Jonno

Farewell Wiltshire, for now

It seems like only yesterday that we arrived in the quiet little market town of Melksham in Wiltshire and now we’re on our way! Our longest stay anywhere for nearly seven years which is incredible.

Cosy Cottage

Back in September I arrived at the Cosy Cottage in Melksham all alone as Jo was off in France visiting her Mum. It was a little weird living alone in a strange place for a week but a bit of exploring and a lot of walking getting my bearings and before I knew it my JWalking partner was back by my side.

Our little cottage was fairly compact, it was a converted garage after all, but it had everything we needed. Beautifully finished and comfortable it really did become the closest thing to a home that we have had since 2015.

Melksham

It may not be a tourist hot spot or in the same league as Bath or Bradford-on-Avon but Melksham has a quaint quality all of its own. We’ve loved our daily walks exploring the town and local countryside and I think we completed a grand slam of the coffee shops too. Lots of days out to places like Chippenham, Bath, and Bristol and of course so many days partaking in one of our favourite activites. Canal walking.

Walking long sections of the Kennet and Avon Canal was an absolute delight and we can’t wait to get back and cover the parts that we missed. Something about canal walking that we really love.

So although Melksham may not get the love and attention that some of its Wiltshire neighbours gets we really enjoyed our stay and will certainly return. Friendly people, lovely countryside and a refreshingly slow pace of life made it the perfect stay.

Hosts to Friends

We have always loved getting to know our various Airbnb hosts and over the past few years have met so many wonderful people. It’s always great to get to know them and for that relationship to morph into a real friendship. We still keep in touch with so many people from our travels.

However, occasionally we meet up with very special couples and forge extra special friendships. Our hosts in Melksham proved to be such a couple. Richard and Dee were so welcoming and helpful when we first arrived and over the weeks and months we have enjoyed so many social lunches and evenings with them that we now truly call them friends.

A recent weekend looking after their lovely little dog Bear was especially good as it felt like we were helping them rather than the usual other way around. I think we may have another dog-sitting stay already scheduled for March so we can’t wait to go back.

‘Walking Bear in the early morning frost around Melksham’

What next? Where to?

Well we have travelled north east to a little place called Middleton Cheney in Northamptonshire where we have an Airbnb apartment for a couple of months. We’ll tell you all about it next time but the really wonderful thing is that it is only 25 minutes drive from Shaun and Katie over in Towcester. Hopefully we will see a lot of them over the coming weeks. More countryside to explore and guess what? There is a canal not that far away. I wonder ………

26/01/2022

27 comments

  6. I don’t really know Wiltshire that well and haven’t heard of a Melksham, but it looks and sounds like a lovely place. It’s always so nice when you meet people you really connect with and make lasting friendships. Enjoy your next adventure in Northamptonshire. I am intrigued by your last sentence, I wonder…..😀

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  8. I’m yet to explore Melksham, but you had me at coffee shops. Enjoy the new place, look forward to hearing about the next adventure (and dogs).

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