Southampton (London), England

Wednesday, July 25

Southampton is the UK's primary passenger port and is the "gateway" to Britain and only a two hour drive to London.

Founded: By the 10th century Southampton was established as a fortified settlement.

Region: Situated in the coast of south England... 87 miles southwest of London.

Population: 253,651 (est 2014)

Climate: The average year round temperatures is a high 59F and a low of 45F and remains warmer than most other UK cities.

Language: English

Currency: Pound sterling (GBP)

Our plan for the day is to catch up with family. We have prebooked train tickets from Southampton Central to Waterloo Station in the city which is our prearranged meeting place.

All went to plan... we were among the first off the ship as our train time was 8.30am. Our arrival into Southampton was scheduled for 7am but by the time we were tied up and cleared by immigration it was 7.30ish before we were allowed to get off. As this is the end of the second sector and the halfway point of the world cruise there are about 600 people disembarking so a busy day expected.

Taxis were waiting at the terminal and we shared a taxi to the station at a cost of 8 pounds all up. Next we had to print our our tickets from a machine using our booking number which was a piece of cake. It's a shame we couldn't have caught the 8am train as we were all done by 7.50am. No worries as there was free internet on the platform.... not from the station but from the trains that were parked waiting on the platforms!

The train was very comfortable.... about our XPT standard with a buffet car and food trolley with no booked seats but it was easy to find seats. The journey in took about 80 minutes.... but coming home was about 10 minutes quicker as it was a faster train.

After meeting up with our family we headed straight for coffee on the banks of the Thames to catch up and plan out our day.

The plan was to catch the train to Richmond.... go for a walk along the river.... have lunch then take a scenic boat ride back to Westminster along the Thames. All went to plan with the odd added diversion for a gelato and a rest under a shadey tree as it was over 30 degrees.... I know.... most unheard of for London.... it was HOT!!

The boat ride back was very relaxing but not a lot of shade provided on the open decks but it did have refreshments and a covered area inside.

Once back at Westminster we strolled along the river past the London Eye and Big Ben back to Waterloo Station where we waved goodbye to our family and waited for our return train at 7pm.

It was a lovely day catching up with the family especially our granddaughter who is growing at a fast rate of knots and will be one in a few days time. Luckily we were in London this time last year just after she was born.

The train back to the ship was comfortable but a lot more crowded with lots of German school children that are spending their school holidays in London at language school.

A quick taxi ride back to the ship then straight to the buffet for dinner....

Another happy day on shore.... a sea day tomorrow to recover before our day in Cobh.