Our 2015 holidays: Car trip to the UK

We usually go to the UK by car once a year. This year we moved the usual spring trip to September, as we will be spending a few weeks in Broadstairs when Helen's second baby arrives.

The days when we drove from Cambridge to the Meditteranean coast are gone and we now stop overnight on the way. This time we spent the night at St Gillies, on the Atlantic coast in the Vendée, where we met Paddy and Alec, cousins of John who have a holiday home nearby. We had rain on and off on the way up France, but while we were walking near the harbour, the sky turned dark and the rain arrived.

We retreated to a bar until it was time to meet Paddy and Alec in a small restaurant where we enjoyed a good meal and a quick catchup on news.

The next day, Tuesday, we continued our journey to Broadstairs through the Tunnel and established ourselves in a flat which is close to Helen's house. Helen and Nick's house has moved on since we were last there about 3 weeks ago, but there is plenty to do and builders were still around.

As well as helping out in the house, we have looked after Ernie, leaving Helen and Nick space to get on and to have some time together.

This was 'soft play', at he bottom of a slide at Jumping Jim's

On Sunday, we had a day off and walked along the coastal path to Ramsgate. We went along the beach in one direction and along the cliffs on the way back. This is Dumpton Gap with a cafe and many beach huts.

We stopped for a sandwich in Ramsgate and then walked around the port

The promenade.

The wartime tunnels in the cliffs reopened recently. The tunnels were first opened in 1939 and used as an air raid shelter equivalent. The tunnels reopened recently as a tourist attraction and seem to be popular: it was fully booked as we passed, so we will have to try another day.

Ernie goes to childcare 3 days of the week, so we are not always looking after him. On Wednesday, he wanted to go to Birchington-on-Sea which is the other side of Margate from Broadstairs. There we had some very empty beaches

This was Broadstairs on Friday September 25th with people in the sea.

The local model railway club had a open day on Saturday and we were there bright and early and had a very good reception. There were plenty of layouts available foe Ernie to interact with plus a very small steam train that ran along a short track.

We also saw the largest slot car (Scalectrix) layout that we had come across. Ernie was very good at keeping the cars on the track until other children came to play and he was distracted.

The club premises are at Crampton Tower, just near the railway station. The tower, which was built to provide fresh water for Boadstairs, was built by Thomas Crampton in 1859.

We understand the Father Christmas has a visit in his diary for December, so we plan to be there again.

By now, the builders had left for the time being. A few things remain but priority moved to the expected baby. We were looking after Ernie when he was available and developed a routine of park, beach, scooting, ice cream at 1630, different soft play centres and other trips out. We had his bedroom ready for him at the flat ready for him when it was needed.

We were at the Science Museum in London when we received a message from Nick, saying that he should stay with us for the night. The play centre for the very young is quite small, very well staffed and seems to be enjoyed. It has a 'water feature' with pumps, waterways and boats. Plus a 'building site' with a bucket for hauling up 'bricks' and an elephant's trunk for throwing them down. This is the water feature.

The following day, there being no news, we set off for the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway. This had been on my list for a while and had been on hold until we were had our car in the UK. There was a big event at the R H & D R the previous weekend when two of their engines, the Green Godess and the Northern Chief, had celebrated their 90th birthdays.

Neither engine was on duty when we were there, but there were plenty of others around. this is Doctor Syn which tool us from Hythe to New Romney via Dymchurch