Thursday, 8 June. Calne to London

Today was the day that I have been dreading - returning the car to Heathrow Airport. I left Calne around 8.30 and the car had to be back by 12.00, plenty of time. Used the “Previous Destinations” menu to find Heathrow as others have obviously returned cars before me. I was delighted when it took me on A roads, some of which were familiar, but then we reached the M4 and on we went. 

It wasn’t as bad as I had expected, and certainly not like the nightmare journey south. The trucks were well behaved and kept left, so did I most of the time. The lady in the GPS looked after me very well when it came time to change motorways and find the correct exits for car rental returns. The exits were very well signposted too. Before I knew it I had handed the car over and was on a shuttle bus to a terminal building. I did not fill up with diesel once during the trip and to make life simple I decided to return it without refilling it. I had been told that it had a huge fuel tank and it certainly did. Probably cost me more not to refill but finding a petrol station around Heathrow was not going to be easy and I didn’t need the hassle.

The shuttle bus dropped me at terminal 2 and I found the train station and caught the Heathrow Express to London, Paddington. By buying the ticket well in advance it cost me the same as the tube would have, but got me there in comfort in15 minutes. My hotel is in Norfolk Square, very close to the station. I think Jenny Mc and I stayed nearby in Sussex Square when we arrived in London in 1979.

Dropped my luggage at the hotel but couldn’t check in yet so I found a little cafe and had an orange juice and a cheese and tomato toasted sandwich. Just what I needed! Back to Paddington Station to renew my  

Oyster card and get a 7 day pass. Then I hopped on the number 7 bus to Notting 

Hill but missed a step on the app and it didn’t know I was on my way. Anyway, I got off too soon and had to walk the distance of about 2 or 3 more stops, plus the distance after the bus should have let me off. Eventually I found Powys Square and walked right around it, studying the pavement carefully. At the end of the fourth side, Bingo!! I found what I was looking for, Michael Holroyd’s pavement poetry coal hole cover. It’s one of three that we didn’t get to on the last trip. 

Followed my map and the City Mapper app to get to the next one but I couldn’t find it. I walked up and down, way further than where it’s marked on the map but no luck. And then my phone told me it was running out of battery so I had to give up because I needed the phone to get me back to Paddington. Fortunately it lasted until I was on the bus and able to manage on my own.

Have now checked in to my typically tiny London hotel room, put my aching feet up and cooled down. Can’t believe there’s blue sky and warmth in London. A woman asked to move to my table so she could get the sun as her table was now shaded and I saw a man near Portobello Rd sitting on the sunny footpath on a kitchen chair and reading a book.

Have just done a bit of Googling and I think it might be further down Portland Rd, as it’s supposed to be near the Cross Shop. Guess where I’m going tomorrow.

Norfolk Square

Achievement of the day!

Pretty Notting Hill 

View from my window