The first night of our honeymoon was spent in a small hotel on the shores of Lake Bassenthwaite in the Lake District. Although it sounded idyllic, by the time we got there we were too late for the evening meal: the landlady had cleared up and cleared off to the local pub. Apart from a chunk of wedding cake there was nothing for us to eat so we went to bed early!
After sleeping for a couple of hours I woke up with my stomach rumbling while Eileen lay fast asleep beside me. I got out of bed to eat wedding cake washed down with cold water. The sound of my gulps hitting an empty stomach woke Eileen who then shrieked at the sight of this figure standing next to the bed in the dark. What a way to end a wedding day!
In the morning we were both starving so headed down to breakfast. Eileen looked radiant but she took one look at my baggy eyes and sunken face and decided to make me sit with my back to the other guests - somehow I think they knew we were newly-weds. The weather was appalling in the Lakes so after a second night, we moved on.
Our next port of call was Buxton in Derbyshire and the drive down was great fun. Eileen enjoyed returning the waves of all the lorry drivers as we passed them, thinking how friendly they all were. We duly arrived at our posh hotel, the Old Hall Hotel, a fine classical building in the centre of Buxton. After checking in we were escorted to our room, No. 7, high up at the front of the hotel overlooking the entrance and car park. It was only then we realised why we appeared to be so popular on the road. There, on the roof of the car, were the words 'Just Married' painted in white. Even the heavy rain overnight had not washed them off.
The comparative luxury of this hotel made us feel very sophisticated so we dressed up for dinner and had a superb meal with wine. We kept the invoice for the hotel and you can see below the cost for board, dinners and wine for two nights - a total sum of 4 pounds 11 shillings.
Our final stop before returning home was Cambridge. I had always wanted Eileen to experience something of my former time in Cambridge and to do so on our honeymoon in early summer was very special. We had been invited to stay with my friends, John and Sylvia Christiansen, who were renting accommodation in a local vicarage (In John's words, 'if there was ever a can(n)on which should have been shot, it was him!') It was predictably chaotic but we had a great time touring the most popular pubs with them. All the students had finished for the summer but Cambridge was full of tourists.
The weather had improved so it was the ideal opportunity to visit the colleges and take a punt out on the river. This was my chance to be romantic, punting up river to Grantchester on a summer's afternoon. We reached Grantchester Meadows and I duly steered the punt into the bank, securing it by digging the pole deep into the river bed in the time-honoured way. We stepped onto the bank and settled down together in the soft meadow grass. The romantic setting was soon shattered by the rude intrusion of other young things wandering through the meadow, expressing amusement at what they had interrupted. I found myself muttering a range of four-letter words while Eileen reacted with peals of laughter at our predicament.
Those few days in Cambridge were, however, a fitting end to our honeymoon and we were now looking forward to spending the second week in our new home. Being fully-furnished with all mod-cons, there was nothing to do but relax. During that week we enjoyed looking at our wedding presents and we began to send out thank you letters. We walked the short distance into town, went shopping and had some meals out. Like all newly-weds we took full advantage of the freedom to spend as much time as we liked in bed with no threat of interruption!
