Road Trip

Hi everyone. This blog will be a little different to my normal posts so hopefully this will all workout OK.

As Covid-19 is still taking the world by storm and has pretty much caused a halt to a lot of international travel, Holly and I have decided to take a three-week road trip around England, Scotland and Wales this August and visit places that we’ve kept putting off due to trips abroad.

Each day, I’ll try and update this blog page. Making it a bit of a road trip diary. Hopefully you’ll all enjoy my ramblings and enjoy the beautiful sights the UK has to offer along with us.

To jump to a certain section of the blog follow the links below to the top of each day’s entry. And remember, you can follow this blog to get live updates sent to your email account as well as leave comments on posts you enjoy. Also follow us on Social Media for more pictures and information as well following this blog. Have a great summer everyone!

Day 1

London – Lichfield

So it begins!

Setting off from home late afternoon on a blistering hot day, Holly and I were full of excitement for the three and a bit weeks of fun we have ahead of us.

The first thing that was ahead of us, however, was a three hour drive from our home in Dartford, Kent to our first stop in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

This stop was one for me really. For just over a year of my life, about seven or eight years ago now, I lived in the city of Lichfield and this was the first time Holly would get to see my former home-town.

Driving into the city was like a trip down memory lane. Spotting loads of places I used to walk, or run, was really nostalgic. As you approach this small city you can see the Cathedral with its spires standing tall in the centre, dominating the low-lying skyline. We’d be paying a visit to this site on day two.

Day one, however, was more about getting on the road and reaching our first stop. Here we’d opted for the central George Hotel as I knew it was located right in the middle of the city in a quiet part of town. The hotel itself is well presented – if a little dated – and the rooms are comfortable enough. For our one-night stay we paid just £40. Sadly the air-conditioning was switched off throughout the hotel due to Covid-19. Bit disappointing as it was a ridiculously hot day. Fortunately we were moved room to one with a window!

After settling in to our room, Holly and I took a walk around the city centre. I was pleased to see that during our walk a number of the old buildings that line the streets are still standing firm, even with their structures bowing out quite considerably given their age.

As we got into the evening, I took Holly to my favourite Thai restaurant in the city. Siam Corner MaMa Thai. Stepping inside, you can forget that you are in central England as the restaurant is beautifully presented with authentic-looking Thai decorations. And the food is still superb also.

A great end to the first day on the road.

Day One: views of our room at the George Hotel and some early shots of Lichfield city including  Lichfield Cathedral and Stowe Pool

Day 2

Lichfield – Stoke-on-Trent

A fairly lazy start to the day was a welcome way to start our first full day of our holiday roadtrip. The plan for the day was to spend the morning in Lichfield before making the short 30-mile trip north to my other former home of Stoke-on-Trent; somewhere I’d spent about eight years of my life from the start of my time at university at Staffordshire University to leaving in my 20s having worked for the local city council.

After getting up, we took the short walk next door to Damn Fine Cafe. This small but stylish cafe was always too busy to eat in when I lived in the city but, this morning, we managed to get a table by the window to enjoy a good quality breakfast baguette, eggs benedict, coffee and orange juice. All for under £20 which wasn’t too bad.

After breakfast – and after checking out of The George – we had time on our hands before our timed entry to Lichfield Cathedral. During this time I took Holly for a whistle-stop tour of my former home. First on the agenda was a walk around Stowe Pool; a lovely little resevoir which plays home to numerous ducks, swans and geese.

After our stroll, a trip around the town was in order. While we had done this during the night before, this time the streets were much busier with shops and restaurants in full swing.

Next up was a trip to the beautiful Beacon Park; taking a walk past the contensious statue of Edward Smith; the captain of the fateful Titanic. I’ve never been 100% certain why Lichfield has this statue because – as far as I know anyway – the captain had no links to Lichfield; instead being born in nearby Stoke-on-Trent.

Anyway, our walk took us into Beacon Park where families enjoy playing football together, feeding the birds and having picnics. We just made the most of the sunny day and enjoyed the weather.

With time still in our favour a walk to the Close – where the Cathedral is located saw us have a quick look around the free-to-enter Erasmus Darwin House herb garden. This peaceful little retreat is a nice way to spend 15 minutes and had things been more normal, we may have gone into the house also. However, that was not to happen on this visit.

Grabbing a drink we took a seat on the grounds outside the cathedral and waited for our time slot. Lichfield is such a quiet city it’s sometimes hard to believe it has city-status.

When 1:30pm rolled around we took our place in the queue and entered Lichfield Cathedral. Any visit to Lichfield is not complete without a trip to the Three Spires; the cathedral thats appearance gives the city it’s nickname.

Two adult tickets cost us just £4 in total. For a building with this history and architectural beauty that’s a bargain. Inside, we had to follow a strict one-way system. This took us past all the main aspects of the catherdral and, given the Covid-19 restrictions in place, meant we got a great view of the entire cathedral.

After about 20 minutes inside we headed out (into the rain) and made our way back to the car. In comparison to some of the car journeys we have ahead of us, a 30-mile, 45 minute trip is a walk in the park.

Arriving in Stoke-on-Trent we again had a bit of time before our only activity of the day in the city. A short car journey around some of my former haunts – including my old flat in Shelton, old place of work in Stoke and the Trentham Estate shopping village gave Holly a flavour of what the city is like.

Our last activity of the day was at Trentham Monkey Forest; a woodland meadow that is home to 140 Barbary Macaques that are able to move freely amongst the trees – as well as the paying guest!

This was always one of my favourite places in Stoke-on-Trent. Set a few miles outside the city centre, you can forget that you are in the Midlands as these beautiful monkeys from Morocco and Algeria run around you (ignoring you for the most part) while looking after their adorable young. During our visit there were four very young monkeys – just five week’s old – clinging to their mothers as they watch and learn.

You’ll get your first glimpse of the monkeys just moments after you’ve entered the park through the turnstyles – tickets cost just £8.55 per adult if purchased online before arriving. Just down a short path you’ll come to the main area where most monkeys hang out – literally.

Top tip. Keep your eyes in the trees and enjoy walking the full length of the monkey forest. You stand a chance of seeing monkeys in the trees all over and sometimes they blend in so well it’s only when they move that you know they are there.

The only thing that was left for us to do was to check into our second hotel; The Weathervane Hotel based in Meir Park which is also conviently linked to the Hungry Horse pub and restaurant where you can enjoy a hearty meal for two purchased directly by using the pub’s app service.

Day Two: views from Stowe Pool, Erasmus Darwin House herb garden and Lichfield Cathedral in Lichfield and Trentham Monkey Forest in Stoke-on-Trent

Day 3

Stoke-on-Trent

Day three started with a trip to the UK’s largest indoor tropical waterpark; Waterworld.

Back when I used to live in Stoke-on-Trent, a trip to Waterworld was something to look forward to. And even with new Covid-19 rules and regulations firmly in place, the park did not disapoint.

For a cost of £20 per-person (plus £3.50 parking and £5 refundable locker deposit) a plethora of flumes and water rides welcome visitors and – since my last visit some years earlier – four new rides have been installed in what is known as Tornado Alley.

The jewel in the crown here is the UK’s first trap-door drop slide named Thunerbolt. This thrill-seekers dream will test your metal as the floor is quite literally whipped away from beneth your feet. For me, however, the best ride here is the Cyclone; a rubber-ring flume that takes riders through multiple sections of swirling fun.

As Waterworld got busier, Holly and I took our leave. We found two and half hours here was more than enough time to do everything we wanted to do (twice on some occasions).

Our next stop was at Hanley Park. Based near the University Quarter on the outskirts of Shelton, we planned to meet with a few of my old colleagues from my days at Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

Meeting at the newly opened Pavillion Cafe in the park, we were able to enjoy a hot drink and a Staffordshire Oatcake (a local delicacy) while catching up with some friends I’d not seen since leaving the city around eight years earlier!

With the afternoon sun beating down on us, Holly and I had to make a hasty exit when we realised we were in danger of being late for our last activity of the day; a trip to Trentham Gardens.

The gardens provide a peaceful place to walk around where you can admire the abundance of flowers in bloom, take a stroll around the lake and see the site of the former house on the Trentham Estate.

Entry to the gardens is priced at £12 per adult and can be purchased online prior to your visit, which I’d recommend doing.

During a visit make sure you take a walk through the stunning Italian Garens and keep your eyes open for the wire-framed fairy sculptures scattered around the estate.

After a full day of activity, all that was left for us to do was to grab something to eat. For dinner we stopped off at Blue Tiffin; a small Indian restaurant at the side of the A50 near our hotel. For a good quality meal for two with drinks we spent just shy of £40.

With stomachs full we returned to our hotel for our second of two nights sleep ready to depart Stoke-on-Trent in the morning and head north to Durham and Lumley Castle.

Day Three: getting in touch with our childish side at Waterworld, meeting up with old friends in Hanley Park and enjoying the sun at Trentham Gardens

Day 4

Stoke-on-Trent – Durham

Day four would see us departing Stoke-on-Trent early as we made our way to Lumley Castle in Durham via the Peak District. This stunning midlands region has some truely breathtaking sceanery to admire as its winding roads take you through hills and farmland.

The first stop on-route was at the Pooles Cavern; near the quiet town of Buxton. This beautiful cave formation has loads of amazing chambers full of stalagtites and stalagmites all of which have formed of centuries.

The tour at the caverns take about 45 minutes – and costs £11 per adult – to do and our guide – who spoke very quickly but with real passion – was full of intersting information about the caves and made the time go very quickly.

We then made a passing visit to Buxton town centre – a wonderful little town that justifies a far longer stay – as we made our way to the village of Eyam.

This village has a dark, yet noble, history. At the time of the Black Death – something all of us going through Covid-19 can sympathise with greatly now – the plague arrived in Eyam in 1665. 

As the disease spread, the villagers turned for leadership to their rector, the Reverend William Mompesson, and the ejected Puritan minister Thomas Stanley. They introduced a number of precautions to slow the spread of the illness from May 1666. The measures included the arrangement that families were to bury their own dead and relocation of church services to the natural amphitheatre of Cucklett Delph, allowing villagers to separate themselves and so reducing the risk of infection. Perhaps the best-known decision was to quarantine the entire village to prevent further spread of the disease.

Such a sacrifice is hard to imagine and – considering the era it happened it – perhaps more should be made to highlight what a brave act this was. If you are in the Derbyshire area at any point make sure you stop by Eyam as it’s an interesting – and free – place to visit.

After grabbing a bite to eat (panini for Holly and a sausage and black pudding cob for me) from a cafe in Eyam we hit the road. A two-and-a-half hour drive up the M1 and A1(M) awaited us that also took us through the less-than delightful Sheffield area. Nothing against Sheffield per-say, just the ring-road that we were navigated around was horrible to traverse. Anyway, we made it out in one piece and arrived at the incredible Lumley Castle just before 3pm.

Upon arrival we were told that our room was still being prepared so we went for a mojito in the Library Bar. This quiet bar is a great place to unwind after a long drive.

Lumley Castle is more than just a beautiful castle and hotel. It is also home to Escape Rooms Durham‘s own Lumley Castle-themed escape room; The Lilly of Lumley.

First thing to say here is that our host was amazing and really went the extra mile to help us and make our time in the escape room extra special. The room itself is complex and has may interesting features that make for a rewarding game.

I won’t spoil the game by giving away its secrets, but will say that it is a logical one and for those who have played escape rooms before you should find it challenging, yet winnable. We finished the room in exactly 50 minutes which I take as a good time.

Having won our game, we then checked into our room. We had originally booked into a standard castle room (for £79 per-night). However, what Holly didn’t know was that I’d already upgraded us to the best room in the hotel for an extra £100; the King James Suite!

When you enter the room you walk into an open living space, but with comfortable chairs, a widescreen TV and open fireplace. Just off here there is a seperate bedroom; complete with a huge four-poster bed that you need stairs to climb just to get into!

Elsewhere, there is also a side door off the living space that takes you to a small bathroom; fitted out with a jacuzzi bath. Next to this is a corridor that takes you to a washroom.

The day was complete with a meal at Lumley Castle’s prestigious eating establishment; Knights Restaurant. Fine food and copious amounts of wine were the order of the day and rounded off a truely memorable fourth day of our epic UK roadtrip adventure.

Day Four: exploring Pooles Cavern and taking in the history of Eyam in Derbyshire before laping up the luxurious surroundings of Lumley Castle and taking onEscape Rooms Durham’s; Lily of Lumley escape room

Day 5

Durham – Edinburgh

After a wonderful night at Lumley Castle (I cannot explain quite how amazing it is to wake up on a four-poster bed in a castle bedroom!) we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at Knights Restaurant that I’d pre-booked for the sum of £14.50 per person.

We then made our way (very slowly) out of the castle. It’s rarley been harder to leave a hotel than it was to leave Lumley Castle. It was superb from start to finish and did everything it promised and more during our short stay. We will 100% visit here again in the future.

The day ahead was relatively clear. Basically we had to leave England and make our way to Edinburgh; the capital city of Scotland some 128 miles and two-and-a-half hours away.

However, there was no point wasting the day just driving. So first we decided to actually head a short distance south a take a trip to the English Heritage site of Finchale Priory.

The Priory was founded back in 1196 on the site of the hermitge of St. Godric; a retired sailor and merchant who settled at the site after a life of adventure and travel. It also acted as a holiday-home of sorts for the monks of Durham until 1538.

Today the Priory lies in ruins but is open to visitors to walk around and explore. For just a £3 parking fee we were able to spend a good half-hour at the site and see everything it had to offer.

It was then time to get back on the road and actually head north towards the Scottish border. Before we would get that far though we couldn’t come to the area and not make a stop at the famous Angel of the North statue.

The statue is said to be seen by the equivalent of one person every second of the day and holds a prime spot on the panoramic hilltop along the A1 route.

A short stop here was all it takes. A few photos later – as well as a roadside hot chocolate to boot – and we were back on the road.

The journey north should have been a really nice one. The route from Durham to Edinburgh promises beautiful views of the countryside and the sea on a nice day as you drive along the coastal route. Today, however, the weather was not on our side. From the moment we left Lumley Castle the heavens opened and torrential rain came crashing down. Bad times!

As the rain continued, we made our progress to the English and Scottish border where we made a stop to grab another couple of pictures of us with the border signs.

Once over the border we finally made it to Edinburgh just before 4pm. Our accomodation in Edinburgh for two-nights is the Britannia Edinburgh Hotel; costing us £138 in total.

Now my initial reaction to this hotel wasn’t great if I’m honest. Firstly you have to pay for parking at £5 a day to park it in the hotel’s car park. To pay this you either do it by phone or using £1 coins in the pay-and-display machine. Sadly the hotel isn’t that helpful with this and if you don’t have exactly five £1 coins on you they don’t seem to want to give them to you in exchancge for a £5 note. Rather silly if you ask me.

The rooms are also extremley basic. Fit with a double bed and a basic TV and shower. To make matters worse, the current situation with Covid-19 has meant they are not cleaning rooms during stays and only do so after you’ve left. This dispite other hotels still being able to offer a cleaning service.

Maybe I was spoilt by Lumley Castle’s opulence. But I wasn’t expecting anything to that standard. Not by a long way. But I was still expecting a bit more for our money. Anyway, moan over.

With it still raining rather heavily we did take a first walk into the city centre of Edinburgh. We made our way along the road next to Edinburgh Castle – just to see it at this point – and took a walk down the famous Royal Mile to find a pub where we could get some food and give Holly her first ever taste of haggis!

With stomachs full of haggis (and burger and chips) the torrential rain became too much to handle and an Uber ride back to the hotel was in order to get dry and rest-up ahead of our full day in the Scottish city tomorrow.

Day Five: a visit to Finchale Priory, taking in the views of the Angel in the North, making it to the Scottish border, first views of Edinburgh Castle and burgers for dinner

Day 6

Edinburgh

After a night at our hotel (my opinion of it has not improved a the shower pressure is really bad making showering almost impossible) we set out for a full day exploring Edinburgh.

Today was our first day of serious walking. We’d walked around some of the other places we’d visited so far but always had the car nearby to jump in. Here, I was determined to leave the car at the hotel as the prospect of driving around Edinburgh really didn’t appeal.

Our first step was to walk to Arthur’s Seat; an extinct volcano on the edge of the city. With time not on our side we were only viewing it from the foot of the hill but its imposing size is an impressive sight in itself.

After a flying visit to Arthur’s Seat, we made our way back to the city centre where we were meeting up with a free walking tour of the Edinburgh Old Town. This tour was organised by the superb City Explorers who run tours in both English and Spanish.

Picking up the tour from the Royal Mile, three different tours run across three time slots every day. Our tour – the tour of the Old Town – leaves at 11am and was a very entertaining way to spend a couple of hours.

Our tour guide was full of energy and always quick with a story or two about the things we were seeing in the city. Stories were a mix of truthful and legendary but always entertaining.

Now while it is a ‘free tour’ it’s not really free (well it is, but only if you are a bit too tight with your money). At the end of the two hour tour your guide will be accepting tips (both cash and card) and – as a guide – around £5 per person is reasonable although you can give more or less as you see fit.

We had a couple of hours on our hands before we were due to visit one of Edinburgh’s main tourist attractions; Edinburgh Castle – so we made our way, on foot, to the Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh for a look around.

What we hadn’t appriciated was that the Garden’s were a good 30 to 40 minute walk away from where we had finished the walking tour and – given we only had two hours between the tour and our entry to the castle – time was going to be rather pushed.

By the time we were inside the Gardens we had just enough time to grab a quick bite to eat, use the toilet and look at a couple of plants. To make matters worse, the heavens had truely opened and the rain was relentlessly streaming down on us. Fortunatley, the entry is totally free so we didn’t feel like we’d missed out too much although the gardens do look stunning if you have time to give them a proper viewing.

With the rain still coming down hard, we jumped into an Uber and made our way back to Edinburgh city centre and to the castle.

For £15.50 per adult, we got access to the castle and, if I’m being totally honest, found it slightly disapointing.

For me, if you are visiting a castle anywhere in the world you expect it to hold onto some of the original charm from when it was first used as a castle. Here, the castle sits very impressively atop the hill but, once inside, some of its charm is lost and replaced with relics from more modern warfare.

Maybe it was the rain and our inability to see the stunning views that would be on offer to visitors on a sunny day, but the castle just didn’t do anything for me. That’s not to say I’m not glad I went. I am. I was just perhaps hoping for more.

By the time we had decended Castle Hill the rain was slightly easing up and we made our way to a pub on the Royal Mile to grab a much needed drink. Soon after we decided to find somewhere to eat and we opted for the well reviewed Makars Gourmet Mash Bar Company. And what a choice this was!

A delicious meal of haggis, sausage and mash was such a welcome respite from the chilling wind and rain. To make it an even better experience, a couple of pints of the Scottish Guinness substitute; Belhaven were sunk as was my first glass of Monkey Shoulder, Scottish whisky. All this and two glasses of wine for Holly for under £40 (given the government subsidies taking place right now for Covid-19). Absolute perfection.

Day Six: a walk to the foot of Arthur’s Seat, views from our walking tour of Old Town, a wet climb of Edinburgh Castle and a great meal at Makars Gourmet Mash Bar

Day 7

Edinburgh – Inverness

An early start to the day – not just so we could leave that pretty awful hotel that we’d just spent the past two nights (seriously it’s one of the worst I’ve ever stayed at in my humble opinion) – but also so we could do a morning climb of Arthur’s Seat.

A slow drive (not because of traffic, more that all roads in Edinburgh appear to be 20mph) got us to the car park at the foot of the hillside. After paying for a couple of hours in the car park we made our way to the hillside to begin the incline. Boy was it worth it!

After a tough 30 minute climb we found our way to the top of the hill. The views from here were amazing. Having been rained on for most of our time in Edinburgh, someone was clearly smiling on us today as the skies were a beautiful blue and visability was superb. If you have time in Edinburgh and the weather is on your side then make your way here as you’ll get a far supieror view of the city than you’ll get from anywhere else.

After grabbing all our photos and making our way back down to the car we had the prospect of another three-hour drive north to Inverness ahead of us.

Having looked at the route we decided we wanted to make the most of the journey. To do this we took the scenic route down through the stunning Cairngorms National Park.

If you haven’t been to the Cairngorms then you cannot understand just how amazing they are. You are surrounded by 360 degree scenes of mountains and hills, interspersed with flowing rivers and waterfalls! It’s just beautiful!

During the drive we made numerous stops by the side of the road just to take a few snaps. It’s so easy to do as there are so few cars on the roads.

One such stop we made (albeit a childish one) was at the Aberdeenshire village of Cockbridge! Let’s be clear there is nothing there. Just a bridge with a plague saying “Cockbridge”. There isn’t even a street sign anymore. Not sure why but the street sign has been removed which is a great shame.

Moving on, we drove a further hour down the road to go to two Outlander-themed locations. If you’ve not seen the TV show it basically follows the story of an adulterous English woman who goes back in time (accidentally) by touching a cairn in Scotland and starting a relationship with a Scottish Highlander named Jamie.

The first of these visits was to the Clava Cairns; a series of four cairns and a number of stone circles in the Scottish hillside that you can walk around and enter for free!

The Clava Cairns are about 4,000 years old and were built to house the dead. What remains today would have once been part of a larger complex. Two parts of the complex, Balnuaran of Clava and Milton of Clava, are open to the public.

The second stop was at the Culloden Battlefield. The site of one of the most famous battles from the 1700s and saw the Government forces of the English and the Scottish clans go to war. The battle was very one-sided and resulted in a resounding defeat for the clans.

Today, visitors can pay a couple of pounds to park and then walk around the battlefield which is now presented as a war grave memorial. The National Trust for Scotland are also using cattle on the battlefield to keep it maintained and to try and return it to the state it was in at the time of the battle.

Regarding the prices, we found that if you just want to see the actual battlefield then you can do so for the price of the car park. This is the option we took. If, however, you want to go in the museum while you are there then I think that will cost you an extra £11 per adult. For me, the battlefield is the main star of the show!

After a full day of driving, walking and climbing, we made the short hop into Inverness and checked into our £75 a night B&B called Braehead Guest House.

We were met by our friendly host – and beautiful pet dog – outside the house and shown to our room. While it was basic in terms of ammenities it had heart and was very clean. We were told all we needed to know about the room – and about breakfast in the morning – and were left to settle in, in peace before going into Inverness to grab some food from a nearby pub.

Day Seven: early morning climb up to the summit of Arthur’s Seat for final stunning views of Edinburgh before driving north to the Cairngorms National Park via Cock Bridge, Clava Cairns and Culloden Battlefield before settling into the Braehead Guest House in Inverness

Day 8

Inverness – Orkney Islands

Day eight was another early start and a wonderful cooked breakfast at our B&B. Our host – and dog – made for great breakfast companions and gave us a hearty breakfast to set us up for the day on. After this, we packed up, paid and said our goodbyes. If I was in Inverness again, I certainly would stay at Braehead Guest House again.

After making our way out of Inverness we went to see if we could see any of dolphins that sometimes frequent the waters of the area over at the Menkinch Local Nature Reserve.

This wetlands made up of fresh water canals and the open salt waters of the sea but sadly, on this occasion, we’d timed it poorly and the tides were out. It meant that while there were no dolphins visable, we did get to see plenty of birds.

After about an hour taking a relaxing stroll, we made our way back to the car and set about starting our route up the north-east coast to John o’ Groats and, eventually, Orkney.

It just so happens that Inverness is also the starting point of one of the world’s most famous driving routes; the North Coast 500. This route does a lap around the northern part of Scotland and we were able to do a good chunk of this route on our way up to the tip of the country.

But to make the most of this route, you need to stop along the route. Our first, impromptu, stop was the gorgeous Dunrobin Castle.

Described as the jewell in the crown of the Highlands, this castle is set to the backdrop of the sea and also boasts a stunning garden where we were able to enjoy a falconry show.

For just £11 entry per adult this proved to be a great way to spend just over an hour and grab some photos for the memory banks.

Our route took in two other smaller (free) stops also. The first at a place called the Hill o’ Many Stanes (or stones). This hidden-away historic site remains a bit of mystery but is interesting to see. In a small field a series of medium sized stones have been lined up into multiple rows (22 in total) for an unknown reason. It’s thought these could date back as far as the Bronze Age and may have been a way of remembering family members lost over time.

Further up the road in the town of Wick we made our final stop before John o’ Groats at the Old Castle of Wick.

This place was a strange one to find. Our sat-nav guided us down through what looks like a busy housing estate – the last place you’d expect to find an ancient castle ruin. However, we stayed with the route and it eventually took us to a dead end near a field which was signposted with the castle some 800m in the distance.

The castle itself is no more than a shell of a single tower sat on the cliff edge. What makes this place worth visiting are the views you get over the cliffs and out to sea.

While these interludes were interesting to see, the main thrust of my day was to see a very famous signpost marking one of the two furthest points on the UK mainland from each other; the John o’ Groats signpost.

Completing the drive to John o’ Groats felt something of an accomplishment. Starting out just over a week ago in Kent we would find ourselves as far north on the UK mainland as we could. It’s fair to say the moment brought a big smile to my face.

Again for just the price of parking (just £2 for the entire day) you get to see this British landmark in the flesh. For some it may be only a signpost, to others it marks something more. A journey just starting or one completed.

With more pictures in the bank, we grabbed a bite to eat in a nearby hotel restaurant and made our way to the Pentland Ferries terminal at Gill’s Bay for our 6.30pm crossing to St. Margaret’s Hope on Orkney Islands. The ferry takes about an hour to cross and allows you to take your car from the mainland to use while you are over on Orkney.

There are a couple of options to get to Orkney (inlcuding Orkney Ferries) but we took the Pentland Ferries route as it was both the most cost effective and quickest. Even still a return trip for two people (with a car) set us back £140! However, if you travel with Orkney Ferries (which docks in Stromness on the Orkney Islands) you can expect to pay over £200 for the same thing! Not only will it cost you more money, but it will also take an extra 30 minutes to sail there!

Our journey over went smoothly (if a bit wetly) and we disembarked just minutes after docking. We then made the 45 minute drive to our accomodation; the Lindisfarne Bed & Breakfast in Stromness. This lovely B&B cost us £178 for two nights and it’s fair to say I had high hopes for this place!

When we arrived just before 9pm we were met by the extremley friendly host who gave us a quick guide of our room  and told us about the breakfast arrangements for the morning. Once we were settled into our room we took the opportunity to rest-up after yet another busy day on the road.

Day Eight: leaving Inverness via the Menkinch Local Nature Reserve, stopping off on the famous North Coast 500 route at Dunrobin Castle, the mysterious Hill o’ Many Stanes and Old Wick Castle, making it to the monumental John o’Groats signpost and then sailing over to the Orkney Islands and settling into our B&B

Day 9

Orkney Islands

First thing to say is the Lindisfarne Bed & Breakfast is a superb place to stay! Nothing was too much hastle for our host who was very attentive to our wants and needs.

After getting ourselves ready we made our way down to the breakfast room for 8am. The room was spacious and has the most stunning view out over the fields, water and mountains. You really can’t ask for more while tucking into your black pudding, haggis, sausage, egg and bacon.

For the day ahead we planned to drive around the island stopping off at various places. The big issue here was that a lot of Orkney has remained closed due to Covid-19. However, as we were to find out, this would not hold us back much.

Our first stop was Skara Brea; a 5,000 year old neolithic settlement. First uncovered by a storm in 1850, Skara Brae showcases a recreated house and full interior, showing how it might have looked. Then, following the path down, visitors can see what remains today of the the prehistoric houses.

When we pulled up in the visitor centre car-park we noticed that we were the only ones there! At this point Skara Brea has not yet reopened to the public. However, it doesn’t mean you will have wasted your trip. You can go around the full perimeter of the site (without going into it) and lean over the fence to see it from about five or six feet away.

Had it been open we’d have paid our £7 entry each and explored further, but we were glad to have seen some of it, had the area totally to ourselves and not paid a penny for the pleasure.

From there we made the short 10 minute drive to Birsay to view the ruined remains of the Birsay Earl’s Palace.

The palace was built between 1569 and 1574, and its life was a short one. Its story effectively ended with the overthrow of the Stewart earls in 1615 and by 1700 the palace was roofless and decaying.

Today the palace is a small, free, visitor attraction that is worth a quick 20 minute visit. If you – like us – get lucky, you’ll get the whole site to yourself, giving you ample space and time to enjoy all it has to offer.

Now our next stop was one that was nothing more than a bit of childish adolescence. Our stop was in the small villiage of Twatt!

Initially we drove to the centre of Twatt (stop smirking) but there was no signpost to be seen. So we made our way out checking out every signpost we passed. Finally we found one directing traffic to Twatt and took the opportunity to grab a photo. Right, childish antics aside (for now) we could get back to some serious travels.

Back on the road we pulled into our next landmark; The Ring of Brodgar.

Yet another free site, the Ring of Brodgar Walk meant we could walk among one of the most spectacular prehistoric monuments in the British Isles. Similar to Stonehenge – although here you can get right-up close and personal to the stones – the Ring of Brodgar Stone Circle and Henge is an enormous ceremonial site dating back to the third millennium BC.

It’s a fascinating site. There is plenty to look at and admire and again, if you’re lucky, you’ll not have to fight through the crowds you get if you visit the similar Stonehenge in England.

A couple of minutes down the road, we parked up and went to the Standing Stone of Stenness. Yet another free site, the Standing Stones of Stenness consist of four upright stones in a circle that originally held 12 stones. The focus of the interior was a large hearth. Origianlly, the stones were encircled by a large ditch and bank, the form of which has been lost over time by ploughing.

The field is now shared with a herd of sheep who do keep themselves to themselves but do add a nice little photo opportunity to the visit.

Our penultimate stop was at another site that was advertised online as being closed due to Covid-19. Still we went hoping we could at least see something. The Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn is an ancient burial site dating back to over 5,000 years ago.

The site attests to a belief in an afterlife and in its evocative gloom it’s easy to conjure up images of burial rites and rituals taking place.

Pulling down a small, tight lane, we parked up with the other two cars in attendance and made our way up the hill to the Cairn. While the entry to the Cairn was locked off (as we’d expected) you could still see the remaining area of the site for free and got some of the best views we’d seen since arriving on Orkney. Seriously, the views from the top of the hill were worth the climb alone!

The final trip of the day took us along to Scapa Beach. This short stretch of sandy shoreline was a great way to unwind and take in the wonderful views Orkney has to offer.

To one end of the beach there is a small waterfall that we couldn’t reach as the tide was in. If I had to be picky about this beach – which if it was anywhere else in the UK would be crowded from sunrise to sunset – was that the view was slighty (only slightly) spoiled by the oil rigs you can see in the distance. Not that they can do anything about this, it just takes something away from the natural charm of Island life.

After spending a few hours relaxing back at the B&B, we had an evening meal booked for 7:30pm at the Kirkwall Hotel based in its namesake town down on Harbour Street.

A small but well thoughtout, affordable, menu awaited us and the food was of good quality also making for an enjoyable final evening on the Orkney Isles, before heading back to the mainland in the morning.

Day Nine: wonderful nights sleep at Lindisfarne B&B and amazing views while having our Scottish breakfast then out exploring the Island including Skara Brea, Birsay Earl’s Palace, Twatt (yes we were being childish), the Ring of Brodgar, the Standing Stones of Stenness, Cuween Hill Chambered Cairn and finally Scapa Beach

Day 10

Orkney Islands – Loch Ness

Today marked our last day in Orkney and it’s fair to say we were both sad to be leaving. The Island made a real impression on us over the past couple of days with its hospitable welcome and ts interesting and beautiful sights.

Perhaps one of the biggest things we’d miss was the accommodation and the hearty breakfasts that had welcomed us each morning. Waking up at Lindisfarne Bed and Breakfast to those stunning views across the fields will live long in the memory.

The day ahead was one mostly about travel. We had a morning ferry – again with Pentland Ferries – to catch from St. Margaret’s Hope to take us back to mainland Scotland. After packing up our things we set off from the B&B. As we left, we realised that this was the (slow) start of the way home as we’d not be any further north than this during our trip.

As we had time on our hands in the morning we took the scenic route back to the ferry terminal which meant I finally got a photo or two up close with a Highland cow! This felt a bit of a landmark moment as I’d wanted to do this while we were in the Highlands but whenever we saw them, they were always standing in the middle of a field, miles away from where I was standing.

However, on this occasion, there were a group of them next to a fence by the road. Perfect for a quick snap or two.

Arriving at the ferry terminal very early gave us time to relax for a bit while we waited to board our boat. As the day was nice it also meant that during the journey, we’d actually be able to see the sights around us rather than the dark clouds and rain that we’d had on the way out.

Back on the mainland we started the three-hour drive south to Loch Ness. The journey took us back along much of the route we took north from Inverness. Again, it was spectacular to see.

We made a stop along the route in a small town called Dornoch and grabbed some lunch. The town was small but very picturesque. The pub we stopped in also made us a couple of sandwiches – despite them not being on the menu – which helped us along the way.

From here we made the relatively short hop towards Loch Ness. The first thing we noticed as we approached from the north was the amazing scenery. Mountain backdrops full of bright green trees framed the Loch perfectly. It also may sound obvious, by Loch Ness itself was so much bigger than I was expecting it to be. I mean, I was expecting it to be big; but damn, it’s huge!

Our only stop for the day here was at Invermoriston Falls. Based on the west side of the Loch, the waterfall is with a small wooded area and is really pretty. There is a small summer house just downstream of the waterfall and this makes for the perfect spot to get some photos of the waterfall.

As an aside, there is a small, free, car park just five minutes away from the falls.

With the evening drawing on, we checked into our accommodation; the Loch Ness Guest House in Fort Augustus. The Guest House is located close to the south end of Loch Ness and from the outside looks like a nice mix of an old and new building. Due to Covid-19 we checked into our room without seeing a single person. The room was small but perfectly good. There is a good bathroom with shower and a comfortable double bed.

As it’s a guest house – not a hotel – there was also a communal kitchen where you can make hot drinks, get small snacks and a few breakfast cereals.

Our accomodation cost us £252 for four nights – or £63 a night – which given the popularity of Loch Ness represents good value for money. However, as we arrived I noticed a sign saying the current prices were £100 a night for the same double room we were in. I’m glad we booked when we did!

After settling into our room we went for a quick bit of dinner at a local restaurant before heading back to the hotel room for a well deserved sleep.

Day Ten: leaving Orkney and spotting the beautiful Highland Cattle in a field, taking a trip with Pentland Ferries back to the Scottish mainland, viewing the stunning Invermoriston Falls and checking out our home for four nights; the Loch Ness Guest House

Day 11

Loch Ness

After a great first night’s sleep at the Loch Ness Guest House we eased ourselves up in the morning ahead of our first full day in the region.

The guest house was extremely quiet and meant that we both got a really good night’s sleep. Also the shower facilities in the room were very good and this was probably the best wash we’d had since getting to Scotland as the shower actually had some force behind it (unlike that pitiful effort in our Edinburgh accommodation). For the first time in days I actually felt clean!

The morning was to start with a trip to Urquhart Castle. While the castle lay in ruins today, it’s location just to the side of the loch means it remains a must-see for any visitors coming to the area.

The castle was once one of Scotland’s largest and over the centuries has seen numerous conflicts fought for its ownership. Control passed back and forth between the Scots and the English during the Wars of Independence and continued as the Lords of the Isles regularly raided both castle and glen up until the 1500s

As with most attractions at the moment we had to buy our tickets online in advance and for a set time-slot. Tickets cost £9.60 per adult. If you arrive by car you also need to reserve a parking space but this is free to do and can be done at the same time as the entrance ticket purchase.

Arriving early (we always do) we had a about 20 minutes to kill before our 9:30am entry (which is also the castle’s opening time at this time of year). It meant that we were first in the queue to enter and allowed us a few moments in the castle grounds to get some photos without anyone else being in them. Bonus!

The castle alone is an impressive sight, but with the backdrop of the Loch on a sunny day, it is something very special. Add to that – due to Covid-19 – fewer people were being given tickets to enter each day (we were told that on a usual day 5,000 people would visit, but at the moment that number is restricted to 300-400) making the whole experience feel unique and rather exclusive. My thinking is that we may as well take as many positives out of this weird time as we can!

After spending a couple of hours here taking in all the views, we reluctantly, decided to move one (after making a couple of purchases in the shop and buy a sandwich and cake to take with us for a picnic lunch.

Our plan for the afternoon was to make the 50-minute drive up around the south-end of Loch Ness to reach the Falls of Foyers waterfall.

This secluded waterfall (which is free to view and also has ample free parking nearby) is a popular destination for tourists; even in these Covid-19 times.

A well-maintained path leads you steeply down the forested slopes to a viewpoint overlooking the Falls. The waterfall is a spectacular 140 feet of crashing water down the rock face from the River Foyers into the gorge leading to Loch Ness.

After viewing the falls from the upper viewpoint, we made our way down to the lower viewpoint to get the full waterfall experience.

There is also a beautiful forest to explore but, before we set off, we made our way back up to the higher ground, found a nice bench and enjoyed our sandwiches and cake with the waterfall flowing in the background.

Our plan after this was to take the 1.6 mile forest walk. We started well and it brought us out onto a street. Slightly confused as to where to go, we found another family doing the same thing and, from a safe distance, joined them for the walk. Five minutes later, however, the walk was over!

Fear not, this wasn’t due to injury, it was just the bridge you have to cross to continue the walk was shut off as it clearly had seen better days.

We said our goodbyes to our short-lived walking companions and made our way – through the backstreets – back to the car.

With the afternoon drawing on, we made started driving back to the guest house. On route we made a couple of stops to take in the views of Loch Ness. Top tip here, make as many stops as you can as the views just get better and better the higher up you go along the road running parallel with the Loch.

Another great thing about travelling around Loch Ness, for the natural sights at least, is that they are all free of charge. For travellers on a budget, this is a great way to enjoy fulfilling days at next to no cost.

Our evening plans were not set in stone, and we were hoping to grab some light food somewhere nearby our accomodation.

We set out and found a local restaurant – there are a few to choose from in Fort Augustus – to eat in while enjoying the beautiful weather over some good food and drink.

Day Eleven: first full day in Loch Ness and trips to see the stunning Urquhart Castle and the Falls of Foyer waterfall as well as views from the south end of Loch Ness itself

Day 12

Loch Ness

A 5am alarm got us up nice and early for day 12 of our trip (and the half-way point) as we tried to get a look at the sun rising over Loch Ness. Despite us being up and ready, somebody forgot to inform the weather about our plans. So instead of watching the sunrise beautifully over a peaceful Loch Ness, we got the rain falling heavily over a windy Loch. Not ideal, so back to bed we went.

A couple of hours later we were back up and ready to have a second start to our day. The had earmarked this day as being the one we would spend on the Isle of Skye and despite the BBC advertising a full day of rain ahead, it would prove to be mostly clear and dry.

Setting off from our guest house, the Isle of Skye is an hour’s drive away and for our first stop was at the famous Eilean Donan Castle.

The castle is recognised as one of the most iconic images of Scotland. Situated on an island at the point where three sea lochs meet, the castle is surrounded by some of the most impressive scenery Scotland has to offer.

You may think you’d seen this castle before, and chances are you will have done. Eilean Donan has appeared in numerous TV shows and films (including one James Bond) and is as glorious in real life as it is on the big screen.

As with everything at the moment, booking tickets in advance is a must and for the £10 per adult you can cross its beautiful bridge and take a look inside its walls.

When we arrived the weather had not improved from our morning disappointment and so we got a little bit wet on our approach to the castle. Fortunately, however, most of the castle’s attractions are inside so you can get in the dry quickly and easily.

The only down side of the poor weather is that it can obstruct your views of the lochs. While we didn’t want to hang around much outside, we still got a nice selection of photos to enjoy.

Moving on, we made the drive further into Skye. And fortune appeared to be on our side. The further in we got, the more the weather improved. Mountains previously obscured by mist and cloud came into sight and we found ourselves in an idyllic setting.

After making our way down the winding roads we came to our second destination of the day; the Fairy Pools.

Having seen these majestic pools online before we’d set off, we were keen to see them for ourselves.

Free to visit at any time of year, the pools are located near the village of Carbost in Glenbrittle. The Fairy Pools are rock pools of crystal-clear spring water formed from a series of waterfalls that originate from the many tributaries of the nearby River Brittle.

There are a few things I’d advise ahead of a visit here that I wish we had known. Firstly, the pools are a pretty long walk from the car park (which costs £5 to park in) Give yourself at least 30 minutes to walk the distance to the main pools and the same again back.

The second thing is that, currently, there are no toilet facilities there. Go before you set out or be prepared to try and find a bush nearby.

Finally, dress appropriately. It’s not just about the weather you have to prepare for. It’s the local wildlife also. There are millions of Highland Midges here and they are relentless in their biting! Within minutes of us being at the Fairy Pools, Holly and I were surrounded by these little pests. Bring something to cover your arms and legs and – if you have it – a bug net for your head. Also wear as much bug repellent as you can stomach. Thank me for that tip later.

For me the midges really spoilt these wonderful pools. The area is stunning but with the constant flow of midges we couldn’t relax. Another thing to mention is that you can take a dip in the waters too if you wish (again we didn’t as we didn’t have our swimwear with us) but many people were braving the cold waters.

After our insect ordeal we made our way further into Skye. One thing that the area seems to have done well for itself is market a number of its natural formations with catchy names. It seems that if you just have a rock or a waterfall without a name, tourists are less interested in it. However, give it a gimmick and a cool name and you’ve got yourself an instant tourist attraction and paid-for cark parking opportunity.

None of the above is a criticism from me. Far from it. If anything, it helps those of use looking for things to see to know where to go. With that in mind we set off for the impressive rock formation; The Old Man of Storr. The Storr is an example of the Trotternish landslip and stands today at a height of 719m.

Parking at the foot of the hill for £3, we set off up the steep pathway to get a closer glimpse of the rocks. If you want to do the full path available it will take about 45 minutes each way. With time not on our side, we made it up about halfway and found a great spot to grab some photos before heading back down. To be honest, if you get to a good viewpoint there appears to be little point continuing up the hill as you’ll only be seeing the same thing from a slightly different angle.

Our final stop in Skye was just 15 minutes further up the road and this was at the Kilt Rock viewing platform. This site is free to visit and has two main parts. To the left you have the Mealt Waterfall which is fed by the nearby Mealt Loch. The second to the right is 90m Kilt Rock which is said to look like a pleated kilt. If you squint hard enough you can just about see what they mean.

With the day complete we started the two-hour drive back to Loch Ness and said goodbye to the stunning Isle of Skye which deserves a much longer visit in the future.

Day twelve: full day out on the Isle of Skye visiting Eilean Donan Castle, spotting cows that don’t like to cross the road, and dropping in at the Fairy Pools, The Old Man of Storr and Kilt Rock

Day 13

Loch Ness

After the full day of travelling around the Isle of Skye yesterday, a much more sedate day was in the offing for our thirteenth day of our UK roadtrip. That’s not to say we didn’t have an early start on our hands though.

It dawned on us that we’d been Loch Ness for nearly three days and at no point had we ventured onto the Loch itself.

Therefore, this morning we made the drive to the north end of Loch Ness, near Inverness, and picked up a two-hour boat ride on the famous Loch.

We booked our trip with Jacobite Cruises – organised via the easy-to-use Get Your Guide app – for just £25 per person. The boat was a good size and had plenty of space on-board; especially given the need for social distancing.

One issue that became apparent very early on, during our drive to the meeting point at Dochgarroch Loch (near Inverness City Centre), was that it was not a sunny morning. The mist was rolling in across the loch, obscuring the mountains and much of the water.

On the positive, a misty loch is very fitting for the mysterious loch. It’s very easy on a morning like this to understand how people have mistaken things floating in the water for the head, or neck, of an ancient monster lurking beneath the surface. On this occasion though, if any monster is in the loch, it kept its head very much below water level.

As the boat set off down the Caledonian Canal, we passed numerous fly-fishermen. With the mist getting thick as we approached the Loch Ness we were unsure how much of a good view we were going to get of the usually stunning surroundings. Fortunately, as we move further into the loch, the mist started to lift.

The tour takes you to down as far as Urquhart Castle. Here the boat does a couple of circles in front of the castle to give you a chance to grab some photos before making the trip back to the dock where you disembark.

With the tour finishing at around lunchtime (there are other later tours taking place throughout the day) we made our way back south to Fort Augustus. On the way, we made a stop at the Loch Ness Clansman Hotel restaurant – situated just off the A82 that runs parallel with Loch Ness – for a quick bite to eat.

The stop proved to be more eventful than we’d anticipated.

Sitting down to enjoy our haddock and chips and macaroni cheese lunches, we picked a table by the window with great views out across the loch. The food was inexpensive – especially with the 50% off discount currently running on food and drink from Mondays to Wednesdays due to Covid-19 support packages from the Scottish Government – and was really tasty as well.

Then, just as we were finishing eat, we heard a massive crashing noise come from the counter area of the restaurant. At first, I wasn’t 100% sure what had happened. Everything looked normal until I realised that one of the waiters was suddenly soaking wet. Then I noticed the massive hole that had appeared in the roof above him!

From a quick glance, it was clear that water had been leaking above that spot and pooling in the ceiling. The noise we then heard was the sound of the roof giving way and the water crashing down on the poor waiting staff below. The disaster meant that the electrics had to be switched off and the restaurant closed.

We finished our last bites of food and made our way out. I hope the damage isn’t too bad for them to fix as the staff were really friendly and helpful and looked slightly shocked at what had befallen them.

Back in Fort Augustus the weather had turned from dull to beautiful sun. With no further activates planned for the day, Holly and I took a look around the town.

If you’re in Fort Augustus and wanting to find some interesting local products then look no further than the Iceberg Glass Blowing Studio. Inside you’ll find a vast variety of items for sale and you’ll also get the chance to see some of the skilled glass-blowers mastering their craft.

Further up the street we grabbed a couple of ice creams and took a short walk along the canal before heading back to our guest house for a couple of hours ahead of our dinner-date at The Boathouse restaurant; located just a few minutes’ walk from our accommodation.

The Boathouse provides good customer service with great value, filling food. There is a good mix on the menu combining British food with Turkish cuisine.

It also has a great waterfront position meaning window seats have a great view of the loch.

After enjoying our three-course dinner we made our way back to the guest house for our final night’s sleep in Loch Ness before heading to Glasgow in the morning.

Day Thirteen: taking a morning boat ride in the fog on Loch Ness before a quiet afternoon strolling around Fort Augustus and an evening meal at The Boathouse

Day 14

Loch Ness – Glasgow

After our last day in Loch Ness yesterday, we had a day of travel ahead of us as we bid farewell to the beautiful mountain vistas and headed back to city dwellings.

Our destination for the day was Glasgow, the second city of Scotland. On the way though, we were not going to pass up the opportunity to see some more of the fabulous sites Scotland has to offer.

Our first stop was one for Holly in particular; the Glenfinnan Viaduct. This gorgeous bridge has a train track on it that sees a steam train come over it between 10:30am and 11am everyday set against the backdrop of mountains and flowing streams. If you want to see the train pass over the viaduct make sure you arrive at around 10am to get a good spot.

To top it all off, Holly tells me this viaduct was used in a hit film series containing wizard schools, magic, flying cars and poor bad-acting children (that last one is only my humble opinion not one Holly totally shares).

We were keen to make sure we had a good spot on the hillside to see the steam train make its way over the bridge. Along with numerous other tourists we picked a spot and waited… and waited… and waited. Then, eventually, the train came. With its steam billowing everyone jumped into position to get their photos while it passed by. 30 seconds later, the show was over and we all, slowly, made our way back to the car park.

I may have made that sounds anti-climactic. It really wasn’t! Seeing the train come over the viaduct was rather special and one we both really enjoyed.

Getting to the viewpoint at the viaduct was easy to. We parked in the well-signposted car park, paid the £3 charge and made our way to one of the two hill sides. Best advice is to go to the viewpoint that you get by leaving the car park, walking along the road past the overflow car park then going up the woodland path. There was a flow of people going that way so it’s easy to know where to go.

After visiting the viaduct, we looked at the Glenfinnan Monument opposite the car park next to the loch which is worth a quick viewing due to its fantastic surroundings.

Our next stop was for a spot of mountain climbing. Well by climbing I mean sitting in a cable car and being taken to the top of one of the mountains in the Nevis range – home to the UK’s tallest mountain; Ben Nevis.

We purchased our cable car (or gondola as they prefer to call it) tickets online in advance of our trip for £19.50 each with Nevis Range Mountain Experience. This well organised company run a ski resort in the winter and also have a downhill mountain bike route skilled bikers can use if they are feeling daring enough.

While the gondola doesn’t take you up Ben Nevis, you can see the mountain from the drop-off point – although views can be slightly obscured if fog descends or the weather is generally poor.

During our visit there was next to no queue to get up the mountain meaning we were able to board within minutes of arriving. At the top we were able to grab some lunch in the cafe before taking a walk to a viewing area on one of the nearby peaks where we enjoyed amazing views of the surrounding mountains. The weather was so clear that we could even see as some of the lochs in the distance that we had driven past a ground level earlier in the day.

After making our way down we drove the short 10-minute hop to the Old Inverlocky Castle.

Although now a ruin, this was one of the most important castles in Scottish history and has been the backdrop for two major historical events, the first and second battles of Inverlochy.

Originally dating back to the 13th century, Inverlochy Castle last played a part in Scottish and English history during the Civil Wars of the 1640’s. In 1645 the royalist Earl of Montrose routed the roundhead forces of the Campbell Chief Duke of Argyll at the second Battle of Inverlochy.

This free attraction is worth a short visit and you can explore some of the space that would have once housed this ancient castle. We grabbed our photos, had a look around and set off towards Glasgow.

However, before we’d get to Glasgow we had one stop to make near Falkirk visiting the famous Kelpies.

These two giant statues by the roadside are of two fearsome mythical horse-like creatures rearing up from the earth. There impressive design is worth making a stop for. If you go during the day time, you have to pay for parking but you can do a tour if you wish.

Due to the distance we were travelling though, we made it to the Kelpies a bit after 6pm; after the tours had finished. That was no big deal as far as we were concerned. The tours didn’t appeal much and I didn’t see what it would to a visit. Added to this, you can visit the statues at any time of day and night and view them for free.

As the evening was drawing on, we still hadn’t checked into our hotel in Glasgow; the Devoncote Hotel. We were only due to stay a single night here and we checked into the hotel at around 8pm. The room is spacious, if a bit bland. However, for £45 a night for a standard double room – including breakfast – you can’t expect the Ritz.

Adding to that, this night would be our last in Scotland for this trip as tomorrow we’d be heading back into England and to the Lake District.

Day Fourteen: day on the road between Loch Ness and Glasgow visiting The Glenfinnan Viaduct and Glenfinnan Monument, the spectacular Nevis mountain range, the ruins of Old Inverlochy Castle and finally the imposing figures of the Kelpies near Falkirk

Day 15

Glasgow – Lake District

Day fifteen was the day we would be leaving Scotland after ten nights north of the border. I wish I could say our last stop was as awe-inspiring as the others but I’ll be honest, I’m not in love with Glasgow.

I know we only spent one night in the city but I just didn’t have a good feel about the place. The city seemed rather run-down and in general, not the sort of place you’d want to spend any great deal of time. That may seem extremely unfair to some, but that’s just the way the place made me feel.

It lacks the beauty of the Highlands – which in fairness isn’t it’s fault – but also the charm of other cities in Scotland such as Edinburgh and Inverness.

Our plan was to leave Glasgow in the morning. However, as a massive football fan, I couldn’t leave without at least seeing two of the UK’s famous grounds. Ibrox – the home of Rangers – and current Scottish Premier League champions Celtic’s home ground; Celtic Park.

The first stop was Ibrox. In a rather industrial side of Glasgow the route from the hotel to the stadium is baffling. The roads in this city don’t seem to make sense and it feels like UK road laws don’t carry the same weight in Glasgow as they do in the rest of the country!

After a quick stop and look through the gates at Ibrox; all UK football stadiums are closed currently due to Covid-19 – we got back into the car for another fun-filled jaunt through the city’s maze of streets.

Before going to Celtic Park we planned to visit the Glasgow Botanical Gardens. Arriving at around 9.30am we planned to have a walk through the grounds before going into the glasshouses for their 10am opening.

The grounds were pleasant enough, but the plants were clearly at the end of their lifecycles as many had flowered already and were now wilting. To make matters worse, we then discovered that the glasshouses were not being opened at the moment! Slightly disappointed; we made for a hasty retreat to the car and started the short drive to Celtic Park.

Celtic Park is clearly a more modern stadium than Rangers’ Ibrox home, and its structure is impressive to see as you make your approach.

Pulling into a turning that would normally see thousands of supporters making their way to watch their team (probably) win, I was able to literally park my car in the middle of the dead road and grab a few photos of the ground. For me, that was my Glasgow experience done!

While that was all the football-fix I was getting in Glasgow, I still wanted more. So, after a little bit of persuasion to Holly, I convinced her that we’d take a detour to Dumfries on our way to Gretna to see the home of my favourite Scottish team; Queen of the South.

I’ve followed the fortunes of the Doonhamers for a number of years now – mainly from afar – and always look out for their results. Think as a child I just liked the club’s name so adopted them as my Scottish team.

During my time at university, I made the long journey up to watch a game at Palmerstone Park one weekend and always planned to do another at some point. Sadly there was no football on offer today but that didn’t stop me grabbing a few pictures outside the quaint south-Scotland stadium.

But hold on, there was still time for one more football stop.

Just down the road, we also managed to squeeze in a stop at Raydale Park – the former home of Gretna FC and current home of phoenix club Gretna 2008.

Not wanting to push my luck any further we stopped for a bite to eat at the Gretna Gateway Outlet Village which is a decent little outlet park where you can buy a number of high-end brands at lower prices.

After that we drove the short distance (everything in Gretna is a short distance as it’s a very small place) to it’s most famous site; the Gretna Green Blacksmith’s Shop.

Becoming famous for being the marriage site of eloping couples from England, people still travel from far and wide to get married here at the wedding capital of the UK.

It’s not as tacky as I thought it would be if I’m honest. In fact, the overall look of the place is quite pleasant and romantic.

The Blacksmith’s Shop has over 260 years of history and heritage, joining couples since 1754, and is now considered a world-class, award-winning wedding destination in its own right. They offer intimate weddings, inside the shop, over their world-famous anvil.

For those like us not looking to get married at Gretna (although Holly and I did send photos of us there to our families to see how far we could push it for them to believe we’d gone through with it) visitors can also hear about the history of Gretna Green and Anvil Weddings at the museum. Here you can learn more about what made Gretna Green famous and the origin of Blacksmith’s Anvil weddings. Outside, there is an outdoor play area for children, the LOVE wall and the Courtship Maze too.

During a visit make sure you grab the must have photos with the Gretna Green signpost as well as under the Blacksmith’s archway.

It also, just so happened, that Holly’s cousin and partner lived in Gretna and we took the opportunity to drop in on them and say hello, grab a drink and go for a walk around the town.

Back on the road, we soon realised just how close to the Scottish and English border we were. The border is easily missed if you aren’t concentrating. I was one of those not concentrating, as we flew past the sign only for me to slam on the breaks and reverse the car back into Scotland. Not sure how many people can say they have entered a country backwards?

Located down a quiet country lane, the “Welcome to England Cumbria” sign is just to the side of the road and with our final pictures, it marked the end of our time in Scotland.

Coming from the south-east, the chance to see some of England’s northern highlights doesn’t come around very often. We made the most of our current location and took a detour on the road to the Lake District to go to see Hadrian’s Wall.

This English Heritage site is a national treasure. For the best viewing points go to the sites at any of Birdoswald, Corbridge, Chesters or Housesteads. We made our way to the first of these sites.

Given the time of our arrival, the English Heritage visitors centre at Birdoswald was shut. However, fortunately, this site is surrounded by fields in a very quiet area of country lanes. It’s therefore easy to view the remaining parts of the wall from the fields and even from the side of the road for free.

It was now time to make our move to the Lake District to check into our next accommodation; and our first AirBnB of the trip.

Arriving in the village of Bothel, we found our annex flat easily and made our way inside after first speaking with our friendly, and welcoming, hosts Pat and Geoff.

From the moment we entered the flat it was a real treat. Compared to a hotel room we had ample space to spread out for our three-day stay. Inside there is a spacious bedroom with comfy double-bed, a good-sized living room fit with all the required modern amenities, as well as a functional kitchen and bathroom.

It should prove to be a perfect base for our Lake District activities.

Day Fifteen: leaving Glasgow and took the oppourtunity to visit no fewer than four football stadiums on the route to the Lake District. First stop Ibrox (Rangers), then Celtic Park (Celtic) – after a short stint at the Glasgow Botanical Gardens – Palmerston Park (Queen of the South) and Raydale Park (Gretna 2008). Then a stop at the marriage capital of the UK – Gretna Green – before venturing back into England to Hadrian’s Wall and finally our AirBnB in Bothel; Lake District.

Day 16

The Lake District

For one of the first times on this trip we had a pretty empty morning ahead of us.

Being situated in such a beautiful part of the country made it all the more sweeter that we didn’t have to get up from the nice comfy bed early.

The night had been very comfortable all-round. The AirBnB is situated in such a peaceful village meaning there was next to no-noise from passing traffic or people.

Once we managed to get ourselves out of bed we starting the day with a coffee and tea in bed and then a bit of breakfast in the front room giving us time to plan our morning.

One thing that we couldn’t put off any longer, sadly, was our need to do some washing. We’d made it to this point in the trip just using the clothes we had brought but we were both fast running out of clothes that would be acceptable in public places. There are only so many times you can re-wear the same pair of shorts or t-shirt before they just become too unpleasant to be around!

So we gathered up as much washing as we could, loaded up our hosts washing machine and set the cycle off while we went away to think about the more fun aspects of the day ahead.

The afternoon was booked out but we still had time in the morning to do something. We decided to try and head over to Derwent Water – near Keswick – and have a look around.

One thing I’d forgot about the Lake District – having been here about seven years ago – was just how busy it can get. There were cars and people everywhere. It looked like a normal summer. It seems Covid-19 has passed this area by in terms of visitor numbers anyway.

The sheer number of people in the car parks meant it was near impossible to find a spot to park up near the middle section of Derwent Water. After a couple of half-hearted attempts to get in a few car parks we admitted defeat and headed to the area where we were due to do our first physical activity in the Lakes.

We made our way to the south-end of Derwent Water to Nichol End Marina and fortunately found a single space in a nearby car park to leave the car, before making our way to the marina to sit back for an hour and have some lunch and a drink in front of the water.

Our afternoon was booked up with Keswick Extreme, a local company who do all manner of physical activities. For the afternoon we were booked onto their Ghyll Scrambling two-hour session (£35 each) which would see us slide, dive, scramble, jump and swim our way along a flowing river.

Ghyll Scrambling is also known as Gorge Walking and Canyoning and is the ultimate Lake District adventure activity. Keswick Extreme take you on a journey down a steep and rocky mountain river where your guides take you on a direct route down the mountain, following the path of the water. During the session you experience rapid sections of the gorge, slide down rock slides, swim through bubbling plunge pools and even leap over the edge of waterfalls.

Meeting the guides at the marina at 1:30pm we were kitted out with wetsuits, wet-shoes, shorts, trainers, helmets and jackets. It may feel a lot of gear to take with you on a hot day but, trust me, you need it all!

After a bit of a briefing, our guides directed us to our cars and we followed them in their car to the start of the course in the hillsides.

The weather was perfect for our session. It felt extremely hot as we walked up the hill from the crowded car park to the starting point, but once you get in the water all that heat disappears from you very quickly. It’s very cold!

It’s key to get yourself acclimatised to the temperature quickly and your guides help with this by throwing water in your face. It’s a bit of a shock but, soon after, being in the water feels perfectly normal.

Then you start the course. Following the river, your guides help you navigate its twists and turns all the way through and tell you how to safely make your way from section to section. It’s so much fun!

There are a great mix of slides, jumps and dives to do and by the time you come out at the other end you are a combination of tired from the activity and wanting more. We both came away with huge smiles on our faces and saying how much we loved this activity and how much other people we know would love to do it if they were in the area.

After the course was completed and we made our way back to our cars, handed in our wet gear and then drove back to the marina to collect our belongings which were kept safely locked away in their storage unit. I cannot speak highly enough about the professionalism and great work Keswick Extreme do. They make the activities fun for all ages and abilities and keep you on your toes during your session.

They also take loads of photos of the session which they put on their Facebook page the evening of the activity which are then free to download. A top-quality service all-round.

With the evening still ahead of us we returned to the AirBnB, collected our washing, and booked ourselves into a nearby Brewers Fayre pub in Cockermouth for an evening meal and much deserved pint of beer.

Day Sixteen: a lazy morning followed by a spot of lunch by Derwent Water and then an all-action scrambling session with Keswick Extreme
Sliding backwards down a small slope
Belly-flopping into the water makes quite big splashes
Taking the plunge with Keswick Extreme

Day 17

The Lake District

After the rigors of yesterday’s scrambling, we had an easy morning planned ahead of more strenuous physical exerts in the afternoon; something that was becoming a bit of a habit during our time in the Lake District.

Another slow get up at the superb AirBnB we were staying in saw us leave the house at around 10am. The plan was to go for a quick look around Keswick in the morning as we had driven through it yesterday but not really getting the chance to see it properly.

On our way to Keswick I wanted to quickly drive through the small village of Caldbeck; somewhere I’d stayed some seven years previously in my only other visit to the Lake District.

This tiny village is extremely picturesque and the small duck pond is worth a stop at if you come through this way as there are often ducklings learning to swim on the pond if you come at the right time of year.

As we drove through the village, I even spotted the accommodation I previously stayed in – a beautiful little house called Marlowe Cottage.

We then made the short drive to Keswick and actually found a parking space with amazing ease. This – considering how difficult it was to even move the car through the streets during our drive through yesterday – was surprising to say the least.

Perhaps one of the reasons we found it easy to park in the car park just outside the town centre was because only one pay station was working and, even then, seemed to be taking an absolute age to process any payments.

The town centre of Keswick actually could be anywhere in the country. A host of the regular high street shops are available along with an unnatural number of artwork stores. It feels like every other shop is displaying a local artists work. How they all stay in business is something of a mystery to me.

One thing you’ll not find here are any tacky tourist shops. They just don’t seem to exist. Many, myself included, would say that’s a good thing.

Grabbing a sandwich, crisps and a drink from a local shop we then made the move to head up the Honister Slate Mine where we were due to meet up with Keswick Adventures for our Climb the Mine session.

Arriving up at the mine early was a good call. The roads to get up there are extremely steep and narrow so there is plenty of stopping and starting to do as you weave your way along the road avoiding other motorists.

It also gave us a chance to sit down outside, enjoy the wonderful views on offer, eat our lunch and get ourselves ready for our climb.

Meeting our guide (Ian) in the mine’s car park, he was full of humour and got us through the admin side of the session quickly and efficiently. For just £45 per person, we were going to get a chance to test our physical prowess in a testing environment.

Climb the Mine follows the route of the original underground mine workings in Borrowdale. Complete with vertical climbs and rope bridge crossings, this wet-weather activity leads you deep underground to explore a secret world of hidden passages and magnificent caverns.

After climbing up into the roof of the mine itself – an experience once reserved for an elite group of miners – you will head for the grand finale, which sees you emerge triumphant to a spectacular view of one of England’s highest mountain passes.

Our group of six climbers were all inexperienced climbers (including both Holly and myself) but everyone picked up the knack of moving safely up the mine, across rope bridges and leaning back at strange angles to get to the next section of the course.

It’s fair to say the course is challenging. The first section is in fact the hardest bit and requires a fair amount of strength to get up and around to the end point. You find yourself hanging off the mine’s wall over a reasonable drop to the dark slate below. We need not worry though, as Ian had given us an in-depth safety briefing as well as talking us all though the steps we needed to take as the session went on.

The second section was slightly easier and involved a climb up a ladder to a series of bridges before a third section saw us navigate a narrow ladder and across the final section of the mine’s upper walls.

As a bonus, as we had not used all the time allotted, we also got access to another section of the mine that was in complete darkness apart from our headlamps. Here we got to climb up in the dark and then make our way down a shaft way before heading out to see the stunning views of the outside world once again.

The trip won’t be for everyone. You have to be in reasonable physical condition and be ok at height, in the dark and in confined spaces.

If you are ok with all of that you’ll enjoy this activity a lot. We came away extremely happy with the tour and ready to go back to our AirBnB to enjoy a fish and chip takeaway meal and watch the evening’s Derren Brown TV show on Channel 4.

Day Seventeen: a quick trip to Keswick town centre preceded a great Climb the Mine trip with Keswick Adventures which tested us both physically and mentally

Day 18

The Lake District – Chester

Our time in the Lake District was coming to an end and we were going to have to move on from our wonderful AirBnB.

We’d loved staying at the apartment so much and both Pat and Geoff were incredibly friendly and helpful during our stay.

After a light breakfast we packed up our things, did a quick check around and set off on the road on our way to our next location; Chester.

However, we still had time for a couple more stops in the area before heading to Cheshire.

Our first port of call was at the Wild Boar Inn in Windermere for an afternoon tea with a difference.

Arriving just before midday we made our way to the restaurant. We came in through the hotel and got to have a look at a few of the rooms as we went past and they had a fantastic look to them; capturing the old style of the building with some nice modern amenities.

Once at the restaurant we were seated near the window – and to start with were the only two people in the entire place!

As mentioned, we had already opted for the Alternative Afternoon Tea option (normally £25 per person but due to Government incentives at the moment we got it for £15 per person). This selection is a feast of meat and fish dishes as well as filled Yorkshire Puddings and a selection of delicious cakes and pastries.

To top it off, alongside the obvious choice of a pot of tea (never understand people who go for afternoon tea and then order coffee) we also got a glass of Prosecco Rose and a trio of Wild Boar Beers (each a third of a pint) presented on a wooden bat.

The food and service were superb and we enjoyed a restful hour eating and drinking.

With our stomachs full, we what better way to spend the afternoon than moving just eight miles down the road to Lake Windermere to take part in two-hours of kayaking!

Fortunately, we had a bit of time on our hands when we arrived which gave us time to digest our lunch before heading over to Windermere Canoe Kayak to take out a double sit-on-top kayak.

Booked for just £25 in total we got changed into some swim and sports clothes in our car (as changing rooms are currently shut) and then were given our life vests and taken down to the water front to set off on the kayak.

We got extremely lucky again with the weather. Forecasts had suggested we could have thunderstorms when we were due on the lake but, instead, we had overcast skies but no wind or rain. Perfect conditions.

Initially, our kayaking skills seemed to have left us. We spent the first few minutes going too far left then too far right. Soon however, we found our rhythm and started making our way around some of the islands on the lake (a couple of which we stopped on for a quick look).

Over the two hours we were out on the kayak we enjoyed a relaxed loop around a part of the lake and sat in the middle for a while enjoying the scenery and rocking in the water as the speed boats went past.

With that our time in the Lake District was over and we hit the road for a two-hour trip south to Cheshire.

After a fairly straightforward journey down the M6 we got to Chester just after 7.30pm and checked into our hotel for the night; The Boathouse.

Situated about half a mile from the city centre of Chester and on the banks of the River Dee this stylish hotel cost just £85.50 for the night. Our room was spacious and had a wide variety of drink options including real coffee! That’s a win in my books!

After getting ourselves settled, we went out into the city. I’d been to Chester a few times before many years ago so knew my way around a little bit and wanted to show Holly the city centre, the Cathedral and a section of the impressive Chester City Walls.

The walls’ construction was started by the Romans when they established the fortress of Deva Victrix between 70 and 80 AD. It originated with a rampart of earth and turf surmounted by a wooden palisade. From about 100 AD they were reconstructed using sandstone, but were not completed until over 100 years later. Today, these stone walls still surround most of the city and provide a great walk around its perimeter.

As the evening was drawing on, the sun was setting creating a beautiful red sky. With the evening sky providing a stunning backdrop we walked through the city centre, via the cathedral and then up onto the city’s walls.

We took the path west and over to one of the main sites of the city; Chester Racecourse.

I remembered that the racecourse was accessible even when there are no race meetings taking place so we made our way down to the track. We even managed a couple of sneaky shots of ourselves on the track.

Feeling slightly tired, we made our way back – via a Five Guys – to our hotel and called an end to our day’s activities.

Day Eighteen: leaving the Lake District via The Wild Boar Inn for an alternative afternoon tea and some kayaking on Lake Windamere, then settling into our The Boathouse Hotel in Chester and taking a walk around the city’s streets, on the Walls of Chester and onto Chester Racecourse

Day 19

Chester – Snowdonia

Our time in Chester was short and sweet but we had to move on early to make our way into north Wales.

The Boathouse provided a moderate standard of room, although – as I mentioned to the receptionist when we checked out – there was a lack of hot water for showers and we even got a breakfast delivered to our room that was actually for next door. You’ll be pleased to know, we didn’t eat their breakfast and I went and knocked on their room door and handed it over to them. Not ideal in these Covid-19 times!

But it’s fair to say we’ve stayed in much worse places than this. Edinburgh I’m looking at you!

By 10am we were packed up and on the road out of town again, where we were making the relatively short trip west to our Snowdonia base of Y Felinheli.

On the route we were due to pass by Conwy Castle. Located in North Wales, the castle was built by Edward I, during his conquest of the country between 1283 and 1289 and was constructed as part of a wider project to create the walled town of Conwy.

Now it stands impressively next to a busy road, multiple car parks and aside a gorgeous seafront view where children enjoy a spot of crabbing.

The castle is in magnificent shape and really still holds its own as one of the UK’s finest examples of castle construction. On this occasion, sadly, time was not on our side so we didn’t have chance to go inside to look around further.

Instead we spent about 45 minutes taking a look at the outside of the castle, walking along a small section of the Conwy town walls and taking a look in the small associated gift shop.

It was then time to get back on the road and make the trip to the Penrhyn Quarry where we were booked onto Zip World’s exciting Velocity 2 Zip Line.

This thrill ride is a truly unique experience. It is the world’s fastest – and, I believe tallest – zip line and it really does give you one hell of a ride.

Starting some 500 feet above the lake the main ride sends you shooting down the line, face first, at speeds up to 118mph! Most people won’t achieve that sort of speed as you have to have everything going in your favour to do so, but you will go from zero to 60mph in under ten seconds. When you consider that you are not holding onto anything and just relaying the straps to your zip line, that can be quite terrifying.

One arrival we went and grabbed some food at the indoor cafe. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and quantity of the food we received as you can sometimes go to these attractions and pay a fortune for not much. This was not one of those.

Killing a bit of time outside we watched other riders fly past us. I’ll be honest, I’m personally not great with heights so there was a little bit of me that was wondering why we’d paid quite a bit of money to do this.

It’s not cheap. We may as well say that from the off. For two people it cost us £178 to do the zip line and a further £15 to rent a Revi Camera to record it (they don’t allow you to take your own recording devices on with you).

When it came to our time we signed in and got kitted up. Our group were then taken to the first of the two zip lines you do. The first is a tester session really. It’s much smaller, slower and lower to the ground. Saying that it still picks up some speed and is reasonably high up. Let’s put it this way, you wouldn’t want to jump from it over the lake.

Once you’re through that you then board a small bus that takes you to the top of the hill where you’ll take on the main attraction. The journey up is slow going as the bus is not powerful and the route up the old slate quarry is steep with a number of sharp bends.

When we reached the top, we realised just how high up we were. The zip line down to the bottom looked incredibly long and descends very quickly helping riders achieve high speeds.

Our turn to ride came very quickly. We were ushered into the launch room, laid down on the ‘beds’ in front of the drop as the staff made sure we were strapped in correctly. Then the beds lowered and we hung in the air like butcher’s meat waiting to be purchased.

Before long, the safety clips were removed and the countdown began. Three, two one and away we flew.

It’s hard to describe the experience. Everything passed us by so quickly and the views we got as we flew were amazing to see. I ended up just staring everywhere. To the front you could see the sea in the distance and, even when I looked down, I could see the bright blue water of the lake shimmering below me as I soared over its crystal-like waters.

Then, almost as quickly as it begun, it’s over. We were out the other end and making our way back to the entrance area to give our kit back and make our way out.

For anyone reading this who enjoys thrill rides, has the time and money and is in north Wales then this is a must. It’s an experience that’s hard to replicate anywhere else.

With the memories of our experience fresh in our minds, all that was left for Holly and I to do today was to make our way to our new AirBnB – a wonderful apartment called The Lookout in Y Felinheli just over the water from Anglesey.

As with our previous AirBnB in the Lake District as soon as we arrived, I felt that the pictures our hosts had put online barely did the place justice. The apartment was huge with two large bedrooms; both fit with on-suite bathrooms, a large living and kitchen area and a massive balcony overlooking the water separating mainland Wales with Anglesey.

While we did not meet our hosts when we arrived this time, they sent us a very detailed description of how to gain entry to The Lookout. Inside the apartment, there was also an extremely detailed guide to our accommodation, the rules and tips about places to eat from the local area.

Keen to make the most of our new surroundings, we decided to order an Indian takeaway and enjoy a nice quiet evening in together with some good food and a bottle of wine.

Day Nineteen: leaving Chester and heading into Wales. Views of Conwy Castle welcomed us into our third country of the trip before an adrenalin-filled afternoon at Zip World taking on Velocity 2 – the World’s tallest and fastest zipline – before moving into our second AirBnB of the trip, complete with stunning views
My Velocity 2 experience at Zip World! Video courtesy of Zip World

Day 20

Snowdonia

Our only full day in Snowdonia – and indeed Wales was one summed up by trains, rain and Welsh food.

After a great night’s sleep in our incredibly peaceful AirBnB, we made the short drive across one of the two bridges that take you from mainland Wales into Anglesey to a small village with a large reputation.

Just over the bridge lies the modestly-sized Llanfairpwll Railway Station – often known by its longer name, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

The station is on the North Wales Coast Line from London Euston to Holyhead and serves the village of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll. However, more people each year visit the station as a tourist attraction than as a passenger to grab a photo with the 58-letter station building and platform signs.

As we arrived the skies showed signs of the weather that was ahead of us for the day. Holding out during our quick visit to the station, we were able to grab a few photos outside the building and on the stations two small platforms.

Back in the car we had another short drive to make that would take us back onto the mainland and to the region’s main attraction; Mount Snowdon.

During normal operations trains depart from Llanberis station and begin their climb 1,085m to the summit of Yr Wyddfa, a journey experienced by some 12 million travellers since 1896. These ancient Snowdonian mountains, thrust upwards by volcanic forces 450 million years ago, once grew to heights of 10,000 metres. Over eons the wind and rain and successive ice ages have sculpted them to their current form; with Snowdon being the highest summit in England and Wales.

These were far from normal times meaning that, currently, visitors taking a train can only get three-quarters of the way up Snowdon by train as the summit is closed due to Covid-19.

That didn’t put us off as the prospect of getting almost to the top with the quaint Snowdon Mountain Railway remained incredibly attractive. Covid-19 was not our only enemy for the day though as the weather steadily deteriorated with the rain beginning to fall and the winds picking up.

After we arrived, we had a bite to eat at the station’s cafe and collected our train tickets – priced at £31 each – for the 1pm train. As I collected the tickets I was warned by the ticket seller that due to the weather we may not even get to the three-quarters point, and if that was the case our train would stop at a place called the Rocky Pass where we’d sit on the train for 10 minutes or so to get some pictures then head back down.

Obviously, this was slightly disappointing news, but not one that could be helped. The Snowdon Mountain Railway team also said that should this happened, everyone onboard the train would get £10 back per ticket as compensation. A more than generous offer.

The closer to our time slot, the worse the weather got. The train up will only hold a small number of people at full capacity and a combination of the poor weather and global pandemic meant that the train was far from full. Despite the low numbers onboard, our ability to see anything out of the windows was nearly non-existent.

As we went up the railroad – a journey that normally takes an hour each way to the summit – the mist and god engulfed the mountains obscuring our views. To make matters worse, the rain meant we had to have the windows closed, and by doing that they just fogged up as people’s warm breath came into contact with the cold glass.

It came as no surprise to anyone when the train driver announced that we would be going no further than Rocky Pass and, to be honest, there would have been little point proceeding as the better views were from lower down the mountain anyway as the fog had settled higher up.

Snowdon Mountain Railway also did a superb job with the refund process. Before we’d even got off the train, we had received an email from the company saying our refund was being processed. Now that’s good customer service!

Back at ground level we returned to the car. Before leaving the are entirely we wanted to make the most of time at Snowdon. Just under half a mile from the mountain railway station we pulled into a small car park to see the Blades of the Giants statue; a huge sword and the stone inspired piece of public art – beside the Llyn Padarn lake.

Our last stop of the day was to get some traditional Welsh food. For this we found a great little cafe just five minutes from Snowdon called Llgad Yr Haul (fortunately you don’t need to say it to get served).

The cafe does a good range of food and drink and has indoor and outside seating available. We picked an indoor seat and ordered two Welsh Teas – one with Welsh Cake and the other with Bara Brith; a fruit cake-style dessert.

The cakes were delicious and after a couple of cups of tea each we said our thanks and made our way back to the car to make our way back to the AirBnB for an evening in front of the TV with leftover curry and wine and a couple more shop-bought Welsh Cakes.

Day Twenty: a day of trains, rain and Welsh food started at the world’s longest  named train station – shortened to Llanfairpwll Railway Station – then an unsuccessful trip up Mount Snowdon in the wind and rain before a trip to the Blade of the Giants statue and then finishing at Llgad Yr Haul cafe for a fine Welsh Tea

Day 21

Snowdonia – The Cotswolds

The short stay in Wales ended in the morning with the prospect of a four-hour drive back into England to the wonderful Cotswolds.

Before we left our Welsh AirBnB sanctuary, we had a breakfast of Welsh Cakes, tea and coffee. The morning was beautifully clear despite weather reports suggesting we’d be waking up to thunder storms and gale-force winds. Perhaps this was the calm before the storm?

The clear weather gave us a final opportunity to enjoy the scenery from our living room. Just perfect.

With the car loaded up and a quick thank-you message to our hosts sent, we set off for one of our longest journeys – in terms of time anyway – of the entire trip.

Leaving Wales the way we came in, we skirted around Chester and Manchester, before heading down the M6 where we saw more road works in an hour than we did in the entire time we were in Scotland!

Creeping off the M6 before hitting Birmingham, we sort refuge on the M5 as we finally made some progress down the UK.

Just after 1pm we made it into the Cotswolds and headed to our only activity of the day; the Dragonfly Maze in Bourton-on-the-Water.

I didn’t realise just how popular this would be as an attraction. I truly thought that it would be a quick visit with very few people around. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Not only is the area home to the maze it also has a number of other tourist attractions – including a Bird Park and Motor Museum – causing huge traffic jams in the local area. It’s clear the roads here were never designed for large numbers of cars and they just cannot handle it. Best bet is to try and park down a residential road in the nearby area – which you can do for free – and walk around half a mile to the maze.

When we arrived at the maze there appeared to be a short queue to get in which we joined. Shortly after joining it, a lady appeared from the ticket booth and said the queue would be over an hour!

While I accept that queue times have increased due to Covid-19 restrictions, it felt like the Dragonfly Maze was taking the precautions too far. They were restricting entry to the maze to 28 people at a time which is far too few. It became a one-in, one-out situation and just became slightly frustrating.

The maze itself is done quite well. Adult entry is £4.50 per person and you collect clues as you go around to piece together to solve the final mystery of where the dragonfly is when you make it to the middle. It’s not a mentally taxing exercise and children will enjoy it more than adults but you can’t fault the effort made; although at least one of the clues is slightly obtuse.

After a queue of over an hour, and twenty minutes in the maze, we headed back to the car – via a small cafe in the village where we grabbed some Cornish pasties. Lunch in hand, we tackled the crowds and set off for our last AirBnB accommodation of the trip.

Located in the quiet Aston Magna – just a short drive from Morton-in-Marsh – we checked into The Loft.

Taking the car through the small archway we parked up directly at the foot of the stairwell that takes you up to the apartment.

The AirBnB is stunning. High wood beams welcome you into the living and kitchen space and a small stylish wood-burner sits warmly to the side of the room.

Going through the door to the left of the living space we entered a large bedroom fit with a comfortable double-bed. The final room off the bedroom is a clean and welcoming bathroom; equip with a shower, toilet and sink.

Settling into our apartment for the night, we enjoyed some more downtime before heading out in the evening to visit some friends who happen to live just a couple of miles away from where we are staying.

Day Twenty One: a long drive from north Wales back into England to the beautiful Cotswolds. Visit to the Dragonfly Maze before heading for our last AirBnB of the trip – and it’s a stunner

Day 22

The Cotswolds – Bath

Waking up from our last night’s sleep in an AirBnB it dawned on us that we were on the final stretch of our three-week road trip around the UK.

With so many miles already in the bag – and more memories than can be counted – we treated ourselves to a cooked breakfast in the luxury of our apartment from the goodies our hosts had kindly provided us in the small fridge.

Bacon and eggs with a good cup of coffee were the order of the morning and set us up well for the 60-mile trip east to the historic city of Bath.

It’s been a few years since I’d last been to Bath and Covid-19 had already put pay to one of my favourite activities; Thermae Bath Spa. This thermal spa has a range of treatment rooms, pools, saunas, steam rooms and plunge pools but sadly had not opened. Fingers crossed next time we are in Bath it is able to do so.

Despite that, we were both looking forward to our time in the city. One of the things I was not looking forward to, however, and one of the city’s biggest issues is parking. The city is clearly not fit for the number of visitors it receives at peak times. Fortunately, our accommodation – The Rising Sun Inn – provides parking permits for street parking during a stay.

Arriving just after midday, we squeezed the car into the one remaining space on the street and collected the permit to display in the car. We then went into the Rising Sun Inn and met the landlord; an affable man who let us check into our room early and gave us a clear rundown of how things work.

The Rising Sun Inn is a combination of a pub with accommodation. It has a good family feel to the place and, while the rooms are small, they are comfortable and filled all our needs.

Heading out into Bath, we made our way to Bath Abbey – which it turns out is no longer an abbey just a Parish Church. The ‘abbey’ is an enjoyable way to spend a few minutes, although with the Covid-19 restrictions in place you do spend more time queueing outside it to get in than you need inside to see the many stained-glass windows and plaques adorning the walls.

Technically, Bath Abbey is free to enter although they do ask you to make a donation if you want to at a suggested rate of £5 per person. This is not mandatory however, and they don’t push it too far should you not want to give any money.

We were only too pleased to get inside the Abbey as the heavens had just opened and the wind was picking up. We made our way slowly around and took a few pictures before heading out again, through the compulsory gift shop, and back onto the streets.

Our afternoon plan was to go to the Roman Baths – located just outside Bath Abbey – but with our tickets booked for 3pm we made the most of the time by taking a walk through Bath to some of the city’s ‘rich’ districts.

The first stop was The Circus; a series of four-story homes and business premises located around a large roundabout. Each house has a huge price tag linked to it but even they pale in comparison to those in The Royal Crescent; a mere two-minute walk away.

This crescent-shaped street (funnily enough) boasts some of the city’s most expensive properties with prices ranging between £5m and £10m. Looking up at the properties made us realise that our chances of ever owning such a house was extremely limited. If anyone reading this blog fancies lending us a few pounds however, please do head over to the Contact us page.

Heading away from the Royal Crescent before a resident chased us away, we took the opportunity to try our luck at our third botanical garden of the trip.

Our previous two attempts in Edinburgh and Glasgow hadn’t been huge successes but this one in Bath was much better. The weather had improved and was dry – if still a bit windy – and the Botanical Gardens of Bath were full of trees from all over the world.

Taking a walk via the various statues in the gardens – including one to Shakespeare and one to the Roman god Jupiter – we picked up an ice cream from a nearby stall and took the mile-long walk back to the city centre to join the queue for the Roman Baths.

The Roman Baths are described as one of the finest historic sites in Northern Europe.

At the heart of the City of Bath, the baths consist of the remarkably preserved remains of one of the greatest religious spas of the ancient world. The city’s unique thermal springs rise in the site and the Baths still flow with natural hot water.

During our visit we explored the Roman Baths, took a walk on the original Roman pavements and saw the ruins of the Temple of Sulis Minerva.

We also saw the museum’s collection of finds including a gilt bronze head of the Goddess Sulis Minerva, and other Roman artefacts.

Entry to the Baths is currently on a timed basis, and costs £21 per person on weekdays and £23 on weekends. That’s great value, as the baths and museum are much bigger than the outside of the complex would suggest with many different things to see and a free audio guide to follow as you go around to give you some greater context.

We found it very easy to spend over an hour in the Baths before heading out and back to our hotel.

Back in our hotel room we took some time to relax and get ourselves ready for our evening meal out in Bath at the interesting-looking Mediterranean and Turkish restaurant – Cappadocia – for what would be one of our last meals out of the road trip.

Day Twenty Two: a 60 mile drive down to the historic city of Bath, saw us check out Bath Abbey then up to the high-class Circus and Royal Crescent districts of the city before a walk around the Botanical Gardens of Bath and a trip to the superb Roman Baths

Day 23

Bath – Winchester

The penultimate day of our trip, the last full day and our last location all made up the twenty third day of our road trip around England, Scotland and Wales.

After a hearty continental breakfast at the Rising Sun Inn – consisting of cereal, tea, coffee, Greek yoghurt, toast and croissants – we settled our hotel bill and made our way to the car for the final trip between road trip locations. This journey was another short one – just the 60 miles – between Bath and the historic city of Winchester.

This final location was one for Holly who had gone to university here and – like me with Lichfield and Stoke-on-Trent – was keen to show me around her former home city.

During the drive Holly took the opportunity to give her sister, Amy, a phone call as it also happened to be her birthday. If she reads this blog then; Happy Birthday Amy!

An added bonus of the journey was that on our route down the A303 we were able to grab a glimpse of the famous Stonehenge near Salisbury; somewhere I’d been before but Holly had never seen. That despite her only living around 25 miles away from it during her time at university!

The weather for our final full day on the road was much like the previous day’s weather. Very changeable. One minute it was glorious sunshine, the next it was wind and rain. Still this was not going to spoil our time in Winchester.

We made a stop at St. Catherine’s Hill – situated just outside of Winchester – and took a walk up the footpath to get a view out across Winchester. It was a slightly odd expereince though. The gates to the road were shut meaning we had to park at the foot of the hill and then once were were inside the gates there were loads of caravans there.

Making our way past the inpromptu caravan park we went up the hill and caught a glimpse of Winchester on one side while trying to phase out the noise of the M3 from the other side. Admitting defeat on this one, we went back to the car and carried on towards the city itself.

After arriving in the city, we made a short walk into the centre – via the statue of King Alfred who is buried somewhere in the city – to visit our third Cathedral of the trip.

Winchester Cathedral is perhaps the most impressive one we’ve gone into. While Lichfield and Bath both had ornate outsides the rather plain Winchester exterior was made up for both by its considerable size and also by the wide variety of things to see inside its walls.

Entry is the most expensive of the three we visited – at £9.95 per adult (which also allows you unlimited re-entry for the next 12 months – we were feeling that perhaps we were not going to be getting good value for money. I’m pleased to say I was wrong.

We spent over an hour in the cathedral looking at various exhibits they have in different sections showcasing its long history dating back to the reigns of King Alfred and the Viking invasions.

Some of the most impressive aspects of a visit to Winchester Cathedral are the examples of wall paintings dating back to the 1200s and original copies of the Winchester Bible also dating back almost 900 years and still with their original colours present. From a historical point of view they are quite incredible.

We also learnt that the author Jane Austen – famous for her works including Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Sense and Sensibility – is buried within the confines of the cathedral. While neither of us are huge Jane Austen fans we wanted to see this grave site and found her grave located inside the cathedral near the north entrance. Below a rather low-key black, stone-plague on the floor, Ms Austen has lied undisturbed here since her death over 200 years ago on 18th July 1817.

Making our way out of the cathedral, we both commented just how impressed we were by it. Holly had been inside once before but that was for her graduation and then didn’t have time to explore properly. This was a much more complete visit.

After that we nipped around the side of the cathedral to visit the English Heritage site of Wolvesey Castle.

This castle – well more palace – ruins was once the home of the 12th Century Bishop Henry of Blois; brother of King Stephen.

Though ruinous, the buildings still evoke an impression of their former grandeur. The last great occasion here was on 25th July 1554, when the East Hall was transformed with silk and gold hangings for Queen Mary and Philip of Spain’s wedding banquet.

Now visitors can walk around the substation site for free and take a look at what remains of this once magnificent palace.

As the rigors of our trip started to catch up with us we decided to check in to our hotel – the Winchester Hotel and Spa – and spend the afternoon using its spa facilities.

This four-star establishment was the most stylish hotel of our trip and from the reception area we were greatly impressed. We were met by a friendly receptionist who checked us into our room for the night and told us how the hotel was managing Covid-19 issues.

The room itself is spacious and well designed. However, there were a couple of niggles we had with it. For £134.10 a night we were not expecting absolute perfection but there were some sloppy errors.

The shower leaks and means that not all the water comes out of the shower head, potentially soaking the bathroom, there was also a suspicious stain on the shower curtain which we did not want to touch and a carpet gripper – the spikey nailed wooden boards that hold the carpet down – was poking through the carpet near the bathroom entrance. If you are walking bare footed and step on it you’d know about it for sure. You don’t expect to come to a hotel and need a Tetanus jab when you leave!

Also despite the hotel saying how it cleans its rooms thoroughly – given Covid-19 regulations – there was an open pack of coffee in the room which should have been removed.

We made sure we made these points to the hotel receptionist who was extremely apologetic for these issues. I don’t think that it is down to the hotel not caring, I think it’s just slightly sloppy workmanship. That’s not to say it’s good enough though for a four-star hotel.

We then made the decision to go down to the spa which had a limited number of people allowed in due to Covid-19 which was fair enough. We rang down to the spa to say we were on our way, filled out the health questionnaire and went in to relax.

The spa itself is fine if not spectacular. There is a small swimming pool available and a jacuzzi to enjoy alongside a number of sun loungers. Normally, there would also be a steam room and sauna to use but both were not operational given the current concerns. Not a problem though we had a pleasant couple of hours down in the spa and enjoyed the down time it offered us before heading out in the evening to have a meal at a local Weatherspoon’s Pub.

Day Twenty Three: leaving Bath for our final destination of the city of Winchester. Stopping off at St. Catherine’s Hill before getting into the city centre to see the King Alfred’s Statue, Winchester Catherdral (where you can see the grave of author Jane Austen) and Wolvesey Castle before a spa aftenoon at our final hotel; The Winchester Hotel and Spa

Day 24

Winchester – London

And so it ends!

After more than three weeks on the road we had come the final day of our road trip. We’d had such an amazing time exploring the length and breadth of the country and waking up in Winchester on our final day was met with mixed emotions.

On the one hand we just wanted to carry on exploring the country and seeing more and more new places. On the other we had so many new memories from our trip that we felt content to be returning home.

For the last day we decided to take it easy. Getting up, we went down and enjoyed a final full English breakfast of the trip at the hotel restaurant. This came with a choice of continental accompaniments such as Greek yoghurt and croissants.

Feeling rather full and ready to burst we made our way back to our room, cleaned up our things for a final time and checked out before heading to the hotel’s spa again for a few hours by the pool and in the Jacuzzi.

As we were so early, and it was a Sunday, we found that we had the entire spa to ourselves for a good long while and were able to enjoy the surroundings in blissful peace and quiet.

For the day we only had one thing planned. We had booked a short 25-minute neck, shoulders and back massage each at the spa but our time slot wasn’t until 2:30pm.

We used the rest of our free time in Winchester to walk back into town and pick up a couple of gifts for family and friends before stopping by the Royal Oak pub for a spot of lunch.

We had gone in with the idea of just having a very light lunch – given the large breakfast we’d enjoyed just a few hours earlier – yet somehow managed to order ourselves a fish and chips and sharing platter to share between us! We sat down and the food came quickly after we’d ordered it using the Greene King app which allows you to order and pay from your table.

Outside again we made our way through the high street and up the hill towards Stanmore. This area was one that Holly had lived in during her four-year teaching degree and she was keen to catch a glimpse of her old university.

Walking through a graveyard that had clearly seen better days, we found ourselves on Holly’s old campus at the University of Winchester. Years ago, while I had been at university in the Midlands (Staffordshire University), I’d visited Holly – at the time just a good school friend – a couple of times in Winchester. None of what I was seeing personally rang any bells for me and even though Holly had studied in Winchester, the money the university had invested on campus was clear to see making the place look quite different to how she remembered it.

After a bit of reminiscing, we made a slow walk back to the hotel for our massage treatments. Arriving 10 minutes early we sat down and relaxed in the Spa’s waiting room and were soon met by two therapists who took us to separate rooms for our treatments.

For £37 each, our therapists gave great quality massages and also paid attention to the points in my shoulder that I’d mentioned were a bit stiff. After the session we both came out feeling refreshed, relaxed and smelling great!

All that was left to do now was make the final drive of the trip. Heading home, we had around 90 miles to cover and made our way along the M3 until it joined the M25. The trip had been a great success and we both sat content with how well it had gone.

Pulling up at our home in Kent, I saw that we’d clocked just over 2,800 miles during the trip. Now we could step out of the car for the final time and head indoors in anticipation of a good night’s sleep ahead in our own bed.

Day Twenty Four: with the road trip coming to an end we squeezed in a final session at the Winchester Hotel and Spa’s facilities, before a last walk around Winchester via the Royal Oak for lunch and Holly’s old university – The University of Winchester

Published by Steve Kennedy

48 countries visited and counting....

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20 Comments

  1. Whilst COVID has really ruined a lot of plans, it is so nice to discover home. We’ve loved our little mini trips around England – unfortunately we don’t have 3 weeks to use in one go, but are doing lots of long weekends while the weather is good. Enjoy the rest of your trip 🙂

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  2. This is an amazing I would say incredible complete! . It will be definetely become our ABC guide for our future trips to UK!.

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  5. Wow this sounds like an amazing trip! You squeezed so much in and saw so much cool stuff. We had a road trip this summer too, but not nearly so varied – just a week with the in laws and a week with my parents.

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      1. This looks like it must have been a fun trip. The pandemic was (is, depending on how cautious you are) the perfect time to explore your own country. I finally took a long trip to America’s Southwest.

        It’s a little disappointing to read that Edinburgh castle has modern exhibits. Like you, I want to see what the castle was like during its heyday.

        If you ever visit Bath again, you should check out Prior Park Landscape Garden. It’s a great little gem in the city.

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  7. Pingback: Top five… fun European escape rooms you have to try – World Complete

  8. As an expat Brit who hasn’t been able to return for a couple of years, I really enjoyed reading this. And I was delighted that you included one of my childhood family-day-out favourites – Finchale Priory. One of those lovely places that not many people know about. Sooo envious that you got to stay in Lumley Castle, which I used to gaze on from afar and which made me wish I’d been born a princess. Shame your Edinburgh and Glasgow experiences weren’t the best. If you give them another go I can recommend the Scotsman Hotel in Edinburgh and the Dakota in Glasgow. We loved Glasgow for its architecture – look at it through the eyes of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and you might get a different impression 🙂

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  9. As an expat Brit who hasn’t been able to return for a couple of years, I really enjoyed reading this. And I was delighted that you included one of my childhood family-day-out favourites – Finchale Priory. One of those lovely places that not many people know about. Sooo envious that you got to stay in Lumley Castle, which I used to gaze on from afar and which made me wish I’d been born a princess. Shame your Edinburgh and Glasgow experiences weren’t the best. If you give them another go I can recommend the Scotsman Hotel in Edinburgh and the Dakota in Glasgow. We loved Glasgow for its architecture – look at it through the eyes of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and you might get a different impression 🙂

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    1. Hi Carole, Thanks so much for stopping by and so pleased you enjoyed it. The roadtrip on the whole was amazing. I’d happily give Edinburgh another go in a different hotel and spend more time in Glasgow. To be honest – on Glasgow – it was such a flying visit that we couldn’t really get a proper impression of it.

      Lumley Castle is an amazing place to stay. Such beautiful surroundings. To top it off – and as I was writing this blog as we travelled each day and didn’t, at the time, want to give the game away to our family and friends so didn’t include it in the blog – I proposed to my soon-to-be wife at Lumley Castle on this trip and she said YES! In fact, one of the pictures on day 4 of the trip of the two of us outside Lumley Castle was taken just seconds before I popped the question. 🙂

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