Location: Grindleford, England
We've mostly been taking it easy since arriving in England in late November. We have been pet sitting and enjoying the English winter season.
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| Sunrise in Grindleford, England |
We flew from Istanbul, Turkey to Manchester, England on Thursday, November 29, 2023, then caught the train to Blackburn. We had a few days to settle in before the start of our first pet sit, so we wandered around town and explored the downtown Blackburn area.
Saturday, December 2 - Tuesday, December 12, 2023 - Blackburn, England: Our first pet sit was in Blackburn, an industrial town in the northern part of England, with two dogs, Freddie and Alfie, and one cat, Ollie. We quickly settled into a routine with relaxing mornings and afternoon dog walks along the Leeds to Liverpool Canal.
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| Swans on the Leeds to Liverpool canal |
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| Alfie and Freddie waiting for a treat |
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| Dave walking Freddie along the Leeds to Liverpool Canal |
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| Alfie in the leaves near the Leeds to Liverpool Canal |
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| Freddie sleeping in the cat bed |
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| Alfie with his coat on, ready for his walk |
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| Nap time for Ollie |
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| Alfie getting some tummy rubs |
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| Ollie waiting to be brushed |
Wednesday, December 13, 2023 - Tuesday, January 16, 2024 - Hove, England: We finished our pet sit in Blackburn on December 12th. On Wednesday, we rode the train through London to Hove on England's south coast. Our sit in Hove was with Pippin aka Pip, an young, energetic yellow lab.
We took Pip on morning walks to the Rec so that he could chase the ball and on afternoon walks around the neighborhood or to the beach. The place we stayed was in a quiet neighborhood, close to parks, shopping, the beach, pubs, restaurants and bakeries. We celebrated the winter solstice with a trip to Brighton and had a quiet Christmas and New Year's Eve.
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Pip at the Rec
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| Pip at Hove Beach |
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| Pip loved playing with his toys. Sometimes it was hard to decide which one to play with. |
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| After all the playing, Pip found plenty of time to nap. |
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| Local band playing at the Winter Solstice Burning of the Clocks parade in Brighton |
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| Pints and pies to celebrate the winter solstice |
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| Winter Solstice Burning of the Clocks parade in Brighton |
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| Pip liked going to the pub. He would lay in the middle of the floor to make sure he got lots of attention. We met up with another pet sitting couple, Colin and Karyo and their pet sit dog, Pippin. |
Wednesday, January 17, 2024 - present, Grindleford, England: On Tuesday, January 16th, we rode the train from Brighton to Sheffield and stayed the night there. We spent Wednesday exploring downtown Sheffield, then rode the train to Grindleford to start our pet sit with Poppy, a young energetic cockapoo.
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| The entrance to the Totley Tunnel on the Grindleford side. The tunnel, completed in 1893, is 3.5 |
Grindleford is a small village in the Peak District, surrounded by farms and woods. After our morning coffee, we go for a walk with Poppy through the countryside. Afternoons, we either throw the ball out in the yard, or if it's raining, we have a chase around the snooker table upstairs.
We have spent most of our time here, exploring the area around Grindleford. One day, we road the bus to the nearby villlage of
Bakewell, famous for their
Bakewell Tart and
Bakewell Pudding. Bakewell has a Monday Market so we wandered through the stalls there, looked at the pastries in several bakeries and had a coffee and a scone before catching the bus back to Grindleford.
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Poppy with one of her favorite toys - the yellow donut; Poppy at the pub
Poppy with B's slipper as we play chase around the snooker table; afternoon yoga with Poppy |
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| Poppy out in the yard |
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| Out walking in the countryside with Poppy |
We celebrated
Robert Burns' birthday at the Sir William Pub, just down the hill from where we are staying.
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| A Scottish bagpiper drove down to Grindleford from Edinburgh, Scotland to perform in celebration of Robert Burns' birthday. |
We're here in Grindleford until Friday, February 16th. From here, we're taking a road trip to the west coast of Scotland before we start our next pet sit.
