let me introduce you to ‘the old monkey’: this is the entrance to ‘my’ cottage. the portico holds so much charm and its share of intricate cobwebs

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i’ll start my tour with the bedroom upstairs. i didn’t spend much time up here. in fact, i didn’t even sleep in this bed (although, believe me, i would have loved to)

sunny in the daytime, i was a little scared to be here at night. and this is why i should never, ever visit one of these gorgeous cottages alone. oh! look at the chair in the corner. i fell in love with this chair, which looked like it had seen better days. but i’m like that; i find charm in battered old things

the view outside my bedroom window

shall we head downstairs? navigating these steps was an even bigger challenge than the ones at brook cottage, but i managed to ascend and descend without incident (of course it’s difficult to fall when you’re crawling up or climbing down on your bum)

i loved discovering this place. of course being me, i had to take all these photos before venturing out into town

i nearly fell asleep taking this shot. i swear this sofa was the devil. so so so very comfy

a few steps down, the kitchen. one of the first things i was attracted to (even before i arrived; i saw it in the photos) was the meat hook. normally my mind would wander into slasher-movie territory, but there was no way i was going to feel threatened by this

how could i when it was offset by all this charm? quirky egg holders on the window sill

ok! i did go to the king’s head but only discovered where the pizza booth was the next day. i ended up dining at the george

the appetizing grove cottage welcome basket. the bread is a killer

outside the cottage i found this: my own private spiderweb

the side of the cottage. that window up there is the bedroom and the blue bit is the kitchen

two thistles say hello

a hidden garden outside

on my way up to the high street. the clouds looking a little too dark for my liking. as much as i love the rain, it’s not fun when you haven’t an umbrella. there was one provided at the cottage but i didn’t think i would need it

i took this photo because it reminded me of my daughter who loves macklemore. here we go now…

at the george i sit at the wobbliest table

i wasn’t hungry but i craved meat

i brought some of my companions with me

back in the cottage i found another monkey

time to light the fire…

and lie down and enjoy my evening with will, always by my side

first day gone by

next day began with this pre-breakfast read

i really enjoyed reading this because so many of the buildings in this book still exist a few steps away. that excites me as we don’t have that sort of history in kuwait nowadays. it’s something i truly crave

time for brekky!

egg holders are eying my breakfast. one of them seems to have taken a bite of my bread

breakfast for one

back to town. i saw this and it reminded me of a friend

straight to church for me. i don’t know why i’ve always been intrigued by churches. there’s a rich eeriness about them that gets my heart pumping. this is st. mary’s church on church street

inside i managed to keep my body still and my mind silent for a few moments

every now and then i would glance around. this modern looking stained glass window caught my attention, breaking my attempt at meditation

i love graveyards. i feel most at peace here. the guildhall is right across from the church

time to discover more of the town. i couldn’t hang around here all day, there was so much to see…

…like the world cup match at 5! back at the george. i had such a good pizza but was upset that chile lost

back in the cottage enjoying the peaceful and rainy evening

the day of my departure i found one last monkey on the bedroom wall. needless to say, this freaked me out

time to give my key back to kathryn who was lovely and so generous to share this cottage with the world

good bye, old monkey

i do hope to see you again