Just a Hop Across the Pond

In November, I had the opportunity to spend the month in the Manchester, England area. In my on-going quest to find affordable means to travel, I came across MindMyHouse.com. The website connects homeowners with people who will come and stay in their house and look after their critters while the homeowners are away. I decided I wanted to be one of those people so I developed my “ad”, paid the registration fee, and began my search.

In April, I found the placement I wanted. It was a house outside of Manchester with two cats and, at the time, five cheeky chickens. Angie and I started an email dialogue and I tried to reign myself in – I didn’t want to appear too excited. Despite my failure at playing it cool, Angie decided to take a chance with me and we came to an agreement. I would come the first week in November and stay through the end of November. I bought my ticket and began researching what to do in the area.

A few of the chickies

Simba (top) and Nala (bottom)

I had months to plan my trip; probably the longest I’ve ever had. While I was getting excited of all the things I could do, I had to constantly remind myself that my main priority there was to take care of the animals that are the world for Angie and her husband, Clint. The amount of trust this couple placed in me weighed heavy – I didn’t want to disappoint them or cause them to doubt their trust.

Unlike my previous trips, I did not plan out my day hour-by-hour. Instead, I developed destinations that were no longer than two and a half hours from where I was staying. Not familiar with the area, I relied on Google maps and the Visit Manchester website. I looked for places that would pique my interest while fitting in with my time constraints. I picked Chester, Leeds, Liverpool, and Manchester as train destinations, with Grasscroft, Stockton, Oldham, and Upper Mill as local explorations. For months I had been talking about the benefit of “stay put” vacations – now it was time for me to actually practice it.

I purchased an eight-day British Rail pass and a ticket to a Manchester United Game. The only items set during my visit were a pub visit to Robinson’s Brewery in Stockton on 11 November and the Man-U game on 24 November. My tentative plan was to intersperse my train trips with local explorations and spend arrival day in England in Canterbury. This is the first time I had a trip that was fluid – no set dates, no set times, aside from my two “appointments”. This was going to be a first for me.

All of my plans were completed a month before my departure date.  Angie and I continued chatting via email and we set up a plan for how she would “collect” me when I arrived. My schedule had me arriving in London at 9:30 in the morning on Saturday and I didn’t have to be in Manchester for my collection until Sunday evening. I had originally planned to go from the airport to Canterbury, explore there a bit, and return to London where I had a reservation for the night. Then, Sunday morning, I’d head out to Manchester, stopping wherever I felt along the way. Best laid plans.

Layover in Chicago meant time with this one.

A flight delay and then cancelation in Chicago (which meant I got to see my daughter) caused a Sunday morning arrival. Which meant my Saturday plans of Canterbury were scratched; long train delays due to strikes and other things meant no exploring on a whim, and getting on the wrong train from Manchester to Grasscroft caused Angie and Clint to alter their plans to pick me up in Manchester.  I was very glad I hadn’t set anything in stone for my arrival and I was very thankful for Angie and Clint’s flexibility. By the time I got to their home, I was, as Angie said, knackered.

And that was my first Sunday in England.

Chasing the sunrise