18th July 2021 – The Final Voyage
Had an excellent nights sleep, and woke refreshed and ready for the long day ahead. Got showered and then started to pack the car. Once again, Ash did not join us for breakfast. I got the car packed, and after the usual faffing around we set off home at 10. The weather had been our friend for the entire trip, and today was no different, with the sun blazing away again. It was mid 20’s when we left, hit the 30’s by midday.
We went home via the Peak District, stopping off in Eyam, the famous Plague Village. We took a gentle stroll around the village, grabbing a bite to eat whilst there. The heat became intense, so we decided to call it a day and headed home. The drive back was very peaceful. All my passengers slept, with the Discovery’s climate control keeping us all nice and cool. It was eerily quiet, with just the whump-whump of the tyres, and the radio on so low all you could here was the clicking of hit-hat ‘s in the music, and the lisp of ‘s’s during any announcements. I could have very easily nodded off myself.
We had on pit stop, at Leicester Forest East Services, to get Ash some bread and milk before taking him home to his New Street apartment. I unpacked his stuff from the car, and we said our goodbyes before driving back to Lutterworth. We got home around 4. We got the car unpacked and collapsed. It had been a very long and busy 12 days away.
The following day, the third English Covid Lockdown was officially over.
AT 1.27 a.m. on Saturday 22nd October 2022, Ash eventually lost his battle against Pancreatic cancer. He has been our constant travelling companion for nigh on 2 decades, and has accompanied us to the four corners of the UK. This was the final ‘big’ trip we did together, and he, his green jacket and his camera will be sorely missed.