Well, we have mostly relied on B&Bs for accommodation in England - that's bed and breakfasts to the folks at home who might not be in the know (not many of you, I should think). In London, this amounts to a fairly scuzzy room, sometimes with a shared bathroom, but in our case we always get an ensuite. You're also meant to get breaky with the price of your room, and in The Chelsea, this is cereal and toast. But only if they decide to serve it during the set times, or if you can get a seat when they do. We decided sometime ago the value of said meal couldn't be more than £1.50 so, compared to the irritation which was worth about £10, so we no longer bother.
But out in the countrside the average B&B host takes their offerings very seriously. At The Old Post House in Great Wishford, the accommodation was top notch, as was the breaky, which I've previously meantioned. We didn't realise how good it was until we arrived at...
Camelot in Caerleon. While Paulene at The Old Post House was mostly interested in providing the service but leaving us to ourselves, Alan at Camelot seemed to be keen on company and input. God bless him, he'd recently had an artheroscope on his knee so wasn't too mobile. And his wife was off with a new hip replacement... could be something to do with the hearty English Breakfasts, but you can't be too sure. As Alan said, "perfection is pear shaped..." what a guy.
In Glastonbury, Kylemore Manor was difficult to get into, but super comfortable once we were in. As Marky said, the breaky was top notch (note - he eats the cooked breakfast. I just have toast). After my reading, Tim, our host, told me that the room we'd stayed in was haunted by three little girls, who appear in photos, lined up along the window, dressed in white outfits. He didn't show me any of these photos, but he said it's the spookiest thing he's ever seen. And I think that's saying something. The building itself is about three hundred years old - with the original building clearly visible and extensions added on either side. Oddly, the back of it was demolished a long time ago, so it is only one room deep...
Down in Worthing, we stayed at Park House with Martyn and Rebecca hosting. Mark broke the handle on the bathroom door about five minutes after we'd got into the room, which wasn't a good start. Rebecca admitted she'd have to get the builders to fix it because Martyn certainly couldn't. Again, breaky was cooked for Mark - he's become well trained in asking for no tomatoes and mushrooms. Which isn't working out that well for me anymore, since I was eating them on his behalf!
As we left we found Martyn and Rebecca in next door clearing out the bottom unit of an old Victorian duplex. Rebecca's mother used to live there, and they sold it when she passed away. The property was being settled today! However, smart cookies that they are, they rezoned the yard so that they got to keep most of it for Park House. Clever indeed. They told us Park House had been on the market for three years when they bought it, so they couldn't get a commercial loan - there was absolutely no trading record. So they managed to get a normal home loan for it. When the bank noticed the house had 10 bathrooms they raised an eyebrow - Rebecca said they might ask some friends to stay... again, very clever.
All in all accommodation has been very good. We are sleeping very well every night - no, I'm not having any sleeping walking or talking episodes for those who are wondering. I'm just to darned tired for that kind of hijinx. I think the final word on B&Bs is this: people open up their homes and invite you in. They don't ask you to fill anything out and they don't take your money until you leave, and I find this incredibly trusting. I am honoured to be trusted in this way of course. It's a wonderful example of the good things about humanity which can be lost in big cities these days.
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