Hobbies

I don't know if this counts as a hobby.

Travelling on coach holidays and exploring new places, this fits in with my photography hobby.

At one time I was terrified to travel on these type of trips.   I didn't know how to behave in hotels or how to cope with travelling with complete strangers or how I would cope with  my lack of foreign languages

Then I did thirteen trips in one year.  And I realised that this could be considered obsessive behaviour.

My trips in 2015 were.

• Scotland.  4 days
• South Devon   5 days
• Ireland   4 days
• North Devon. 4 days
• Cornwall.  5 days
• Midlands. 4 days
• Kent.  5 days
• Belgium  5. days
• Belgium again 7 days
• Germany 5 days
• Italy 7 days
• Holland 5 days
• Scotland again 5 days.

I got to see a lot of countryside, different cities, met many interesting people.  Enough hotel experience for a lifetime.  Went by Eurostar twice.  Ferries 12 times.

It's a nice hobby but expensive.

Which places did you feel most welcome? Received most Open mindedness? 

I could go on for hours.  But that would indicate an autistic self involved person. ( Which I am BTW).

Anyway, going back to 2013, my sister and her husband invited me to join them on their new year holiday on the isle of Wight.  That was my first experience of an organised coach trip and staying in hotels.  And first ferry trip from Portsmouth to Cowes.

That was a good hotel experience.  The Royal esplanade hotel in Ryde.  The hotel manager came onto the coach and explained to everyone the meal times etc and welcomed us.  I learnt about checking in, checking out, leaving keys at reception when leaving the hotel and why.  Keys had massive brass label attached to them.  In fact our coach party were the only guests staying in this budget hotel.  

Two of you are familiar with Devon.

First trip to Devon was to a hotel in Torquay. The Tor park  hotel.  We had organised trips to Totnes, Dartmouth, Buckfast abbey. brixham and Plymouth. Have photos of all.  Coach driver was very talkative giving us history of places and some very bad jokes!!!

Second trip to Devon was to the other side, lynton, just above the famous flooded village of lynmouth(1952) and we had organised & memorable trips to Minehead, Ilfracombe and Barnstaple.

I met some interesting people who lived near me at different times and learnt facts such why a church in Guisely near me has new stocks. Turns out that the old historic one's were stolen.

Will post a few photos later.

Sounds amazing....thank you for sharing that....

i had planned a break in Italy but had to cancel as work needed me.

There are beautiful things out there to see....I’ve been told! 

Sounds amazing....thank you for sharing that....

i had planned a break in Italy but had to cancel as work needed me.

There are beautiful things out there to see....I’ve been told!