Friday 15th July 

It was exciting to start the holiday by making new friends and travelling to Ross-on-Wye where we explored Cedars House, our lovely home for the week. Once we’d chosen our rooms we relaxed in the garden with a cuppa and home-made cupcakes and followed this with delicious local pizza for dinner.

Saturday 16th July

The group was so excited to be at the International Air Tattoo! The flying displays were incredible, and the static aircraft were really impressive. James and Chris shared their vast knowledge of the aircraft with us as we looked around and Anthony told us how much he’d loved seeing the planes doing loop-the-loop overhead. We had a VIP look inside the body of a massive C17 courtesy of a Flight Lieutenant from the Norwegian Air Force – it was huge! Members of the group bought some great souvenirs.

Sunday 17th July

We took a cool and relaxed trip along the River Wye aboard the Lady Christina, a welcome treat in such hot weather. We passed families of swans as well as loads of paddle-boarders and canoeists, waving as we floated by! We had lunch at an American-style diner in Ross-on-Wye and took a stroll around before returning to Cedars House to relax before dinner.

Monday 18th July

Today’s destination was the Museum of the Great Western Railway in Swindon. It was packed with equipment and scenes from the history of the railways, and we got to climb on engines, change the points and signals as well as walk underneath a carriage which was amazing. Stephen and Stacey had fun on the driving simulator, especially pulling the whistle. In the evening we took a stroll through the village of Whitchurch and had a drink in a beautiful pub garden.

Tuesday 19th July

Aerospace Bristol proved to be a fascinating experience, the highlight being Concorde. We learned how aircraft have developed from the original wood and canvas craft to high-tech super-planes and we had a go at the interactive displays as we looked around. Everyone boarded Concorde, getting to look into the cockpit and walk through the whole plane and James did brilliantly on the fact-finder quiz questions. Sandra and James agreed that it was a “dream come true” to see Concorde and Chris said, “She was one of the best!”.

Wednesday 20th July

A very chilled day began with a big, cooked breakfast followed by a game of crazy golf with Anthony teaching Stephen, James and Chris all he knew about the game. We had a picnic lunch under some lovely willow trees whose trunks were wrapped in colourful rugs. We spent some time shopping for treats and presents then returned to the house where Sandra and James proved to be brilliant bakers, making delicious cupcakes for us all.

Thursday 21st July

We went to Toddington station today for a ride to Broadway on a steam train. The station itself was lovely and we had lunch in their café as well as a chat with the Station Master and guardsman, then Stacey posed for a photo with the train driver. Chris described it as “like going back in time to the steam age.” We returned home to get dressed up for a final meal together at the Old Coach Hotel. We spent the evening and next morning sharing highlights of a fantastic holiday, then it was homeward bound!

Friday 22nd July

Sadly, today it was time for the holiday to end, so we gathered our things and began to make our way home. As we said our goodbyes, we all agreed we’d had a fantastic week together, what a lovely trip with Options!