We had a great journey down to Dartford, stopping at South Mimms on the way for a much needed coffee and to buy some flowers from Waitrose. It had been a fair time since I'd driven on the M25 and I was amazed to see the roadworks were still there! When will they be finished?
Once at Dartford we drove to the crematorium and found the areas in the Garden of Remembrance where both Nans were buried. There were lots of other flowers (and even Christmas and Birthday cards) from people who were remembering loved ones and I suppose it's comforting to go along and leave little mementos for family members who've passed on. On the way back to the M25 we drove to the road where Mum and Dad used to live, to show Sophie, but she wasn't really interested! She's no fan of Dartford, I'm afraid!
Once past Rochester we stopped again for tea and sandwiches at Medway Services on the M2. By now it was getting dark and a bit murky so we pushed on and arrived in Dover just after it was properly dark. I'd booked two rooms at a different Premier Inn to the one we normally use so I had a bit of difficulty finding the entrance! We ended up going past a beautifully lit Dover Castle and almost into the town before I turned around and found the way into the car park! The hotel itself is on the main dual carriageway into the port and is separated from its pub and restaurant by a footpath, but it looked as if it had recently been refurbished and the windows were double glazed so the traffic noise wasn't too bad.
We checked in and then spent a very relaxing couple of hours staying in our rooms. I had a lovely hot bath and then snuggled down to watch Neighbours! At 7pm we all met in Reception and walked the short distance to the pub. The footpath was well-lit but I wouldn't have wanted to walk along it if I was on my own as one side was a thick forest and a bit creepy!
The pub was very busy with early diners but we had a relaxing drink in the bar as we'd booked a table for 8pm. Originally I'd planned on going to one of the nearby villages for a drink at one of the pubs, as we'd done in the summer, but it was really foggy outside and it seemed silly to venture out in the murk when we had a perfectly good pub on our doorstep!
We had a great meal (prawn cocktail and fish and chips for me!) and another round of drinks, but by 9pm we were all ready to head back to our rooms and get an early night. We turned the TV on and discovered that the film Trading Places was on and I couldn't resist watching it until almost 11pm as I find it so funny!
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