Road trip to Alton - Ringwood - Bournemouth - Stonehenge - The Cotswold - Dudley

We finally made our way out of London!!!!! & travelled SW to Alton. A beautiful drive on 'small' roadways lined with autumn trees, through farm areas  and villages with thatched roofed houses.
There was a Curtis Museum marked on our map in Alton. Found it 'unexpectedly easily' and told a 'resident family history researcher' my MESSER story. (I wonder if the London MESSERs were descended from the Alton/Ringwood MESSERS).
She told me the fascinating 'story of the Quaker area' there & how strict they were about everything - eg they did not believe in having gravestones (until 1800s) because that was very vain; they had to get permission from the Quarterly Meeting to move on anywhere else (good for those wanting to trace their moves!); they were 'excommunicated' for the slightest non-observance of 'the rules'.
We stayed in Bournemouth the first night (Sat). Hotel passable - the 2.20am fire alarm ringing for 5 minutes did not endear it to us!
Sunday was Remembrance Day - SUNNY, beautiful throughout the whole country! After taking in the beach area & view to the Isle of Wight we set off for Ringwood - beautiful old church, narrow windy shopping street and Remembrance Parade etc. The MESSER families lived here 1650 - 1780.
The drive north was beautiful - villages of old stone buildings, Stonehenge seen from the road we took by mistake!!! and we walked the Cotswold village of Stow-on the Wold.
We've spent two lovely days catching up with old friends. We've found accommodation INCREDIBLY hard to find and what we did find was usually booked out!!!! Not a B&B in sight - yes, this is when it would have been handy to have an iPhone or iPad. Last night it took us 5 hours (50 miles - 70kms - and 10 hotels) before we found one at 9.25pm. I really thought we would end up sleeping in the car! It was 6 degrees at 9.25pm - 3 degrees over night! Warren asked one of the later receptionists at Park Inn - if there was a room in the Inn? She looked at him blankly and said 'no'.  He asked if there happened to be a stable out the back and she said (deadpan) 'no'!
This morning we went on line & booked into the 'George & Dragon' Hotel in Princes Risborough, NW of London. I imagined a QUIET, quaint village - I think it was, but everyone found out and now there are people and traffic EVERYWHERE!
Back to London tomorrow until EARLY Monday morning!