After a great time in Scotland, we headed south to Birmingham to catch up with some of Geoff's long lost relies. A couple of them (Jaime and David) he'd only met in Sydney a few years earlier, some (George, Viv, Pauline and Marion) he hadn't seen for 36 years, and there were others who he'd never met at all. They all were great fun and it's a pity we couldn't spend a bit more time with them.
I was amazed at how much George (his cousin) looked like Geoff and his brothers.
Geoff, Pauline and George
Jaime and David live in a fantastic little spot called Chadwicke End (near Knowle) - this village is only about 19 miles from Birmingham but it is incredibly picturesque and we spent a couple of days here visiting some of the local pubs, walking country lanes, and visiting some of the nearby sights such as Warwick Castle and Stratford-Upon-Avon (Shakespeare's birthplace).
We also got to see a Jousting Tournament (jousting sticks - tell him he's dreamin'...!)
Jousting Tournament
Warwick Castle (View from Guy's Tower)
Shakespeare's House
It was also great to catch up with Neil and Grethe (who actually live in Sydney) on the opposite side of the world. They took us on a beautiful walk along some of the canals and we actually got to help a couple of the barges go through some of the locks.
Locks & a Barge
Tuesday 17th - Birmingham
Both of Geoff's parents were 'Brummies', so we wanted to spend a bit of time in the city visiting the Bullring, checking out the markets and just getting a feel for the place. We walked along some canals right in the middle of the city and even had breakfast on one of the barges.
Our breakfast barge
We then drove around to some of the streets where Geoff's parents grew up, played, worked and got married etc.
But before we could leave Birmingham, we had to make a stop at CADBURY WORLD - yes WORLD! It was a great thing to see and incredibly busy, and of course we got some freebies! We even got to draw with some of the melted chocolate we didn't get to eat!
Our creative talents combined
Wednesday 18th - Our Adventures with Robin Hood!
Nottingham Castle
We couldn't go past Nottinghamshire without following the Robin Hood trail. We visited Nottingham Castle (home of the Sherriff and many other dignatories including Richard I) and then we discovered this amazing pub called 'Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem', which is claimed to be England's oldest pub and which is cut into the rock that the castle is built on. Truly amazing...
Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem
Also in the middle of Nottingham City, amongst all these beautiful old buildings, we came across a game of beach volleyball.
Beach Volleyball
From here we travelled to Sherwood Forestf in search of Robin Hood. The forest was amazing with beautiful walks which included amazing old oak trees, one of them, 'The Major Oak', was huge and it was around this area that Robin and his Merrie Men are reported to have made their camp. The quaint little town of Edwinstowe was nearby so we wandered the streets and found the beautiful old church (Circa 1197) where Robin and Marian supposedly got married.
The Major Oak
Wednesday 18th - Our Adventures with Robin Hood!
St Mary's where Robin and Marian married
The next morning Geoff decided to go for a run through Sherwood Forest for an hour or so. He said this would probably be the nicest run he's ever done. (This is especially good as he hurt his back several days ago and hasn't been able to do very much at all).
Sherwood Forest
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