Vicks was sick with a stomach upset, so Linda and I packed up and left at 8am. We walked up to the bus stop at Wilton, spying a fox snooping around in a field on the way. Our first bus ride took us via Warminster to Trowbridge, passing below the great white horse above Westbury, then on to Chippenham after a 45-minute wait, during which Linda time sought out some bacon butties for us to eat.
From Chippenham, we thought we could hitch up to Swindon, but after walking for several miles, we ended up catching a bus to Great Somerford, and from there into the Swindon bus station. Half an hour later, we were walking along the street in Lydiard Millicent to Grove House, where John was waiting to greet us.
We settled in, then sat round in the kitchen talking until Sally arrived with warm greetings. John and I wandered around on the farm, looking at some hay, and starting up John’s old Fordson tractor. Emma and Caroline, having arrived home from school, were screaming around excitedly, brushing their horses in preparation for a gallop around the field. Both were much more grown up and open, with Caroline in particular having grown into a tall and gangly teenager. As usual, when we visit the Blakistons of Grove House, we dined in style beneath the gaze of John’s great-grandfather, Alan Cubitt.
CurseOfTheTraveller 