the next time.