We have checked into our B&B in Cheveley, England ... very cool built around 1545 ...
The Old Farmhouse.
The drive down from York was pretty rainy and windy but we had a good multi-lane highway for the most part and made good time.
Oh ... and the WiFi here is working nicely ... I'm experiencing some odd "blue screen of death" problems with Windows but other than that the technology is working.
So I shall TRY to post some additional pictures and narrative while I have the opportunity,
As I mentioned previously while in Edinburgh we booked a trip to the Highlands ... this was not a part of our planning prior to the trip but we all agreed "since we were this close ... " why not? ,,, now "close" isn't really correct but we were in Scotland ... we booked a tour with
Rabbies Trail Burners ... this was on the recommendation of our B&B hosts in Edinburgh and since we really had no clue who would be good we went with the recommendation ... it was a good choice. Our driver/guide was a young lass named "Karen" and I have to tell you Karen was not the shy demurring type ... she handled our 16 passenger tour bus (full with passengers) through the narrow windy roads of both Edinburgh city and the Highlands like a seasoned and fearless truck driver .. NEVER giving ground when the road was too narrow ... we saw a lot of terrified faces as we met other smaller vehicles along the way ...
Karen also maintained a very entertaining and informative narrative during both 5 hours legs of the journey up and back. She seemed to have extensive knowledge of both the history of Scotland and the landscape. I asked her if she had gone to school focused on history and she said no it was just an interest of hers. Apparently the company does not require their drivers to "talk" at all and apparently offers no real training for their driver/guides. If that is indeed the case we were very fortunate to have Karen leading our tour. Of the 16 people on our tour there were Germans, Scandinavians, folks from Spain and a couple apparently of Asian descent ... and 4 Texans. A diverse crowd to keep entertained.
A few pics ...
One could book a boat ride onto the Loch ... it was pouring rain and we had no takers ...
The Loch itself is a bit foreboding ...
On the return trip we stopped by a forest/waterfall that Karen said was much like what the area looked like in Medieval Times ... the water is a chocolate brown due to the peat in the area ..
We returned back in Edinburgh around 8PM ... so it was a bit more than a 12 hour day ... we found a small (and I mean really small) place to eat ... and then headed back to our B&B to prepare for the trip to York ...
Our B&B in Edinburgh ...
Our drive to York was fairly easy with good weather and good roads ... we checked in and then walked down to a local pub named "
The Plough for a bite to eat ... this was a very typical English pub with many locals present. The food was excellent as has almost all of the food been to date. Carolyn had lasagna, I had pizza, Linda had tortellini, and Woodie had the lasagna as well. I topped mine off with two pints of Strongbow cider, very cold. I have developed quite a taste for the Irish and English ciders over here ... one of the best was
Magners ... a couple of pints will soften the day and put a smile on your face!!
One detour we made on the way to York from Edinburgh was a couple of Roman army forts along
Hadrian's Wall. It was interesting and we saw several groups of small school children making the tours.
So today before we left York we took the local bus (I really am not a big fan of public transportation but in these cities driving and parking are both completely insane and public transportation is the only viable option I suppose ... waiting for a damn bus is against my independent and impatient nature!!) The old part of York is very "Dickensian like" and one street in particular gives that impression ...
The Shambles ...
SO! Caught up now for the most part ... as I said tomorrow a short drive into London, dump the car and settle in for a few days before heading home ... the weather today is fairly miserable with rain and very strong wind ... we THINK tomorrow is supposed to be fairly mild and then on and off with rain before we leave ... we've been very lucky with weather so can't really complain ...
Cheers for now ...
P,S,
It is a little past 11PM now ... I had booked 'dinner' with the hostess of our B&B more thru guilt of having booked the lodging then canceling and then booking again than anything else ... we had no idea what this meal would be or at what cost ... it turns out our hostess is a formally trained award winning French chef ... the meal was absolutely wonderful ... we cleaned our plates and enjoyed a couple of bottles of wine ... it has been a delightful evening ... very relaxing to sit by the fire with a couple of black labs looking for some petting having good conversation ... a very proper English end to the day.
