So where did we leave off? Oh yes, we'd just left Long Melford! We weren't driving back home just yet as it was our Uncle Andy's birthday the next day and we were going to visit him in the big city...
Anyways, after mum had finished screaming from her wasp sting (see previous blog post), we set off for our grandparents' house so we could travel up to London the following day with them. They had also been away on holiday and weren't home yet so we went for a walk and to meet one of mum's friends for some food and a catch-up. Once we arrived at the house, they were there and we were all tired from travelling so we headed off to bed early...
We arose to a clear blue sky and the sun beaming down on us. To us, this was a great thing! We love the sun - lying in it is just heaven! But mum and dad seemed to be worried. They hadn't brought our cooling coats with them as they weren't expecting dreary old England to be this hot! Oh, and mum had lost our travel bowl when the wasp had stung her. She had only realised that she'd dropped it when we arrived back at the car and she certainly didn't want to risk going back and getting stung again!
Grandma to the rescue - she and grandad walked off to the shops for supplies. She brought us back some bandanas and a brand new and improved Travel Bowl. The bandanas were to soak in cold water so that we could keep cool on the go (a handy tip mum has learnt over the years). Our new travel bowl is made by the lovely people at Beco Pets and is very sturdy, collapsible and small enough to fit in mum's handbag. It's much better than the one we lost as it's very durable so the water doesn't spill out easily like the previous one had. In fact, we love it so much that we decided to stock it at WildPaws! So if you need a bowl for your walks or trips away then we highly recommend it. You can get yours here.
So where were we? Oh yes, our checklist! Water - check Cooling bandanas - check Travel bowl - check Empty hair spray bottle filled with cold water for immediate cooling down - check (NB: An ingenious idea of grandma's. Simply fill an empty plastic hair spritzing bottle with tap water and spray as and when required. You can buy these at most cosmetic stores.)
That's everything - we were all geared up and ready to go! London town, here we come...
We drove down to the local station and boarded a train to Charing Cross, one of the central London railway stations. I used to go on the train to work with daddy when I was just a pup so I was used to it and lay on the floor. Paisley had never been on one before so she sat on mummy's lap and watched the world passing us by.
When we arrived at Charing Cross, we then went down to the underground which was very exciting! We caught the tube to Hampstead, which is near to where our Uncle lives, getting lots of fuss from passengers on the way!
A few stops later and we had finally arrived. We walked to meet Uncle Andy at The Freemasons Arms, passing Lily's Kitchen HQ, our favourite pet food, on the way! Paisley and I were sure that we could smell their delicious treats in the air! You can shop their amazing range at WildPaws.
Uncle Andy and Aunty Oli were already there so we greeted them with waggy tails, nose licks and lots of love and fuss. You know, the full birthday treatment? We had a nice cool down and a drink - oh, and of course lots of treats too!
We'd only been there a minute when Paisley and I caught the attention of a little girl. She came over with her daddy to give us some fuss and asked mum if she could give us some treats. Of course, she said yes and we sat there quite happily enjoying treats and fuss off this little girl and giving her licks and kisses in return. Her dad had to drag her away in the end as she didn't want to leave us! We don't know what the problem was?! We were quite happy with her feeding and stroking us!
Anyway, a few minutes later she returned with her daddy - wanting to give us more treats and fuss. Of course, we obliged! Her daddy eventually told her she needed to go again so they left. This toing and froing happened a number of times (with her mum coming out in the end to apologize) until our whole treat tub was empty! We wish we could have her with us all the time! Sadly, in the end we had to leave as we had dinner reservations...
We had a lovely leisurely walk through Hampstead - sniffing different smells and meeting some big city doggies. We then moved on to the Garden Gate for a bit of al fresco dining. Paisley and I had some Lily's Kitchen for dinner, (well it would be rude not to whilst dining in their home town!) before settling down for a snooze whilst everyone else had theirs.
Before we knew it, it was time to go! We headed back for the tube and said our goodbyes. We had to wait a little bit for the train home so by the time we boarded it, we were very tired. After all, we had had a busy time being city dogs for the day!
Grandad and grandma were still on holiday so they had the rest of the week off work. We decided to stay for a couple more days to spend some time with them. It was still very sunny the following day so we all walked to Knole Park together, which is practically on their doorstep! In fact, their house's location actually used to be part of the park until years and years ago, when houses were built there.
We walked through the park and up the hills to the beautiful house where we stopped for an ice cream and a little nosy in the gift shop. We even saw some deer! They didn't seem to be scared of us at all and one baby even followed us for a while down the path! It was a lovely day and we topped it off with a visit to the local pub The White Hart to quench our thirst.
We had a lovely little break and we were sad to see it end but we were very excited as it was less than 3 weeks until our summer holiday! But that's for another blog...
We'll be back soon with a very exciting and different blog for you! Until then, you can Find us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Don't forget to check out the amazing goodies we have in store at WildPaws, lots of new products are being added daily.
Love, nose licks and waggy tails,
Wilbur & Paisley x