davidcook

From the 1st, I stopped posting FB updates on the trip, so here's what else we got up to:


Tue Oct 1
Drove North, up the A9 at first, with a quick stop at Carn Liath (a roadside broch), then left at Helmsdale on the A897 - a single-track (with passing places) road that takes the scenic route up to Melvich/Bettyhill. It was a nice drive, although I'd say busier than last time we went up that way, and now with added logging trucks. Also didn't see any deer this time.
Went down to Sandside beach, then a bit of a walk to St Mary's Chapel (a ruin on the coast), and finally to Thurso, for a quick stop, refuel & look around. The day was getting on, so off we drove again, this time all down the A9, with a dinner stop in Dunkeld.

Wed Oct 2 - first leg of the drive South. Stopped at the Hermitage, which is still a lovely spot, and ended up in Crossford, where we were staying with more of my cousins, Alison & Doug.

Thu Oct 3 - just driving. Crossford to Chester, with a stop at Tebay services (of course). For some reason, Chester has two Travelodges within a short distance of each other, and of course we stopped at the wrong one first, but we were soon in the right place, and then finding ourselves some dinner.

Fri Oct 4 - wandering around Chester, starting with the "Sick to Death" exhibit, which was just across the road from our hotel. Then walked around the walls, with a lunch stop on the way. Probably collapsed back at the hotel for a while, then went looking for dinner.

Sat Oct 5 - left Chester and headed to Leeds (although apparently Leeds didn't want us, we had no end of trouble navigating the roundabouts on the way in to town). Eventually got to the Royal Armouries, and spent time there looking at shiny things and pointy things (and shiny pointy things!). Also bought a few things (no swords, alas). Left there (more trouble with roundabouts, this time it was like Leeds didn't want us to go!) to meet kriste and family for dinner, then onwards to their house for a couple of nights.

Sun Oct 6 - a day out! Starting with Sherwood Forest, including the Mighty Oak, and another dangerous gift shop. Next stop was Rufford Abbey - ironically the Abbey itself was closed for repairs, but the gardens were good and the playground kept the four kids (two of ours and two of kriste's occupied for a while). Back to Bingham & kriste's place for dinner.

Mon Oct 7 - left Bingham after a stroll around town, heading for Windsor, and Legoland. Found the hotel, had a quick dinner, and then went on a night tour around the place (with a bit of a quest thing, that was mostly done by Ms9, with us following behind).

Tue Oct 8 - A day at Legoland. We split up to start with - rwrylsin with Ms9, myself with Mr12. We went on a ride! And I declared no more rides for me, because that was enough to throw out my sense of balance and leave me feeling off-kilter for a good chunk of the day. Fortunately there were other things to see around the place, and the time passed pretty easily. There was, of course, some shopping, and somehow Mr12 & Ms9 got picked for a random product test, which left them with a whole bag of Lego. This left us with a challenge to try to fit everything in our suitcases - fortunately, rwrylsin, being wise to the ways of us travelling, had packed a foldable duffel bag, and with a certain about of squeezing and shoving, we actually managed to fit almost everything in (with a little left over in a bag that could be taken as carry-on). Whew!
We had planned to have dinner at the other hotel restaurant at Legoland, but it was closed, so we went for a little drive, and found a nice Italian place, which I think was technically in Eton rather than Windsor.

Wed Oct 9 - said our farewells to Legoland, and headed out. The original plan had been to park our luggage somewhere and spend a bit more time at Legoland, but Mr12 had asked if we could see Stonehenge. It turned out that it was possible, and was a pretty good outing for the day. After that, we drove to Heathrow, dropped off the hire car (around 1700 miles more on it!), took the shuttle to the airport, waited a bit until our check-in opened, found some dinner, and finally were on a plane.