This was a day I had been looking forward to for a long time.I was going to tour the home of one of my all time hero's. We were picked up at 9 a.m. at our hotel by Neil of Backroads Tours. He drove us to Chartwell in Kent. This was Churchill's home from the beginning of his "Wilderness Years" between World War I and II until his death in 1965. It took about an hour to get out of London and then about another 1/2 hour to a village near Chartwell.In the center of the town square was a large statute of Churchill. We got out of the van and wandered around the village for about 30 minutes. We then went
to Chartwell and spent about 3 hours touring the house where he wrote many of his books , the studio studio where he painted, the gardens he helped design surrounded by the brick walls he built AND the gift shop where I bought a statue of Churchill (see below). You could almost smell his cigars. We ate some lunch there and then drove to Dover. We visited the Battle of Britain Memorial to the RAF and saw the "white cliffs of Dover" - could see France across the channel. It was a day I will never forget. We arrived back at the hotel about 7 p.m. - 2 hour drive from Dover. Went out to dinner to "Black and Blue" restaurant in London. Back to hotel and bed about 9:30 - 10:00 p.m. Weather - cool - mid 60's, some clouds, some sun, some sprinkles.
