After an uncomfortable night (warm room, lumpy bed), we woke to drizzle. Our morning was spent on optimistic tasks (shopping for lightweight tshirts and sunscreen, in anticipation of things to come).  The drizzle turned to rain, and we headed back to the apartment for shelter and lunch.  By mid afternoon it had almost cleared, so we went for another walk, this time to follow Southampton’s walls. The ever present sounds of traffic were punctuated by the constant cries of circling seagulls, reminding us of our proximity to the ocean.

Southampton is a medieval city dating back to the time of William the Conqueror, and there are plenty of buildings from that period.  The only remnants of the castle are the walls, and the Bargate.  You can see the walls in a number of places, as well as some Tudor half timbered houses, in a walk of less than 2 km (although what with one thing and another, Ian has notched up 12 kms on his garmin for today)

Southampton is also a major port, and has been for centuries.  The Mayflower sailed from here, as did the Titanic; there are memorials to both.  Nowadays it is the UK’s biggest cruise port – there will be four cruise ships docked tomorrow, including our Island Princess, and her sister, Regal Princess – the first cruise ship we sailed on.  Ian did a recce of the route to the cruise terminal.  Lucky he did, because we discovered that the cruise berths are spread over about 2 miles – and the one nearest us will be home to Regal, not Island.  So we have a much longer walk in the morning than we originally anticipated.