Bristol - SS Great Britain

In place of our cancelled Grand European Tour cruise we headed to Bristol on 17 August. On the way we stopped at NT Basildon Park for lunch.

The house was left a wreck  without a single unbroken window after WWII requisitioning and was bought in 1952 by newspaper magnate Lord  Iliffe because his wife Renee, Lady Iliffe, saw its potential and they restored it to its glory days.

 Unusually the entrance is on the first floor, accessed by two stairs that go up to the terrace.

We were booked two nights at Bristol Holiday Inn Express, and after checking in we got thoroughly lost finding Rosa's Thai restaurant.

They were very slow bringing drinks, and had to be asked three times and finally came after the food was served.

I had Waterfall Beef (Nuea Nam Tok), described as a legendary Thai dish: slow-cooked beef in a rich marinade, served with spicy, tangy and smoky Nam Jim Jaew sauce. Served with fresh herbs and sticky rice.

I found it a dull pile of tasteless stewing steak cubes.

Next day, Wednesday 18 August, we went to see the SS Great Britain. Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, this was the first ocean going, iron ship, powered by a propellor. It was the world's largest ship and the forerunner for all subsequent liners.

We first saw it shortly after it was rescued and installed in the dry dock it had been built in. A lot of work has been done since, and there were terrific knowledgeable guides in costume ready to answer questions. We were especially taken with 'Brunel'

For dinner that night we went to the nearby DoubleTree by Hilton. Their Kiln Restaurant was closed so we had an excellent meaty hamburger in the bar area with a bottle of Reign of Terroir Pinotage.

Thursday was raining, so we headed off to Worcester

Toby, Emma, Jack and Finley at Aylesbury

 

To Aylesbury for an early dinner with Toby, Emma, Jack and Finley. Both boys have grown so much since we saw them last.

Fin used his fingers to eat his ice-cream and managed to get it spread over most of his face.

Jack was writing, with help from Emma.

'Allo 'Allo 2 - The Camembert Caper

 

To Criccieth on Sunday 26th August to see Dan and Krisie and the Starlight Players' Summer Show. The weather turned from heatwave to rain on the journey, the M6 toll road  was closed for HS2 bridge construction and Criccieth was overcast and cold.

We stayed at Cefn Bryn Bach, a one storey converted barn behind the Brynhir Arms pub on the high street. The property didn't have any champagne glasses, there was no dishwasher, no washing-up liquid, and only one toilet roll for four over a five night stay. Krisie came to the rescue - thanks.

The show had a large cast and many sets, but most scenes are set in Rene's café

From Starlight Players website

 Dan played Colonel von Strohm, above with Lieutenant Gruber (standing) played by Chris Hinton and Captain Hans Geering played by Paul Stevenson.

The weather brightened and warmed on Thursday, our last full day, and we spent time on the promenade from where we saw dolphins

chasing fish close to the shore.

That night we had dinner at Spice Bank and Caroline, Stuart and Elliott came over from Bala to join us.

Venice & the Jewels of Veneto - Uniworld S.S. La Venezia - Day 8

 

Sunday 28 June 2026 (Day 8)

 

Our last day. We had our usual light breakfast, which was a mistake as we had to depart boat at 12:30 and so didn’t get lunch.

 

The only food on the boat was the croissants and orange juice left over from early riser’s breakfast.

 

A swift drive in a people mover got us to the airport at 13:00. The taxi driver showed the other couple where checkin for their flight to Dublin was, then took our bags, led us to the upper-level and found us seats where our London checkin would be. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 16:30 and checkin opened at 14:00. As we were flying business class, we could have used the business class l lounge and got a meal, but the lounge was before the dreaded EES machines and we’d read many reports of EES delays causing passengers to miss their flight home, so we headed for the EES queues.

 

An assistant directed us to the EES machine but after a minute of thinking, the machine turned red and we were directed to the manual check. As was everyone, because the blighted system isn’t linked to the central database it can’t compare our entry and exit dates. So we joined a long queue, which, though it was moving, grew longer as more people joined it than were processed. After 35 minutes we showed our passports to a bored officer and then we were waved through. The queue by then was twice the length it was when we joined it.

 

The plane was delayed by 35 minutes, then take off was delayed, but finally we were on our way home and food, and Champagne, was served on the plane.

Venice & the Jewels of Veneto - Uniworld S.S. La Venezia - Day 7

 

Saturday 27 June 2026 (Day 7)

 

View from breakfast table

Our last full day. An excursion I really wanted to go on was ‘Do as the Locals Do: Venice Walking Tour in the Rialto district’ so we were ready for its 08:10 departure.

 

We were to get to the Rialto Bridge by water-taxi. These small wooden motor launches waited close by our boat in a narrow canal off the main waterway (see https://what3words.com/struts.unscrew.push ).

 

The main waterway is wide and very busy with boats of all sizes and speed creating wakes, so its water is always choppy, and that was funnelled and amplified into the narrow canal, where speedboats on the canal added to water disturbance. 

We went in single file down shiny stone steps to board the tossing launches which rocked from end to end and side to side, they rose and fell in the choppy water and moved close and further away from the steps.

An officer from our boat stood on the steps offering his hand and the launch sailor tried to hold the boat close to the steps but I couldn’t find a time I felt safe jumping onto the launch and our guide was telling me that it was more difficult at Rialto where the steps were slippery.

So I climbed back up the steps. Joan also decided against getting into the launch, and we had a walk through Venice, till overcome with heat and tiredness, we sat at a waterside café, had a glass of Prosecco and watched people and boats.

Later in the day while sitting on the sun deck I saw the dolphin again.

 

Over night mooring

San Basilio Cruise Terminal.

Location: What3Words.com ///paid.held.snapped

 

Venice & the Jewels of Veneto - Uniworld S.S. La Venezia - Day 6

 

Friday 26 June 2026 (Day 6)

 

Two 08:10 excursions. One to Castello die Catajo I'd read “stairs into the Castello were meant for horses and I found them very challenging. If we knew about the ban on photography we would not have gone, and I would say anyone who struggles with stairs, this is a no go.” So we decided to give this a miss. 

The alternative “Po Delta sailing” required a two hour round trip coach tour so we had a leisurely breakfast instead and then relaxed on the sun deck.

 

During  lunch the boat cast-off from Chioggia Port and cruised back to Venice, arriving back where we started from at around 15.30.

 

This was the last time the boat cruised. It remained moored at San Basilio Cruise Terminal this day, Saturday and Sunday’s disembarkation day

 

View from Sun Deck

In the afternoon there was an optional 30 minute gondola ride. Since the gondola could seat five the hire cost could be split five ways making a reasonably priced ride. People who went thought it was good value. A group of four was asked whether they’d accept a singleton, so their individual cost was reduced and they were well pleased.

Lounge

In the lounge at 18:40 the Cruise Manager gave the disembarkation talk, As we’d not previously travelled with Uniworld we thought that we ought to attend, but all one need to know was delivered to our room. In an envelope were tags for our bags, the colour of which signified the time of departure, and a letter detailing the time bags had to be placed outside.  

 

Over night mooring

San Basilio Cruise Terminal.

Location: What3Words.com ///paid.held.snapped

 

Venice & the Jewels of Veneto - Uniworld S.S. La Venezia - Day 5

 

Thursday 25 June 2026 (Day 5)

 

The morning excursions were by bicycle through Chioggia or Chioggia Market Visit.

Mrs P doesn’t cycle, and she loathes shopping and as we'd read a report that said “supposedly where the locals shop. Just a lot of Tat really. Didn’t particularly enjoyed the fish market either. I felt we were in the way of the locals doing their shopping.” We have enough tat already so chose to stay on the sundeck watching passing boats and reading our Kindles.

 

After lunch were three excursions, and the one I wanted to go on was titled ‘A Noble County Villa and its Wine’. Before the cruise I visited the website of Domino di Bagnioli (https://www.ildominiodibagnoli.it) and I wanted to taste its wines made from the rare clone Friularo di Bagnoli.

Domino di Bagnioli is about an hour’s coach ride from the boat and its large grey buildings dominate the small town of  Bagnioli. 

Our guide was Tamara Andruszkiewicz, but first we had a walk in the grounds led by the tasting cellar manager where we admired the garden, historic statues  and vineyard, then to the cellar for the real work of wine tasting. 

A long table had been set between large barrels equipped with bottle water, plates and cutlery. There were baskets of bite sided breadsticks and generous platters of cheeses and cold meats were passed along.

The first wine was a sparkling white from the red Friularo, poured from a magnum and emptied glasses were refilled. It was Dominio Bagnioli Spumante 2015 made by the traditional method and lees aged for over nine years before disgorgement in January 2025.

Then we tasted red Dominio Bagnioli Friularo di Bagnoli DOCG 2022. This had been fermented in stainless steel and aged 9-12 months  in a mix of new and old 500 litre French oak barrels.

The third wine was red Dominio Bagnioli Friularo di Bagnoli DOCG “Classico Vendemmia Tardive” 2019

The grapes had been left to raison on the vines, then harvested in mid-November. They took 40-50 days to ferment and spent two years in barrel before bottling.

 

I enjoyed this the most and bought two bottles (€19.90 each) to bring home in my case.

 

Overnight mooring – Chiogga port https://what3words.com/sums.proposes.graver