When we woke up it was a beautiful day, with bright sunshine from a blue sky. We decided on the spur of the moment to go to Bournemouth.

We didn't want to use my car until we had a new tyre. Driving without a spare tyre is asking for trouble. We decided to use Sue's car .. but there was a problem, the battery was flat and the car wouldn't start!

So, for the second time in 2 days we were forced to call the AA. Again, the service was excellent, We were on our way to Bournemouth less than an hour after calling the AA.

Parking proved to be a challenge. The car park we were expecting top use near the pier was full, so we ended up in the rather expensive multi-storey car park next to the Bournemouth International Centre. That added a little to the distance that I would have to walk.

My mobility was not good. The muscles in my right thigh were slightly "tired" and if I tried to put too much pressure on my right leg, started to hurt. As a result, I was walking very slowly. We started by walking down the hill to the pier and along the pier to get a cup of coffee in the "Key West" cafe at the end of the pier. Having been to Key West, I cannot see any reason for the name.

Next we walked slowly back along the pier and into the gardens alongside the Bourne Brook. You can tell how slowly I was going, Sue walked ahead and sat down for a rest while I caught up. Eventually we made it back to the beach and to Harry Ramsden's for lunch. Although I was walking slowly, I was relatively comfortable and walked about a mile in total.

After our haddock and chips, it was time to walk slowly back up the hill to the car park, by which time I was pretty tired. Lumbering along at the pace of a disable snail takes much more energy that walking normally.