To the coastal town of Lowestoft

We checked out of the hotel and did a walk-around of the Barns Hotel. The property is on lands belonging to the Whitbread estate on the River Ouse in the Cardington section of Bedford. (Alice Whitbread married Gerard Spencer in 1600 and became parents of the New England Spencer brothers. The main buildings were restored in the 1980's and converted into the hotel.

Another garden center breakfast. We pinched a knife and some mayo packets to make sandwiches for our drive. As we were leaving, we met a couple with a shitz-tzu like dog. She described it as a shitz-tzu p poodle mix – "You can call him a shi-poo or a poo-shit!"

On the drive to Lowestoft, we saw the "Park n' Bite" in the layby (translation- a roach coach in the parking area by the road).

We arrived in Lowestoft to gray skies and outrageously heavy traffic. We found our hotel, the Wherry Hotel, right on Oulton Broad. The hotel was a lovely old Victorian with tiny rooms, but lots of character. We ate our sandwiches in the lobby, waiting for our room to be ready then stopped at the library to get a lay of the land and check email.

We checked in at 3 PM, stopped into the hotel pub for a drink and had an early evening "carvery" at the hotel. Our first British "carvery" was a once in a lifetime-never to be repeated experience. The carvery is like a small buffet- roasties (roasted potatoes), jacket potatoes, chips (fries), overcooked veggies and the choice of 3 hunks of meat- pork, beef or turkey. We marveled at the fact that the UK has some of the most wonderful Indian restaurants, but their traditional food is awful.