Coast to Coast UK - Off we go!

 For a Victorian, leaving home without one’s puffer jacket is like leaving home without a security blanket, but it had to be done. On the one hand, the temptation to pack for all seasons when travelling to the UK is high, however, in this instance the main focus of the trip (at least for my part) is a prolonged hike up hill and down dale, for which my trusted Gortex jacket from Ultimate Frisbee touring days, seemed a much better choice than the iconic puffer jacket (sorry Kathmandu!).

Mind you, the puffer jacket, weightless as it is, still almost made it into the suitcase, perhaps for cool evenings in the villages at the end of a long day of hiking I reasoned;  but in the end, there were three factors that ruled it out and forced me to hang it back in the wardrobe, albeit with some reluctance:

1. There is a weight limit of 18kg on the carriage of our luggage from village to village, although the puffer jacket does not contribute a great deal to the overall weight, this was nevertheless, a valid consideration and under those circumstances there seems to be no point taking things ‘just in case’.

2. Space is at a premium in my mid-sized suitcase, especially with my hiking poles needing to be fitted diagonally across the case in between layers, so while it may be light, the puffer jacket, even tucked neatly into its little bag, was taking up valuable space.

3. Spring in the UK is showing signs of bringing with it some sunshine between the showers, accompanied by slightly warmer temperatures, similar to those we are leaving behind in autumnal Australia.

So, the decision has been made and I am leaving the country without my puffer jacket!

Wallsy, on the other hand, could not be parted from his, and it has been smuggled into the overstuffed baggage somewhere. It came as no surprise (to me) when he announced that his luggage, minus the hiking gear that would be with him each day, was overweight, at some 19 and a bit more kilograms, I could see that suggesting the puffer jacket may be unnecessary was not an option, so I set about rationalising  his other items, reducing 4 ‘good’ shirts to 2, 8 pairs of socks to 4 and leaving one of the heavier weight hiking shirts, a pair of shorts and a pair of tracksuit pants behind.

Bingo, 15.8kg!

With these traumatic choices of the past few days behind us, we are now sitting comfortably at the airport, all check-ins complete, with an hour to go before our scheduled flight, full of nervous anticipation.

The house sitter has notified us of her arrival, and after a slight hiccup (I had given her the old lock-box code), she is apparently inside, Oscar has been patted and she is ready to settle in.

So, with all the ducks lined up … off we go!


This is after he told me he was packed!


Hiking packs trial run. Looking schmick!





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vatican Vistas

Image
 The information for the guided tour of the Vatican Museum and St Peter’s Basilica that we had signed up for,  spoke encouragingly about beating the crowds with an early morning tour, and promised more time to view the masterpieces in a quieter atmosphere. So we left the hotel with a paper-bag breakfast in hand at 6:30 am, for the thirty minute walk beside the Tiber River, to the meeting point just outside Vatican City.  Arriving at the appointed time of 07:15 at a random address on Viale Guilio Cesare. At first there was no-one there, but soon others arrived, also looking for the tour, and finally the guides appeared and handed out the requisite tickets, identifying stickers and audio sets. Our guide was very entertaining, beginning with some very strong opinions about what was wrong with the system which didn’t cap daily ticket sales, leading to long queues and delays in entering both the museum and the Basilica.  Our entry to the museum was however quite prompt on...
Read more

Arrivederci Australia

Image
 A 23-hour-long test of patience, stamina and the ability to sleep (or not) while sitting upright in a narrow space, was the precursor to a long awaited trip to Italy for this small group of friends, family and some strangers.  Our group of four comprised of two sisters and a combination of old and new friends, left Melbourne airport on a sunny Wednesday afternoon - the last day of April, 2025.  Spirits were high and so were nerves, as we farewelled partners and stepped into the Departure tunnel where we were still to navigate the vagaries of security and passport control. An incident where one of our bags fell on top of another while traversing the scanner,  caused a slight delay and a few moments of concern as both bags were whisked away, much to the consternation of their owners, only to be rescanned and quickly returned and released.  Passport control also caused some consternation, when incomplete instructions resulted in one member leaving her glasses on a...
Read more

It’s not Italy, but …

 No, it’s not Italy, but, getting to Norfolk Island has proven to be an adventure in itself and this quaint island does seem to hold a great deal of promise.  And yes, I was meant to be in Italy at this point in time, however with that trip postponed until 2025, due to circumstances beyond our control, my friend Fiona and I decided to make the best of a disappointing situation and take ourselves on a week away in lieu of Tuscany.  Hence we found ourselves rising at 4am this morning in the Holiday Inn at Melbourne airport, where we availed ourselves of the courtesy bus which ferried us to the airport in plenty of time for our 6am flight to Sydney.  Having ascertained that our luggage was indeed checked all the way through to Norfolk Island, we threaded our way through security and settled in for an airport-style breakfast, at huge cost. It was tasty however, and the coffee was not only particularly good, but also much needed   Our flight left on time and conseque...
Read more