On the road again

Monday 26th September 2011

I have set off on a trip around Britain. It's been awhile since I was able to get away and see what is happening around the country, but if all goes according to plan I've got two weeks to travel.

I'm heading north and despite leaving rather later than planned today I'm now in Stamford. I arrived as it got dark so haven't had a chance to explore. Last time I was here I had been travelling for so long that Orange told me I was 'lost from the Birmingham hub' and spent much of the day in a phone box trying to discover why I had no mobile connection. Hopefully that won't happen again.

Because I was late setting out I didn't have much time to explore. I did stop for a very late lunch at Bicester village. It's a shopper's paradise - one of those strange collections of discount stores where the architecture seems to have come straight from the US. Although it's called a 'village' there is nothing of the village about it, it is entirely suburban in its structure. Everything is provided, parking is plentiful and spending power is the only power that counts.

The shops are more luxurious than I remember - designer labels aplenty. Although most of the designer products are last year's - this is obviously where they come to be transformed into bargains. And there are plenty of people wandering around with armfuls of smart carrier bags. Little sign of recession here - there are plenty of coaches in the car park. People are shopping en masse. There doesn't seem to be a recession here - but it's hard to tell. There are quite a lot of empty units but the signs talk of 'exciting new opportunities to open soon' - perhaps that translates as 'no-one to rent this shop'.

It did remind of the need to rely on public loos. The loos in Bicester village are very nice - more like a smart hotel. This is a luxury. When I travel I have to rely on public loos much of the time. This is not always a pleasant experience. Public loos reveal all sorts of things about a place. Metal mirrors that can't be broken, needle bins in towns you wouldn't expect to have a drug problem, occasionally there are flowers.