UK 2024

Photos 1 Photos 2 Photos 3 Photos 4

A quick overview of our route around England and Scotland.

This will be our last trip in the motorhome.

Saturday, May 4. We received a message from Singapore Airlines to say that our flight to Singapore was delayed 80 minutes due the aircraft being late getting to Perth. That was not too much of an issue other than delaying our ride with Lauren. Check in was quick and we had a light lunch in the terminal before going through security to the gate. We saw our aircraft arrive and had another hour to kill.
The flight on the A350 was very pleasant. It was our first time on a 350 and I was impressed. On arrival we went to the Transit Hotel and managed to get a decent sleep before the long haul to London.

May 5. Had a complimentary breakfast in the hotel which looked like it had been smuggled off an airline. It was adequate to last us until we got our other breakfast on the flight. We arrived at the gate early, as is our want and spent more time waiting. Our luggage had been processed all the way to London so we only had carry-on, which makes life easy.
We departed about 10 minutes late which is pretty normal. What we hadn't counted on was that with all the war zones between Singapore and London, the alternate route took 2 hours longer than it normally would. We are not sure why, though we suspect the darked cabin didn't help, but it felt like 20 hours. Watching 8 episodes of House of Dragons didn't exactly make the time fly. Each episode was an hour, so that was more than half the flight time, which was about 14 hours and 15 minutes. Getting off felt so good.
Getting through immigration/passport control took about 2 minutes with the smart gate, a far cry from the hour it used to take when it was done manually. Picked up the luggage and took the Heathrow Express to Paddington and then a short cab ride to the Victory Services Club (VSC). Light share platter and a glass of wine and we crashed a bit after 9pm. A good sleep and we are ready to go again.

May 6. We tried to sleep in but I was up at 0630, most unlike me. A wonderful breakfast at the VSC as usual. We hung around until 10 because there was no point in setting out earlier, today being a Bank Holiday (Public Holiday to Aussies) and nothing would be open before 10. We planned to walk to Trafalgar Square and then to points beyond. The weather was wet as forecast, and a cool 12C, so we took the tube to Leicester Square and walked from there. We confirmed that the National Portrait Gallery was again open for business as it had been closed for a long time for major renovations. Then it was off to see the New Scotland Yard sign (see the photo in the link above) and it is much smaller than it appears on TV shows. Still good though. We then walked to Westminster Bridge to get a look at the also recently renovated Big Ben. The gold trimming was stunning even in very diffused sunlight and would be almost blindingly bright in full sun. Good to see it back. Next stop was the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand, another landmark which is new to us. To get there, we walked past King's College London, also a first for us. London has so many amazing places that are not on too many tourist brochures. We had seen the outside of the Royal Courts in the mini series, Mr Bates Vs the Post Office on TV. We thought it looked quite spectacular so we put it on our to do list. Definitely not disappointed. A very large complex of period (I don't know which period) architecture that is so inspiring. No public access at all so we had to settle for the view from the outside but that alone was worth the walk.
We walked to the National Portrait Gallery via the Covent Garden Markets and spent some time there. We were both pretty exhausted by the time we left so we trained it home. A quiet afternoon and we are still pondering our options for tea tonight. Neither of us have big appetites yet but it shouldn't be long before we fully recover from yesterday's marathon flight.

May 7. I did some research to find what our route from SIN to LHR took. The 3D flight following program on the Singapore Airlines seat back display is next to useless, so I took what I could from that and saw where similar flights were going on FlightRadar. It seems we went NW through India until we were north of Iran, through the "Stans", across the Caspian Sea then SW to Turkey, W to Greece, N through Romania to Berlin, then down to London. One hell of a deviation from the normal route through the middle east. Anyway, on to today.
Our only thing planned for today was lunch with Peter and Margaret. We were meeting up at "The Swan" across the road from Hyde Park. We walked along the inside edge of Hyde Park to get there, everything looking very green and lush. Had a wonderful catch up over some good food and a few wines. Walked back through the streets parallel to Bayswater Rd where quite a few diplomatics missions are. More Bentley's than you could poke a stick at.
It was sunny and dry today, unlike yesterday and we are hoping for the same tomorrow when we set the van up.

May 8. Still waking up too early. The time shift has hit us a lot harder this year but we will get over it. We caught a cab to Bond St station that has step free access to the platforms. Very important when you are dragging heavy suitcases. We just missed a train that was leaving with lots of spare seats and waited another 2 minutes for the next train which was full. Not wanting to wait another 2 minutes (first world problem) we forced our way on with our load. The crowd started thinning out after a few major stations so it wasn't too bad. Changed trains to the District Line at Mile End and we almost had a whole carriage to ourselves, bonus! Cab ride to Cranham's and time to pick up the motorhome. It was in good nick but we still had to do a few things before we got going, like tie down the scooter properly and attach the trailer. The scooter looked a little sad, dirty and unloved. I asked them to make me up a new number plate for the van to keep as a souvenir which they did in a few miinutes.
Off we went to Basildon to a major Sainsbury's store to do the restocking of the motorhome. With the new Ultra Low Emission Zone, we had to get out of Greater London ASAP. Shopping done, we went to a local campsite and then began the tedious task of setting everything up as we want it. Put away the contents of the suitcases, make the bed, you name it. I thought I would try the battery on the scooter as it had been idle for 9 months. Granted, I always remove the battery and store it inside the motorhome but it still blew my mind that it started first time. That gave me an excuse to take it for a ride to make sure it got a bit of charge.
We had a nice home cooked meal tonight. Tomorrow, we will head to Royal Tunbridge Wells. We have not been there before and it is sort of on the way to where we may be going, so why not.

May 9. The van got so cold during the night that I got up and put the heater on. We are in the period of fine days around the 20C mark but in open areas like where we are camped now, it gets very cold at night.
We set off to Tunbridge Wells knowing that we should turn up after 1pm and were running early. 4Km from our destination there was a layby that we pulled into and a food van. It was lunch time so we thought we would give them some patronage. The guy running it was an expat South African who had been in UK for 27 years. He still sounded South African and we got talking while he cooked our order He used to work in London in the banking industry but finally realised that he was losing touch with reality when he would get angry because he just missed the tube train and had to wait another 2 minutes for the next one. So now he runs a food truck in a layby near Tonbridge and loves life. It was such a feel good story, not to mention the great value and quality of his offers. Our bill came to 9.90 and I gave him a tenner and said keep the change. He said that was such a grand gesture and I replied that coming from an Aussie, it was an amazing gesture. We were on the same level. The sort of contact that I love.
Got to the campsite called Apple Acres, checked in and set up. Took the scooter in to Tonbridge (not to be confused with Tunbridge Wells which is about 5Km south) and it was OK, nothing special, more like a nice village that has outgrown itself and lost its character.
Back at the campsite and a get an email from Margaret that we have a fine from the people who run the ULEZ (Ultra low emissions zone) to fine me 90 quid for going through the ULEZ and not paying the 12.50 fee in April. Of course, we were not even in the country before 5 May so it's not us, but the service people who drove the van to their workshop for the service and MOT. Now comes the fight.
We don't like external events to ruin our experiences though and I had a chance to interact with a group of 4 Kiwis who were 2 pitches away and then later, a group of 4 Brits. I left them in stitches, so another success. I just hope they don't expect all Aussies to be as entertaining as me!

May 10. We found out that the showers here are a bit substandard but usable. We rode in to Royal Tunbridge Wells and had a look around the town. It's nice and quaint but suffering from too much expansion and commercialisation. Visited the Pantile district which is the upmarket area and the museum to catch up on the history of the place. Also visited Toad Rock which is supposed to be a highlight but fell a bit short. Caught up on all my online admin while we were there, the mobile coverage being a bit flaky at the campsite. We bought tickets for Hever Castle tomorrow which is where Ann Boleyn lived. Slowly planning ahead but it's not easy without reliable internet.

May 11. I used the other shower this morning, there are only two. This one was good, I'll make sure I use it again tomorrow! We headed off to Hever castle to arrive there not before 1030. It was a reasonably good run, 16Km of rural roads. Fortunately, we were on the scooter, not in the motorhome, because some of the roads were rather narrow with hedging on both sides. Meeting a large bus on a corner was harrowing on the scooter, would have been terrifying in the van. The condition of a lot of the roads we have travelled on so far has been less than desireable and thouugh I made every effort to find the smoothest line, it was impossible when there was none.
Got to the Castle, parked and entered. It was another hour before the castle itself opened so we wandered the gardens and general surrounds. This place was the home of Ann Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII. A very pretty, talented and sophisticated young lady who deserved better, but if you can be queen, why not? The castle visit was very good with all the history related to it. There was also a military museum revolving around the Kent Corps which was also educational. Let's face it, I have learned more history since we started our travels than I thought possible.
Rode back home, taking a lot less time because I knew the way and knew the road. I think e did in 10 minutes quicker!
This trip has been very sociable which we would expect in England. Different to Europe, which can be sociable too, but the common language and roots makes it easy here.
Tomorrow, we head towards Dorset. We have some administrative stuff to do, mainly filling in forms about the ULEZ infringement, so we are hoping to find a campsite that can print and scan (shouldn't be hard to ask, but the current campsite can't!).

May 12. Last night we were told about the amazing sightings of the northern lights from not far away in Kent. I set the alarm for midnight but no lights. They were supposed to show again between 2330 and 0200. I set the alarm for 0100 but still no lights so I went back to bed. The photos we have seen on Facebook have been sensational. Very rare to see them this far south of the pole this late in the season. Cest la Vie.
We left the campsite and headed towards Bishop's Waltham north of Portsmouth where there are the old Bishop's Palace ruins. I put in 2 waypoints to Tomtom to make it take us the way I wanted to go, but even then I had to overrule it for the first 15Km. Ended up going into the middle of Haywards Heath, the first waypoint, because I didn't skip it soon enough. I then skipped the next waypoint and went a totally different route, sigh. We sort of got to the ruins OK but for a couple of laneway diversions. When we finally found the carpark for the ruins, it was not suitable for the motorhome, so we left. We had made a stop earlier for lunch and decided to book ahead for the Camping and Caravan Club site in Salisbury. It will be the third time we have stayed there. We do love Salisbury, but it is also in a position where it is a very convenient stopover. We have two nights booked.
Arrived at the campsite about 3pm and got set up. I have organised for 3 pages to be printed. They can't then scan the completed forms so I can't email them, snail mail it is. Hopefully I can post them tomorrow in town.

May 13. A light drizzle and moderate winds to start the day. We weren't in a hurry to get going anywhere, so Julie got a load of washiing done. Towards noon we walked along the river walk to Salisbury but were diverted on to the main road because of works on the walking path. Shame, it is a nice walk normally. Found the Post Office and bought an envelope and stamp for the ULEZ paperwork and posted it. Another thing out of the way, I hope. We went to a local pub and had lunch there. Good value meal too. The rain was getting heavier and the wind was picking up so we decided not to stay around having already been here twice before. Did some shopping and walked home. It's been moderate rain for a while now so the rest of the afternoon off in the van.

May 14. When we rose for the day, we think it had been raining non stop for about 15 hours. My cold that I have had for the last few days is getting better, but not enough to be comfortable driving narrow roads or meeting up with other people. We had arranged to catch up with John and Rainbow today but decided to stay in Salisbury another night and try to get a bit better. It was fortuitous that, because of the rain, and we were on a grass pitch, I thought I should see if being bogged in the mud below might be a problem. One wheel was very low in the grass but after closer inspection, it was because it was flat as a tack. Organised for a mobile tyre service to come to the campsite and fix or replace the tyre. They found the culprit was a large screw which would have repairable if it was on the flat face of the tyre, but of course, it had to be on the edge where it won't repair. No problems, they had another tyre ready and balance and fitted it onsite. I was not planning anything else today anyway so it was all good.
Julie didn't want to be wasting the time here so she walked into the city and did her thing, including another visit to the Cathedral. I can't blame her for that, it is one of the most beautiful cathedrals we have seen, and we have seen too many! Tomorrow, we are off to Portesham.

May 15. I checked that the route we were taking avoid bicycle lanes and anythiing to do with farm trails. A reasonably easy drive through beautiful rural countryside and we arrived just after 1pm. We have stayed at the Dairy Farm Campsite twice before, each time to catch up with John and Rainbow. It has been through a serious revamp since the last time and they have done a good job of it. Very nice ablutions. We organised to meet John and Rainbow at the campsite at 5 and when they arrived we had a couple of drinks then went to the Swan pub in a nearby village for dinner. It was a great night, lots of banter and lots of fun. John doesn't drink so he was the skipper home.

May 16. We packed up from the Farm and drove to Yeovil to visit the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Museum. I made sure that it was open and we could park the van (we need 2 inline bays to park it) and then got online on the phone to arrange tickets. If you pay at the door, it is £22, but £18 if you buy online. I booked 2 tickets for 1130 (it was 1125) for today, paid, got the email and went straight through. Crazy. It was a good museum in that it was all about the history of Naval Aviation but there were lots of aircraft on display. Sadly, being short on space, all the aircraft that could fold up their wings (most of them) or could fold their rotor blades back, that was how they were displayed. It made recognition a bit more difficult when you can't see them in normal flying configuration. All in all it was a worthwhile visit with some very unique exhibits like the Fairey Delta 2 supersonic aircraft of which only 2 were ever built. They were used mainly as a test bed for the delta wing subsequently used in the Concorde design, one of which was also on display. That one was number 2 off the production line with the rego G-BSST.
We left the museum and drove to Weston-Super-Mare. This town is a summer seaside tourist destination, similar to Brighton or Blackpool. It was also where John Cleese grew up. At least it has sandy beaches but with large tidal differences. It was low tide when we rode the scooter in and the waters edge was long way out. The downside was that the town and the pier were closed, with only the pubs open. We imagine that it would be open all hours in season, but not now.
Tomorrow we plan to drive to Blackpool just to get the seaside stuff out of our system!

May 17. Happy 44th anniversary to us. We left Uphill campsite in Weston and headed to Blackpool. It is about 221 miles, about 350Km. Tomtom said it would be about 4 hours but it was more like 5 when we took in the delays with roadworks and general congestion. It is amazing how much traffic is on the roads here. 2pm on a Friday, and both sides of an 8 lane motorway are full. The drivers here are amazing, I wish I could take their patience, awareness and consideration home with me and share it around. It generally kept moving but it took a lot of concentration to keep it smooth on my part. We made it to The campsite around 4 and chilled out, it had been a long day. We have 2 nights here so tomorrow we will check out the area and have a celebratory lunch somewhere nicer than a Macca's.

May 18. Went in to Blackpool around 10. It's not very far but it took a long time with the traffic. It is off season right now so many places were not open and there are not really a lot of people around. It must be a nightmare in peak season, you would take an hour to do less than a Km, unless you ride a scooter of course!! Blackpool is interesting but definitely not our cup of tea. Harvey and Alice would love the penny arcades but they leave us a bit cold. Great recruiting place to turn kids into gambling addicts. At least they have sand on the beach and it is extensive. The beach part is actually pretty good for here and been planned well to cater for the large tidal movements. We rode to St Anne's, a bit to the south for lunch and found a nice tapas place that had good serves and decent wines. Nice lunch. Rode back to the campsite and I went to the local B&Q to get some replacement ratchet straps for the scooter/trailer.
We have changed plans again due to unavailability of campsites and tomorrow we will drive over 200 miles to Falkirk in Scotland where we have 3 nights booked. We will do a day trip to Glasgow from there on the train. Campsites are like hens teeth in Glasgow.

May 19. We drove the 200 miles (300Km) to Falkirk. It was a very good drive, motorway almost all the way with light traffic, relatively anyway. I do love driving here where everyone does the right thing. It feels choreographed the way it all moves together. I wish I could bring that attitude home and force it on the Perth drivers. We arrived at the campsite and had to wait a while to get in seeing we didn't have the gate code. Finally got in touch and got in and set up. A rustic campsite with a glam price tag but we are getting used to that. We took the walking path to the Falkirk Wheel, a mechanical lock for boats on the canal between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Check out the photos. It is a design and engineering masterpiece. It saves about 15 normal locks and is reasonably quick. the boats coming down move into the top level and vice versa. When both are in, the wheel, like a ferris wheel, rotates 180 degress and they swap places. A very simple concept but an amazing practical project.
Walked back home in sime for wine o'clock. Tomorrow, we will walk in to the Falkirk station and get a train to Glasgow for a day visit. Still more to see in Falkirk but we have Tuesday for that.

May 20. We walked to Falkirk High Station on the path that followed the canal. It was a pleasant walk but a lot longer than we expected, around 55 miinutes. The trip in made only one stop on the way and we arrived in 20 minutes at Glasgow Queen St Station. Took a walk around the immediate area and thought we should start with a coffee. Then we found the nearest subway station and bought 2 all day tickets to get around. Our first stop was at Kelvinhall from where we found our way to the Kelvingrove Museum. A very fancy building and good displays, the most interesting for us was the history of Glasgow. We spent some time there then back to the city to go to the Glasgow Cathedral which dated back to the 1100s. It looked it's age, especially on the inside, but impressive none the less. More walking uphill to the Necropolis behind and above the cathedral. Many monumental graves on the hill, many with enough information on them to write a family tree. Again, very impressive. Glasgow is much nicer than I expected, even though had heard it had improved since the Commonwealth Games. The only real downside was peering down a side alley off one of the main city streets to see much trash and homeless bodies lying around, Quite a few beggars too, but that seems to be the way any big city these days. We stopped for a late lunch at 3pm feeling totally knackered. We had been planning to go to the botananic gardens but we could hardly walk, so we got the train back to Falkirk. Not being up to another 55 minute walk, which would have taken us 70 minutes, we took a cab back to the campsite. Quiet night in tonight.

May 21. It was cold this morning with forecast high of 16C. The air felt a lot colder when we rode the scooter to the Kelpies. They are modern artistic statues of horses heads. Steel frame with over 900 pieces of steel plate to make the shape come to life. At night, they are lit up from the inside. We didn't see that, but pictures we have seen makes it look impressive. The taller of the two is 30m high, they tower over you at the base. What with the Falkirk Wheel and the Kelpies, this place has two seriously good attractions. Some shopping on the way home and filling up the scooter with fuel. This is the first refuel of the scooter on this trip and it took 3.5 litres, seriously economical.
The rest of the day was dedicated to doing very little but was broken by a little Suffolk lamb. They are the ones with black faces and feet. This one had got free from the field and was wandering around the campsite. Very friendly too. It hung around our van, at one point almost climbing inside. It took a shine to our outside door mat and made itself at home. Was not at all fazed by us climging over it to get in and out of the van. It was following us around like a puppy, too cool. Eventually the guy that runs both the campsite and the farm put it away. We did one more walk almost to the Wheel but turned right out of the tunnel to see Antonines Wall. A Roman construction like Hadrians Wall but all earth, like a bund. Not sure how effective it was keeping the savages out
We have booked the next two nights at a campsite in Oban on the west coast. We are trying to syncronise a location with Brendon and Karin who are motorhoming down the west coast from the north. All going to plan, we will catch up at either Oban or Fort William. Another road trip tomorrow.

May 22. Got away from the farm about 10 and drove through Stirling and worked our way to Oban on the west coast. It was a delightful drive, the scenery was wonderful, but no photos because the small roads had no place to stop in the motorhome. Plenty if you have a car. The weather was dreary and photos would not have captured the view anyway. We had to drive through Oban then another 3 or 4 miles to get to the campsite, which was narrow and winding relying on passing bays to get past traffic from the opposite direction. Fortunately we met very few. Checked in and we could choose our own spot. There are 3 areas to pick from. We rejected the higher one because it was too exposed to the weather. The lower one was nicer but had no mobile coverage. We ended up going for the third spot which was more crowded but at least had a signal, flaky as it was. The site has plenty of wireless access points but all but one are for the cabins and the one we can use is only in the immediate area of the reception. Not impressed. We may leave tomorrow even having paid for 2 nights. All our comms and planning rely on the mobile network or wifi, and this place denies us on all counts.
Oban looked like an interesting town so we will probably ride in tomorrow and have a look around and then decide what to do next. We are trying to link up with Brendon and Karin in the next day or two and this is proving to be problematic.

May 23. It was drizzling and windy and damn cold this morning. My shower was tepid at best which is surprising considering the basin water is so hot you burn yourself. Basics of a campsite - good toilets and showers. Camping 101. We waited for the weather to clear a little then got the scooter off and rode into Oban. We were both decked out in thermals and puffer jackets and the ride was still freezing. Fortunately it was only about 4km and I rode at less that 40kph to limit the wind chill. We even wore our bike gloves walking around Oban! Oban is an interesting place, some wonderful architecture and steep hills everywhere. We had lunch in a small cafe and used the time to do some more research on where to next. Still nothing set, all the ones we wanted were booked out, God knows why, it's not high season yet. We rode up the hill to McCaig's Tower" on top of the hill overlooking the city that was started to be built by a local laird named McCaig about 200 years ago. The tower part was never built but from the town it has a distinct colosseum look. Certainly a good view from there.
Rode back home and put the heater on. I went to reception and finally found a Camping and Caravan Club site at Glencoe. We are members and we got in for 2 nights from tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a hot shower, something not had for 5 days.

May 24. We managed to make the journey in to Oban without incident. We had to pass another motorhome but it was right near an entrance to a small marina so we had plenty of room to pass and another time when an SUV had to reverse out of our way. The locals are very aware of the issue and behave appropriately. We went to the Tesco Super Store in Oban to do a top up shop then headed towards Glencoe. It was a very pleasant drive, mostly along the coast with stunning views and on decent roads, winding but with plenty of room. We arrived a couple of minutes after 1pm which ws good timing as check in starts at 1. Set everything up and got a load of washing done. Not all campsites have laundries so we use them when we can. Took it easy for the rest of the day. I checked with the site to see if we could get a third night as Julie was in need of down time to help get over her cold. We found that the Mondy was a public holiday and though they were fully booked Friday and Saturday nights, they did have a couple of spots for Sunday night so we took it. We wont have to move pitches so that was a bonus too. Quiet night in.

May 25. Finally had a good shower, though mine had a push button control that only lasted 2 seconds. Not easy washing oneself with one hand, the other holding the button in. Doing my hair was even more difficult. All OK though and I'll use a different one tomorrow. I did let the office know about it but I doubt anything will be done while we are still here. Next door to the campsite is a National Trust of Scotland site giving the history of the Glencoe area so we went to check it out. A good display and they also had a couple of Highland Hairy Coos (their spelling and it is pronounced the same as one would expect from the Scots). Odd looking beasts but cute in their own way. Also had a turf house that had been restored using the original methods.
After that is was a lazy afternoon. Brendon and Karin were expecting to arrive about 1730 at the local pub in Glencoe who had allowed them to free camp in their carpark up the back.. We walked the 2Km or so on a very nice newly built path that took about a Km off the distance to town and gave us a pleasant 25 minute walk. We arrived at 1720 and the others about 20 minutes later. Great catch up, nice meal and lots of talk. We will catch up again tomorrow. Glencoe valley is a delight, wild country at its best, and with the sun setting behind us as we walked home, it was gloriously lit up with the sunset light.

May 26. Another day for laundry, washing the beddings. Brendon and Karin were going to go to the Visitor Centre and then come and use the washing facilities at our campsite. While that was going on, we sat around drinking tea and coffe as it was a tad early for wine apparently. The weather was somewhat average so we weren't encouraged to go out and do anything. Spent a lot of time with them and then went our own ways, which for us was where we were, and for the others, it was back to their free park at the pub. The downside of the time in Glencoe is the midgies, they are not only vicious but the effects on me have been pretty bad. Unlike previous encounters with these tiny sods, this time I have reacted poorly. I look like a teenager with bad acne. So many bites!

May 27. We met Brendon and Karin mid morning and had morning tea at the Visitor Centre. We then split up, they heading south to Loch Lomond and us heading north to Inverness. The drive north was busy, very busy. Lots of roadworks which often resulted in long waits to get through. All up, probably 30 minutes of hold ups in an 87 mile drive. In the interim, we stopped in Fort William and went shopping at both Lidl and Morrisons. This area is very oversize vehicle friendly, something we are not used to. The rest of the drive was picturesque but hard work given the intensity of the traffic. We arrived at the campsite in Inverness and checked in. We had prebooked but didn't really need to, it is much less than half full. We have 2 nights here with an option to extend. We will see how bad the midgies are first. Last time we were here in 2012, they were over the top in numbers, but not too bad on effect.
When we did check in, one of the things the guy asked was our number plate. I know most Brits know their phonetic alphabet and am used to using it for such questions, and did so again. The guy complimented me on my fluency and when I told him I was a retired ATC, he wasn't surprised. A few showers aroud with more to come but either way, we will soldier on tomorrw and revisit Inverness tomorrow.

May 28. We headed into Inverness around 10. It is a very pretty walk from the site to the city, walking through a couple of islands in the River Ness and then riverside the rest of the way. Julie spent a lot of time looking at the highland merchandise but ultimately walked away empty handed. Not unusual. We did the Museum, walked to the Castle to find it closed for renovations, walked around the town sightseeing and ended up at St Andrew's Cathedral. This is a Pentacostal church so not the lavish over the top interior you would get from a catholic one. Walked home after that arriving exhausted. We don't have the resilience that we normally have. We have decided to stay another day, with all the short cuts we have taken, we are not in a rush.

May 29. The weather was not good today. When we started out on the walk to town it was not raining, but 5 minutes in it was and didn't stop for many hours. We had taken the umbrellas so it was not a big deal. Julie wanted to do some shopping for the grandchildren which is not my cup of tea, so I booked a Thai massage to help me recover from yesterday while Julie was free to roam. I had to wait a couple of hours so the two of us went for lunch at the Victorian Market food hall. A good meal at a fair price which is rare these days. Then we split up to reunite later. I was rejunenated and Julie had managed to find what she was looking forward to. Win win situation. We did a bit more touring around the city and walked home, still raining. Gammon and eggs for dinner at home.

May 30. We had time to kill before leaving the campsite in Inverness because our next stop, Nairn, was only 25Km away. We had to check out before 1200 and couldn'd book in at Nairn until 1300. The Inverness Botanical Gardens was only a 5 miinute walk away so we visited them. Nice little spot with a few glasshouses with displays in them, even a tropical one. They had one glass house set up as a cafe which was pretty good, warm in almost all weather. The outdoor part was good too but the whole complex was probably only on an acre of land. We wandered back to the van and left just before 1200. We had scoped out a Tesco Superstore just outside the city and went there to fill the time void and grab some more shopping. We arrived at the campsite in Nairn at 1305 so all was good. This site is a Camping and Caravanning Club one. When we checked in, the guy in reception asked if we had been here before to which we replied in the negative. The staff at the CCC move around from site to site on a regular basis. I said we often used the CCC site at Theobald Park, just out of London and boith the guys there said, yes, that's it. They recognised our outfit and us! Mind you, our van and scooter are quite unique.
After setting up, we got the scooter off and rode the 4Km into Nairn, originaly a medieval town. It still has a few remaining buildings but many are from the 1800s. A lot larger than we expected. We walked down to the old port which is still in use today but fishing is not the big industry it used to be.
Tomorrow we will visit Cawdor Castle about 10Km away, it looks good in the brochures.

May 31. Took the scooter to Cawdor Castle. I had checked the route on Maps and there didn't seem to be a back road, so we took to the major A road for a few Kms. We can do 80Kph with 2 up on the flat with no headwinds. We only hit that a couple of times, mostly it was around 70Kph. I pulled over once to let the traffic pass and found I was only about 400m from the turn off anyway. The rest of the ride was stress free. Bought our concession tickets and went in. Great castle, they started building it around 1353. First owned by Hamlet, it has been in Cawdor family line ever since. The current owner still lives there in the winter so we are guessing that they are closed to the public then and seeing as she actually lives in the rooms that are currently open, it would be difficult to open up each day. Amazing period furniture and old and new paintings. Like many of castles of that era, it has been added to over the centuries and modernised. Fortunately, the modernisation here has been mainly to the kitchen areas, the rest might as well be centuries old. The upkeep must be enormous, and while the maintenance would be high, so would the gardening costs. Fantastic gardens, both manicured with lots of topiary, there is also a wild garden along the stream that rune through the property. I doubt that the money from the tourism would offset all the costs, but it must make it more manageable. Some of the best gardens we have seen.
We had lunch there too which was all a bit different to what we are used to and a very welcome chage it was. I checked Maps again and zoomed right in. Sure enough, there was a back road in to the caravan park without having to go on the main road. That made for an easy ride home, even though both trips were so cold!
We tried to book in to a Caravan Club campsite in Stonehaven, just south of Aberdeen but the only pich we could get was a fully serviced pitch which costs about £12 more a night than the normal pitches. We couldn't get one for tomorrow night which we were after, so we booked three nights from Sunday. Tomorrow, we have a site booked in Fraserburgh which is on the north east corner of the bulge. Looks like being a nice drive.

June 1. Yesterday, I went for a walk through the forest that backs on to the campsite and spotted a red squirrel. It was about 15m away and didn't hang around for a photo. Today, we both went up there and saw nothing. To clarify, the red ones are rare though the indiginous species. The common squirrel in the UK now is the North American grey squirrel. Anyway, we didn't see any but a couple we met on our walk said they saw three of them near pitch 56 in the campsite. We checked that out and nothing, cest la vie. We headed off to Fraserburgh less that 2 hours away. It was a very pretty drive going through lots of forest and coastal views as well as old towns including Banff and McDuff. Once set up in the site we went for a short walk into the town centre. This place is mainly a big harbour with lots of big boats but the old town square was pretty good. We are camped with a view of the beach and dunes and we are in the front row. Easy on the eye. Tomorrow, Stonehaven.

June 2. We left The campsite at Fraserburgh at just the right time. Enough others had left earlier and left enough room for me to do a small reverse and swing out without having to unhitch the trailer, always a bonus. The drive down to Stonehaven was pretty but many of the Scottish roads so far have been quite rough. The first part was no better. Once we got within 20Km of Aberdeen we hit a 4 lane highway that was in much better condition. We managed to time our arrival at the Stonehaven site for just after 1pm, which is the earliest you get in. As mentioned earlier, we had been forced to book a more expensive pitch than we needed so when we checked in, we asked it there was a normal pitch available for the three nights without having to move pitches midstream. They said they would check and ask again in 30 minutes. In the meantime we set up on one of the expensive pitches, but not so much that we couldn't easily move. Sure enough, they had a spot available so we moved there and paid a lot less. Nice to get a win.
The next two stops for us are St Andrews and Edinburgh. Gettin two nights at St Andrews was no problem but we could not get in to our preferred site in Edinburgh. Managed to find another site about 12 or 13Kms out of town, easy enough for the scooter. Unilike preCovid, we have found that prebooking in essential now. After that we will have to work out our schedule to make sure we finish in London at the right time.
Anyway, Stonehaven is a delightful little place with the waterfront just outside the gate. The middle of town is about a 4 minute walk away. The town as a whole is quite large but most of it is built from the old centre inland. It is a relaxing sort of place with a nice outlook. Not much sand, mostly pebbles. It is a little touristy, but not too much.

June 3. We scootered to Dunnottor Castle, just south of the town, although with the one way system, it was quite a way. It would be a 5Km walk each way if we chose to. Just as well we didn't because when we got there, we found it involves many hundreds of steps, or stairs. It was worth those to see it. An amazing set of ruins on a peninsular that is on a flat hill and only accesible from one direction, so it was more a fortress than a castle. A lot of history around this place including the hiding of the Scottish Crown Jewels from Cromwell when he was in power. He had tried to take the fortress but failed. At another point, William Wallace and his forces overran the defenses and took charge of the place. Very interesting in its own right but the history makes it come alive. The scenery surrounding it is magnificent too. From there we rode to the War Memorial Monument, built on a hill overlooking the town in one direction and the fortress in the other. A fine monument it is too. From there, we should have riden back past the castle and the long way home via a major road because the road between the monument and town was closed. It was open to pedestrians and cyclists though, and seeing our scooter is taxed as a bicycle (true story), I figured that included us. It was a choice of 500m that way or 8Km the other way. The 500m won. We only encountered one pedestrian anyway and there was more than enough room for us to be a worry to them.
The weather today has been sensational, sunny, bright and warm enough to wear just shirt sleeves. Chilling out a bit now letting our legs and feet recover.

June 4. It was a dismal day, overcast and threatening to drizzle. Walked along the broadwalk to the harbour where we found the sculpture/models along the waterfront. These were very cleverly done structures made of scrap metal. A few photos to show them off. Continued our walk around the harbour area which had an historic feel about it. We could have gone back 100 years. Back through the town doing some shopping along the way then back home for lunch. Afterwards we went back to a different supermacket to get a few more items. Home again, then back up the boardwalk to Aunty Betty's Ice Cream shop. It is famous here. Even though it was only 16C with a severe wind chill factor we apparently thought we should have an icecream. I reckon the Brits would queue up for an icecream in a blizzard. Anyway, it was a pretty good one, so no complaints. During the afternoon, Julie managed to catch up on the critical washing and I put the scooter back on the trailer ready for our departure tomorrow. We had contemplated eating out tonight for some local seafood and did some research into which one we would go for. Ended up ordering takeaway from a well awarded fish and chip shop which was only 2 minutes walk away. Huge servings and good value (by local standards) and fine quality. Managed to eat it all except for a few left over chips. We have enjoyed our stay in Stonehaven.
Tomorrow, St Andrew's.

June 5. We had a choice of two routes to Dundee, one the A90 which was more inland, the other was the A92 which was coastal and 2 miles longer. We checked with reception at the campsite and thay said the coastal one was better. I don't know if they were right or not, because we only did the coastal. Tomtom wanted us to take the A90 but we said no. We also said no to the 23 changes of route it wanted us to take. I think it was over an hour before it gave up and just left us on the A92. OK, I should have put a waypoint in but I didn't. I knew where were going anyway. It was a nice drive except for the road surface, which, like most non major roads in Scotland was terrible. The A90 was a 4 lane all the way (I think) and the A92 was 2 lane.
We would have liked to see more of Dundee but it is a big city and as we were not staying the night, it was the usual logistical nightmare, so we skipped it. St Andrew's has an interesting history (it is not just about golf) and we decided we should explore there. We had the campsites location on Tomtom from its own databaseof POIs and thought we had missed it. Julie checked on Google Maps and lo and behold, we still had a Km to go. All good in the end. Nice site with good facilities. Got the scooter off and rode back into town to visit the St Andrew's Castle ruins. Not a lot left of the castle really,but a great commentary on the personal device and an amazing history. So many conflicts centred around the castle over its 900 year history. Very enjoyable, more from a learning perspective than the visual one, but it makes us appreciate the era we live in. Tomorrow, we will do more of the town.

June 6. 80th anniversary of D-day. A day that my father spent bombing the beaches of Normandy prior to the landings. OK, history here done, let's move on to more history. We rode in to the cathedral ruins in St Andrew's. The ruins are almost as good as ruins go. Not a huge amount left but you certainly get a feel for the magnitude of what had been there in the past. It is quoted as being the largest and most significant medieval cathedral in Scotland and being named St Andrew's and that same Saint being the patron Saint of Scotland, it comes as no surprise. All around and among the ruins are gravesites, many of them being on what would have been the interior of the cathedral. Ruins they may be, but magnificent anyway. We spent quite a bit of time there before riding in to the town centre for a tea and coffee and lunch. We managed to find a dedicated motorcycle parking area there so we grabbed it. A decent lunch and then, leaving the scooter in place, we walked to St Andrew's Royal and Ancient Old Course. Any golfer will tell you that this place is the birthplace of golf, otherwise known as the Scottish revenge on the rest of the world. A very impressive clubhouse (Royal Perth take note) and an interesting course. It is very casual in the sense that the public can actuall walk across the first fairway as long as there are no players waiting to play. We got chatting with a woman who we found out was from Brisbane but now English. Her son was playing that day and having some putting practise on the practise green. I asked if I could borrow his putter for a couple of shots so I could say I've played St Andrew's (joke). He gave me his putter and 2 balls which I set up about 5m from the hole, having no idea of the speed of the green and wearing my puffy jacket. The first putt missed by less that an inch and the second one went in. I walked off on top! All up, quite an experience and we were impressed with St Andrew's Golf Club.
On to the St Andrew's Museum, which had nothing to do with golf, rather the history of the region. Like most of the museums we have seen on this trip, very enlightening. A small but well done museum. The building it was in was superb too. Then it was home for the evening. It has been very cold here, someone should have told Scotland it was summer now. Top of 14C which felt like 9C according to the Met Office app and felt even colder on the scooter.

June 7. It was cold windy and a little wet this morning.Yesterday, we had comtemplated and extra day here but we had a place booked in Edinburgh so we couldn't. Glad of that, it was not a good day for anything except driving or hibernating.We drove along some lovely roads, the view, not the surface, including a paroramic vista of the North Sea with drilling platform in the bay. No sun and hazy, otherwise we would have stopped and taken a photo. Lots of roadworks on the way but that was OK as we wanted to arrive after 1300 and we managed to lose 30 minutes with no effort at all. Finally got to the campsite at 1310 and set up. One of the items in Edinburgh that was on Julie's list (she is the resident researcher of things to do) was Rosslyn Chapel in Roslin (no spelling error!). Well, it just happened to be right next door to the campsite so we went there at 1530. We had to book and pay online for a timeslot and 1530 was the last for the day. Interesting place, similar history of these sorts with Henry VIII and Cromwell both doing their damndest to destroy it. Those two men destroyed more than half of British heritage on ttheir own. Sods.
A very different Chapel to others we have seen and the masonry work was incredible. Almost every surface was carved stone, and very intricately carved too. No photos allowed inside so you'll have to take me at my word that it was good inside.
Tomorrow we will scooter in to Edinburgh, 11 Kms away, but a straightforward route.

June 8. Took the scooter in to Edinburgh this morning. The route was as straightforward as one could want. Only really one turn the whole way. There were two issues though. The first, it was freezing cold and even with thermals, my knees were so cold at the end of the ride. The second was the traffic and the traffic lights and roadworks. All of 11Km and it took us close to an hour. The traffic was horrendous. Some can be blamed on Taylor Swift who is doing 3 shows in Edinburgh with the first being last night. Other than that, it was an easy run and we managed to find a dedicated motorcycle parking spot and locked the bike up. There are lots of these cycle bays dotted all arounf the city and they are free and without a time limit. We wanted something hot after the ride and went to The Dome in George St, a famous cafe/restaurant, not to be confused with Dome Coffee in Perth. The Grill was closed until 1200 and we were there at 1100, so we decided to come back later. Bec, our daughter-in-law had said we must go there, so there was no way were going to skip it. From there it was a shopping trip so Julie could almost finish the gifts for the Grandkids. I was looking for something from St Andrews which we had seen everywhere in Edinburgh in 2012 but seemed oddly missing here now. More on that later. Ater the shopping walk, which took in so many shops with exactly the same things, we went back to the Dome for lunch. It was very good, great service like you would expect from a 5 star place, good food and drinks and for a fair price. This place had a wonderful feel about it with the architecture of the 1900s. If you go to Edinburgh, you must go there.
The it was off to the old town and the Royal Mile. Julie had a list of obscure places to visit which we managed to cross quite a few off the list. They included the Greyfriars Bobby where there is a monument to Bobby, a dog that always waited for his master to come out of the pub. One day, the master died and Bobby would always be waiting for him to come out. He did this every day for the rest of his (Bobby's) life. That's dedication for you. Next stop was Victoria St which was inspiration for J.K. Rowling's Diagon Alley, and you can see the similarity. Many other stops including a drink at the Inn on the Mile, a cool pub on the Royal Mile. In the meantime, we went into another souvenir shop and I got talking to the lady in the shop. I asked about any items from St Andrew's and she said they are not permitted to sell any of their items and that applies to all the shops in Edinburgh. I could have bought some in St. Andrew's but having seen what was available in Edinburgh 12 years ago, I thought I would wait. Back then, if you were in St Andrew's, they didn't sell souvenir items and if you asked, you would be told to buy them in Edinburgh. A complete 180 degree turn by St Andrew's means that you can ONLY buy memorabilia IN St Andrew's. Well, that backfired on me, but it wasn't that important anyway. We rode back home without any real issues except congestion, roadworks and terrible roads. I do my best to provide the smoothest ride for Julie even if ot means lots of weaving around bad spots, but sometimes there is no smooth line to take, just the least bad.
Tomorrow we will check out Hollyrood Palace.

June 9. We took the scooter back in to Edinburgh. The wind was not as bad, though still significant. The traffic was less but the roadworks still made us stationary for more than 5 minutes at a time. The worst id the condition of the road. For a major A road, the surface was as rough as guts. Trying to watch the traffic, the plethora of traffic lights and still keep my eye on potholes and other devious deformities in the road was seriously hard work. We got to Holyrood Palace in one piece so that was a bonus, as was the motorcycle parking at the end of the carpark nearest the entry. We paid our £22 each to get in, ignoring the extras we could have bought. It is a seriously good palace, quite different to many we have seen, in that the rooms were smaller than we would expect and felt far more intimate than most others. Overall, a good visit that took over two hours. Julie still wanted to go to the souvenir shops but the ones down this end of the Royal Mile were pretty ordinary. Had lunch at a small cafe which was very good. Julie and I both had the soup of the day with a toastie, mine being bacon, lettuce and tomato and Julie's being haggis. It's a bit late now, but I feel I should have had the haggis as well. An unusual flavour but not at all offensive, just unique.
Rode back home with the same issues of road closures etc but we got on to the road we needed and even managed to spot the only service station on the way home to top up the scooter. You know it's getting low when it takes over 4 litres to fill up. A light dinner tonight seeing we had a big lunch at 1430. Tomorrow, Bamburgh, which is in England, we just hope the weather improves. At least the wind has dropped over the last few hours.

June 10. We had time to kill this morning so we walked down to Rosslyn Castle. We knew you couldn't get inside, or even too close because of construction work on it. Full restoration going on. It was a lovely walk through some of the oldest forests in Scotland. Managed to see bits of the walls but that was about it. We left Edinburgh a bit before noon and took the A1 to Bamburgh. Still rough roads when you get off the main drag. Nice campsite and we are here for 2 nights. Rain in the afternoon so we did very little. Dinner at the restaurant at the campsite.

June 11. It is cold, very cold. Full thermals and puffer jackets. It is still very cold. Rode in to Bamburgh Castle as slow as I could without holding up traffic, trying to minimise the chill factor. Got to the carpark, where the fee is £5 for a car and got directed to the free motorcycle parking area right near the front gate against the Castle wall. £17 each to get in which is ballpark for this sort of place. It was £22 each for Holyrood palace. Bamburgh is huge and very impressive and imposing from the road. It is no less so inside. It is still lived in by the Armstrong family who own it and it was their predecessor who commenced the restoration work in the 1890's. The Armstrong's came from family companies which included Armstrong Whitworth and Armstrong Siddeley. Sir William Armstrong, the initial benefactor, was a prolific inventor and made a fortune out of military arms and equipment including tanks and artillary and motor cars and aircraft. Amazing man. The restoration and renovation work would have cost many many millions and the result is exceptional. Excellent displays inside add to the value.
We could have spent a lot more time there but the cold was just too extreme.

June 12. A casual start again. We had to be out by 1100 but check in at Durham was 1300 so we needed to kill some time on the way. We drove back past the castle again and it is awe inspiring even the second time around. Took the scenic route along the coast which was showing off a good surf and pretty coastline. Stopped in Alnwick to do some shopping at Sainsbury's. It's usually not too difficult to get 2 free bays end to end at these big stores and today was no different. We then set Tomtom to take us to the Angel of the North statue just south of Newcastle. Anyone who watches "Vera" on the ABC will recognise it as it shows in the intro scene for the show. Sadly, us approaching from the north meant we didn't see it at its best impact, but we did get to see it close up. Interesting creation that is showing signs of rust. I think they need to paint it in a striking colour but that's just me. Set the campsite in Durham into Tomtom and continued on our way.
Quite a unique campsite in that it has Abbey ruins on the property. They are under the management of English Heritage but with free entry. The ruins were more extensive and in places, more intact than we expected. There is also a fair sized river that runs around the site which makes for a great vista. We walked all around the ruins and walked across the river on the pedestrian bridge, all very serene. Tomorrow we will head in to Durham centre about 4 miles away.

June 13. It was relatively warm this morning (read 15C) and cloudy but not threatening so we headed in to Durham full of enthusiasm. I missed one turn but quickly adapted and we got into the town in good order. Once we got there, the road system is seriously mind boggling. Having a roundabout with part of it going down the middle can be a little confusing to say the least. We looked around for somewhere to park the scooter (in Europe, that would be on the footpath) and found nothing so I parked in a bicycle park. If you want to get pedantic, the road tax we pay on the scooter is catagorised as "bicycle" so therefore I felt entitled. When we got back, it was still there and without a ticket. What a winner. The old part of Durham is on a peninsula in a curve of the river and of course we were parked across the river. Found a pedestrian bridge that was probably 800 years old to walk over. A lovely feel about the place, like being in a medieval town. The two highlights of Durham are the castle and the cathedral, both around 1000 years old, well, the oldest parts of them anyway. The cathedral was seriously good, for a cathedral. Besides looking it over, we stayed there for morning tea. We stopped in at the visitor centre to get tickets for a tour of the castle, as that is the only way to get in. The £4.50 was a pleasant surprise but we had about 2.5 hours to kill before our slot time. We managed that with more time in the cathedral, a walk across a different bridge which gave me a chance to check on the scooter, then lunch in the old area.
The tour of the castle was excellent. The guide spoke very well and I could understand every word she said. I did have my left hearing aid in (my right one won't turn on!) and after the tour I complimented her on her enunciation, modulation and volume and that as a hearing impaired person, I was able to really appreciate the experience. She was chuffed, as she should be, I don't hand out compliments lightly. The castle is now student housing which is why we don't get a free range of the complex but the information she delivered was excellent. Both the castle and the cathedral are World Heritage Listed and it is not hard to see why. After that, the weather was looking threatening so we headed home. It was light rain most of the way and despite taking a wrong turn, we still ended up on the right track and got home only a little damp.
We have decided to have a down day tomorrow, catch up with some washing and generally chill out. We have booked two nights at a campsite in York after that. We have been to York before, 12 years ago, and with all the water under the bridge since, we decided to revisit it.

June 14. As mentioned earlier, we are having a chill out day. We have found over the years that we need to have a day off every now and then. The weather forecast was pretty ordinary but we did want to do some shopping. There is an Aldi about 3Km away, so at about 1100, we decided to try to beat the rain and get that out of the way. What a great decision. 500m into the ride it started to rain, lightly though. We were damp when we got to Aldi's, did our shopping and then were very damp when we got home. Managed to dry out OK though. The other task today was to get some washing done. The machine (only one) was tiny, way smaller than ours at home, so we only washed the necessary items. The wash cycle took 80 minutes and then the drier ran for about an hour and achieved very little. Set the drier for another 30 minutes and after about 8 of those, it just stopped, never to work again, at least for us anyway. We got them dry inside the motorhome helped along by the bright sunshine that was not forecast and the fact that our inside got to be very warm. Got to love English weather. We did do a walk around the river here which was very pleasant and very tranquil and serene. Other than that, we took no photos on our day off. Tomorrow, York again.

June 15. Very cold again in Durham but no rain. We did the usual pack up and departed right on 1100 which is check out time. Most of the drive was on the A1(M) which means it is an A road, but with Motorway rules. The only real difference is that the A(M) roads often have 4 lane sections as compared to the full M roads that have 6 lanes minimum at all times. We stopped for fuel on the way and that chewed up the 15 minutes we needed to check in not before 1300 in York. A slight diversion, we saw the sign for the campsite, drove down the driveway, through the open barrier to the reception hut. The lady there was wonderful but had trouble finding our booking. I showed her and she said, you are booked in at the next site. They have very similar names so the confusion was not unusual. We ended up chatting for at least 10 minutes, probably more, and then drove the 2 minutes to the one we were booked at. Set everything up with no dramas and settled in to the constant light rain. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow but the forecast is not good.

June 16. The forecast was still for thunderstorms and rain but at 1030 it was looking OK so we took the scooter in. It was an easy run in until we started looking around for a motorcycle parking spot. In Edinburgh they are everywhere, not so in York. Asked one guy where we had stopped to look, and he had a helmet with him so I asked where we could park. He gave me directions but there was still nothing. Pulled up next to a scooter food delivery guy at the lights and he directed me. This one worked and we found a dedicated MC parking area. Even better, it was very close to the city centre. I have it saved in Maps for tomorrow. Shame I can't mount the phone on the scooter but it does make me study the route that much more. Walked through the city to the Minster (a category of cathedral) and like most of the city, it had a lot of scaffolding around it. Still an imposing structure. Then walked around the city walls which have had railings on the open sides installed since our last trip here in 2012. Just as well too, it's quite a fall off the edge.
Then it was lunchtime so we stopped at a roast meat place that was good and not too expensive. While we were there, it rained but by the time we left it had stopped again. We had decided to stay an extra night in York so headed home. That was a lot less stress than the drive in as we didn't need to park on the way home.
Tomorrow we will probably go back in to the city, subject the real, as distinct from forecast weather. In the meantime, we have booked 2 nights at Castleton in the south of the Peaks District once we leave York. We have time to spare so we may well extend that visit too.

June 17. Moderate to heavy rain overnight and everything was drenched in the morning, though it was only the scooter that was affected for us. The forecast was for more rain showers during the day but we bit the bullet and hit the road. I had studied Maps again to find a better way to get us to where we knew we could park the scooter. I missed the new turn I had intended and reverted to going in the way we came out yesterday. Unfortunately it was all different looking and at a roundabout I took a wrong exit and ended up on the motorway to Hull. It was about 8Km to the next exit and the traffic was pretty fast. I opened up the scooter and almost hit 60Mph (100Kph) and maintained that for the time on the motorway. That's amazing for an 110cc scooter with 2 on board. Finally managed to get back on the motorway back to York and let it have its head again. I have decided that all roads lead to York but none actually get there. Eventually got close to the city walls and stopped to check exactly where we were and suprise, there was motorcycle parking right there. It had taken an hour to do what should have taken less than 15 minutes. No harm done though and we sure blew the cobwebs out of the scooter. We had lunch in the town, walked through The Shambles, an old medieval street with a narrow lane down it. Lots of character. Even a Harry Potter shop that had more merchandise than we have seen anywhere, including the movie set out of London. Then it was off to Clifford's Tower, the only remaining part of the original York Castle. We have been in there before and it is basically a shell though now there have set up steps and gangways around the interior. We saw pictures of it and baulked at the £11.50 each to go in. That's $46, to a pimped up shell. Not this time. Walked to the Yorkshire Museum and gardens but the museum is closed on Mondays. A nice walk through the gardens though so not a complete loss. We had our umbrellas up a lot in the city, just nuisance light rain. Hit the road to home and got onto the A1036 quickly and we were home in less that 15 minutes. Chilling out the rest of the afternoon, it is stupidly cold for summer, even the locals are unimpressed. Tomorrow, Castleton.

June 18. The weather is looking reasonable today, but that is irrelevant when it is a travel day. I set a course to Castleton, giving Tomtom a waypoint to make sure we go the right way. That was a total failure. We ended up going through the suburbs of Sheffield only to come back out where we came from 3Km later. All was not lost though, despite going almost through the city centre and going down the road I wanted to avoid. That road was actually a visual spectacle. It took us through the local moors with some wonderful panoramas. Sure, the road was winding and narrow but as luck would have it, no one coming the other way. We arrived at Castleton Caravan Park and set up. After yesterdays expedition on the scooter, it was prudent to refuel. I rode to Hope, a few Kms down the road that we had passed on the way in. The service station there apologised that they only served fuel until 1500. I arrived at 1530. There was another one another 5 minutes away so I went there and filled the scooter up. Back home, we decided that this place has a lot to offer, so we decided to go for 4 nights instead of 2. Let's see what tomorrow brings. Fingers crossed on the weather.

June 19. It was bit chilly this morning but not too bad. The plan was to visit Ladybower Dam then Derwent Dam. We rode past the first before we knew it, so decided to see it on the way back. We stopped at a bridge that crossed the reservoir to enjoy the view which was worthwhile, very pretty green countryside around the lake. I great ride to the Derwent Dam alongside the lake then river. The forests here are so thick with canopy that it is quite dark and cool under it. We had to walk about 500m to the dam which is quietly spectacular. All made of rock with a pair of gothic towers along its length. This dams claim to fame is that it is where the Dambusters did all their final training for Operation Chastise, mainly because the towers on the wall made it very similar to the Ruhr dams of the targets. There is a memorial to the squadron at the viewpoint above the dam, very nicely done. It was a very pleasant walk around there too. We had lunch at the cafe at the parking area near the dam then rode to Ladybower.
This required more muddy walking and a lot of uphill but not too bad. One of the features this dam is the two overflows that sends the water beneath the wall instead of a spillway. Quite ingenious and unique. Apparently it is quite a sight when it is action. They are large concrete funnelswith steps for the tapers into the outlets and look like a huge whirlpool. Rode home via Castleton to check out the pubs, one of which we will walk to for dinner tonight. As it was, we went in to the closest one, The Cheshire Cheese Inn and not only did they have good food, they had good wine as well. Staggered back home and trying to stay awake long enough to go to bed at a decent time. It doesn't help that 8pm is the sunniest and cloud free part of the day!

June 20. We had decided that today would be the day we climb the Mam Tor, a big hill just outside Castleton. We took the scooter up to the car park for the climb which was a treat in itself. The road up was through a gorge with a serious climb gradient up the hill. The poor scooter was under derious load and I think we were topping out at 25 to 30Mph. There were no motorcycle parking spots so we had to choose somewhere to park which wouldn't offend anyone. Found one and took it. After 100m of walking up the large steps we were knackered, but took a breather and carried on. Finally got through to the top, often passing teen students on a school excursion (that was good for the soul). There is nothing at the top except a small stone cairn but we didn't expect a prize anyway. A stunning 360 degree view of this part of the Peaks District. Photos don't do it justice but we took a few anyway. Walked back to the bike which was a hell of a lot easier that walking up. Went home to have a sit down and a cup of tea.
Later in the afternoon, we walked back in to Castleton and went to some of the Blue John stores. Blue John is a semiprecious stone that is only found in Castleton. We will find out more about that tomorrow but it has something to do with calsification I expect. Stopped for a drink at the Bull's head pub with views up to the Tor and surrounds. It is seriously pretty landscape around here. Back home for a quiet night in, we are both sore from the walking.

June 21. A lovely day today, sun shining and not to much wind and few clouds in the sky. There was not even a chill in the air for the first morning yet of this trip. It is the first time I have been comfortable without my big jacket on. That changed a bit when the van become under shade but not bad. We waited until after lunch to go to the Treak Cliff Cavern which is a Blue John mine as well. It is family owned and run and has been for over 200 years. Unlike most mines, this was a self guided tour. I downloaded the app for the phone which gave us a running commentary, very professionally done too. As a cave, it had the usual formations but not on the grand scale of some of the caves back home, however is was intersting in its uniqueness as a source of the Blue John stone. Lots of climbing steps again and our legs are starting to complain. Later in the afternoon we rode into Hope, a short ride on the scooter, to do a small shop. The scooter has been used a lot this trip.

June 22. A travel day today. We set off from Castleton to a place about 25NW of Cambridge We have one night in the campsite as a stopover on our way to Great Yarmouth in Norfolk. We have worked out a plan with Olly and Racheal, who are buying our van, and we need to be near Stansted on Saturday the 29th. We are also catching up with Alan Jilley who we met in Greece a few years ago on Friday 28th, so we need to hve a plan for 5 nights. So far we are set on 3 nights in Great Yarmouth and 2 nights in Colchester. Enough of the planning for now.
We left Castleton and had about a 3 hour drive to destination. It is a Saturday with various events on in this part of the Peaks District. There also a lot of canpers, caravaners and motorhomers on the road, mainly due to the good weather. It seems we are not the only ones delighted to see some blue sky, sun and warmer weather. There were a multitude of cyclists on the road which creates a problem for motorists, especially when they are going up steep hills a 5Kph. There is very little room to pass. I think it added at least 10 minutes to the first half hour of the journey. Beautiful scenery though which made up for it. We were very impressed with this part of the Peaks, stunningly pretty.
From Sheffield we were on part motorway, then the A1 southbound. Some of the roads here leave a lot to be desired as far as the surface is concerned. Part of the trip was bouncy and also felt like being on a train track with the regular thump of ridges across the road. Got to the campsite and set up. Just a stopover, and off again tomorrow.

June 23. We left the campsite and headed to Great Yarmouth. It was not a long distance but the roads were rubbish. Seriously, with the amount of roadworks we have been through, the road system, compared to previous trips is a disgrace. Driving on a B road (OK, that means low priority too) today, we found ourselves riding waves. The road was so wavy it was like a 30cm swell with 2m between waves. I hit it at 45mph and backed off, but the rhythm of the road meant I had to brake to slow down. At one stage it felt like were getting airborne. Almost everything above our heads in the storage area there, dropped to the floor. The speed limit there was 60mph and anyone doing that would have ended up in the adjacent canal. It was seriously dangerous and there was not even a warning of dangerous conditions. The only place we have seen worse roads than this was Albania. England needs to have a good look at itself. In all the years we have been driving around the UK I have not seen the condition of the roads to be so disgusting. OK, end of sermon.
Our campsite here is in the middle of a racecourse, literally. The track runs all the way around the campsite. On racedays, you have to wait to cross the track to the park. I'd like to say they have red lights to make the horses stop, but everyone would see through that (I hope).
Great Yarmouth is your typical English seaside resort town, not that we have seen too much of it yet. It does have a couple of piers which we will check out tomorrow. We have lots of local coins we need to get rid of and where better than a penny arcade. Anyway, that's for tomorrow. We did walk to the beach here which was a 15 minute walk. The main sand was fine but approaching the water it turns to stone. The water didn't exactly look inviting and was also very cold. No wonder everyone was on the beach and not in the water! The weather is excellent. Low 20s, not too much wind and sunny. About perfect for England. It is due to get hotter the next few days too. Tomorrow, we will put our pennies on the line!

June 24. Took the scooter for a 4 minute ride along the beach road to the Brittania Pier where there was designated bike parking. We went on to the pier armed with a small bag full of small change that we have accumulated over the years. Lots of 1p and 2p coins along with 5s and 10s. No machine took 1s but plenty that took 2s. We played for a while on the tipping point machines and won a few back but not anything you would call a win. They are very biased in javour of the house as you would expect. The main ploy was that there is an upward lip on both levels, causing the coins to bunch up rather than slide. We knew it, but didn't care. It was fun for a while but you sure wouldn't want to play a pound coin game. The pier was typical English seaside resort rubbish, mostly aimed at teaching kids to gamble. Walked into the town via the main pedestrian street full of shops selling more tourist rubbish. We found the old part of town but that too was disappointing. Not that we expected much so it wasn't a letdown. These sorts of places aim at a very different socio economic group than us.
We ended up home for lunch and took it easy for the afternoon before walking to the local pub for dinner. That was very sociable with great locals and friendly staff. Good meal too.

June 25. The first morning that did not have a chill in the air. Didn't need to wear my jacket to the showers, things are looking up. Julie did some laundry and walked down to the beach again but only really to kill time. After morning tea we rode to the Tesco Super about 4 minutes away and did a small shop. Quite cheap when there is no wine or meat in basket. Home for lunch then we rode back to the pier, but this time to walk through the Venitian Gardens. These are situated in the promenade area immediately north of the pier. They were built in the 1920's as part of Britains "Work Relief" project, post World War 1, when there were many spare returning soldiers with no job opportunities. It is essentially a canal looping around the precinct with gardens all around, even a mini Rialto Bridge. All very serene despite the traffic noise from the beach road 30m away. Ended up with an ice cream near the pier and rode. Normal chores then after the laundry and my job is making the bed. Scooter back on the trailer ready to go tomorrow. Next stop is Colchester. Now to plan a route that will fill in time before arriving at Colchester not before 1400.

June 26. Took the coastal road for most of the drive avoiding the longer but faster motorways. Not a bad run but we were getting dizzy with the plethora of roundabouts. We stopped at a layby that had a food truck for lunch. We have found these places to be good food and a lot cheaper than elsewhere. We walked back to the van with it and had a guy on a motorbike ask us where he was. It turns out he was trying to get to Liverpool and his satnav had died on him and he didn't have a signal on his phone. Not sure, but I think he said he started off in Grantham, which meant he was about 150 miles in the wrong direction. We showed him where was on the map and how to get back to a route where could find himself. Poor bugger. We arrived at Colchester about 1430 and set up camp then took it easy. It was quite warm (27C but it's all relative) and I actually got up during the night to set up the fan. Amazing how we went from heater to fan in a matter of days. We are camped very close to the A12 where it is the ringroad for Colchester, meaning we get all the through traffic. It probably would have been better if we had closed the vent above the bed (which we would normally do!) so it acted as a sound catcher. We wont do that tomorrow night.

June 27. We have a full day in Colchester today. I wouked out the best route on Maps, not knowing that a few of the roads are actually dead ends. I didn't realise they weren't dead ends on a scooter, they just had bollards to stop cars. Anyway, we ended up on High St, close to where we wanted to be and there was a motorcycle parking area on the main road. Parked up and set out. On the road in, it was very busy and we had a semitrailer sitting right on our tail, most unusual for UK. He was close enough that Julie could have reached behind and touched him. I was not holding up at all, keeping pace with the traffic but when it became a short section of double lane, he overtook us and I saw he had Polish plates. I guess that explains the un-English road behaviour.
Arriving in town we first went to the castle, the oldest in Britain. Julie had read reviews on it and a few commented on the noisy school groups in the early part of the day. I asked if there were many school groups going through and they said, yes, there are five so said we'll come back when it's quieter and were told anytime after 2pm would be good (and smart!) and we really should do the guided tour which started at 3pm. So, we had over 3 hours to kill. We started with a visit to the the Dutch Quarter which is a few classic Dutch style homes and not much else. Back to High St and to the Visitor Centre which is in the grounds of the castle. Chose a few places to visit, first being the castle gardens which feature some remaining sections of the Roman walls. This area was the first Roman settlement in Britain in 40AD (or CE for the socially adjusted) and it meant that Colchester became the first city in Britain. Massive history here. It was also the first Capital of Britain when the Romans set up government there. Featured strongly in the English Civil War too.
Had lunch in the cafe in the gardens then walked to the Seige House, which is now a pub. We were not in a hurry, so we stayed for a drink. Then back to do the Colchester Museum at the Hollytree House, next door to the castle. It was a reasonably good regional museum with some sensatinal displays, the most memorable being the Grandfather Clock collection, all of which were made in Colchester. Off to the Castle and got our tickets for entry to the castle museum and the tour. Just as well we paid the extra £4.50 each because we got to see the good parts that are not included with the normal admission. We went down into the 2000 year old basements of the original Roman Temple which was destroyed by Boudica but the foundations were later used to build the Norman castle that stands there still and was the first Norman castle built for William the Conquerer in 1074. We also got to go up on to the roof which was not the original roof. This one has solar panels and other structures on it and is used for weddings and other functions. Back in to the castle museum and it was good, but underwhelming if you wanted to see a castle. It was essentially the massive walls and modern interior for the museum displays. The extra for the tour paid us back in spades.
Snuck down one of the side roads with bollards and got home without a hitch though it was heavy traffic, it kept moving.

June 28. We left Colchester and headed to Alan Jilley's place in Rayleigh. We met Alan and his late wife Carol in Greece in 2017. Tomtom took us down a road that was totally inappropriate for a motorhome only a few hundred metres from Alan's. We got through OK even though we had to past multiple vehicles coming the other way. We arrived and unhitched the trailer to reverse the van down his narrow driveway which was sucessful. A great catch up which included a walk around his town, a drink at the pub, then a home cooked meal at his place. We opted to sleep in the van, not wanting to put Alan out too much. We solved many of the world's problems over a few drinks. Glad we managed to get together.

June 29. We left Alan's a bit before 1100 and drove to Cranham Motorhomes to take back the security keys for the storage area that the van lived in when we were not there. Then it was off to Hertford Caravan Park where have 3 nights. The drive was a long one because there was a serious crash on the A10 not far from Hertford. The traffic was chaos but we got there eventually. These will be the last in the motorhome. Olly and Rachael will be coming over later today to have dinner in town. They will be buying our full outfit, everything and the trailer and scooter included. I thought I should give the van a wash, and the scooter, so it looks at least presentable. It actually scrubbed up pretty well.
Dinner was good in Hertford, great conversation until the live singer came on, but we managed to get through that. We have organised that they will come over again tomorrow for a training session on the rig.

June 30. Olly and Rachael came around 1030 and we went through the normal social events, then the training. Olly is clever with his craft skills so I pointed out all the little bits that needed attention, none of which would be difficult for him. Pointed out the problems with driving a long wide vehicle with an unreversible trailer, none of which will faze him. They are both so thrilled with the deal they were glowing. Julie and I are equally thrilled that the van is going to someone who will appreciate, and also that we could throw in all the bits we have collected over the years. If we had sold it to the dealer, they would have stripped the van completely and then sold all the necessities as extras.
We will be dropping off the van to them in Stansted on Tuesday morning and doing all the transfers of ownership. Nice to have a win win situation.
After they left, it was our last laundry time before we head home. Tomorrow is packing day so we will be ready to drop off the van and get the train back to London. The end of the 12 year adventure is reaching its climax.

July 1. A day of mixed feelings. We have gone through the motorhome and thrown out all the detritus that we have collected over 12 years. I have avoided throwing too much out along the wy because you never know when you might need something. Therefore, we got rid of about 5 big garbage bags full of exactly that. Anything remotely useful is still here. We have also started packing our cases for the final time but will not be able to complete it until the last minute tomorrow. We miscalculated our food requirements and had to take the scooter into the town to do a very small shop to cover todays afternoon tea and dinner. Another moment of sorrow that was the last time of riding the scooter. I love that little bike, it is so much fun to ride and Julie is the world's best pillion. Another end of an era. Tonight is our last night in a motorhome that has taken us on a fantasic journey.
We have achieved ten times what I ever hoped for. We have seen more of UK and Europe than 99.9% of UK or European residents ever will. It has been an amazing 12 years and we don't regret a moment. However, it is time, and tomorrow will secure the deal.

July 2. We spent some time completing the clean up and packing. We have dropped off a lot of stuff in the skip bins at the campsite which is not surprising since we have not done a cleanout for 12 years. Set off to Stansted to meet up with Olly and Rachael, driving very carefully. We did the administrative stuff, transferring ownership (no stamp duty here!), and transferring the money. Our drop off point was close to Stansted Mountfitchet Station which has a train to Liverpool St Station in London. Rachael walked us there so we didn't get lost. Olly drove the motorhome to a more appropriate place. Nice ride in to London. We changed to the Elizabeth Line and intended to get off at Bond St and get a cab to the VSC but Julie thought it woould be better to get off at Paddington as they have a cab rank there. Good idea, so we did. Made the whole trip hassle free. Checked in at the VSC and found we had one of the larger double rooms, a bonus. I called the two insurance companies to cancel the insurance on the motorhome and the scooter. The motorhome insurance was £1550 for a year and we only renewed it 6 weeks ago. We will be getting back around £738. The scooter we had for less than a month and the fees for canceling annuled any refund, so we get nothing back. You can see why I hate insurance in the UK. It is disgusting, they are parasites who will also go to any length to avoid a claim too. Anyway, we never have to pay the leaches a penny again.
All up a very busy and emotional day. We went to an Italian restaurant just across the corner from here and had a great meal. It was not cheap, but nothing here is. Now to enjoy London.

July 3. Our first VSC breakfast for this visit. They do a sensational English Breakfast buffet. More bacon than I can poke a stick at, though I did poke a stick at a lot! After breakfast, we went to Leinster Gardens a couple of Kms away to see the false facades covering up an open part of the railway there. We found the address but couldn't see the effect. Oh well, cest la vie, off through Kensington Gardens , past Kensington Palace, to the Natural History Museum. A very good museum with a vast variety of displays, from rocks and minerals to dinasours and almost everything in between. We really enjoyed it.
We are still suffering from the last few days and Tubed home for a break. It is almost like we are jet lagged but it is probably the reaction to multiple issues and the pressure that comes from it. Physically we are feeling a bit shattered, the walking becoming harder on the body. We had some Ibuprofen when we got home, took it easy for a couple of hours then headed to Mr Foggs Botanicals in Fitzrovia, just north of Soho. Julie had a couple of cocktails and I had a couple of reds with a bowl of green olives to break it up. Great ambiance. There was a BBC crew doing a short of the place and as usual, I have to get involved. I wont be on TV, but certainly the cameraman will remember me! All a good time. Back to the VSC for another drink and a platter for dinner. We are both feeling better now. Tomorrow is more of London. After all, we may never be back.

July 4. Took the tube to the British Museum. We have been there before but thought it was worth a revisit. When we got there, the entry queue was huge, and that was for the people who had prebooked. There were also a multitude of school groups waiting to go in too. We were told we would have to queue up on the other side to get in because we hadn't prebooked. Even if we got in, the crowd would have been so dense that we (I) would have hated it. We then went to Julie's favourite building in London, the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. I looked up Renoir's Umbrellas online and found that is actually on loan to another Gallery in England. I left Julie to it and wandered the streets of Liecester square. We met up a little later and worked our way to Green Park for a late afternoon tea. Julie wanted to go to the Buckingham Palace gift shop which was at the end of Green Park, so that worked well. Tubed back home for a light lunch and a rest, after going to Primark to buy a cheap shirt to wear to the Harry Potter show tomorrow. Back home, we discovered that all the people wearing odd clothing, cowboy and cowgirl outfits were popular, but we did see one guy with a jacket and tie and a skirt. I asked one of the doormen at the club what was the go, and he said it's the pride parade in Hyde Park, which is only 100m away. Query answered.
We planned to go to one of two pubs near Temple for dinner, but found that The Knights Templar Pub has closed down. The other one, The Old Bank of England Pub was thriving. It is in the old Bank of England building. We tried to get a table for dinner but were told that we would have to find a spare table outside the normal dining area as we had no booking. The only free spot we could find was inside a double decker bus that was in the garden area. I noticed a table in the garden area become vacant so we grabbed it. In the meantime of course I had bought drinks. We were sitting there when one of the staff said they had a cancellation and would we like to sit in the dining area. Sure we would. We were very impressed that they remembered us and picked us out to take the spot. I hadn't even made any jokes! A good meal and another round of drinks and it was time to head home. At the end of the day, I had done 22,000 steps so was surprised I was still upright.
Tomorrow is our big day of the two session "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" show. Need to be well rested for that.

July 5. Wandered around the West End for a while. Went to the Disney Shop, didn't buy anything, walked around Hanover square near Bond St, and ended up in John Lewis' department store cafe for tea and coffee. Back to the club for a small lunch we had bought at the local Sainsbury's. We needed to be Liecester Square's Palace Theatre by 1345 for the 1400 start of The Cursed Child (part 1). It was raining constantly so had to take our umbrellas and they got put to good use. It was a good show, great seats, thanks to the family. The only real drawback was the poor audio of the dialogue, which was important to the show. I had my hearing aids up to the max but it was still not load enough. Even the non hearing impaired, it has very hard to hear. Despite that, some very good effects, both visual and sound, and it was entertaining. Part 1 finished about 1640 and went off in search of dinner with Part 2 due to start at 1900. All the pubs were full to the brim and there was no way we were going to get a seat. We finally found a little Italian Restaurant in one of the side streets with plenty of room. Had a good meal too, different to a normal Italian and made it back to the theatre with plenty of time to spare. Part 2 was good too. Got home after 2300 and crashed.
We had to change rooms today as the double rooms had been booked when we first booked, so we ended up with a double for 3 nights and a twin for 3. This second room is not as good as the first, but it will do.

July 6. Second last full day in London. We had organised to catch up with nephew Andrew in Farringdon at 1245 for lunch. It was light rain again going to the tube then we had to wait 3 minutes for the train. Changed to the Elizabeth Line at Bond St and had to wait another 2 minutes for a train. Hence we were a couple of minutes late at the restaurant. Interesting spot with an interesting menu. Julie and Andrew had the Ox cheek and I had grilled sardines. Great catching up with Andrew, he's a fine young man. Then headed to Fortnam and Masons so Julie could do some shopping and walked home from there because the sun was actually shining.
Light meal in tonight.

July 7. Took the Central line to Buckhurst Hill to visit Peter and Margaret for lunch. It was the usual superb spread which is why we didn't have the full breakfast this morning. Peter picked us up at the train station which was good. Julie's foot is still not good and we have probably a lot more on it over the last two months than we should have. It was a wonderful catch up and probably the last for quite a while. We don't think we will be in London again in the foreseeable future and it may depend on on Peter and Margaret coming to Perth to see Kate and Mark. We will miss them. They have been our post office and our pseudo family for the last 12 years. We could not have done what we have without their help. A wonderful and amazing couple.
Trained back to the club quite late in the afternoon and again had a light dinner. We need to do our packing tonight with an early start tomorrow.

July 8 and 9.. We got up before 0600 and left the club around 0730. Our flight leaves at 1125 and we do not want to miss it. Taxied to Paddington Station and got the Heathrow Express. We arrived in plenty of time and got through check in without any hold ups. Likewise through security and were ready to chill before the flight. Again, all seamless and before we knew knew it we were on our way. It was a good flight mainly because Julie and I were sitting in aisle seats across the aisle from each other and we had the added bonus of both having an empty seat next to us. It nakes one feel far less cramped that way and having a spare tray to put your finished meal on makes a big difference too. We arrived in Sinapore at around 0730 local time and were in bed at the Transit Hotel by 0900. All our checked luggage was going straight through to Perth on the same flight as us so we only needed to carry our carry-on luggage which was not a lot. Slept until about 1600 then went through security for our 1845 flight home. That flight felt very short which it should do, only being 4.5 hours compared to the 12.5 for the pevious leg. Arrived home close to 0100 on Wednesday the 10th. Now for a really good sleep.


EPILOGUE.
That completes our 12 years of unbelievable discovery. We have done at least 10 times more than we ever expected when we started out in April 2012. We have spent well over 2 years living in the motorhome and it quickly became our home away from home. It was bitter sweet when we sold the motorhome, in its entirety, with everything in it including the scooter and trailer. The upside was that we made Olly and Rachael's day (or week or year) when they bought it. They got it for a very very good price and we hope they have as much enjoyment out of it as we have had. We definitely will NOT miss the ridiculous Insurance industry in the UK. It is legalised theft. Nor will we miss the UK beauracracy. Long stories there and ones we would prefer to forget.
The reality is we have done everything that was on our bucket list. You can never do it all, but we came darn close. We wont really miss our motorhome, we have got the stage where using shared ablutions is becoming a drag and when it comes to touring, we don't have the stamina we used to 12 years ago. The fact that motorhoming pre Covid was very affordable is no longer applicable in the post years. The price of everything has gone through the roof post Covid and not surprisingly, the crowds have become bigger. Many campsites are booked out, even in off peak times. Campsite prices have doubled as well. Not complaining, but it does impinge on the flexibility of how we travel. Early days we would almost never book ahead but now we do it all the time.
Like anything, there is always a use by date, and ours was 2024. Loved it to bits, but it is time to move on.
For those who have followed this diary, or blog, thank you. I really do it for our own benefit so we can use it as a reference but it's nice to know that others get something from it too.