The basic schedule for my time in England is set as:
- Wed 06/04 arrive Manchester
- Sun 08/05 collect Monica Heathrow
- Tue 24/05 depart Manchester
I guess I need to plan my activities in more detail so that I can recruit some house-hunting helpers and also secure some floors to sleep upon.
The areas I definitely need to cover are Bristol, the Pennines and the Lake District. Given that Neil is keen to look around Dartmoor and South Wales, he seems prime to accompany me on that leg; Kevin is obvious for the Pennines; so hopefully Chris will be happy to mooch about the Lakes. If Chris and I can make a dash up to Knoydart, too, that’d be great.
I also need to call in to see Al & Bev, Tony, Shirley and Sylvia, so they’d best be fitted in somehow.
As I arrive into Manchester airport, it would be sensible to call in to see Mammy and Daddy and then get out to Bacup to stay with Kevin and Stacy. I guess I’ll be able to see an area per day, looking at perhaps four houses, so this area of the Pennines will need three or four days. With the weekend off for socialising, that means I leave on Wednesday 13/04 with about 22 days before meeting Monica.
For the South West, I’ll need a day each for Dartmoor and Exmoor, then maybe two each for Chepstow, Bath & Dorset and Bristol: a total of eight days. If Neil comes along, he could bail out whenever he’s bored or needs to get back to the Smoke.
The Lakes is our favourite spot and hard to get around, so I’d best set aside four days for house-hunting there. Side trips to North Wales and Scotland will take a couple of days each but would be best with a couple of extra days for walking etc, making this trip eight to twelve days.
So, that’s comfy. I have twenty days of house-hunting with Chris and Neil, plus a couple of spare to call in on friends and rellies as I move about. I’ve laid these out on my iCal calendar myLife.
When Monica arrives, there will be a few key people to visit and, hopefully, a house or two in each area to inspect. I’ve suggested some times in the Mondavia calendar. I must make a separate calendar for these that I can publish.