Dungroamin 2022
The holiday that smells but has no taste
Sunday 12th June
This morning we walked to the nearby site of Littlecote Roman Villa and Orpheus Mosaic. This also gave Brian the opportunity to see how his scooter performed as a rough terrain vehicle. The mosaic has been restored but nevertheless we were impressed with its condition.
We returned to Littlecote House for a coffee before setting off to travel into Hungerford for lunch. It was at this point that we had a repeat of the 2004 moment when we first spotted a Red Kite. This time it was a White Tailed Sea Eagle - confirmed by our resident birder Chris. What it was doing in Hungerford is anybody's guess.
The Roman Villa.
The Orpheus Mosaic.
Another view.
Brian practises a few dance moves.
Here we all are, apart from Geraint who hasn't appeared yet.
A view of Littlecote Hall.
We drive into Hungerford and park in a car park. Whilst we are trying to see whether we have to have an app or just a credit card to pay, Pete notices that there is no charge on Sundays. So good news for us.
The first pub we come to is the Three Roses and this proves to be an ideal pub for lunch - plenty of comfortable space and decent food and drink. In due course Geraint turned up so we were back to a full complement.
At 2pm we walked down to Canal Street where we boarded The Rose of Hungerford (which is not one of the local women of the night but a broad-beam boat run by the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust). Our trip took us along the canal for about an hour, before passing through a lock, turning round and returning.
The Rose at her mooring waiting for her excited passengers.
The captain gives us a running commentary as we go.
Passing through the lock, where we could disembark and have a walk round.
The barge is turned round at the winding hole.
Fiona shouts "Help, I'm being kidnapped by these maniac barge people!"
After returning to Littlecote, we spent our last evening a usual in the restaurant followed by the bar. Somewhere in the auditorium the house entertainers were doing a reasonable impression of an Abba tribute band.
The jury is still out on whether we are quite ready for the type of experience Warners provides. But the general view seemed to be that we will not be repeating the experience next year.