But there won’t be many traveller’s tales in this blog today. We’ve been travelling all day – from Ewen (near Cirencester) in the Cotswolds to get to Duffield (near Derby) in the middle(ish) of England. But with not a great deal happening on our travels today! Which can be a good thing… a very good thing!

It’s taken quite a lot of research and planning to get here in Derby. On the map, it looks like it’d be just a hop, step and a jump! But it took a bit more than that!

After our hearty breakfast at the BnB this morning, we took a taxi to Oxford. A taxi was cheaper and much easier than hiring a car or public transport! Our Albanian driver who’s lived in England for 25 years was great company with lots of lively discussion and laughter.

We thought we had plenty of time to wait for our bus in Oxford. (I’d never been there before, but Philip came here for a visit years ago.) My plan was to walk around the streets near the bus station, taking in the atmosphere and the architecture and “vibe” of the place.

This is the History faculty – with Oxford bicycles.

But I’d just started out on my explorations, when Philip realised that the ticket vendor (from last week) had given us tickets to Derby for the wrong day. So that needed a bit of discussion with the ticket clerk – and some more money for the changes! So these are the only photos I took.

I don’t think pigeons have learned to read!

A very basic bus ride through the countryside to Milton Keynes which is like a city development hub away from London. We ate our lunch at the bus station there while waiting for the next bus. Nothing of interest there and nowhere interesting to walk to. But I did notice amongst the tourist brochures that Bluey and Bingo are visiting several tourist attractions in the area during this month! That’s a long way from Brisbane!

The next bus was slightly more comfortable, but very narrow seats as we rolled through more green countryside and made detours for passengers into towns like Leicester, Loughborough and Nottingham. Nottingham impressed me as I drove through with some beautiful buildings both old and modern and lots of green parks. Most of the passengers got off at Nottingham. But this is the only photo I was quick enough to take in Nottingham!

Philip and I were the only people left on the bus from Nottingham to Derby – so we could finally spread out a bit more. Keith met us at the bus station in Derby and we got straight on a smaller and crowded suburban bus to take us to their home in Duffield (outside of Derby). The most interesting part of the trip was when a couple of adults boarded the bus with about a dozen “Beavers” – little kids dressed in blue and yellow uniforms – they’re like cubs for little kids. They were very excited because they were going to an outdoor park to make “dens”.

It is wonderful to be at Deb and Keith’s restful house in Duffield, overlooking the Derwent valley – the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution (late 1700s to mid 1800s). A wonderful dinner with them. As I’m typing to you I’ve opened the windows because I can hear the church bells ringing. I think they’re practising because they’re ringing proper tunes – the liquid notes carolling and rolling up and up the valley. I love it!

The view from our bedroom window