Purely by chance, we found ourselves staying the night in a delightful little place called Upton upon Severn. It was the perfect place to spend a relaxing day down by the river and going slowly in and out of the quirky independent shops.
To my delight, we parked up right outside a shop called 'The Map Shop'! I knew I'd heard of Upton upon Severn before, but couldn't place it - suddenly it all became clear. Over years and years of planning and guiding expeditions to weird and wonderful places, I've spent a small fortune in The Map Shop, ordering online (and before then, by phone!), as they are the UK's most well stocked and knowledgeable map people. What a treat it was to spend some time in the actual shop, thumbing through the stock, getting inspired for future travels and finally meeting the voice at the end of the phone!
The routine of un-pack and re-pack seems to be getting easier and once again, another day was spent on the move transiting though stations and airports!
Happily, this was only a short flight across the water, to Holland (and with the business perks of fast track check-in and security passes).
And instead of my usual expedition rucksacks and paraphernalia, this time, I was travelling business style, accompanying Clare on one of her work trips!
After landing into Schipol Airport in Amsterdam, a train took us smoothly and efficiently out to a nearby town called Utercht. The train was so quiet, comfy and smooth.
To complete the days travel series of car, plane and train, we finished with a a short taxi ride to the night's hotel.
Having got fed, checked in and unpacked once again, we were able to take a short walk around the lake that the hotel is based by to stretch our legs. We watched a little family of Coots in a nest and some big fish swim by, before returning to the hotel trying not to feel too dazed by another change of location!
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