Day 3 - What is your Canadian connection?

Today we were off to the town of Dorking with our host for the last few days, Lady Jane Crowley of Alton Towers (it is an inside joke so don't frustrate yourself in figuring it out - perhaps later in the blog we will reveal the history behind the name and her lineage).  Lady Jane was in need of a coiffure and only one person in the whole of the South of England met with her approval, and that person had a shop in Dorking.  What do you call someone from Dorking?  Again, perhaps a discussion for another day.

The weather was overcast with periodic showers but mild (18 degrees C) and our drive took us east into the Surrey Hills with winding roads and wonderful views across the valleys to the South Downs. Nearby Box Hill was the site of the 2012 London Olympic Road Cycling event so Dorking has earned the title of the cycling center of the UK. It is a market town that began as the intersection of two Roman Roads and at one time was one of the homes of the Knights Templar and upon entering the town you are welcomed by signs adorned with the Dorking Cockerel, a breed of chicken introduced by the Romans.



While we waited for Lady Jane we walked along the High Street (most main commercial strips are known as the High Street in England) with its older architecture and set back courtyards.

High Street is dominated by a number of antique shops where one can find almost anything to compliment their estates.  The town's proximity to London (20 or so miles south of the big city) also makes the real estate quite dear so even a one bedroom flat would be the price of an estate back in southern Ontario (perhaps not in the GTA anymore).  The town also has a wonderful church, St. Martin's, with a spire beyond belief and a center piece of the town (http://www.stmartinsdorking.org/welcome-to-our-church/index.html).

A late lunch rounded out our travels for the day so we popped into the local Waitrose where we met a wonderful young lady, Josie (see our pic below), who upon hearing my accent asked where I was from?  It gave me the idea of establishing a "What is your Canadian connection?" element to our blog.  Surprisingly, or perhaps not, Josie has a sister in, of all places, Hamilton.  Her sister's name is Laura, and while Josie couldn't tell me exactly where in Hamilton, she did note that her sister lives in a house and that it snows alot there.

Ta ta for now, tomorrow we begin our next stage of our adventure heading north into the Cotswalds for the week.

Ale of the Day: London Pride, Griffin Brewery, Chiswick, London