Wed, 09 Oct 2002

author Tim	location New Lanark, Scotland
posted 22:53 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

Glasgow ( No photos )
We're back at New Lanark youth hostel tonight - we knew it was good, and it was quite close to where we spent the day today - Glasgow.
A strange city, we wandered around a little and saw the Cathederal (dated 1277 or so), town square and some other interesting places. Not quite as interesting as Edinburgh, we easily decided to leave once we had seen most of the major tourist places.
Having lunch was one of the enlightening things - the waitress was very rude - a typical Glaswegian? Most of the rest of them were reasonable however.
The breakfast at the B&B was great this morning - a very nice lady running it all. We then drove to a retail complex on the shores of Loch Lomond. Not quite what we expected to find, the scenery was of course fantastic as we had a nice walk along the shores, skimmed some rocks, and did the general touristy thing.
It was only a small drive from there to Glasgow. A supermarket run produced lots of vegetables for a curry tonight, along with some ice cream which we had to then find a place to store. The friendly girl running the hostel (which Liz and Meaghan are convinced has the hots for me) happily found a place for in her private freezer. Not comment from me.
Being Meaghan's last night with us, we had a great excuse to consume cider, beer and lots of wine while trying to make ourselves feel better. We'll miss her of course, but are happy that she is returning home.
Liz and I will be driving back to Carlisle after dropping Meaghan at the station tomorrow morning (with the obligatory teary goodbye, of course) to stay the night with Peter and attempt to sort this insurance garbage out.

author Tim	location Arden, Luss, Alexandria, Scotland
posted 18:25 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

Back on the road ( No photos )
We took off this morning after spending two nights in Oban. It's quite a nice place there, and we may end up there again due to it being a fairly major ferry port for the Hebrides, Mull and Skye, etc.
We headed down the Cowan Penninsula in search of a place to stay for the night. This nice trip through the great mountaenous regions took in Inveraray (a wonderful pub lunch stop in a place staffed by Aussies), Strachur, and then the loch-side town of Tighrabruaich. A few little B&Bs around the place were either unstaffed or full, so we decided to head back to the Youth Hostel at Loch Lomond.
This meant driving basically back where we'd come from, then along to the town of Luss. However, contrary to what we have found so far, the guy running the hostel was quite rude, and there was no way to get a room with the three of us together. This is due, and I quote, to "putting boys and girls together is just asking for trouble". That's quite strange, considering that the place offers family rooms, according to the youth hostel book. Oh well.
Not much further down the road, we came upon the Polnaberoch B&B. This nice little house has four dogs and a proprietor who seems to live only to garden. It's quite spectacular actually. Since we got here we have just had some tea before relaxing for the afternoon. Dinner is coming soon.
The not-so-good news today has come from two fronts:

• The AA are not accepting our insurance no-claim-bonus, which means a huge increase in the premiums. We're going to have to head back to Carlisle on Thursday to make some phone calls and get it sorted. Again. We're currently insured until Friday.
• Apparently there are bad fires all around Sydney again. Best of luck to the SES and other personnel involved - we're thinking of you all. Meaghan is eager to get back and re-join the Rural Fire Service. She was hoping for a gentle ease back into it but that may not happen. If you have any news on this let us know via email - Aussie news is hard to come by over here.

author Tim	location Oban, Argyllshire, Scotland
posted 14:47 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

A Blinding Flash of Inspiration... ( No photos )
... has seen me realise that I have been carrying around enough tech-gear to get online anywhere with our mobile phone and a bit of initiative. The cost is high, but if we keep it quick...
Just some light wandering around the town today, which is good, since Meaghan decided that we needed to hit the town last night. We're staying here again - it's very nice, and after all our wandering it's good to not have to pack everything up. We can actually relax.
We're toying with the idea of wandering over to the Isle of Mull, but at the cost of £61 for the ferry ride (taking Percy), we're not quite sure just how to approach it. That's pretty steep for an island we can see about a mile away.
We found a great little pancake shop while wandering around yesterday, so guess where we had a massive breakfast this morning. None of us made it through, but it was a good change from toast, jam and coffee.
The girls and I went our separate ways this morning around town - I found a great little War and Peace museum, and a quick stop into the tiny Oban distillery, while they stocked up on gossip and retail therapy.
The rest of the day will be more of a rest before we head out for dinner somewhere.

author Tim	location Oban, Argyllshire, Scotland
posted 17:51 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

Loch Ness ( No photos )
Well, I got in some better sleep, but the girls still managed to find a good snorer. Meaghan was planning on throwing pillows and apples, and Liz's evil plans were not printable here!
Since the rest of my room was up at about 6:30am, I got up nice and early and tidied up the car while Meaghan eventually dragged herself out of bed.
We took a slow drive north around Loch Ness, up the quiet side before coming back down the busy side. Wow! The scenes were all of course fantastic, and the return of fantastic weather meant blue skies with some nice low-lying cloud in the middle of the Loch. There's nothing much to say about it that you haven't already heard, only that it's much larger than I ever thought. We managed to avoid the tourist areas this time, so no cheap Nessy garbage. I'm sure we'll manage to find them again...
We then drove back south past where we stayed last night, and down to the sea-side town of Oban. The biggest thing for miles, the Lonely Planet book still describes it as "there isn't much to see or do", but we still think it quite nice. The Youth Hostel here is four stars - very nice, and we have a view over the bay. Not bad for only £2 (we filled up a youth hostel reward card, and get a free night. Paying a little extra got us our own room).
Not really an overly adventurous day, we're planning a trip off to the Isle of Mull tomorrow - we can see it across the bay. Cooking some veges and potato bake for dinner, and will have a nice relaxing night in with hopefully some decent sleep for all. Now they only have to poke me if I snore and I usually shut up!

author Tim	location Loch Lochy, South Laggan, Spean Bridge, Scotland
posted 19:32 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

A day of Lochs and Locks ( No photos )
Yesterday we eventually got checked in, and found ourselves not in our own room for the first time. This weekend they are runing a promotion for the Year of The Mountains, so the hostels are packed out. This was most evident in that none of us got any sleep (snoring, creaky bunks, lots of people slamming doors, talking, etc.), and are ready to retire early tonight (again in shared dorms).
After checking in, we went for a walk back to the aforementioned one store in the village - the girls' excuse was to get a drink. The twenty minute round-trip saw us get sopping wet - little wonder these mountain youth hostels have drying rooms!
The night was tied up with a puzzle, writing postcards, cooking dinner and then attempting sleep. Which didn't happen.
So today, we woke (not that we were really asleep) to the sound of a large group of boy scouts or similar running a breakfast. Joy was us as we dragged ourselves through beds, showers, etc., and then to leave the rooms by a ridiculous 9:30am. Such is the pain of cheap rooms in the mountains.
We then drove about 150 miles directly to our next location - Loch Lochy. This took us through some more amazing scenery - Ben Nevis (not that we could see the top, of course), the "Five Sisters", and of course endless sheep, waterfalls, rivers and rolling hills.
A trip this afternoon while awaiting check-in took us to Fort William - the nearest "big" town for miles. It actually has a pedestrian-only area in it!! Here we found me a nice warm jacket which has been long needed to replace my aging one, the girls of course found lolly/chocolate/nibbly shops, and Percy found some cheap fuel.
We came back, checked-in, and checked out the kitchen (necessary because some of them don't have working ovens, etc.). We took a walk down to Loch Lochy itself, and observed a lock lift the boat of some touristy types' boat up into a higher section of the river. Interesting, but not as fan-dangled as the Falkirk Wheel of a few days ago.
Next we decided to drive to nearby town Spean Bridge to procure necessary dinner ingredients. However, the entire town seemed to have lost electricity supply, so it was another trip back to Fort William to find a supermarket.
Dinner consumed, we are now occupying ourselves with journals and books, and it will probably be quite an early night to make up for lack of sleep.

author Tim	location Torrindon, Ross-shire, Scotland
posted 14:52 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

Some "proper" weather at last ( No photos )
Wouldn't you know it, after earlier today saying how we were having fantastic weather, of course we then see just how bad it can get. It's drizzling non-stop, coupled with occasional heavy rain, strong winds, and mist reducing visibility in all directions. Liz is doing well driving through all this on more single track roads.
We made our way fairly directly here, but even though Ullapool and Torrindon are on the same page on the map, this most direct route still took half the day. This is probably due to the huge (1000m, cloud-obscured peaks) mountains we're surrounded by. The one(!) shop here has an entire rack of mountain-climbing books and not too much else. There's not even a pub!
The coast road on the way in was once again spectacular - lots of climbing and falling, and no-where dry to stop for lunch.
We have to wait until 5pm when the counter is open again for us to check in - there is a nice, warm-looking section downstairs, but we need a PIN code to get in. So, the girls are reading and I'm doing web updates. Luckily we bought our own food to cook tonight - there's nowhere to buy/eat nearby.

author Tim	location Ullapool, Ross-shire, Scotland
posted 08:22 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

Driving through The Highlands ( No photos )
Before leaving the castle yesterday, we took in the neighboring forest with an hour or so's walk. It's rather different up here to anywhere else we've been - the trees all go directly up, pencil thin, fighting for some sunlight. Also, the current Autumn colours make for a nice spectacle.
It wouldn't have been too long a drive from the castle over to Ullapool, but Liz quite rightly chose to direct us on several scenic routes. There seems to be a Loch by every road up here, and the view across some of these to little islands with ruined castles on them is definately unforgettable. Also adding to the experience is that we are somehow managing to once again have fantastic weather. It was actually described by us as hot at midday yesterday, although the wind is admittedly trying.
After visiting a few towns including Dornoch, Rosehall, and Lochinver (situated on Loch Inver), I was directed to drive us a little way North of Ullapool, and onto a nice little windy road. About twenty miles long, almost completely single-track-with-passing-places, it took us by the coast and through the mountains in some amazing scenery. Lots of rocks-through-the-grass sea-side land, plenty of stupid sheep on the road, and the ever-present even stupider drivers doing 40mph coming the other way around blind corners. Lots of fun!
Back on the main road, we made our way back to Ullapool. This drive was directly up and over a mountain range, so it was great to see some more little lochs up in the high parts of this - not at all what we expected to find.
Ullapool itself is quite interesting - we quickly spotted a seal or two in the bay directly out our hostel window. They haven't re-appeared, but we have been keeping a lookout just in case. We wandered the shops for a while before looking for a place for dinner. At one restaurant, we enquired what the "vegetarian meal of the day" was. The reply came that it wasn't very good, and we should try a restaurant up the road. So we did!
In the end, we passed on that other restaurant (with the over-Aussie waiter), and ended up in a little bar/pub/hotel. Here, the Russian waitress served us various types of lasagne, followed by a trip to the sweet menu.
Stumbling home, we watched some TV before calling it a night. I'm not sure what time we need to be out of here this morning, but nobody looks like they're in a rush.

author Tim	location Carbisdale Castle, Culrain, Sutherland, Scotland
posted 08:26 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

A Night in a Haunted Castle ( No photos )
We took advantage of the SYHA (Scottish Youth Hostel Assn)'s ability to book and pay for places ahead yesterday, and organised both last nights accommodation (at the SYHA's pride-and-joy Carbisdale Castle) and Friday night's - they have a £5 deal which we had to book early for. Quite handy, it meant we could arrive later and know we had a room organised. Quite a change!
Before leaving Aviemore, we fuelled up Percy and did a few dabbly things in town - trying to hook up to the net (no luck), make a few phone calls (Happy Birthday Mrs Meaghan's Nanna!), and stock up on some more junk food.
I managed to convince the girls that we needed to visit a few last distilleries, and they kindly obliged. No more tours, we just had a quick look around and then visited the shop.
At one point on this little tour, we drove past a man pushing his hand down in the universal "slow down" sign. I obliged, although we didn't know what to expect. A little further, a woman was walking along the road, around a corner. This time her hand signals were not as clear, so we slowed down even further. Imagine our suprise when about fifty cows come walking, ever so slowly, around the corner. Liz just had to take a photo, so while we waited by the side of the road for them all to pass, she proceeded to snap away. However, a passing bull decided that he needed a closer look. The power window was deployed upwards with full force, just in time to get a great "clack" from the bull-ring against the glass. He snuffed and snorted a few times at Liz's red shirt, before deciding that opening this can was going to be a little difficult to open, and continuing his wander onwards. Eventually the road cleared, and the woman following the herd came over and laughed with us all.
After finally leaving the Whisky trail, we ventured North around Inverness, and through some great scenery. This took in the coast drive to Comarty (where we almost caught the ferry across to Balnapaling), then north through Dingwall and plenty of other little towns. Our destination was Carbisdale Castle. After a quick stop at Tain for supplies, we finally made it.
The place is amazing. It was bequeathed to the SYHA completely intact, and now functions just like any other Youth Hostel. With the exception that it is a massive castle, sleeping two hundered people or so. All sorts of paintings, statues, and plenty of strange little rooms made for a memorable experience.
We cooked ourselves dinner (sweet-and-sour veges) and enjoyed it in one of the dining rooms, before retiring to a little alcove by a window on one of the massive landings with a drink or two.
While getting up during the night, both girls reported sightings of the resident ghost. I'm not so sure...

author Tim	location Aviemore, Inverness-shire, Scotland
posted 21:36 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

A Hard Day on the Whisky Trail ( No photos )
Let's hear it for Meaghan after her first update! And I only had to correct about fifty spelling and grammatical errors before it was suitable for public consumption! Not that my spelling or grammar is all that good...
This morning saw another massive B&B breakfast - a nice change after all the Youth Hostels. I even tried some porridge. Still don't like it, however. Liz struggled to get through a massive serving of scrambled eggs.
Up here we are on the so-called "Whisky Trail", in the heart of Scotch Whisky country. So, when in Rome, try their porridge. And whisky.
First stop was the Strathisla distillery, famous for its Chivas Regal. We toured the sites, tried the "nosing", then the tasting (which the girls didn't appreciate much!), then on to the shop. I've started a collection of miniature bottles - the big ones are too expensive and need to be carried home somehow.
Then, we moved on to the Glenfiddich distillery. This was much more popular (probably something to do with the entry/tour being free, and you still got a free sample at the end), different, yet still mostly the same. A nice late picnic lunch was had there, as we decided our fate for the evening.
This ended up with us deciding on another youth hostel in Aviemore. It's another nice place, yet is run by the first non-nice person we've found so far. Guess it had to happen.
We did some shopping and cooked our own dinners, before retiring to a quite evening in with website updates and reading.

author Meaghan	location Aviemore, Inverness-shire, Scotland
posted 21:09 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

Meaghan speaks! ( No photos )
Ok, so yesterday we decided to treat ourselves to breakfast in the town of Braemar after looking through all the crappy touristy shops much to Tim's delight! we then headed north or east depending on whether you ask Liz or Tim we found this small stone circle which was kinda cool and then continued our journey and found this quaint seaside village with a great beach that even had sand as opposed to the standard pebble beach I have encountered since being over here.
We decided to go for a nice stroll along this beach and were having a pleasant time when this massive golden retriever decided it wanted to play with us and came bounding down the beach headed straight for us and rather than stopping or slowing down like we thought he would he knocked Liz's legs straight out from underneath, which was absolutely hilarious, although I don't know if Liz would agree.
So after our beach shenanegans we headed off again on a quest for a B&B and found this fantastic farm that was harvesting tatties (potatoes) and was run by this lovely lady who was probably the fist really Scottish person we have met. She use lots of Scottish words like "aye", and "its wee bonnie", it was really hard to keep a straight face! They had two really cute dogs except one of their names was Meaghan which was a bit off putting.
Finally we hopped in the car again to find some dinner and drove through this great coastal village with load of really steep winding streets and Liz got plenty of driving practice i think she could be a rally driver now! I would have just stalled a million times. We finally got dinner in The Highland Haven, in Macduff before retireing back to our farm B&B.

author Liz	location The Palace Farm, Gamrie, Banff, Scotland
posted 10:01 BST 1/10/02	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

Into the Highlands ( No photos )
From the hostel in Falkland yesterday, we drove East through Fife to Crail which is a busy little village on the coast, and here we began to get into golf course territory, much to Tim's delight.
We drove on to St Andrew's, the home of golf, and spent an hour or so looking around the St Andrew's Cathedral ruins and its graveyard. We came across some (empty) old stone coffins that had been uncovered, and Meaghan and I were horrified when Tim suggested we 'get in and lie down for a photo'! Suprisingly we refused, and went and had a look around the famous golf course which apparently costs £90 a round.
It was a very popular place, with cars everywhere, so Tim was dragged away, and we drove north over the Firth of Tay Bridge, which seemingly went on forever over the river, through Dundee and then headed inland looking for a B&B, and before we knew it we were in the Scottish Highlands. The scenery was indescribable, so you'll just have to come over here and see it for yourselves. There were huge mountains either side over us, and Tim had lots of fun driving over the rolling valley roads.
We ended up skipping the B&B, and instead went to the hostel in Braemar, which was set amongst the woodland. The area around us was a very popular hiking spot, and there were also a lot of ski lifts that, whilst not in use at the moment, probably don't stop in the winter. I am hoping to come back here to ski early next year. I'll have to see if I can get Tim on a pair of ski's :)

author Tim	location Falkland, Fife, Scotland
posted 11:14 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

Off again ( No photos )
Once again heading away from the internet access, here's a goodbye for another week (at this rate, anyway).
We tried to find a dinner last night but left it too late - all the pubs/restaurants were too expensive or full. So instead we made our own dinner, from whatever we could buy at the little supermarket thingo. Quite good!
Spoke to mum and dad, as did Liz and Meaghan, so we've had a good rest and a catch up here.
Off for some more adventure!

author Tim	location Falkland, Fife, Scotland
posted 19:12 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

Some of Fife ( No photos )
Sorry - the updates are going to come thick and fast while we have the ability to do so!
After Liz woke up at 1:30pm (not feeling well), we finally got moving for the day. We covered more or less the central section of Fife, including the coast line from Elie back to the bridges over the Firth of Forth. We then came back via our first proper Loch!
We're in a slow, do not very much mood, so tonight will probably just be a dinner then bed. There are a few nice little pubs and cheapish restaurants around here, so we'll see what we can find.
The people running the B&Bs and the hostel staff have on the whole been very friendly, advising on various pubs to check out and of course which to avoid.
Not sure if the girls will be able to sleep tonight after doing so for most of the day :)
Tomorrow we will probably head out north via St. Andrews, and the eastern end of Fife.
A few more random observations on British Life:

• Radio here is terrible, unless Classical is your thing. The three most common songs we hear on the radio (no matter what station) have been called Songs 1, 2 and 3. They appear almost non-stop.
• There are still plenty of bad drivers on the roads.
• It's very hard to get lost anywhere - all the signs are very good.
• The media here is so much worse than Australia. There seems to be nothing that is sacred, and large-scale death and destruction is routinely relegated after news of celebrity boob-jobs.

author Tim	location Falkland, Scotland
posted 10:50 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

An update at last ( No photos )
The last day or two has in general see us move Northish from Edinburgh towards Fife, which is the region we are in now.
Yesterday we had a look at the Falkirk Wheel - a strange boat lift thing the likes of which I can't really describe. Just have a look at the website!
Next we came north, stopping at the Wallace Monument - a tribute to the Scottish hero William Wallace, of Braveheart fame. Quite interesting, but the prospect of another 270 steps after all our previous walking meant we didn't actually climb up it.
We've also taken in Arthur's Seat - a 250 metre or so mountain in the middle of Edinburgh - a pain to climb with my horrible knees, but a great view (and photos of course) from the top.
Last night we went to a local around the corner for a few drinkies and a bit of food. It was good all round, and these Youth Hostels we have stayed in the last few days mean that we are saving money in general. More to spend later!
Today (when the girls eventually wake up, that is), we're probably going to take in the surrounding areas in Fife - that includes St. Andrews with it's famous golf course, and quite a lot of the costal surrounding areas. We will probably stay another night here - the price is good, and it's only been open for the last few months after a major re-furbishment.

author Tim	location Falkland, Scotland
posted 19:06 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

Woohoo! ( No photos )
It's been a week since we left Peter's house, and I've finally found a net connection where we can plug the laptop in. How annoying it's been. The girl running the Youth Hostel was quite happy for me to tinker around for a while - many thanks to her!
I'll write a more detailed update later. Cheers!

author Tim	location New Lanark, Scotland
posted 11:29 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

Edinburgh ( No photos )
I'm writing a quick update in the hope that I can find a decent Internet cafe somewhere today - all found so far have no laptop facilities.
Yesterday we had the most amazing breakfast so far - porridge, yoghurt, chopped fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, etc. Didn't need to eat for hours. That B&B had the hugest bathroom any of us had seen - I had a bath - great way to unwind after the day.
We then drove into Edinburgh. After parking in the street to find a tourist information place, we moved the car to a car park nearby where we drove him into a "bay", locked him up, then the door closed. What happened next, we don't know. He must have been taken on a conveyor belt somewhere - it took a little while to get him out later.
We started out on a walk that Liz had found in a little Edinburgh By Foot book that she found, but rapidly got side-tracked at tourist shops, Whisky centres, and fudge-land. Of course, we ended up buying five huge slices of fudge, along with numerous touristy things.
We spent a little time looking at some hostels to stay at, but they were quite expensive and had nowhere safe to park Percy.
The main thing we did was a trip through Edinburgh castle. It's so high up, and you wind around and around towards the top. We saw the crown jewels, the place where the piper stands at the tattoo, the war memorial, etc. The weather turned nasty just to remind us of where we were, and we spent a fair bit of time looking around in general. The girls liked some mead that we tried, so we may have to purchase some of that.
We decided to stay out of Edinburgh, and found a youth hostel at New Lanark - a tiny little village tucked between a river and a cliff-face. We couldn't even find the road in at first. The hostel itself is great - we're going to spend tonight here as well - it's cheap, clean, quiet, and almost smack-bang in the middle of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Dinner was take-away Chinese and a bottle of red, at the hostel.
This morning the girls slept in until 10am when I returned from a three mile walk. This was along side the river, up to The Clyde Falls - Britain's highest. However, it pales in comparison to the falls we have in Australia at only 27 metres high.
We're going to head back into Edinburgh now, taking in Arthur's Seat and looking a little more seriously for a decent Internet cafe.

author Tim	location Preston, Scotland
posted 18:40 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

Border Country ( No photos )
After rising to a great breakfast this morning (though Meaghan was a little slow after last night), we set off to finally make it over the elusive Scottish border.
We took the path through the Northumberland National Park, which meant that the actual border crossing was upon the top of the hill with great views for miles across Scotland. Here, there were huge stones with "England" and "Scotland" on the appropriate sides, and a bag-piper busking infront of the sign. Not touristy at all! Much to the girls disgust, I organised someone to take a photo of the three of us.
We took some nice little back-road trips around the place, including a snacky lunch at Etal, sea-side stops at St. Abbs (looking to stay at a Youth Hostel there, but the owners appeared to have been taken away for Police questioning) and a wonderful drive along the Eastern Scottish coast (we're still below Edinburgh - plan to get there tomorrow).
All in all, not much has changed coming across the border. I've been told "you're not allowed here with an accent like that!" (jokingly) by a local, the shops sell Haggis now, and a "Full Scottish Breakfast" now appears amongst our breakfast options, along with porridge and haddock.
This afternoon we went for a quiet stroll around the village, where Liz made friends with a bull (whilst both her and I were wearing red tops - I kept away!).
There some updates on the Itinerary page - Meaghan is now getting a train back to Bletchley on the 10th of October, whilst Liz and I travel to the more remote areas of Scotland. Up until then, we'll see the standard tourist places. This probably means Edinburgh, Glasgow, Loch Ness, etc. That's more than enough planning for now!

author Tim	location Preston, Scotland
posted 18:40 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

Border Country ( No photos )
(Continued from North and Central England)
After rising to a great breakfast this morning (though Meaghan was a little slow after last night), we set off to finally make it over the elusive Scottish border.
We took the path through the Northumberland National Park, which meant that the actual border crossing was upon the top of the hill with great views for miles across Scotland. Here, there were huge stones with "England" and "Scotland" on the appropriate sides, and a bag-piper busking infront of the sign. Not touristy at all! Much to the girls disgust, I organised someone to take a photo of the three of us.
We took some nice little back-road trips around the place, including a snacky lunch at Etal, sea-side stops at St. Abbs (looking to stay at a Youth Hostel there, but the owners appeared to have been taken away for Police questioning) and a wonderful drive along the Eastern Scottish coast (we're still below Edinburgh - plan to get there tomorrow).
All in all, not much has changed coming across the border. I've been told "you're not allowed here with an accent like that!" (jokingly) by a local, the shops sell Haggis now, and a "Full Scottish Breakfast" now appears amongst our breakfast options, along with porridge and haddock.
This afternoon we went for a quiet stroll around the village, where Liz made friends with a bull (whilst both her and I were wearing red tops - I kept away!).
There some updates on the Itinerary page - Meaghan is now getting a train back to Bletchley on the 10th of October, whilst Liz and I travel to the more remote areas of Scotland. Up until then, we'll see the standard tourist places. This probably means Edinburgh, Glasgow, Loch Ness, etc. That's more than enough planning for now!

(customised)