Today we spent most of the morning doing the jobs that had to be done.

And it was great to see the sun shining.

We stared with our morning walk, which would be our last with the girls. Not that they will miss us.

Two people and three dogs on leads is a recipe for a mishap. So many times on our walks did we end up in a tangle.

Luckily, no one ended up getting hurt.

Apart from the washing, there was tidying and vacuuming to be done to make sure the place looked like it did when we arrived.

We have had two very pleasant days prior to today. On Tuesday we had lunch with our son in Cambridge and then yesterday, my sister and her husband came out to where we were house sitting for lunch. Between us, Mick and I made a quiche (using the eggs from the chickens we have been caring for) and a blackberry summer pudding (using blackberries from the orchard). Both were very nice.

Back to today. We had done absolutely everything, including finishing off any leftovers for lunch, about an hour before our host was due back.

We knew someone was coming as the dogs started to bark, but when they saw their owner they went ‘nuts’; delighted to see her.

We then said our goodbyes and headed into Cambridge Railway Station using the local buses, and before long we were on a train to Stansted with a whole herd of reindeer. Yes – reindeer. I’m not sure if the collective term though. In fact, they were grown men with reindeer antler headbands. We guessed it was a buck’s party.

When I booked this holiday and realised we had a few days to spare once we finished in Bourn until our flight home, Mick and I looked at flights from Stansted to anywhere in Europe for a three-day break. Our shortlist consisted of Cardiff and Belfast. Belfast won.

The security was very thorough at Stansted Airport – and we were only flying on a domestic flight and only with carry on luggage.

We had stored our largest bag at the airport for three days (for £37.50).

I had my bottle opener / corkscrew confiscated and had a pretty thorough body search. We ate dinner and enjoyed a bottle of wine at the airport before we boarded our (delayed) EasyJet flight.

We arrived at our hotel quite late and headed straight to bed as we have a big full-day tour booked for tomorrow.

A view from our hotel …

Until then …