Today we are moving on again. This time from Kandy up to the hill country town of Nuwara Eliya. We are making the journey by way of a train on the British built Sri Lankan railway. Some trains run from Kandy but our train started from Colombo and stopped at Peradeniya Junction which is where we boarded. Although the trains in Sri Lanka are government run a couple of private companies are allowed to run tourist coaches attached to normal trains. Overall, though, there is a distinct air of 1960s british railways complete with semaphore signals. 

The train takes a slow run up from Peradeniya Junction via a relentless procession of curves and inclines to gain height eventually reaching Nanu Oya at 1600m altitude . Nanu Oya is also the closest station to our overnight stopping point of Nuwara Eliya and so we alighted here to meet our driver who had made the trip by road with our luggage.

Nuwara Eliya is also known as Little England due to its origin as a hill retreat for the British and the range of english style houses there. This, however, is a little overplayed as there aren't that many english style houses; there is, however, a very english park - Victoria Park - and a lake with rowing boats for hire. Otherwise the majority of the town is very Sri Lankan in construction (or partial construction in some cases). The climate at this altitude is much cooler and refreshing yet still warm and sunny.

We stopped for a late lunch by the boating lake, Lake Gregory. This and the cooler climate made us feel like we were lunching in the lake district. After lunch we visited the Pedro tea plantation factory where we were led through the factory explaining the production process which seems to have changed little in 100 years . Certainly many of the machines in use are of considerable vintage. At the end of the tour we get the chance to taste some tea. Tea, as we now know, is divided into grades from the best (Orange Pekoe) to the lowest (Fanning - used for tea bags). Freshly produced tea is certainly a big improvement on supermarket tea bags.

By now it was time to head off to our hotel for the night. Our driver thoughtfully took us to the poshest hotel in town - the Grand - for a quick preview. It was very plush with beautifully maintained gardens and a lawn for afternoon tea. We were worried how our hotel would compare with this. We needn't have worried (too much); although far less plush Heaven Seven is perfectly clean, tidy and pleasant. Being quite high up it has a view over part of the town and the climate meant we could open a window to let fresh air in without boiling in the heat.

Dinner here was very basic - fish or grilled chicken - but basic was fine for this evening. A glass of red wine washed it down nicely anyway.