Day 18 & 19 of our UK trip:

Yesterday we drove to Southampton to visit Dave’s cousin Barry and his wife Jacky for a couple of days.

Both Barry & Dave are very involved in researching their family history so there were lots of stories exchanged, secrets revealed and information shared which made for an entertaining evening.

Today we were taken on a quick tour of Portsmouth and then off to a little seaside village called Emsworth (like Chris & Liam without the ‘H’ 😛)

As we walked down the street to the waterfront we visited charity shops and an antique shop that smelled of musty old books, timber and leather. But our focus was on the little harbour and the boats stranded in the mud by the low tide.

We walked out along the sea wall passed an old tidal flour mill that used to contain the water in the Mill Pond and release it on low tide to turn the mill. (I love discovering interesting little snippets of information like this!)

You may have noticed the white swans in the previous photo … well, there was a man down by the water kneeling on the ground and caressing the swans. They seemed to really relate to him and come up to him to be petted.

The sky looked ominous as we walked back towards the village but the rain held off until we were back in the car and on our way.

We detoured to the village of East Meon on the way home and met Barry & Jacky’s daughter Katie and granddaughter Ebony but I’ll take you for a tour through that picture perfect spot tomorrow.

We’ve been told there’s nothing more English now than a good curry so that’s what’s on the menu tonight. Bon Appetit 😋