Last day in UK

 Wednesday

31 July 

Day 31

65 to go

It was an exceptionally muggy night, with no covers required for sleeping. Paul struggled with the elements, only sleeping as the sun came up. I was woken by some strange animal noise, that Chell would later explain, was likely a fox. By 8am, we were ready to start the final hours in Hitchin. We had breakfast, watched morning news and took it pretty easy. Chell went off to town for a bit and when he returned we went out for a wander through the meadows for the final time. This time we prepared with containers and bag, so that we could collect the blackberries and plums that were lining the trails. 

We returned just after 11am. We completed the final pack, enjoyed some bacon and egg toasties for lunch and watched some of the Olympics. It was then time to get cracking. We loaded the cases into the back of Chell’s car and then he dropped as at Hitchin Station for 12.50pm. We made our way to the platform, only to find the train was delayed 10min, so we had a bit of a wait.

At 133pm, we boarded the train, shoved our bags in the luggage compartment and then sat back watching the scenery float by for the next hour and a bit. Once we reached the Black Friars station, we had a great view of the centre of London and down the Thames. Then as we approached London Bridge Station, we had a great view of the Shard. From here it was only 30min to Gatwick Airport station. 

We alighted the train with all of our bags and made our way through the South terminal in search of the north terminal shuttle. It was very easy to navigate and before long we were on the driverless train for the 3min journey. When we arrived, we followed the sign postings for the Premier Inn Hotel, arriving just on the 3pm check in time. 

We were given the key card for room 129 and then made our way up, glad to have arrived with little fuss. We were pleased with the cool air we were greeted with and the bed looked amazing. We would enjoy our sleep tonight. 

Once we’d had time to chill out, we decided to go for a wander around the terminals. We checked out where we would be heading tomorrow, before making our way back to the South terminal, where there was a Weatherspoons in which we could buy our dinner. We enjoyed our last meal and then continued to wander, picking up some food for our plane journey tomorrow.

We caught the shuttle back to the north terminal, having dessert in a different bar. We were now well and truly stuffed! We returned to our room, happy to laze around. I received instructions for tomorrow’s accommodation hosts, watched news and Olympic coverage and read for a while, before happily finishing our last evening in England.