Tuesday was a transitional day. After a busy day Monday, it was time to rest a bit and to get set up for backpacking. In the afternoon, we got to take a break to entertain Gloria’s dogs.

She has a couple of adorable little rug scraps with a lot of pent up energy. She drives them to a nearby park for exercise, so we came along for the ride. Obbie spent a lot of time throwing a tennis ball to keep the dogs happily entertained.

We were in a park with some small ponds, the kind that would be populated with Canada geese at home. Here, there are some Canada geese, but it is swans who rule the ponds.

Wednesday morning we stuffed everything into our packs and headed out to the countryside.

During our western oddyzee last summer, we almost never stayed in the same place more than one night. Our plan for this trip is to stay at a “base” for two to four nights at a time, and to take day trips to explore interesting places nearby.

Our first such destination is Bath. After one more breakfast at Gino’s, we found our way to Paddington Station, bought our tickets and got on a westbound train. As our train left the city, things looked familiar: corn fields (they call it “maize” here).

We arrived in Bath in the late afternoon, with just enough time to buy a map and take a quick look around. We settled into a £48/night bed & breakfast with some beer and Chinese food we bought across the street.